Day 1 - began early at Keeneland Race Track near Lexington.
Got an early start to watch the thoroughbred race horses exercise on the track.
Had a hearty breakfast at the track kitchen then on our bikes to do some riding.
Traffic gives way to the horses as they return to the stable across from the race track.
Beautiful scenery on the back roads through the horse farms. Stables are quite grand.
We anticipated white fences every where, but there are many black fences.
Donamire Farm - works with the young horses to have them ready to run as 2 year olds.
They have their own race track on the farm.
Prime time to see the forsythia hedges in bloom.
Not quite sure what the purpose of this obelisk was in the field.
Stopped by the Kentucky Horse Park.
Constantly riding hills - pretty, but it did get tiring. Great weather today - in the 80's, so we got a tan while riding.
Most properties have grand entrances - this is an older estate.
Foal - not too old.
Rode to down town Lexington and visited some historic mansions at Gratz Park.
The blossom trees and magnolias were gorgeous!
A cool mural on an overpass near the Lexington airport and Keeneland Race Track.
Back at Keeneland - time to enjoy some ice cream from the grandstand. Rode 42 miles today.
Stopped by the capital in Frankfort on our way back to the hotel.
Day 2 - raining very hard. Change of plans - delay the biking and tour the Buffalo Trace Bourbon Distillery in Frankfort instead. The white oak barrels are charred before being filled with bourbon - it imparts the unique flavor. Barrels can only be used once. They ship the used barrels to Scotland where the Laphroaig distillery uses them for their Scotch.
Oldest continually operating distillery in KY - they had permission to keep distilling during prohibition - for medicinal purposes only - you had to have a doctor's prescription to purchase bourbon.
Filling some bottles of Eagle Rare - one of the bourbons they produce.
Drove west to try to get out of the rain. Later in the day we got to Harrodsburg - Kentucky's first settlement.
Got a couple of hours ride in before evening - traversing back roads. The clouds parted and we rode in sunny weather.
Happened to take a break and stop at a very old cemetery - some civil war veterans buried there.
Got a little turned around with directions - this nice hound visited us while we got things back in order. Manged to ride 18.5 miles - considerably less than Larry had planned.
Downtown Harrodsburg - neat old buildings - a very nice community.
Day 3 - much cooler weather - in the 50's and breezy. Biked out to the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.
Dry stone fences (no mortar) are visible all over the areas we visited. Evidently they hold an annual competition here to build these fences and builders come from all over the world to compete.
There are 34 restored buildings at the Quaker village - you can stay in them and they have a dining lodge.
Aren't these pretty hens - the guide said they are Brahman hens.
This piece of stone fence dated back to the 1800's.
I love sheep - always cool to see them.
Donkeys assist each other with grooming.
A sample of different styles of stone fences - this one has steps built in.
A partial view of the more than 3,000 acres of the Quaker property - the largest restored Quaker village in America. We biked on to Burgin and back to Haroodsburg - 23 miles. Then drove to Loretto to visit the Maker's Mark Distillery.
Scenery enroute to Loretto.
Sampling the bourbon at Maker's Mark.
You can purchase a bottle in the gift shop and dip your own to get the red wax seal - a symbol of the brand.
One of the corn mash tubs. The corn was fermenting and bubbling and it smelled good. We got to taste it - quite sour. To be bourbon the whisky must have at least 51% corn and be aged at least 10 years and be aged in a barrel that has not been used before.
The owner's home - now the visitor center.
Very pretty grounds. It is in the middle of no where but we had at least 50 people on our tour - it is well visited.
A short visit to Kentucky, but the scenery was beautiful and we would like to go back and visit other areas.
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