March 16, 2023
Freddy’s Steakburgers, Louisville, Kentucky
Freddy’s Steakburgers is a chain we had never been to (or even heard of) before, that features special burgers and special sundaes. The restaurant also features red – red booths, red tables, and red lights on a black and white checkered floor. Very pleasing eye appeal.
“Freddy’s Sundae Dream Team” offers four featured sundaes, I had a turtle sundae (vanilla frozen custard with fudge sauce, carmel sauce and toasted pecans). It was totally awesome – can’t go wrong with toasted pecans! The frozen custard had a nice texture and flavor.
We followed the sundaes with cheese fries and chicken sandwiches which made for a great dessert.
In the area – I loved the natural beauty of Kentucky. We started our day at a maker of barrels, followed it with a arboretum and ended up at Freddy’s.
Kentucky Cooperage Tour, Lebanon, Kentucky- Kentucky is known for its bourbons. Bourbons (and other beverages) are aged in barrels, and many barrels are made at this cooperage. The company giving the tour in Lebanon Kentucky also has a factory in Lebanon Missouri – we were assured that it was not because they loved the name Lebanon, it was just how it worked out.
This factory tour allowed us to watch each step in the barrel making process, starting with a video at the visitor center that showed the harvesting of trees and preparing the boards. We were then given headsets and driven in a minibus to the factory. As we walked through the factory, we saw how the barrels were assembled, steamed, burned and finished, with our tour guide explaining each step through the headphones. The inside of the barrels are burned to add flavors to whatever spirit is to be prepared. We also saw the some options clients could specify such as degree of burn and even the state they wanted the wood to come from. The tour was fascinating and not to be missed. No photos were allowed inside the factory, but we could take them in the visitor center before we went into the factory.
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Clermont Kentucky – In 1929, Isaac Bernheim, a German immigrant with a very successful distilling business bought land and dedicated it as a gift to people in his new homeland of Kentucky. His goal was to provide a place to bond people and nature – a place where nature, infused with art would allow visitors to renew and relax. I think Mr. Bernheim would be happy to see this place today.
The Forest Giants Trail would probably have made Mr. Bernheim the most happy – three artistic forest giants along a 1 mile out-and-back trail with lakes, tranquil wooded areas and a holly forest which featured more types of holly than I ever knew existed. The forest giants made by the artist Thomas Dambo were so creative – I loved them.