KY Travel Guide

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How to Get Last-Minute Tickets to the Kentucky Derby 2013

April 30, 2013 at 7:07 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’ve got your oversized hats and mint juleps ready, then you’re probably aware that the Kentucky Derby is set to do its thing this weekend on Saturday, May 4. Sure you can head over to the local gambling establishment to place your bet, but we’re thinking that it might be a little more exciting to check things out in person.

Thankfully there are still tickets available for this weekend’s events, and things are actually somewhat affordable if you’re just looking to mix and mingle in the general admission area. You probably won’t get to see any celebrities here, but standing room only tickets can be yours for just $40 per person.

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Score Your Next Slice of Fried Kool-Aid in Kentucky

August 19, 2011 at 8:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

The days of summer are starting to get a little limited, but there’s still plenty of time left to overindulge on the tastes of the season. Unfortunately, we’re not talking about foodie finds like heirloom tomatoes from the local farmer’s market—we’re talking about fried everything and anything.

State fair season is now upon us, and kicking things off is the 107th Kentucky State Fair which runs through August 28. Bring some Tums in your pocket, as this year’s festival is bringing back plenty of favorites including the Krispy Kreme burger.

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Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Tickets are Only $40

May 2, 2011 at 2:16 PM | by | Comment (1)

We're less than a week away from the Kentucky Derby, or as we prefer to think of it this year, the second time in a month when we'll be permitted to wear big, stupid hats (the first being The Royal Wedding). Although it's a tad too late to score the best boxes where the mint juleps come served in proper silver cups, there's plenty of tickets left for the infield, aka general admission, for the big horserace on Saturday, May 7.

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How To Get Tickets To This Year's Kentucky Derby

April 5, 2011 at 9:21 AM | by | Comment (1)

The Final Four is over, so it’s time to look forward one of the next big sporting events. The Kentucky Derby is just over a month away, so if you’ve haven’t made plans to get yourself to Churchill Downs now is the time to do so. We’ll let you know how to get tickets and access to the first leg of the Triple Crown, but then we're relying on you to figure out where to buy the appropriate hat.

We always kind of assumed that getting tickets to the Derby was going to be pretty challenging, but it’s actually not too tricky at all. There’s still plenty of seats available too, so no need to resort to hitting the ticket brokers and scalpers in the parking lot.

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Training Camp Travel: The Scoop on the Cincinnati Bengals

August 2, 2010 at 4:31 PM | by | Comments (0)

Are you ready for some football? It’s still several weeks before the NFL season kicks off to provide meaning to our Sundays once again, but training camp has arrived. We’ve checked out what’s going on at several spots and teams around the league, and this is what we found:

Like other teams, the Cincinnati Bengals look to improve on last season’s performance, and they’re hoping to do so with the help of two big mouth wide receivers. Joining Chad Ochocinco and his Twitter obsession is Terrell Owens—"TO" to you and me. Only time will tell how things will work out with these two and the Bengals, but right now anything is possible.

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Who's the Favorite Horse to Win Saturday's Kentucky Derby?

April 29, 2010 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last year, we went out and bought a big white churchy hat and preppy purse to match for a Kentucky Derby party in midtown Manhattan. After several strong mint juleps, we finally watched he horses on TV dash around the track at Churchill Downs, and today we can't even remember the name of the winning horse. Oh wait, that's right—it was "Mine That Bird."

Well, Mine That Bird is taking this year off and the current favorite for the finish line is a lithe brown horse by the name of Lookin at Lucky, jockeyed by Garrett Gomez. The horse has some promising odds of 2-to-1, with "Devil May Care" a second favorite with 6-to-1 odds. We typically pick our favorite in the a super subjective manner: what horse name most tickles our fancy. This year it's "Awesome Act," just because it's be awesome to have a horse with "awesome" in its name go down in horseracing history.

Who's your favorite? A complete list of the racers is here, and don't forget to tune in for the brief race on Saturday at 6:24pm EST on NBC. That is, unless you're actually going, in which case we say put a couple dollars down on Awesome Act for us, okay?

Related Stories:
· Kentucky Derby favorite Lookin at Lucky will start in first position [Washington Post]
· How to Get Tickets to the Kentucky Derby [Jaunted]
· Sports Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: KentuckyDerby.com]

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Tweet of the Week: Let's All Get Down to Churchill Downs

April 13, 2010 at 5:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

We love Tuesdays. Why, you ask? Because the day brings many travel tips and quips as "Travel Tuesday" on Twitter, and we're going to share our favorite with you. Got an avid travel twitterer we should follow? Let us know.

Spring is definitely here, and we're more than ready to break out a big, floppy hat and the mint julep cups for seasonal events like the Kentucky Derby. Even more so since we did the research to discover that tickets for the historical horse racing event, held on May 1 at Churchill Downs racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky, are absolutely within a reasonable price range.

And we're not the only one jonesing to play the ponies; flight attendant tweeter @skywaitress is right there with us:

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Kentucky Town Transforms Coal Mine Into Robot-Filled Tourist Attraction

October 29, 2009 at 2:54 PM | by | Comments (0)

Among the many problems with forcibly peeling resources out of the earth is that, once they're gone, all you've got left is a gigantic hole in the ground (cf. the Mirny diamond mine, which functionally has its own weather patterns). For dozens of poverty-stricken towns across Appalachia, the old coal mines that used to provide economic livelihood have long since been tapped out.

