Girls Trip – 2025 – The Bradleys in Texas

Way back in January or February of this year, my sister and I decided it was time for us to take another “Girls Trip”. With my sister living in Michigan and me in Texas, we don’t get to spend much time together. And although we call and text each other frequently, it’s just not the same as spending time together. So we settled on the dates for this trip to be June 3rd through June 8th. We went back and forth on places for us to go. We wanted a place that neither of us had been to, and that was sort of between Michigan and Texas. We ended up picking Louisville, Kentucky (or as we lovingly now call it “Some-Dumb-F**k”, Kentucky).

Ok, ok, here is the story behind that unique moniker we gave Louisville. My sister used to work for AMEX Travel, and as such, had to know all of the airport codes. And while most airport codes are rather intuitive (i.e. DFW for Dallas – Fort Worth International Airport; DEN for Denver International Airport; BOS for Boston Logan International Airport, etc., etc.) So, fast forward to the both of us on the phone planning this trip out. I am also on the computer trying to get the best airfares both for her flying from Michigan and me flying from Texas. So I ask her, “What’s the code for the Louisville airport?” And she tells me, “Some-Dumb-F**k”. It’s SDF and she says that’s how she and her friends at AMEX Travel remembered that code. They figured that it had to be “Some-Dumb-F**k” to come up with “SDF” for Louisville International Airport. Well, her little trick worked. I swear I will never forget the code for the Louisville International Airport! And naturally when we met at the airport, the first words out of my mouth were, “Welcome to Some-Dumb-F**k!”

But seriously though, Louisville, Kentucky is a beautiful place! We had a blast there! Fun fact: did you know that one quarter of the population for the entire State of Kentucky is in Louisville? Neither one of us realized how big the city actually is. Of course, half the population of the world has eyes on Louisville the first Saturday in May for the running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Louisville is also home to the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, the one and only place where the Louisville Slugger bats are made. It was also the hometown of Mohammed Ali. And here’s another fun fact: Louisville has the cleanest and purest drinking water in the nation!

For this trip, I did something that I haven’t done in a long time. I left my camera at home! My only means for taking pictures was my iPhone 16 Pro. It was actually quite refreshing not having that extra weight to carry around. The phone is much lighter than my camera. I am even considering leaving my camera at home for future trips. It did take some getting used to however. While the iPhone has a lot of features with its built-in camera, it’s not quite as sophisticated as my camera. So please excuse the quality of my pics for this trip, as I am still just getting used to what the iPhone 16 Pro can do photographically.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame…

Louisville is home to the Louisville Bats. That’s bats as in those creepy flying mammals, not the implement used in the game of baseball. The Louisville Bats are the AAA team for the Cincinnati Reds. We attended one of their games on the second night we were in town. They were playing the Norfolk Tides (where do they come up with these names??). The Norfolk team is the AAA team for the Baltimore Orioles. The Bats definitely could score some runs, but not enough to cover up for their horrendous pitching. They ended up losing the game 14-10.

This is a statue of Pee Wee Reese that sits outside of the their stadium. This Hall of Famer grew up in Louisville, and spent his post-playing days in Louisville until his death in 1999.

That’s my sister and me waiting for the game to begin.

Got a souvenir! After batting practice, one of the players threw a ball into the crowd. He threw it so high, it hit the facing of the upper deck and bounced down. It then hit the empty seat behind me and then fell down below my seat and hit me in the back of my foot. Not exactly as exciting as catching a line drive barehanded, but I’ll take it anyway.

Ok, here’s the mascot for the Bats. Actually, he was more fun to watch than the game! As you can see by the empty seats in the background, they don’t exactly pack them in for their games. Nevertheless, we still had a good time at the game.

Churchill Downs

A trip to Louisville just would not be complete without a trip to Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby. They have a really cool museum there as well. Even if you are not into horse racing, it is worth a visit to check out the museum and even take a tour of the place.

In front of the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum is this memorial to Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner that broke his leg two weeks later in the 2006 Preakness race. He survived the accident but it ended his racing career, and eventually led to the decision to euthanize him. He is actually buried there.

This is a view of the grandstands with the “twin spires”. Unfortunately, this was as far as we could go inside the track. Normally, on the tour they let you cross through the track to the infield. But they had just prepped the track for an upcoming race, so they did not want anyone walking on the actual racetrack.

This is an interesting display at Churchill Downs. It shows the number of Kentucky Derby winners based on their post position in the race. Here is a possible tip if you are ever thinking of betting in the Derby: there has NEVER been a winner from the Number 17 post position. The most wins have come from the Number 5 post position. Just saying, you may want to keep that little tidbit in mind.

The Triple Crown Trophy — awarded to a horse that wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes, all in the same year. Only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown, the latest being Justify in 2018.

This is a statue of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Winner, Sovereignty. This statue will be on display until next year when there will be another Kentucky Derby winner. There will always be a different winner each year because only 3-year old horses are allowed to race in the Derby.

The Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum

First, a little history lesson: John A. “Bud” Hillerich began manufacturing baseball bats in his father’s Louisville woodworking shop in 1856. The first bats were sold under the name “Falls City Slugger”. When Bud Hillerich took over his father’s company in 1894, he changed the name of the bats to “Louisville Slugger” and registered that name with the U.S. Patent Office. In 1916, Frank Bradsby joined the company and the company then became known as “The Hillerich and Bradsby Company”. Fast forward to 2015, Hillerich & Bradsby sold their Louisville Slugger division to Wilson Sporting Goods. However, the Louisville Slugger bats are still produced solely by Hillerich & Bradsby in their Louisville factory. Today Hillerich & Bradsby is still a family-owned company. The CEO is John A. Hillerich, IV.

