This was my third visit to Las Vegas. It was the first time that it was not the summer time. We stayed (for the second time) at the Venetian. Jef upgraded our stay to the biggest suite and use of the Prestige Club Lounge. We were able to skip all the lines at the check in area and go directly up to the lounge area. … Continue reading Las Vegas

We recently visited VT, NH, and Maine and missed the foliage by about a week and a half. We decided to drive to North Carolina to try our luck in the south. We did not do much better. Our goal was to have a spot to stay that was in the middle of two sets of mountainous areas. As a surprise to me, Jef rented … Continue reading The Horse Shoe Farm

We visited the Henry Ford on our first day in Michigan. This place is massive. It took us about three hours just to see everything in the museum section and we did not even try to read very many of the explanations. It was similar to visiting the Smithsonian. We never knew what was around the corner. We started on the left because most people … Continue reading The Henry Ford

This is the second time that we have visited Jack Daniel´s Distillery. I am a big fan of JD. Lynchburg, Tennessee is actually a dry town. The only place that you can purchase alcohol is at the distillery and only because it is considered a souvenir. This works well for Jack Daniels because they have no one to compete with for purchases. The distillery has … Continue reading Jack Daniel´s Distillery

We really wanted to have some interaction with the horses at Churchill Downs when we did our tour. However, unbeknownst to us, there are no horses there now because of construction. The only tour available was a trip out to Hermitage Farm and since it included being able to pet the horses, I was in! This tour is a combination tour with the Kentucky Derby … Continue reading Churchill Downs-Heritage Farm

We learned how they make baseball bats today. The factory tours are time stamped, so we arrived about ten minutes before ours began. You first watch a video about how they choose the trees to make the bats, where they are located, and how they maintain the forest. It also demonstrates even after cutting down the tree, they may still not chose it for a … Continue reading Louisville Slugger Factory

The bricks above are why they call the Indianapolis Speedway the Brickyard. The track was all brick at the beginning. This line is all that you can see now, even though the bricks are still there under the asphalt. I’ve never watched the race so I was not aware of all the traditions that went with winning. One of the things is kissing the bricks. … Continue reading Indianapolis Speedway

We spent some time in Illinois following Lincoln’s life. We started with the courtroom in which he argued the famous almanac case and it is still an active court today. It is in Beardstown. We thought we would have a quick stop, check out any memorabilia that was there, take a picture of the courtroom, and head to New Salem. Our plans were extended a … Continue reading Abraham Lincoln in Illinois

I was watching American Gods when I discovered the House on the Rock. I’ve wanted to visit it ever since that moment. We rerouted our drive home just so I could. Alex Jordan, Jr. built the house as a sanctuary since he loved to picnic in the area near the rock. When you visit House on the Rock there are A LOT of different areas … Continue reading House on the Rock

Our main objective in Minneapolis was to see Paisley Park. This is where Prince lived for the past three years of his life. However, our tour was not until after lunch so we went to the Walker Art Center, which includes a sculpture garden. We walked around the garden first and I enjoyed the sculptures there. They are all modern-contemporary so some of them I … Continue reading Minneapolis and Paisley Park