A Winning Sunday

This morning we hopped in the Suburban and left Berea for Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. The two hour drive was well worth it, many of us were much more surprised then expected We started out our time by going to watch a short video which talked about the history of the derby and then shortly after headed out on a behind the scenes tour. The driver took us the other side of the tracks most people do not get to see. In this back area we not only gained further details in to the Kentucky Derby, as well as all the races that take place but we also saw thousands of horses in their stalls, along with a beautiful view of the complex. After the tour we headed into the gift shop where Kara bought a Kentucky Derby hat and then to the cafe for a lovely lunch. We then headed to the Derby Museum where we viewed clothes worn by the famous to the derby, trophies, statues, informative display and we also got to have a chance at horse racing ourselves through numerous games. Our time in Churchill downs ended by going into the stands and experiencing a race. Our tour guide previously informed us that the 5th race { 1 1/16 mile} is the best one to watch because it starts at the crowd side as opposed to the other side, so that is the one that we went to watch. During the race our legal half of the group experienced mint juleps, Nolan, Melinda, and Kara all agreed that this drink was not to their liking but they had to try it because they were at Churchill Downs. We had such a great time and none of us wanted to leave. I personally loved Churchill Down and have found it to be one of my favorite parts of the trip thus far, and most of the others feel the same way!

On our way back to Berea we drove through the campus of Louisville, which was beautiful and finished our day together with dinner at Mariachis Mexican restaurant for dinner.