Another Great Visit Come and Gone!...

Well I tried hard, but I couldn't come up with anything new and embarrassing for the arrival of my cousin and her husband Chris. Which really works out great considering I was a tad bit late picking them up.  So instead of jumping up and down and forcing Chris into a great big hug after they pass security, I slide in silently up to Erin as they wait for their baggage.  My reason for being late was picking up a few groceries and then cleaning the car up in the airport parking lot to make it some what presentable for my guests.  In my defense I was going to do it the night before, but I was forced to go out to dinner!!
So after the hugs and the arrival of their suitcase we head back to Bardstown.  As we make our way back to the car and since it is still early, I suggest we stop off at Jim Beam's so they can get started on their Bourbon education.  We make it just in time to catch the latter half of the tour.  We missed the tour of the house and the video on the history of Jim Beam, but we were lucky enough to get in with a good tour guide who made the rest of the tour really enjoyable.  I learned that my cousin Erin has enjoyed one of Jim Beam's strongest bourbons.  A fact the tour guide also thought quite impressive.  From that point on the rest of the group looked at her with a sort of awe and fear of her ability to toss back such alcohol.   After our bourbon tastings and chocolate we continued on our way to Bardstown.

Once we were settled and after a cocktail we decided on a casual dinner with a little local colour.  So we walked over to Mammy's Kitchen for some deep fried pickles, deep fried green tomatoes and bourbon burgers.  Once we got there I decided on a bourbon dog instead and Chris went for the bourbon chicken sandwich.  Erin had the catfish sandwich....I think.

First deep fried pickle ever!!

Erin thinks that this is Chris's sultry look.....not a description I would volunteer up.  However he almost smiled, which I thought encouraging.

Erin noticed pimento cheese on a few of the sandwich descriptions and wanted to know what it tasted like so our lovely waitress brought her out a small sample with a few crackers.  I tasted it too...not bad.  Cream cheese based with a wee kick to it.

After dinner we decided to go on a little tour so they could see a little of Bardstown and we could work off some of the fried food we just consumed.

We had just toured the little replica of a civil war village and were escaping out the back. 

 This was us walking of the oldest paved road in KY.

After our walk we went home to enjoy some bourbon before we headed off to bed.  Which was around 10pm for us old fogies!  Really we just needed our sleep since we were heading to Zappo's first thing in the morning. 

Erin was the first one up on Friday and had the coffee ready for us.  I then introduced them to the awesome Pillsbury Honey Butter Biscuits for our breakfast.  They are heavenly.  I just found out that they come in two different sizes and I had been buying the junior size....up until now.

Our bellies full and with our energy high off to Zappo's we go.  Not to be disappointed we each found something to leave with. Erin was successful with finding the black pumps she needed along with a great pair of boots to wear with her skinny jeans and I can't remember the third pair.  Chris found a Swiss Army carry-on luggage bag and I found a pair of black shoes I needed for work....along with a completely un-necessary pair of beige suede flats.  But I think I have proven that necessary is not important when it comes to shoes.  As long as, they make you happy

Chris's only request of the trip was to go to Target.  So that was our next stop of the day.  He was on the hunt for an item (CHILD'S TOY) that I guess he could only find at Target.  Before we made it to Target we stopped for lunch at Big Boy to refuel. Chris later stated that the grilled ham and cheese sandwich was one of the highlights of the trip for him.  It really is the simple things in life.  On our way to Target I found out that both Erin and Chris had never....EVER....been to a Target.  EVER....I was honoured to be the one to introduce them to the big red dot.

 Erin and Chris in front of the Target.

This is Karen.  She noticed that I was taking their picture and kind of gave us a weird look.  We explained that this was their first Target trip ever and she graciously welcomed them both with handshakes.  Karen was very funny and nice so I had to get her picture.  I think Erin is even going to write to Target to tell them how great she was. This was also my first visit to Target where I didn't buy a damn thing.  Felt so wrong.

After our shopping trip and grabbing a Starbucks beverage we headed to my next favourite place, The Book Store. That was more successful for me. Two new books at half price and 50 cent magazines, I was a very happy camper.

Instead of eating out for dinner, Erin volunteered to make it for us back at the apartment.  Not one to turn down someone else cooking, I readily agreed.....especially knowing Erin's cooking.  We made a pit stop at Kroger's before we got to the apartment.  Erin located some steaks, spinach, garlic, olive oil and potatoes for her to create her masterpiece with.  Chris headed in another direction looking for pretzel Combos and Sprite and I went in search of some pimento cheese for us to snack on before dinner.  Then we headed next door to find wine to go with dinner and for Chris to locate some vodka and vermouth to crush his martini craving.

The table all dressed up for dinner. This was the first time in 6 months that I actually ate dinner at it.

The masterpiece! Steak strips over sauteed spinach with garlic and caramelized onions.  Blue cheese sprinkled on top and roast potatoes on the side.  Soooooooooooo good.  She seared the steak on the George Forman grill and then finished it off in the oven.  She is like a kitchen "MacIyver".  I probably should have taken notes.  She also showed me where the light and the fan to the stove was.  It was on the microwave. Hunh...who would have thought of that.

