Batter Up!

• Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory:
  Guided factory tours. Everyone receives a miniature souvenir bat on the tour!
  Monday to Saturday 9-5; Sunday Noon-5 (No bat production Sunday or May 28th)
  Admission: Adults (13-59) $9; Seniors (60+) $8; Kids (6-12) $4; Kids 5 and younger free
  
  
• Louisville Bats (AAA baseball) at Slugger Field:
  At home against the Buffalo Bison May 24 to May 27
  Admission: Adults $5-$9; Kids 12 and under and Seniors $4-$8
  

Life's a Zoo

Calling all animal lovers!

• Louisville Zoo:
  Visit our award winning Gorilla Forest, new Lorikeet Landing, and scary Vampire Bats!
  Open 10 am to 6 pm daily
  Admission: Adults $10.95; Seniors $8.95; Kids 3-11 $7.95; Kids 2 and under Free
  
  
• Buffalo Crossing:
  1,000 acre working buffalo ranch with 500 head of bison (and 2,000 hooves of bison)
  Shelbyville, Kentucky (about 15 minutes east)
  Open daily 11 am to 8 pm; Sundays 11 am to 6 pm
  Admission is free; various activities carry fees
  

Thrills and Spills

To make your heart race and your hands shake, consider these options for your trip to Louisville:

• Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom:
  Ride a roller coaster!! Splash in the water park!!
  Open 11 am to 8 pm; Saturday to Friday (not open Friday May 25th)
  Admission: Online Special $34.99; Regular rates: Adults $39.99; Child under 48" $24.99; Kids 3 and under Free (Kroger usually has discount tickets)
  
  
  
• Caesars Indiana:
  Play blackjack! Hit the slots!
  Southern Indiana, about 45 minutes from us
  Open 24 hours a day; 7 days a week
  Admission is free; playing is not.
  

Cheaper Beds

Here are a few additional hotel options--all in our area and a bit cheaper than the first batch:

• Red Roof Inn East
  9330 Blairwood Road, Louisville, KY, 40222
  I-64 at Hurstbourne Lane, Exit 15
  800-REDROOF or 502-426-7621
  From $42
  
  
• Days Inn Hurstbourne
  9340 Blairwood Road, Louisville, KY, 40222
  800-329-7466 or 502-425-8010
  Advance purchase rate from $47; regular rate from $55
  Includes free breakfast
  
  
• Holiday Inn Express
  1620 Alliant Drive. Jeffersontown, KY 40299
  800 282 0244 or 502-240-0035
  From $82 per night with advance purchase; from $86 per night regular reservation
  Includes breakfast
  
  
• Holiday Inn Express Louisville East
  3711 Chamberlain Lane, Louisville, KY 40241
  800 282 0244 or 502-814-0004
  From $84 per night with advance purchase; from $90 per night regular reservation
  Includes breakfast
  
  
• Hampton Inn
  4100 Hampton Lake Way, Louisville, KY 40241
  888-254-0637 or 502-327-8880
  From $89
  Includes hot breakfast, free high speed access
  

Thawing out

For those of you in the big freeze right now, remember: average high temperature in Louisville at the end of May is a beautiful 79 degrees!

Horse Country

To get you thinking of things you might do while in Kentucky, here's what we're known for:

• Churchill Downs:
  Bet on a horse! Afternoon racing, April 28 to July 8
  Admission: Adults $2; Seniors $1; Under 12 free; Picking a winner—Priceless!!
  
  
• Kentucky Derby Museum (at Churchill Downs):
  Learn about the Kentucky Derby--the most exciting two minutes in sports. Monday-Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm Sunday: Noon-5 pm
  Admission: Adults $10; Seniors (55+) $9; Children (5-11) $5; Under 5 free
  
  
• Kentucky Horse Park:
  Theme park dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse, the place to get close to horses in Kentucky. (in Lexington, KY—about one hour from Louisville)
  Open 7 days a week, 9 am - 5 pm
  Admission: Adults $15; Children (7-12) $8; 6 & under Free
  

Bedding Down

As promised, I've put together some hotel possibilities. All of these places are within one mile of Reg and Debbie’s house:

• Homewood Suites
  9401 Hurstbourne Trace, Louisville, KY 40222
  1-800-CALL HOME or 502-429-9070
  Studio: $116 AAA rate; $129 standard rate ($10 extra for two beds)
  1 Bedroom Suite: $125 AAA rate; $139 standard rate ($10 extra for two beds)
  Includes hot breakfast, free high speed access, reception weekdays
  Brand new--opened in November
  
  
• Embassy Suites
  9940 Corporate Campus Drive, Louisville, KY 40223
  1-800-EMBASSY or 502-426-9191
  1 Bedroom Suite: $139 AAA and standard rate; $130 prepaid Web rate (one or two beds)
  Includes hot breakfast, high speed access, reception weekdays
  
  
• Springhill Suites
  10101 Forest Green Blvd, Louisville, KY 40223
  888-287-9400 or 502-326-3895
  Suite: $126 AAA rate (one or two beds)
  Includes hot breakfast, free high speed access
  
  
• AmeriSuites
  701 South Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville, KY 40222
  800-833-1516 or 502-426-0119
  Suite: $89 AAA rate; $99 standard rate (one or two beds)
  Includes hot breakfast
  

If you'd rather stay downtown, where you can walk home after clubbing half the night, at a historic old Louisville hotel, or somewhere else, let me know, and I'll provide those details too.

Schedule

We're going to keep the scheduling to a minimum so you all (or y'all) can spend time seeing the city, hanging out with one another, or just chilling.

Saturday afternoon we'll be having a picnic at our house. Remember the great Reg and Kevin cookoff last time we were together in Denver? This time though we're going to have a Clay and Henry cookoff. No seriously . . . we'll be taking care of everything. Just come and have a good time.

Sunday evening we're planning a nice dinner out. I'm still working on the details.

In addition to those two events, I hope you'll find lots of other ways to enjoy your time in Louisville. You're all welcome to come hang out at our house for a little or a lot. We'll keep the light on for you! And if you'll be arriving on Friday, we can get a group together for dinner that night.

I'll be posting lots of ideas of things to do in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Next post: Where to stay in Louisville.