The Infant Road Warrior!

So this past weekend was the annual October trip to Kentucky. This year, was a bit different. I had more than 2 days to visit, and we had an extra passenger with us. A little 3.5 week old named Addison. This was to be the first trip down to visit Wifey's side of the family. Great Grandmothers, Great Grandfathers, Cousins, Great Aunts, Grandmas, and Grandpas. All of them were anxiously awaiting her arrival in the Commonwealth.

We left Friday, just about 10am [or so]. Audrey couldn't go down with us this time because she had another commitment at her mom's house to see the Taylor Swift concert. She sat 3rd row. She wore a cowgirl hat. She looked cute. She was also getting over step throat, and turns out, she was still contagious too. She had that crazy mutant strep that didn't react to anti-biotics, so she went back and got better drugs, and it seemed to kick strep's ass just about the time she needed to go to the concert.

So back to the road trip.

By the time we got on the road for real, after feeding the baby in the parking lot of Panera Bread Company, we were fed, baby was fed, and the dog peed on everything in the grass near the parked car.

This little one didn't make a single sound until we were just getting into Cincinnati. She was fed, and back on the road. The 5 hour trip only took us about 6 hours. About 30 minutes per stop because of the baby eating and changing.

My hopes for this trip were that Jenn got a little break and let the extended family care for the baby a bit while she got to relax. I also wanted to see if we had time to hit the bourbon trail, because, if you read this blog with any consistency, or follow my twitter, you'll know that I am a huge fan of bourbon. I wanted to hit the Four Roses Distillery tour, but it would have to wait for another trip.

Within minutes of arriving at Jenn's Grandparents house, I was invited to go to the University of Louisville [U of L] football game. They were playing a rare Friday night game, and Jenn's GrandDad was not going to have a companion, as GrandMother wanted to stay with Jenn and the baby. So I tagged along with GrandDad to the game.

The U of L Stadium is a beautiful Stadium. The game was great until about the 3rd QTR. U of L imploded and ended up losing the game. I felt right at home. It felt like I was watching the Browns. As much as I hate to see them lose, there is a certain comfort in rooting for the under dog. Rarely do my teams win and I am ok with that.

So with the end of the game marked the pre-game of another college football game. Every year since Jenn and I started to date, we have gone to a University of Kentucky [UK] game when we make our trek down in October. The UK football is experience is far different than any other college game I have been a part of.

The game was to start at 12:21pm. The tailgating gear was packed by 8:30am. We were on the road to make the 90 minute drive from Louisville to Lexington by 9:20am. We had tents up and drinks flowing by 11:30am. This is the type of tailgating Kentucky does. By the time we got there the lot was nearly filled up, and we were the late comers. Not many people did a full tailgate when the game was as early as it was. They would eat a light lunch and then party after the game. We were in our seats in the West endzone by kickoff and we watched UK lose to Alabama. This is just another loss to me.

UK fans love their team, and they love their college, and the love their players. Despite the loss, the party was in full effect at the end of the game. By party I mean, drowning their sorrows in a bottle of bourbon. They lost to a highly ranked team, and they did a pretty good job fighting off the routing.

Jenn and Addison showed up to the after-gate to shwo off the baby. Yes, my 3.5 week old baby was out there with us, partying and being shown off. I couldn't have been happier. We even used her stroller as beer holders. It was an amazing time.

By the time the UK tailgate was packed up and we were headed home, it was close to 7:30pm. Yes, UK football is an all day event.

Sunday in Kentucky for me is usually a fight to find the Browns game on TV. I got lucky this weekend because the Browns played Cincinnati, which is just an hour away, so we got the game televised. I watched the Browns lose in 74 minutes rather than just the standard 60. It felt good to know we could have won the game, but like normal, they lost. Again, losing at this point feels natural, but with the shedding of the dead weight named Braylon Edwards, I think things might turn around for my Browns.

So the drive home Monday was met with tears. Jenn always hates leaving her family in Kentucky and usually she cries for sometime once we get on the road.

I hate seeing her like that, and the end of the trip is always met with the same bittersweet ending.

The ride home was great. Addy slept most of the way, and when she was up, she was not crying at all. She liked riding in the car. We didn't time the end of the trip well. We were off by about 10 minutes and Addy woke up about 10 minutes from home and was starving. It made for a pretty un-nerving 10 minutes, but I can't complain. Out of a combined 12 hours in the car, she only made noise for 10 minutes of it.

So I sit here after working for 13 hours yesterday, wondering if the Bourbon Trail is just a myth. Every time I go down to Kentucky, I want to hit a few distillery tours, but like Peter Pans shadow, it eludes me.