Louisville Kentucky

For the second year in a row, Bruce and I traveled to Kentucky for the All American National Livestock Expo centered in Louisville. Also for the second year in a row, Bruce was presented an award from the American Jersey association. Last year, we spent way too much time (3 whole days) with the animals at the Expo center. This year I told Bruce that I wanted to do something else in Louisville. I browsed the internet and found the Louisville Slugger Museum, a tourist attraction, and where they make baseball bats for the major leagues. I forced Bruce to take me, and there we spent an entire afternoon. We went on a tour of the Slugger factory where they showed us up close each step of the bat making process. Originally, they used to turn bats by hand, making one bat in 30 minutes. Now they have machines that do the same thing (with better accuracy) and it only takes 30 seconds per bat. Most bats were made of Ash. However, Barry Bonds uses maple bats and they have become increasingly popular. Maple is a little weaker wood than Ash, so most of the bats that break in the major leagues are made of Maple. The tour guide tried to tell us that Rawlings made all the bats that break. It is interesting to see how the bats have changed over time and which major league player has the most influence over the types of bats used. A major league player can call the factory and have a load full of bats delivered within two days. The longest part of the whole process is staining the bats which needs an entire day to dry. They are still dipped in the stain tank by hand. The major league players who have contracts with Louisville have an engraved autograph which the factory brands on the end of their bats. In the factory, they have separate machines and areas for major leagues, minor leagues, and retail bats. If you want to pay $60.00 or more, you can purchase a signature bat that is custom made for you. In the museum they have a presidential exhibit where it talks about the presidents' opinions on baseball and has their signed autograph from when they threw out the first pitch of the World Series. I didn't actually know that so many of our past presidents played baseball in college. William Taft was the first president to throw the first pitch of the World series, and Herbert Hoover was the only president to be booed while throwing the firs pitch because he shortened the baseball season during WWI. JFK and and one other president were ambidextrous and threw out a pitch with both their left and right hands. In one area of the museum, they have a cage that shows you how fast a 90 mph fast ball is. You stand behind the cage as if you were the umpire, and it takes 1/3 of a second for the 90 mph fastball to hit the catchers glove. No wonder a person who can hit the ball 3 times out of 10 is said to be a great hitter. They also have batting cages where you can use the same signed wooden bats as the professionals. Here is a picture of me batting using a Ken Griffy Jr. bat:

At the end of your tour, you get a free souvenir (a miniature Louisville Slugger). Bruce and I had tons of fun. If you are a baseball fan, you should definitely find your way to the Louisville Slugger museum.
We took a walk downtown Louisville, and enjoyed the view of the Ohio River.
We found the fake Derby horse to be quite funny, especially since it was placed in front of the bank.
Later, we drove for around an hour (supposed to be 12 minutes away) looking for the Louisville temple. Using Mapquest, we put in a Louisville zip code. The temple is not actually in Louisville, which is why it took so long to get there. After making 2 phone calls to the temple to ask for directions, we finally found it sharing the same parking lot as a church. We eventually did make it to the Livestock Expo, and I watched a Llama show. It was funny to watch a Llama try to go through an obstacle course even though I had no idea what they were being judged on. Our 3 day weekend to Kentucky was quite fun, but the Louisville Slugger Museum was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Enjoy the pictures: