Louisville

Every morning Collin and I find a spot to read a section from our couples' devotional bible and drink a cup of good coffee (or espresso).  We have found a couple of decent places within walking distance of the hotel here in Louisville.  However, at our home in California we have a french press that we use every morning to make the perfect cup of coffee.  I am proud to say that over the past year, I have turned my husband into a coffee snob:)  And ever since I forgot to bring our french press with us this season, Collin has been on a quest to find any cafés or restaurants that offer it.  So, yesterday morning we drove to a cute little 1940's house-turned-café that had french pressed coffee.  And it was worth the drive.

 Since we already had our car out of the parking garage, we decided we might as well go check out the Kentucky State Fair.  We were a little less than impressed.  Last year we went to the New York State Fair and let's just say between the endless rows of booths offering fried.. anything.. a frozen wine sampling tent, a traveling one-man-band and the live show from Canada complete with 3 HUGE bears, our expectations were set a little too high.

*disclaimer: I do not condone the use of bears as entertainment. I'm sure the very last things these bears want to do is ride a Schwinn or shoot some hoops:(

Three positives about the KY State Fair:
1. The huge amount of exhibits found INDOORS... in air conditioning!
2. We got to see little baby chicks hatching:) Cutest.thing.ever.
3. The produce display/competition!

For some reason, I get overwhelmingly happy when I walk into a room full to the brim with fruits and vegetables.  Not just a room of produce but a room dedicated to the care and natural beauty of fruits and vegetables.  I think us humans take for granted what fruits and vegetables are.  Imagine coming across a certain fruit or vegetable in the wild for the first time ever. imagine what the people thought when they first sliced into a big oval green striped fruit lying on the ground and found the bright red sweet juicy flesh of a watermelon.  It's like natural candy!  I think we try and do too much to disguise fruits and vegetables instead of just respecting them for what they can naturally offer.

This is from the NY State Fair last year. I have the cropped image of this picture in four frames in my kitchen!

Blue Ribbon winner! 200+ lb watermelon

Sweet baby chicks!

Collin in the Tobacco section.  

I was convinced I was getting a contact buzz from being in the room.. yuck.

Tonight is our last night in Louisville.  Collin has an eearrrlly wake up call tomorrow morning to fly back to Syracuse.  And instead of making the 12+ hour drive to Syracuse tomorrow, I am going to Columbus to see some friends tomorrow and then I will drive up to my brother's house in Perrysburg and spend some time there:)  Can't wait to see this little gem:

Still haven't quite figured out the correct pronunciation for this darn town I'm in.  Loo-ee-vill?  Loo-i-vill? Loo-vull? Loo-i-vull? I give up!