Will’s Kentucky

The first thing that we did upon arriving in Kentucky was to go to the Louisville Slugger Museum. If you know me, you know that I love the game of baseball. We barely made the last tour of the factory. They started us off by showing our group a short film describing and visualizing the process to make bats. The professional tree analysts pick out only the most high quality wood to be sent off to the factory. Then, the factory employees cut the wood to further inspect the quality. If the wood passes the test, it is cut by machines into large, long cylinders. These cylinders are called “billets” and are then sanded down to resemble a bat, with two “nubs” on each side. Before the bats are lacquered, the nubs are removed and placed into a basket that is free for the taking.

After showing us the process, we asked some questions about the connection between Hillerich and Bradsby and their company, and to conclude the tour, we all got a mini bat! Following the tour, we all got an opportunity to hold a game-used bat of a player. Myra held Ken Griffey Jr.’s bat, Mom and I held Edgar Martinez’s bat, and Dad held Babe Ruth’s bat. I don’t know how they preserved that bat for a minimum of 90 years, but whatever they did, it worked. That sums up our experience at the Louisville Slugger Museum.

After the museum we drove another hour to get to our campground and started to set up camp. As Dad was backing up the trailer, we heard a sickening crack and the glass of the back window rained down on Myra and I. Our whole back window had shattered. We then cleaned up the glass and chilled at the trailer for two hours, and had dinner around 9:30. It was a tiring day and we didn’t get to bet until 11:30. The following day, we were all super tired, but we had to get on the road for one BIG reason. A man built a life-size replica of Noah’s ark. It was ENORMOUS.

They had a full-blown zoo and a buffet that we ate lunch at. I never would’ve known that something as big and specific as the ark could’ve been built with the loose descriptions of the bible. It was truly amazing. We went inside the ark and learned more about Noah, his purpose, his family, and why he was building a massive ark. It set the record straight and made what the bible said a lot more understandable. After the ark, we went home and relaxed for the rest of the day and went to bed. The following day was the Sabbath and we found a church 1 mile away from the campground. When we showed up, there was no one there. We then drove another 

40 minutes to Uncle Stu and Aunt Adrianne’s old ward, Tates Creek. We missed most of the sacrament meeting, but I got to meet a very happy quorum and we had a productive lesson about teamwork together. After church, we found Stu and Adrianne’s Townhouse. The address was very, very long and it took a bit, but here it is.

After this, I took a post-church nap, and then we went to explore the capital. We found the old Capital and walked along a river. We then went back to the trailer and spent the rest of the day napping, eating dinner, and finally going to bed. Monday was the hardest day of school on the trip so far. The 1 math lesson that I did took me an hour and a half in total, and it required a spreadsheet. After I got that done, I waited for Myra and Zina to get up and do their school as well so that we could see the 4th generation of the best chocolates in Kentucky; Rebecca Ruth’s Chocolates. We received a tour of the candy making area which had some really cool history. The brand started in the “Roarin’ 20s” and was very successful locally, but then lost everything in the Great Depression and again in a fire a couple of years later. But what Rebecca learned from her challenges was that if her trusty marble slab could survive two fires, she could survive one. She kept on making chocolates for the rest of her life and died in 1973. We picked out a variety of chocolates to try later and headed to Louisville Horse Park, where we had the opportunity to watch and ride horses. It was fun, but I do wonder sometimes what God thinks about forcing animals to do things. After the horses, we went home for a bit, and then went to have dinner at the Cliffside Grill. Our directions ironically told us to turn right (off a cliff) and there was the restaurant. Our server was very kind and the food was good. After dinner, we went home to finally try to get good sleep. That brings me to where I am now. Next: Asheville, NC. Overall Rating: 8.4/10