STORMY WEATHER

I awoke this morning to rain and a few storms in the Lexington Area but as I was checking out of the Hotel I could see blue sky to the west. So I decided to alter my plans for today and head west toward Versailles.

My first stop of the day was at the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg. The distillery is located on the banks of the Kentucky River and the Visitors Center give you a commanding view of the river and the decommissioned railroad trestle. Just a note the old railroad trestle is now use for bungee jumping.

I signed up for a tour which costs $11, and ended up with a really nice couple from Dallas, Texas.  Our Tour guide Andi was really great. She knew here stuff and is a great ambassador for the Wild Turkey Brand. 

The distillery was in a two week summer shutdown, so we didn't get to see any bottling or production but Andi made it interesting none the less.

After leaving Wild Turkey I made a quick stop at the Pisgah Presbyterian Church. Here is was able to visit the grave of two time Kentucky Governor and former Commissioner of Baseball A. B. "Happy" Chandler.  Happy Chandler was one of the most beloved figures in Kentucky serving as the states 44th and 49th Governor. But his most enduring legacy came when he was the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.  During his tenure he fully supported Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodger's efforts to break the color barrier with Jackie Robinson.  With his support Jackie Robinson made his major league debut on April 15, 1947.

From Pisgah I moved on to Frankfort, Kentucky's Capitol City.  Here I made a quick stop at the grave of Daniel Boone in the Frankfort Cemetery.  Originally buried in Missouri where he and his family settled after leaving Kentucky, he and wife Rebecca's remains were returned to and reburied in Frankfort Cemetery in 1850.

Frankfort Cemetery sits on a hill over looking downtown Frankfort and the Kentucky State Capitol Building.  Frankfort is one of the smallest capital cities in the nation and the Capitol Building dominates the area.

There are 5 statues in the capitol rotunda. At the center of the rotunda is a statue of Abraham Lincoln, with statues of Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederacy), Alben Barkley (35th Vice President), Henry Clay (Senator) and Dr. Ephraim McDowell.

I found the statue of Dr. McDowell interesting because if you are traveling on Route 11 North of Lexington, Virginia there is a brick enclosed cemetery on the north side of the highway just south of Fairfield. Buried in this cemetery are a number of Dr. McDowell's relatives including his great grandfather, also named Ephraim and his uncle Captain John McDowell who was killed by Indians on December 14, 1742.

Dr. Ephraim McDowell was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia and moved to Kentucky.  Dr. McDowell was the first person to successfully remove an ovarian tumor as well as the first person to conduct open abdominal surgery.  Dr. McDowell died in 1830 and is buried in Danville, Kentucky.

 My final stop of the day was at Buffalo Trace Distillery, the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United State. It even continue to operate during prohibition because is secured permission to distill medicinal spirits.  My tour was interrupted because severe storms that passed through the area from the west.  These were wicked storms with lightening, thunder and high winds. 

After leaving Buffalo Trace, I headed back toward Lexington where I was planning on spending the night at the Holiday Inn in the Hamburg area.  The closer I got to Lexington the worse the storms got. When I got to the Hotel I discovered that much of Lexington was without power including the Hotel.  Traffic lights were out and traffic was a total mess.

I found a Cracker Barrel that had power and was able to have supper but when I got back to the Holiday Inn is was informed that more than 77,000 people were without power in the Lexington Area.  The hotels that had power had filled up quick and I must say that I wasn't looking forward to making a drive up toward Louisville and trying to find a room there. According to Google Maps the drive from Lexington to Louisville would take about 3-hours as Traffic was basically stopped on Interstate 64.

Before deciding to head toward Louisville I stopped at a Hilton Doubletree and found that they not only had power but had rooms available.  While this was good enough news, the young lady at the front desk told me that the rate for this weekend was $164 a night, but because they did not want to take advantage of people who were caught in these storms she would be checking me in with a rate of $99. Wow, That was totally awesome.  There are still companies and people that take care of people caught between a rock and a hard place.

So I am settled into my room at the Hilton Doubletree here in Lexington and will hit the road tomorrow and hopefully move on up closer to Louisville.