7/2/2026 – Louisville KY - Mostly Sunny and hot - 95F

7/2/2026 – Louisville KY - Mostly Sunny and hot - 95F

As I expected it would be it was a major "fever dream" night. Got up at 7 AM very disoriented. Four hours of sleep and a one hour time change will do that to you. I recruited enough neurons to deal with the shower, which went a long way in waking me up.

I got some wonderful shorts of the terrific view from Room 1223.

   

8:30 AM - got dressed and went to the Restaurant, Walker's Exchange, 

on the second floor for breakfast. I had the "Triple Stack" (pancakes and blueberries) and two OM with coffee. 

It took a little while to get my order but the pancakes were fluffy and huge.  The eggs were just right and the coffee was strong. At 9 AM, ET texted that she would come down in a few minutes. She ordered avocado toast (huge) and had some of the pancakes as well. Neither of us finished our meals - just too much food but a perfect breakfast. The restaurant has a pretty nice outdoor eating area, which nobody would sit at in this heat.

We also found out that the morning tour of Churchills Downs had been cancelled due the late arrival from Evansville.  We had made up our minds that we would not be in any shape to take that tour so good on us.

Several members of the crew were staying at the hotel and assisting passengers. We spoke to Brody and found out that we could get on the afternoon tour of "The Kentucky Derby Experience", which meets at 1:30 PM.  We would be in much better shape by the afternoon.

We decided to find the amazing fountain and statues we could see from our room,  You have to sneak through the closed restaurant to access the inner courtyard of the hotel.. We couldn't get to the statues but we did find the fountain (or actually a waterfall).  I got a picture postcard shot of Ellen at the fountain.

Lunch today was in the 3rd Floor Ballroom. It was buffet style. At first I thought there was nothing for us to eat but later discovered that breaded cod was on the menu. I tried it along with some cherry tomatoes from the foofoo salad. Apple pie and coffee completed the meal. The lunch came up short for me.

We boarded the American Cruise Lines bus for the 30 minute ride to Churchill Downs. It was eally hot in Louisville today. Before we formally started the tour, I took some exterior shots

including a picture of the statue of Barbaro, the 2006 Derby Winner. Sadly, Barbaro was injured in his next race, The Preakness, and had to be euthanized.  His ashes lie beneath the 1500 pound bronze memorial - it stands just outside the gate.

We, as a group, walked inside the museum to join our guide. From there it was back outside to see the iconic grandstand and track. 

The Derby is held in May - spectators must be pretty well cooked both in the stands and the infield (total attendance of 165,000 - including about 60,000 reserved seats). We went back inside and saw "The Big Race", an immersive film on a 360 degree screen with booming surround sound. 

Lack of sleep and a lot of noise catalyzed a headache.

The group then went to a Q&A with a jockey while I went to cool off on one of the many benches available. Ellen texted me to come to the jockey thing (serving mint juleps). I couldn't find her but she found me. I had a little trouble understanding the jockey and he ran long but the juleps were good.  

No visit would be complete without some roses (The Derby is the "Run for the Roses".

We had a few minutes of free time before getting back on the bus. I got a picture of the gravestones of five Derby Winners (the earliest being from 1933).

On the way back from Churchill Downs, we drove through the Univerity of Louiville campus and I got this shot of the "Silver Wishbone" on the Speed Art Museum grounds,

We also passed by the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts,

as well as a magnificent mural very close to Galt House.

11:06 AM - checked in for tomorrow's flight on the AA app. Changed seats to 11A and 11C, which were free again. I'll have to try that every time at check-in.

We met with Jennifer from ACL to find a cruise for August using the half price offer resulting from the shortened itinerary. We wanted to do Alaska but flights from Juneau to ORD are crazy. One or two connections - early morning or early evening - hours of flying and sitting in airports.  Not feasible. Other cruises were sold out and the free air fair perk was not available on cruises 60 days or less away.  We'll check out next year and find another option for August.

Our cruise group was in the bar before dinner and we could order on the ACL tab.  I ordered a "Blackberry Bourbon Smash" 

and Ellen has some kind of spiked lemonade.  I tried to order some soft pretzels but they couldn't be put on the tab.  My drink was very good (and colorful).

Dinner was again in the ballroom. This buffet did not have an entree we could eat. I spoke with Brody and he spoke to the hotel and two salmon dinners arrived at our table. I don't know they cooked the salmon so fast. The Salmon was drizzled with BBQ sauce, which we scraped off. The veggies were too spicy. The rolls were good and the Cesar Salad was excellent, the best salad and maybe food item at dinner all cruise. Dessert was a cake with white chocolate filling.

I was whipped, my leg was hurting so I wanted to go to the room.  The room was hot because it has a western exposure. We turned the AC down to cool off the room but it didn’t do the trick. It ran all night. The AC unit is very noisy (the same unit we have at home, which is a lot quieter).  So, even with ear plugs, there will be little of no sleep for me.

On the plus side, we did see a beautiful sunset over Louisville and the Ohio River.

Lights out earlier tonight at 10 PM.