As we headed back to Denver to visit friends, re-organize after our first year, and take care of doctor’s, veterinarian, RV and car appointments, we scheduled a couple of stops to visit more good friends along the way.

After visiting our niece and her fiancee in Cincinnati, we drove to Louisville, Kentucky to visit our good friends, Jim and Jane, whom we hadn’t seen in quite a few years.  We were very excited to see them and their daughters, Katie and Sarah.

Since we were there during the week, we got together in the evenings for dinner and catching up.  One night Jim and Jane hosted us for dinner in their lovely home, and Katie prepared a wonderful dessert.

Another night the family joined us for dinner on Island Girl.  This was the first time they saw Island Girl and I think the girls really liked her.

One day, Jim met us in the early afternoon and gave us a brief tour in and around downtown.  We visited some funky shops and saw some quirky Colonel Sanders stuff.

We then decided to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.  Hector and I are baseball fans and thought it would be an interesting place.

The first thing you see when you arrive at the museum is the World’s Biggest Bat – how could you possibly pass that up?  The bat, which is made of carbon steel, measures 120 feet long, is 9 feet in diameter at the base and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter at the handle with a 6 foot 6 inch diameter knob.  And it weights approximately 68,000 pounds!

At the museum,  we learned about how bats are made and actually got to see part of the process.  We also got to hold some bats that were once used by baseball greats.

The Louisville Slugger is the official bat of Major League Baseball.  There are 8,000 variations of bats, but today’s players typically choose from about 300 popular models.

Major League players order approximately 120 bats per season, and approximately 1.8 million Louisville Slugger bats are made each year – about 3,000 bats per day at the factory and 5,000 per day in peak spring training.

Initially all bats were hand-carved, now the process is (mostly) automated with computerized settings that allow for customization to Major League players’ specifications.  Players today use more lightweight bats with thinner handles than in earlier years.  It was really interesting to learn about the evolution of the bats,  what types of bats players used in earlier years vs. today and to get an insight into this very specific part of the history of baseball.

We also took a quick look at historic Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held.  You can almost smell the mint juleps …

Louisville was another whirlwind stop, but our connections with our good friends after not seeing them for many years was as strong as ever.  And it’s great to see the girls grow up to become such smart and interesting young ladies.

Then we continued our westward journey…

~ Brenda