louisville.

Ben and I both agree this past weekend was one of our best! It was decidedly short but it surpassed all our expectations. This is going to be a two part series, starting with Louisville!

To catch everyone up to speed, some quick background. We have had our eye on doing an Outstanding in the Field dinner for several years now and last year, I gave Ben this dinner for his birthday. We ended up choosing Kentucky because it was a date that worked (for the Michigan football schedule of course!) and because we would be meeting in the middle. I was also really happy we chose Kentucky for the dinner because my Mom is from there and I spent a lot of childhood vacations visiting Grandpolly and Bill.

Louisville was great! Of course, it was a very different vantage point of the city but we also satisfied my nostalgia while we were there. We stayed in the Brown Hotel downtown and got right down to business on Friday night and headed out to the recently revitalized Market Street for a drink at the Garage Bar. The restaurant is in an old gas station and serves up wood-fired pizzas and craft beers. It was so cool...with a great outdoor space that opens into the restaurant and these amazing ping-pong tables!

From there, we decided to walk down Market Street to dinner. We happened across this great store, Revolver, and there was a photo booth set up outside on the street. 

In one of the odder moments of the weekend, we happened into what looked like a store/restaurant but turned out to be some guy's house. We still don't know the full story on him but he is running for office, was serving up beers, and encouraged us to take a look in the back where there was this random alley. We moved on!

We went to The Blind Pig for dinner. It had a great vibe and is tucked a couple blocks off of Market Street. Apparently, there is a great bar upstairs through the back (we didn't make it there) but all in all our meal was solid. The bison burger and fries were fantastic.

On Saturday morning, we woke up early and headed to breakfast at Toast on Market. After filling up, we drove over to Randsdell Avenue! We stopped so I could look at Grandpolly and Bill's house. I miss it.

It made me think of the hidden buzzers under the dining room table that you would press with your foot - a relic of the old south to call the help into the dining room. I miss the books that lined the top of the stairwell, watching march madness in Bill's study, the hidden bunker in the basement, and the painting over the fireplace. Anyway, we then went over to Cave Hill Cemetery. 

For those who don't know, I love cemeteries. But, I love them because of Cave Hill. It is one of the most beautiful cemeteries and we would always take walks through it. Ben and I had a gorgeous fall morning. It was so quiet and crisp and the leaves were falling. We stopped by the Bloch plot and it all felt so familiar and good. 

We also took a walk through Cherokee Park, stopped for coffee at Please and Thank You, and stopped for breakfast on Sunday morning at the North End Cafe which was great. Louisville alone was wonderful and I haven't even gotten to the point of this trip and our Outstanding in the Field dinner! Coming soon....