We had meatloaf and pot roast for dinner

Day Three of "Let’s See LooEville" began with a 5-piece lunch at KFC. How could we not?? I rarely eat my chicken fried but it seemed ridiculous to be in Kentucky and not lick my fingers. It was about as I remembered, the Colonel's fried chicken. However, I was disappointed with the cobette. I think my daily ears at the county fair have spoiled me. I told Rob the Colonel's corn tasted like cooked spinach. Ick.

The rest of our day was spent exploring Churchill Downs. Much like boxing, I am pretty unfamiliar with horse racing. I think I've seen two afternoons' worth of racing, one in California and one in Portland. I know I've never intentionally watched the Kentucky Derby. But that will change next May. This is what I love about traveling: being there, on the ground, breathing the air, truly makes something come alive. Reading articles and watching travel shows and DVRing the “Amazing Race” only go so far. I guess I am an “experiential learner” – I learn best by doing. But no, I didn’t ride a horse. Well, not a real one.

The elegant track rife with gentile southern history was surrounded by a much less elegant neighborhood rife with metal bars on windows. In and around the parking lot stood four small, stubborn houses thumbing their noses at the track's owners' desires to build a parking garage.

We took a “Behind the Scenes” tour of the entire Churchill Downs facility and were suitably impressed by the meticulous landscaping and fancy shmancy luxury boxes and sky-high dining room with tables for eight selling for $60,000 a piece on Derby Day. Less impressive were the facilities for the jockeys. The weigh-in room, locker room, and general hang-out-and-gather-your-thoughts room were time warpy circa 1955. Cinder block walls, old Naugahyde chairs, pool tables straight out of a bowling alley, wooden lockers, and a scale that looked like one of those in old arcades that spit a fortune at you. The tour guide explained that the last time the jockeys’ facilities were updated, all sorts of bad luck came raining down. So, management...being superstitious and all...doesn't want to tempt fate by giving the jockeys something like, oh, recliners and free Wifi. Sounds $u$piciou$ to me.

We also got to go out to the grandstands and a Winner's Circle. Not THE Winner's Circle for the Derby, mind you. Just the one used for every other race at Churchill Downs, including next week's Breeders Cup. Only the horse and jockey...and presumably NBC cameramen...are allowed on the hallowed ground that is the Derby's Winner Circle near the score board on the inside track.

I was surprised by how squished the seating was in the stands. Even the expensive seats track-side were very much like ball stadium seats: small, uncomfortable, foldable, hoseable. Interestingly, there were lots of metal railings, corralling about 6 seats at a time. I'm not sure what the railings were for; perhaps to give people something to hang onto in their Mint Juleped excitement? I did wonder, though, how many Derby attendees actually watch the race live, what with all the Pimp Daddy hats and Mint Juleps and all. The race only lasts about 2 minutes. With all the discussion about the innovative ways people try to sneak in alcohol, I got the impression the party lasts a LOT longer. Favorite quote by a Derby attendee: “I am normally a size B but on Derby Day, I am a D.”

Attached to Churchill Downs is a very informative and entertaining Kentucky Derby Museum. They had interactive displays, favorite hats, Anna Nicole Smith's Derby outfits, a 360 degree movie, and videos of every Derby ever recorded (1973's Secretariat win was a favorite). However, my most favorite part of the museum was a tiny exhibit hidden upstairs in a corner. It was a video about making horseshoes. I had never heard the word “farrier” and had never given any thought to horseshoes other than trying to beat my cousins at them when I was a kid. It turns out shoes are highly customized and works of art, created and fitted by hand using the same tools and techniques that have been used for generations. No fancy automated computerized machines for Derby hopefuls, nope.

Horseshoes: just one of those pieces of the puzzle that I had never thought about and found it fascinating once I took a moment or three to learn a little about it. Did I mention I love to travel?