Day 4 - Big Four Bridge to Nowhere but Adventure

Our 4th day in Louisville turned out to be a bit of an adventure.  We heard about a waterfront park and bridge where you could 'walk to Indiana.'  So, off we went, first stopping at Barbara Lee's for some classic breakfast.  A spunky diner run by a family of Kentucky Wildcat fans.  After breakfast we made our way to the Big Four Bridge, a walking bridge that connects Louisville, Kentucky with Jeffersonville, Indiana.  It was chilly, to say the least and as we made our way to the bridge's opening we were asked if we wanted to be interviewed about a different bridge project.  We told the reporters we were not from the area and so politely declined, took a few jump photos, and made our way cross the bridge.  

Well, the other side, apparently is having some construction work done and so was not open quite yet.  There were thoughts and even discussions of hopping but we decided it against and instead planned on driving to Jeffersonville.  We took a few minutes to play on a playground, kind of figured that's why they were built.

We were in search of the Levee - a dive bar.  

Well, we didn't find the Levee at first, but we did find the South Indiana Visitor Center.  By this point it started to rain and so our helpful visitor center informationist gave us a few ideas - one of which was Schimpff's Candy store.  Seeing as how I'm from Hershey this decided like a good idea.  Sweet older couple gave us a mini-tour and we chatted with them for about half an hour.  There was a ton of great memorabilia and a lot of history, including a 5 cent candy machine.  

I forgot to mention, on the way to Schimpff's we passed the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.  So, we turned around, got out, and took photos.  Another guy there told us he saw it from the highway and turned around so he could take photos with this iconic piece of American history.  Then we were off on an adventure, in search of coffee.  Passed Becca's Wash House.  Found a Dunkin' Doughnuts and played some crib.

Eventually we made it to the Levee and met Regina, our bartender for the evening.  We shot some pool and shot the shit with her.  Rebecca even did a shot with her.  She was quite the lady and commented on my appearance as soon as we approached the bar.  There was also a chalk wall so you could write anything you wanted and leave your mark.  Rebecca did.  It was our kind of place and had we had more time we probably would have stayed longer.  However, we were off to meet our next set of hosts and ran into Ernest at the Dizzy Whizz.  This is a story best saved for the next post, but here are some photos to enjoy!

 (Big Four Bridge to Nowhere)

 (A shot of downtown Louisville)

(Finally starting to get the jump shots down)

(And here's Rebecca with her big ups!)

 (A little spin the Merry-Go-Round)

(Fun couples shot)

(And then she snuck in a kiss and took a photo...)

 (Pole sliding)

(Who could that be coming down the slide?  Well it ain't me...)

 (This was an interesting wall on historic Frankfort Ave and just stood there, by itself, without any other walls)

 (Fun time photos)

 (I wonder what she was looking at because it sure wasn't me...)

 (South Indiana Visitor Center + Bridal Show sign)

 (Oscar Mayer)

(She was super pumped to see the Weinermobile)

(I, of course, had to do a jump shot with it.  There is a faint recollection I've seen it around Hershey a time or two.)

 (Pig outside Schimpff's)

 (Those are the rollers used to press the candy to make certain shapes - largest collection either in the world or North America and they aren't made anymore because everything is now on a much larger scale.)

 (Dipping some candy into chocolate)

(More rollers and the work space)

 (Antique table used to cool the candy before it goes to the press)

 (Shot of the press, as you can see it is not a very large scale operation)

(Each press has a corresponding piece)

(Lots of old time boxes)

 (5 cent candy machine)

 (You drop your nickle in the slot, pull the tab, and the drawer slides down)

(Here you can see the drawer sliding down which reveals the candy)

 (There was a ton, I mean a ton of candy goodies, a lot of it very old...)

(Old Hershey's vending machine)

(Chief Watta Pop I believe was this guy's name)

 (Becca's Wash House - Dial 28B-ECCA)

(Just kinda funny we stumbled across this place)

 (Rebecca leaving her mark)

 (Time for some pool and a few drinks)

(My turn to shoot, and I do believe I did much better this game...)

('TJ is a Weird' and 'Beer Will Change the World')

Louisville Cemetery and a bit of Bardstown

Yeah, things got really busy there really fast.  There's a lot happening at the moment but I finally found some time to put up another blog post.  

Our third day in Louisville was a bit more low key considering we had a late night the previous evening.  We awoke to breakfast prepared by our hosts - pancakes, the fancy kind, sausage, also the fancy kind, fruits, orange juice, and coffee for Rebecca.  It was delicious and again we weren't quite sure what we were going to do.  There was talk of possibly going to the cemetery as a few people had recommend the historical significance of the sight.  

So, we decided to check it out.  Unfortunately, I was a bit unprepared as we stopped by the Colonel's gravesite.  Had I had the foresight, I would have taken a leg or thigh and rest it upon his tombstone.  Next time... next time.  There were also some other very unique and interesting tombstones as well as an old Civil War plot.  If you are a history geek such as myself I'd recommend swinging by for an hour or two.  Plus, you drive most of it.  

After that we made our way to Bardstown road.  We'd been hearing a lot of great things about Bardstown from several people and finally got a chance to check it out, albeit briefly.  We stopped in a coffee shop, Quill or Quills, (remember, Rebecca likes her coffee) and ended up playing a quick game of Monopoly Scrabble.  The only Monopoly part of it was the pieces.  I was the battleship, she, if I remember correctly, the boot.  We had fun and she kicked my Scrabble ass.  We then walked around for a bit, took some fun photos, and found ourselves in a pizza joint.  We spotted pizza in the window at Wick's Pizza as we began our walk and decided to see what other options were available.  However, I think we had both set our minds on pizza.  Sadly, as is often the case, it looked much more appealing than it actually was, for both of us.  I wonder if it's just one of those childhood connections?  Oh well, here are some photos...

(First interesting tombstone we came across...)

(The man who built an empire from fried chicken - Col. Harland Sanders)

(A close up)

(Can't quite remember who this man was but I did like the interactive nature of his burial plot)

(Although his hand was a bit too high to shake - someone messed up on that one; however, he's dead so I doubt he really minds...)

(2 sisters - They had lots of money for some reason or another - go figure)

(This one was sad - just a little one by a tree)

(Loved the concept - family tree. logs and all)

(Sheep - another child site)

(The Louisville Order of the Elks)

(Since Rebecca loves puns so much I found it quite fitting that my tiles somehow were able to form this word combination.  And no, I did not pick these tiles out, the universe gave them to me...)

(Battleship is in place waiting to fire away...)

(A hanging plant as we began our walk)

(Passed a bike shop on our way to nowhere)

(Entrance to the bike shop and they even had these kinds of bikes in stock - SWEET)

(Gotta love a place that has 'Burritos as Big as Your Head!')

(Sherwin Williams, far and away, has the most eco-friendly slogan I've seen in a while)

(Fun little door we passed just off the main street.  Thinking about it now, we should have tried to go through it but we didn't...)

(Detail at the top of the door)

 (Wick's Pizza Parlor)

(Entrance to the cemetery as we passed at night on our way back home)