For my birthday at the end of April, I met up with my friend Cathie in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My friend Joe also joined us, as he had a birthday in November and we really did not have the chance to celebrate it. We both turned 50, and we wanted to do something special.

On the drive down to the Smokies on April 28, we stopped overnight in Danville, Kentucky. We were going to stay in Lexington, but, due to the Land Rover Kentucky Three Day Event, it was impossible to find a room. The reason for staying in that area is, Joe and I wanted to explore some of the bourbon trail. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a bourbon fanatic. We got the area in the afternoon, and there wasn’t a lot of time, but we were able to visit the Buffalo Trace distillery https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com and have a tasting. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorite bourbons, as is Blanton’s (which is also made on the premises). I tried their Eagle Rare bourbon, which is aged for a minimum of 10 years. It is absolutely incredible. I also picked up some of their Bourbon Cream, and some bourbon chocolates (yes, I love bourbon!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got dinner and then tried some Kirk & Sweeney 12 year old rum, which was quite good, not like any rum I had before. The next morning, as I was loading up our vehicle for the next stage of the adventure, I saw the sun rising behind Conrad, the horse outside of the entrance to the hotel. It was too good to pass up, even though all I had was my iPhone.

 

 

Sunday, April 29, was spent driving to meet Cathie at the Sugarlands Visitor Center in the park, and introducing Joe to the park (Cathie has been there three previous times, and I have been there one previous time). I will write more about Sunday in the next part. Stay tuned, as they say!