Louisville is charming

We had a really great time in Louisville today. It is quite a nice city. The people are friendly, the streets are clean, and the pace is relaxed. We ate lunch at a great italian place across the Ohio River in Indiana, which had a nice view of the Louisville skyline:

We then made our way into downtown Louisville. After driving around for a little while, we went to the Louisville Bat Company and Museum, which can be found easily by a huge Louisville Slugger:

We took a tour of the factory and watched the workers make bats for several major league ballplayers. Today they were making bats for Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.


In the museum they have replica bats from many players. Here is me with Jackie Robinson's bat:

After leaving the museum we walked around Main Street and 4th Street Live, a cool pedestrian walkway with a lot of venues for live music. On Main Street we ran into the Kentucky Car Art Festival. Apparently people decorate their vehicles with stickers, ornaments, and other items, and then go to these festivals around the country.

I liked the Bubble Truck:


After exploring these areas we went to Louisville Slugger Field, home of the Louisville Bats (a minor league baseball team), to see the bands Collective Soul, Live, and Counting Crows in concert. This was an incredible show, and I urge you all to check it out when it comes to your area (visit http://www.countingcrows.com/ to find the tour dates). Collective Soul played for about 45 minutes and finished with their hit "Shine." They played a really good show:

Live played for about an hour, and while good, they were not as energetic as Collective Soul:

Then Counting Crows took the stage and played for over an hour and a half. Now, most of you know that I am a huge Counting Crows fan, so perhaps I am biased, but we both thought that they truly stole the show. This may have been the best Counting Crows concert I have ever seen. Adam Duritz (the lead singer) was incredible. They played three songs from the upcoming album (due out in November), but focused on their earlier songs. I am amazed by how Adam puts so much emotion into his singing, as if he is performing the song for the first time. They played favorites such as Mr. Jones, Anna Begins, and Hard Candy, but also played songs that are not as well known, such as Perfect Blue Buildings and Ghost Train. I was really excited that we were able to see this concert on our way to Texas. Here is a classic Adam pose:

The kitties stayed in the hotel room all day and seemed perfectly happy when we arrived "home" tonight. Marcel does not seem bothered at all, and Bogey is acclimating herself to new environments. Hopefully they will be ok going back in the car tomorrow. Next stop: Memphis! "We're going Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee, we're going to Graceland."

Total miles traveled today: approximately 10.

Gas price in Clarksville, IN: $2.69 (let's hope it keeps going down!).

States visited: 2 (IN, KY).