Eighteen Hours In Louisville, Kentucky

 We made a quick trip up to Louisville, Kentucky last weekend so Rebekah could audition for the National Summer Audition Tour (ballet). Only Dear Husband, Rebekah and I decided to go because it was such a quick turn around. We arrived at the Galt House hotel close to Midnight. This is a very swanky hotel that we just happened to be offered with our genius points on booking.com. We sure have been traveling a ton in the past few years. The offer from Galt was cheaper than the Holiday Inn down the street. We were immediately enveloped into a sea of lovely ladies in full length ball gowns that were attending the Bluegrass Ball. What a greeting. We got settled into our room and had a good night sleep. 

We had breakfast in the morning at the hotel restaurant. My french toast was a delight. We then had a fun wander around the huge hotel. It really made a splash. 

Breakfast

view from our hotel room

a steamboat from our hotel room

Rebekah in front of one of the steamboats on the Ohio River.

Hanging out in one of the hotel's large public areas while the hubby got coffee to go. 

Rebekah wasn't due to the audition until 4 pm, so we wanted to keep her busy to reduce her nervousness. We decided to go to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.  The Factory tour was very nice and educational. We enjoy baseball as a family and it was really neat to see how baseball bats are made. Dear husband loved trying out the ones on display.

These bats are made by hand on a lathe machine.

Our tour guided showing the machine. 

Some famous player's bats. 

These are weighted bats with a hole drilled in the end. 

Big enough bat, dear husband?

He found a mit to go with the bat. LOL.

A museum docent let David hold one of Babe Ruth's bats. 

Outside the museum and factory

We decided on a leisurely lunch after our museum/factory tour. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. They serve big portions. We got one three course spaghetti and meatball meal and two sides for all three of us to share and it was plenty. We also got fancy drinks. Dear Husband and Rebekah got Italian sodas and I got the Cotton Candy Limeade. It was something to behold and tasted good too. Rebekah may have posted in a joking way on instagram that her mom bought the kids decadent drink, but I say you need to feed your inner child if you want to stay young. 

We dropped Rebekah off at her audition after our late lunch. David and I walked about two plus miles along the trails in the Riverfront park. We visited The Lincoln memorial and sat with his statue for a few minutes (it being his birthday that day). Then we walked over most of the Big Four Bridge which is a pedestrian bridge that connects Kentucky to Indiana. 

We picked up Jimmy John's for our drive home and went back to collect Rebekah. The first poor girl who came out was crying and ran to her father's embrace. Rebekah came out with a plastered smile and said that the audition had been extremely challenging and most of the 30+ girls had struggled a great deal, including herself. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be selected by any of the 13 universities and professional companies who had watched the audition. We reassured her that she had already been selected for several summer intensives through other auditions or invite backs, so this was just the icing on the top. She appreciated that, but apologized several times for us making such a long trip and all of the extra cost. We told her that the practice was good for her and this was all a part of life. Besides, we got to see a brand new city to us for a few hours.

UPDATE ~  I can say that she was wrong. Some of the ballet companies have already gotten back to her and she was selected for her top two choices. I will announce where she is going in a few weeks when her entire summer is firmed up.  It looks like she will be doing four summer intensives across three states.  

We arrived home just past midnight. It was exhausting, but a fun and successful trip. 

Blessings, Dawn