Phil Ladden . com

I have a few final comments and memories to share. I am posting a few pics which I will elaborate on as soon as my schedule allows (a couple of days). Here they are: (you can comment as to the story behind them if you want .. but the rest of the story will follow.)

Cigarman in Florida recommended stopping by to check out the world famous Seelbach Bar, which is in the hotel. I make it by to see it on the morning of the day I was leaving. Unfortunately, it did not open until 5 pm. It was voted one of the 50 best bars in the world….now what kind of school do you graduate from that prepares you for that job?

Here is the wharf at Louisville. Having a minor in U.S. History, I was impressed by the list of past visitors. The country sure has changed since their time. Why hasn’t anyone of note been there since the 1800s!?

On a previous visit to Louisville, I had observed the downtown area from a vantage point that did not look very appealing. Visiting it, I found it much different. 4th Street has a nice mix of restaurants and things to do. My daughter and I stopped in for an appetizer at T.G.I.F. And I have to say, Louisville had the BEST sweet tea I have ever tasted!

We had a little BBQ for Beth after her graduation. Here she is with Julian, who graduated from University of Southern California last year. She wanted to wear that hat all day. Haha.

Greg handled the grilling. Everything turned out good, too.

So the day I was flying back to the Valley of the SUN, the rental car comes up with a flat tire! I had purchased the insurance on the car. As I found out, it would cover the tire, but not the cost to have someone come out and change it. Oh well, that would have made me feel less manly. It had been at least 25 years since I did this. As my daughter offered, being the positive thinker that she is, at least it wasn’t raining!

I look forward to visiting the kids in Louisville again. Maybe next time I will actually see the Derby from Churchill Downs, instead of the airport restaurant.