USA
Northern Kentucky Shines Bright!
Article and photography by Michael Morcos
With this visit to Kentucky, I have now visited exactly 25 of the 50 US states. Kentucky is the most northern of what is considered the southern states. This is due to the fact they had slavery right up to the Civil War. This beautiful place was on my bucket list for decades and after a grand tour of the north, I can see why. There was always a certain mystique about Kentucky, about horses, bourbon, and delicious, mouthwatering food. I would have all these in abundance and discover much, much more about this shining star in the union. On this tour, we would start in the laid-back city of Covington, visit the state’s most loved racetrack in Lexington and finish with a bang in Louisville.
Covington corner
The city of Covington is not very well known but still, it has one of the nation’s best airports and is directly across the river from Cincinnati Ohio. Covington itself is clean, quiet and very inviting and our stay at the Hotel Covington was the perfect way to start our tour and discover fascinating nearby communities – and is also a short drive to Lexington.
Here we would visit Second Sight Spirits in Ludlow, a small boutique distillery on ‘Bourbon Trail’ and have a comical tour about how the owners got to where they are through trial and error. After many tastings, my favorite was a hazelnut flavored Bourbon.
Later that day, we would visit the Revival Vintage Bottle Shop, an interesting concept where guests are served up small amounts of vintage liquors from around the world. Guests can taste these wonderful spirits without buying a whole bottle and sometimes being disappointed. We tried a freshly opened 100-year-old Kentucky Bourbon that had a taste that could not be duplicated at any time since.
Across a small river was the town of Newport. Not very much happens in this sleepy bedroom community these days but this place sure had an incredible history. That is to say before Vegas was Vegas, Newport had the nations reputation as the original sin city. Organized crime families from as far as New York and Cleveland more or less ran the city with no less than 30 casinos and many brothels. Although casinos were illegal, the local government officials and police turned a blind eye and even got kickbacks to just let things be. Much later, after a gun slinging incident, a police chief stopped the party and Newport went into decline only to have its past resurface in Las Vegas.
Lexington, here we come
With much anticipation, we would head to the magnificent region of Lexington. Getting there, we passed a countryside that was like being in a postcard. After all, this was horse country and all around us were large pastures with white fences and rolling hills and is best known for horses, ranches, and racing, and in particular, to the Keeneland Racecourse. Sure, Churchill Downs has international popularity, but Keeneland has history and multiple layers of charm and class and I would understood why it is so loved by locals as their favorite. As the races are on for just one month in the spring, you could feel the energy and excitement in the air. We would be invited to the clubhouse where there is plenty of tradition and a strict dress code where men needed to dress up in suits or at least jackets and ties, and the women come in their Sunday best wearing beautiful dresses and stylish hats. Of course, horse racing is exciting, but wagering, even the smallest amounts makes the race itself that much more fun and captivating. Being novices at the track, we would bet on horses not based on the jockey and the horse statistics, but on horse colors and their jersey numbers, it was hilarious, a great day to enjoy one of the most important events of the year.
All-star day
What is in a name? There are so many ways of pronouncing Louisville, it was hilarious hearing the locals saying Lou-ee-ville or Lou-uh-vul. In any case, Louisville, a rather small city, sure punches above its weight. Here we would visit a beautiful cemetery, ‘the racetrack’, world class museums and top it off with perhaps the most impressive fireworks display I have ever seen.
We would start our day with a visit to the Cave Hill Cemetery where two famous people lie, Colonel Sanders and Mohamed Ali, and discover that Ali’s plot is rather low-key for such a popular, worldwide figure.
A trip to Louisville would have to include what could be considered the granddaddy stadium of horse racing. Churchill Downs, located in the city itself sure has its grandeur and maybe the most spectacular two minutes in sports, that is when the famous derby runs its annual race for three-year-old horses. The facilities themselves are grand, housing over 150,000 spectators for that one notable day. It also has a wonderful museum that is both entertaining and educational on the history of horse racing in Kentucky and the many jockeys and horses that have participated here. As a special note, there is a tribute to Secretariat that won the Triple Crown and has set records that still stand from the 70s.
For an all-star line-up, we would visit the well-designed Muhammad Ali Center that pays tribute to the world-famous boxing champion and humanitarian. Kentucky sure has more than share of recognize stars, and perhaps Muhammad Ali is the most recognized figure worldwide. The museum, which is housed in a beautiful, modern and technologically advanced building shows the history of ‘Cassius Clay’ from his humble beginnings through the many years of boxing and then later on to his worldwide message of doing good and helping others through to the biggest fight of his life when dealing with a debilitating disease.
Next at bat, the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory. Once again, Louisville has a world renowned and recognizable name. Not quite as big as Muhammad Ali, but for baseball fans, the Louisville Slugger is a worldwide famous brand. As an Expos fan and follower of baseball, I marvelled at the wax figures of the greatest baseball players in the museum, which also includes a collection of famous bats, and in stark contrast, was the actual bat factory. The fascinating tour showed how pre-cut pieces of lumber are shaped, finished and lacquered to become some baseball player’s favourite bat.
Our timing could not have been any better, exactly two weeks before the running of the Kentucky Derby is the celebration of Thunder Over Louisville. This would be the start of two weeks of fun and excitement. Thunder Over Louisville is held only one day per year and located on the river front of the Ohio River. It is a fantastic way to see the locals celebrate where people of all ages came out to view the daytime airshow that included everything from vintage aircraft to the mighty new F35. That night was nothing less than one of the most spectacular fireworks shows I have ever seen. For 30 minutes there were plenty of oohs and aahs as the sky lit up with magnificent color over the river, the bridges and throughout the city.
The fun never stops
Yet still another amazing day in Kentucky. The fun continued as we venture into the countryside. The vistas were out of this world. Lush green fields, beautiful, healthy mature trees, and amazing white fenced pastures. Our visit to Historic Hermitage Farm, a working farm that raises racehorses had almost everything I ever thought about Kentucky. We would start by visiting the barn with healthy looking horses, continue to a Bourbon tasting and finish with a delicious dinner at their Barn Restaurant located in an old renovated barn. This day was a slice of classical, authentic Kentucky.
A trip through Northern Kentucky is like hitting a grand slam. All this and I still need to mention the warm and friendly hospitality of its people, the distinct music scene and the wonderful local gastronomy that includes BBQ’s, fried chicken and that all so famous Hot Brown dish. Can’t imagine what the rest of the Bluegrass state has to offer, so I guess I’ll have to come back to find out more on other famous Kentuckians like Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, George Clooney, Loretta Lynn, Jennifer Lawrence, Johnny Depp, Mitch McConnell and The Hatfields and McCoys!
