Insider Rowing

Okay, instead of doing a simple review of the city of Louisville, I thought I’d do a “photo essay” of my experience so far. BTW, I think this is a great town, and after I get some actual furniture for my apartment, I want all my friends to come visit. The recommended time to visit is, of course, for the Kentucky Derby in early May.

Below you will see a pic of a certified Derby Nut…the vibe reminds me a lot of Mardi Gras, quite frankly. I didn’t take this pic, but it’s funny nonetheless. How does this guy fit through hallways and stuff? What happens if he needs to bend over and pick up his wallet?

If you insist on reading a thorough and professional article, replete with high quality pictures, see this 20 page profile in the June issue of the swanky US Airways Magazine. By pure coincidence, I happened to be travel US Air in June for Youth Nationals and I read the whole thing.

All pictures were taken with an Olympus FE-230 digital camera. Smartass comments are of course my own.

Ah yes, the Mules and Jackass stable…why is this significant? Well, the Kentucky State Fair happens to be going on right now, and my office is located in an annex at the Fairgrounds and Exposition Center (note here the old Cardinal Stadium is in the background). Most significantly, my building is adjacent to the trusty Mules and Jacks stable. Coincidence?? Nay I say more likely cosmic jackass karma to those in the know of such things. Just on the lower right of the doorway you can see a jackass sticking his snout out curiously.

An actual jackass! But no this is not an ordinary jackass, indeed this is a jackass of the highest quality, State Fair quality if you will. Said jackass didn’t appreciate my fine sense of irony and attempted to eat my camera, causing the jackass tenders to chortle heartily, after which I scuttled back to my office in equal parts shame and fear.

Louisville Slugger Field, home of the cleverly named Louisville Bats, whose mascot is a bat, as in vampire bat, and not of the shillelagh variety (I filched this pic off Bats website).

In front of Louisville Slugger Field sits a statue of baseball legend…wait a minute…is that…that’s Paul Hornung the football player! Louisville born, Heisman trophy winner, Notre Dame graduate, NFL Hall of Famer. If only fantasy football had been invented in 1960, Odin’s beard he would be like the LaDainian Tomlinson of those halycon days.

Waterfront Park, where on any evening of the week you can find a pickup game of soccer, football, or Ultimate Frisbee. Lights stay on until 11:00 pm. I myself played Ultimate here just yesterday. Let me tell you, it is a great great thing to have a place like this in your city. In the background you see a sliver of the Ohio River and the I-65 bridge.

Turning to my left from the fields is some neat art stuff, and in the background a Borg probe that landed overnight.

Ah yes, the picturesque Ohio River, her waters run fast and deep, and in the background it’s the state of Indiana, aka the Hoosier State. What exactly is a Hoosier? For a less than satisfying answer, see here at answers.com.

The Dancing Waters, which as you can see is popular when the heat index is 110 like it has been for the last two weeks. As of 3:25 pm today I hadn’t mustered the courage to immerse my wearied and limpen body into the waters, but that would change…

Joe’s Crab Shack, just on the other side of the Dancing Waters. This is also the start of the Louisville Ironman, which takes place next weekend. In the background is downtown Louisville.

Another jackass! Oh wait, that’s just me submerging myself into the effervescent Dancing Waters. Hopefully I won’t get an amoeba up my butt.

An immense boulder suspended inside some metal stuff. This picture doesn’t do the size/weight of this thing justice. Kudos to any engineering dorks out there who can tell me what the purpose of this thing is.

A transitional shot here of 4th Street Live! which is the downtown nightlife complex. For my homeboys back in Otown, it’s kind of like a Church/Wall Street low calorie version. It’s aaight…I give them props for lively design and good urban development. They have live music usually a couple of times per week. Here’s a great article on the development of the complex and a snippet:

The nighttime and weekend entertainment concentrated at Fourth Street Live! has reenergized Louisville’s downtown and helped jump-start a residential and tourism resurgence. The project turned a city-owned liability into a tax- and job-generating asset. How it came to be developed is an instructive story that involves the convergence of political will, developer savvy, and stakeholder cooperation around a civic need.