 

Dinner Time!

After dinner was consumed and Chris and I did the dishes, we retired to the living room for more bourbon and for Chris to enjoy his Hostess Cupcakes that he picked up at Krogers.  We planned to go to the Buffalo Trace distillery the next day. That was Erin's request since it is one of her favourite bourbons.  So as we were enjoying our cocktails I decided to google other activities going on around Kentucky that we could possibly do as well.  I came across the Chicken Festival happening in London Kentucky.  London, unfortunately was an hour and a half away, but it got Erin thinking of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Colonel and where he would be buried.  I assumed it was in London, considering that was were the festival was being held, but when I googled further I found out it was in Louisville.  There were quite a few websites of people discussing their visits to the Colonel's grave site and the pictures they took with his bust! So we decided it would be a good, Americana, Kentucky kind of thing that we should definitely do.

We were up in good time to get in all our fun, but unfortunately the day started with a lot of rain.  Not fun when you are circling a cemetery trying to find a Legend's grave site.  I guess I could have researched the exact location of the man's grave, but no one imagined the cemetery was going to be as big as it was!  You would also think that his grave site would be in a special area and all decked out. I knew from the pictures on the internet that there was his bust and some Roman looking columns, but you can't believe how many grave sites in there had Roman looking columns!  Bigger...way bigger than the Colonel's turned out to be.  We went round and round looking for his grave site with no luck. Finally feeling foolish, we gave up....and just as we gave up and tried to find our way out Erin spotted his grave site.  It also didn't hurt that there were other people there taking pictures.  They left and we pulled up and started taking our pictures.  I couldn't get Chris to pose with the bust though!

Colonel Harland Sanders

Die hard Colonel fans leaving roses for the big man. 

This is a really good picture of these two....if we just crop out the dead man's bust and grave site.

After our morbid fascination with the colonel we hightailed it as fast as we could out of the cemetery and made our way to the Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, KY.  We made it in enough time for the 1:00 tour and we had just enough time to spare so we could grab a bite to eat at the Firehouse Cafe.  The pulled pork sandwiches were pretty good and really hit the spot.

Our tour guide's name was Don and he was a retired teacher who loved to talk. The tour was only supposed to last an hour, but we got the extended version of an hour and a half.  It wasn't my favourite tour, but I think that had to do with the people attending the tour with us.  Lots of talkers!  I did learn that Buffalo Trace is the oldest, continuously running bourbon distillery.  Buffalo Trace was given permission to run during prohibition to make Bourbon available to those with a written prescription from their doctor's.  You could only get a new bottle of bourbon every two weeks.

The Firehouse Cafe!  Get the pulled pork sandwich made with bourbon bbq sauce served on an onion bun.  Yummy.

Look at all those barrels!  First time I have seen brick ricket houses. 

Just smell the bourbon.

You will notice at the top of this ricket house there are new brick. A couple of years ago a tornado went straight down this lane way clearing the brick from the top. Fear not however, none of the contents inside the building were affected.

The visitor's center bathed in Angel Share!

This was new for me to see.  I had never seen the bottling operation. Most of it is done by automation, but a few bottles require packaging by hand.

Some of the fine Buffalo Trace product.

Labeling operation.

I believe this is the Blanton's Bourbon.  On top of the cap is a metal figurine of a jockey on a racing horse.  He puts this paper bib around the bottom of the cap to cover the bottle for the black wax that the machines applies.

Erin making new friends!

We made it back to the apartment to discover that Bubba had been in the garbage....most specifically the pimento cheese I had to throw out the night before because he helped himself to it when I left the room.  I had forgotten to barricade the garbage before we left.  Let's just say the pimento in the pimento cheese digests in dogs like corn!  It doesn't.  I hope his fiery bum will make him think twice before he dives into the garbage again.

We had some time to burn (no pun intended. bawahaha) before our dinner reservations next door, so Chris took a nap, Erin went for a walk through town and I took the pooch out to relieve himself.  Erin said they wanted to take my out for dinner for my birthday, so when I told her about the restaurant that is beside my apartment she made reservations the next day.  Circa opened up here in Bardstown back in March and has been touted as the best restaurant in town.  We were not disappointed.

Appetizers.

Erin's Chicken and Waffles.

Chris's Shrimp...something something.

My Flat bead with Tomato Jam and feta....I think.  I should really write this stuff down at the time!

Erin's first Mint Julep!!  Chris had one too.  They like.

My dinner.  Steak with blue cheese and pistachio topping. Very...very good.

I almost wish I had Erin's dinner. Short ribs that were so tender, they were amazing.

Chris had rabbit......he said it was great.  That is all I am going to say about that. (I don't like)

This is my happy food face.  I had it a lot this weekend.

We were so happy and full that we couldn't even eat dessert.  We headed home to digest and to drink some bourbon to aid in that digestion. 

Sadly my guests had to leave the next day and we had to be at the airport for 11.  I wish they could have stayed longer. It was such a great visit and I really enjoyed my time with them. Especially getting the chance to catch up on their lives over the last two years since I saw them last and learning all about how well their girls Riley and Paige are doing!  They can come back any time!