In this column, I’ll be talking about my trip to Kentucky for my club volleyball team. I play on a national volleyball team that travels to Denver, Kentucky, Iowa, Florida, and more. We recently traveled to Kentucky for a national tournament. I had a jam-packed schedule from Tuesday-Saturday.
I left Tuesday morning with some of my friends and teammates. We decided to leave a bit early to do some touring of Kentucky before the tournament started which was Thursday. Our tours included the Louisville Slugger Mill where they create professional baseball bats, and we also visited Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held.
The Louisville Slugger Mill was huge. We got to see how the baseball bats are made with the different machines helping produce the bats. I got to hold Babe Ruth’s bat and you can also hold many other famous baseball players’ bats, but the only one I really knew was Babe Ruth.
Churchill Downs was ginormous! It was very grand and fancy. It was quite cold though so I was just wearing sweatpants. We got to see where the trainers and horse owners sit which had an amazing view of the race. We also did a tour of what’s behind Churchill Downs. There we got to see the stables for the horses and some homes for the people who help out with the horses. We also got to say hello to some of the horses that will be running in the derby that day.
On top of all the tours we had amazing food. When touring new places, food is always very important to consider. There were two places that stood out the most. There was this tavern that was very comforting. There was a huge fireplace and bar, and then there were abundances of seating including booths. We ordered mozzarella bricks and a pretzel. The pretzel came out and jaws were on the floor because the pretzel was as big as a deep dish large pizza. Our other dishes were also phenomenal and huge. Everything that came out was way out of proportion, but it was so good we couldn’t stop eating (we couldn’t eat dinner later that evening). The second place was an authentic Mexican restaurant. The decorations were so beautiful, there were flowers everywhere, with hanging seats from the ceiling, to a whole wall dedicated to plants and flowers, and beautiful artwork hung up everywhere. There was always something new to look at. All these decorations made the restaurant an even more wonderful experience. They had the tiniest details in place. On top of the decorations there, there was also live music. With all this the food was delicious too. It came out nicely prepared and almost too good to even eat. Overall, the food experience in Kentucky was a 10/10 for me. And if you like fried chicken you can get some at every block you encounter.
With all the tours and food we were in Kentucky for one reason, to play volleyball. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday my team and I had very long days with many games. The complex was huge. There were three entrances with A-Z parking. With all the cars and parking, it took almost 20 minutes to get to your court from your car. There were around 900 teams all in one area. Imagine that with all the refs, coaches, parents, and even boyfriends. So, the competition was hard and difficult. We played one of the top nationally ranked clubs (definitely not their top team, but still). If you’re wondering, we did not win unfortunately. We won around 4 games and lost 6, so not terrible. This weekend was very tiring for everyone and on top of being tired the refs were awful. I swear all the refs at the tournament are random people they pulled off the street who have never seen a volleyball game before. One ref stated, “I don’t care what the rules say” which led us to getting yellow carded twice. So, this weekend was quite chaotic and eventful, but that’s how all big tournaments go.
Kentucky is more interesting than I thought and definitely better than touring Nebraska. However, it isn’t California, so if you ever want to go to Kentucky it is a good experience, but I would suggest a quick trip like 3-4 days.