One town in Kentucky, though, is determined to turn their old mine into an economically viable tourist attraction. It's not as chichi as Sweden's luxury silver mine boutique hotel, but in fairness to the Kentucky folks they haven't had since the Middle Ages to dig it out.

The renovated coal mine in Lynch, Kentucky takes passengers on a railcar tour that begins by plunging tourists into the darkness of the mine shaft. From there they go through each of eight different stops with narrations throughout. Each stop is supposed to represent some significant era of the mine's development and the exhibits are populated by animatronic robots of old Italian workers speaking broken, accent-laced English.

Thereby confirming Jaunted tourist attraction rule #72 - if you're going to go for kitsch, go big. There's even a mule involved:

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Would You Eat 'Burgoo,' Let Alone Go To A Festival Celebrating It?

September 25, 2009 at 9:16 AM | by | Comments (0)

Here’s a food festival for the person who has seen and eaten everything already. It’s the Anderson County Burgoo Festival in Kentucky, and apparently, the county is also the burgoo capital of the world. In case you didn’t know—and we definitely didn’t—burgoo is a sort of stew like mixture kind of like gumbo or chili but also kind of not. It’s really popular in Kentucky and they love to throw all kinds of meat into it, whether it be pork, chicken, or mutton. We’re thinking if they had some other stuff around—like fresh opossum roadkill—that it probably could and has been included throughout the years.

At this year’s festival, we’re hoping that only the freshest ingredients are used to prepare the celebration’s namesake. This weekend from September 25 to 27, the streets come alive with the sights, smells, and sensations of the mighty burgoo. There will be plenty of music to entertain the crowds, pumpkin painting for the little burgoo fans, and a boniest knee contest. Sorry ladies, but the contest is apparently for gentleman only. So get a warm cup of the stew and grab a good spot for the tractor pull.

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Paris Hilton Does Kentucky

April 30, 2009 at 2:34 PM | by | Comment (1)

The Kentucky Derby may not be a huge draw for average joes this year, but it's still reeling in A-listers.

Well, at least the Derby-eve party on Friday night is. The notorious Barnstable Brown bash is hosted by Louisville's locally-famous socialite twin sisters Priscilla Barnstable and Tricia Barnstable Brown, in their opulent mansion in the tony Bonnycastle neighborhood. The 21-year-old fiesta has made enough of a mark on the socialite set that it even draws celebs who don't bother to stick around for the race.

In addition to Hilton, Tom Brady, Brooke Shields, and Kid Rock will be among the boldface names at the twins' house. For the first time this year, the bash will be followed by an after-party at the Sports and Social Club, a brand new downtown club, so there could be a chance to get in some late-night celeb-sightings.

Related Stories:
· Kentucky Derby 2009 Barnstable-Brown gala guest list [Courier-Journal]
· Where to Make Your Own Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Hat [Jaunted]
· Kentucky Derby Tickets Still Available, Compliments of The Recession [Jaunted]

[Photo: casaroger]

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Where to Make Your Own Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Hat

Where: 5045 Shelbyville Rd [map], Louisville, KY, United States, 40207
April 29, 2009 at 8:41 AM | by | Comments (0)

With the Kentucky Derby only three days away, we're darn sure that milliners within 100 miles of Churchill Downs are working overtime to craft last minute hats and add extra feathers for optimum flash.

Observing the parade of outrageous headgear at the Derby and downing a few Mint Juleps is as much a part of the spectacle as the horse race itself. In these economic times, noting that a spectacular hat typically ranges from $150 to $500, we fully expect more women to take to crafting their own brims or even redecorating last year's masterpiece. For this, we turn to Dee's Crafts in Louisville.

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Hit The Road To Corvette Assembly Plant

Where: 350 Corvette Dr. [map], Bowling Green, KY, United States
April 28, 2009 at 1:50 PM | by | Comments (0)

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the Best Factory Tours the world over.

You may not walk away with a freebie from the assembly line from this tour, but it may inspire you to take a road trip: The National Corvette Museum and Bowling Green Assembly Plant is a trip back into the heady days of mid-2008 before it became the country's business to worry about GM's health.

The 'Vette Museum just added a new cafe and "Pit Crew Challenge" interactive exhibit to let visitors pretend to be readying a Corvette mid-race, but at the plant you can see robots work on the chassis of cars that will soon be driving off the belt and into the sunset. There are 7 miles of conveyor belts to see on which engines are installed, primer and paint applied and the wheels ultimately attached.

The plant offers guided tours weekdays at 9, 11:30 and 1:15 for ages 7 and up at just $5 a head. Sadly, the economic slowdown means the plant will be closed two weeks in May, 3 in June and 2 this July, so make sure to register to take the tour on their website. (Here's a good list of all the downtime weeks.)

Related Stories:
· GM Corvette Assembly Plant [CorvetteMuseum.com]
· Live From Las Vegas: Do You Want to Win Criss Angel's Car? [HC]
· Like this tour? Check out more factories on our Car Factory Tour map. [Jaunted]

[Photo: Autoblog.com]