There is a picture of my sister in front of the “BIG BAT”. This should give you an idea on how big this bat really is.

Of course we just had to take the factory tour. This was one of the neatest places I have ever been to. The two pictures above are of the “raw materials” needed to make the bats. The top picture is of the various wooden cylinders that will eventually be carved into bats. The bottom picture shows wooden cylinders selected by pro MLB players for their “custom bats”. MLB players can actually select the exact wooden cylinders that they want their bats to be carved from. Louisville Slugger wood bats are primarily made from three types of wood: Maple, birch, and ash. Most MLB players use maple bats.

This is the machine that carves the pro bats. It is completely computer controlled. The exact specifications for the bat are fed into the computer and this machine does the rest. It is capable of carving a wooden cylinder into a bat every 2-1/2 minutes. You can see all the chips and sawdust flying in the picture. It is truly fascinating to watch!

This is a picture of the side of that machine that carves the pro bats. A number of MLB players, past and present, have autographed the machine that made their bats. Some of the names up there are Johnny Bench, Cal Ripkin, Jr., Derek Jeter, and George Brett. If you are a baseball fan, you no doubt have heard some of these names.

This is a picture of the bats as they come out of the machine that carves them. As you can see, there is extra wood on each end that needs to be cut off , then sanded down before they get their finish.

Once the raw wooden bats have been cut and sanded down, they are ready for their finish which can be any number of paint colors or just stained and varnished. Then the Louisville Slugger logo and other personalization is added. I actually purchased a bat and had my name inscribed on it. Then I had to have them ship it home to me since I didn’t think they would allow me to carry a baseball bat on the plane.

In the museum, they had lifelike figures of baseball greats that used Louisville Slugger bats during their careers. Recognize any of these names??

Recognize this great?? Ha, just kidding. But while I may not have been a great, that bat I am holding on to was a genuine game-used bat of Red Sox great, Carl Yastrzemski. He was my favorite non-Tiger baseball player of all-time.

Not to be outdone, my sister had to grab the only Tiger player bat available. That is a game-used bat of Alan Trammell.

The Seelbach Hotel

Another interesting place we visited was the Seelbach Hotel. This historic (and yes, haunted) old hotel was built by Louis and Otto Seelbach in 1886. The Seelbach brothers came here from the Bavaria region in Germany, and that influence is apparent throughout this hotel.

My sister and I took a tour of this hotel. The tour was conducted by a gentlemen named Larry Johnson, who has been working at this hotel for over 40 years as a bellman and concierge. He also has become the official recorder of all Seelbach legend and history. He authored a book titled “The Seelbach: A Centennial Salute to Louisville’s Grand Hotel”. As you can probably surmise, the tour he gave was outstanding, with many stories of the famous people who stayed at the Seelbach, which included a number of Presidents. While I would love to tell the sordid tale of how and why this hotel is haunted, this post is already too long. So I will just point you to Mr. Johnson’s book, along with another book, “Black Knight for the Bluegrass Belle” by Ian Punnitt. Both of these books go into the sordid details surrounding the Seelbach Hotel and what happened there surrounding the death of “the lady in blue”. Trust me. Get the books. It’s a fascinating story. Today, the Seelbach Hotel is owned by the Hilton chain of hotels.

These pictures were taken in the lobby of the Seelbach Hotel. The hotel has been restored to its original grandeur.

These pictures were taken in the ballroom of the Seelbach. The chandellier is original.

The above pictures are taken of the Rathskeller at the Seelbach Hotel. Here is where you can readily see that Bavarian influence. I have visited a number of beer halls in Germany, and I can say that this looks just like some that I have visited in Munich. Unfortunately, the Rathskeller at the Seelbach is not opened for normal business and is only utilized for special or private events.

The Art and Architecture in Louisville

The architecture in Louisville is as diverse as it is beautiful. From the old Victorian homes in the St. James Place neighborhood, to the ornate buildings downtown, and on to the twin spires at Churchill Downs, Louisville does its best to maintain its storied past and still progress forward. Unfortunately, the following pictures don’t quite do justice to its magnificence.

These are pictures of some of the homes (and of the fountain) in the historic St. James Place neighborhood. The pink house in the last picture has an interesting story behind it. When this house was first built, it was utilized as a “Gentlemen’s Club”, (aka a Victorian version of the Playboy Mansion). Well, apparently the women of Louisville did not exactly approve of their husbands frequenting this place. They forced the police to raid the place on multiple occasions in an effort to drive them out of business. Well, their efforts worked and the owners ended up selling the house to the Women’s League in Louisville. The ladies had the house painted pink to signal the end of the Gentlemen’s Club. The house remains that color to this day.

This is the administration building at the University of Louisville. If it looks a little familiar, it’s because it was modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello.

Ok, I have no idea who owns or what is in this building in Louisville. I just thought its architecture was pretty cool, so I snapped a pic of it.

Look familiar?? This larger-than-life replica of the statue of David sits out front of an art gallery where local artists can show off their talents. Personally, I liked the red penguins plastered all around the building!

In Louisville, they love their art. Believe it or not, this is an art exhibit. It’s located between two ordinary buildings. These stoves on the bottom spew out plumes of steam. Based on environmental factors (temperature, humidity, etc.) the plumes will form different shapes, as you can see in this picture. Its kinda like where science meets art…fascinating!!

Other Stuff in Louisville

Obviously, there is a whole lot more to see in Louisville besides the places mentioned in this post. And I literally have a whole bunch of other photos that I could share with you. But as I have mentioned earlier, this post is already long enough. But I cannot stress enough that if you have never been to Louisville, GO! There is so much to see and do there! This post only touches a couple of the places to see. There is so much more there, and the food is terrific too! But for now, I leave you with one final picture:

Girls Trip – 2025