Day 2: Louisville to St. Louis

Miles so far: 1077.4
Song of the Day: Pineapples Unlimited, off of Lucky Pineapple’s new album “The Bubble has Burst in Sky City” (produced by Ken)
"Don't stop me now" play count: 6
States covered: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri (Gen on the streets of Louisville, KY)

This morning we woke up in Louisville, prepared to go for a jog in Cherokee Park (apparently all the parks here are named after Native American tribes), only to find that a torrential thunderstorm was determined to undermine our exercise plans. Being flexible travelers, we took this change in stride and slept in. A busy day lay ahead of us: we began with an adventure into downtown Louisville, with the help of Oly’s gps, to check out Glass Works, a glass blowing studio. There, Sophie and I befriended Ken, one of the two artists working on a “kind of creative vessel that will hopefully look like a fish.” They used a huge rod to pull out globs of molten glass at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot in there.
Watching them work, we talked about how glass blowing is a meticulous and calculated type of craftsmanship, unlike the impulsive creativity we are usually drawn to. Everything has to be planned and perfect. Still, it was really cool.

Ken (pictured above, blurry and walking) has skinny calves and a distressing comb over, which is a bit sad in comparison to his full, bushy beard. He could probably use some assistance in the hair department. Appearances aside, Ken was happy to chat with us and gave us two CDs of bands he is promoting. They were subpar. That may be unfair since we didn’t make it through any song (except for our Song of the Day, see above). We asked Ken for advice about sightseeing and lunch in Louisville and considering he’s born and raised there, he didn’t have much to tell us. Most everyone we met seemed to be born and raised in Louisville and had no advice about where to eat and what to see.

After Glass Works, we decided to get lunch and head to St. Louis early to meet up with Mallory and Jo--so much for our grand list of things to do with Mike (hi Mike! do something crazy!). Unfortunately, when we were in Panera getting our sandwiches to go, the sky turned dark, the wind picked up and the heavens opened. We waited the storm out inside Panera and finally ended up dashing to the car, shoes in hand.

We probably could have done more interesting things in Louisville, but the weather wasn’t on our side—apparently 35 horses had to be evacuated from the Kentucky Derby track stables! And, as exemplified by Ken, every time we asked a native Louisviller (?) what we should do during our one day there, the response was less than inspired.

We did see where they make Louisville Slugger baseball bats, though (we stood on the street and peeked through the window at a tour in progress). Fascinating.

Also, on our way out of the city we made a stop in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, which is just on the other side of the Ohio River and features “spectacular views of the Louisville skyline.”

Overall, Louisville seems like your standard Midwestern city. Some cool coffee shops, a few interesting stores, and the safety to leave your car parked on the street with all your stuff in it.

On the way from Louisville to STL we passed through Indiana
and Illinois(man those state line signs really crept up on us that day....)