If you're heading in to Bardstown, you can't miss this free (donations encouraged!) museum of…read morewhiskey. It won't take too long to go through the 6 rooms, but you're likely to learn at least one thing you didn't know about the area distilleries or whisky in general. Plus, the docent/manager is very friendly and if it's not too busy she'll give you a little more background on the building itself. Do stop in!!

I imagine this museum would have been great but we went at 11am. They were supposed to open at 10…read more Three signs said open but the doors were locked. We gave up and went back to our hotel.

FREE TO GO INTO THE BUILDING, LADY THERE IS VERY INFORMATIVE. THEY DO ACCEPT DONATIONS…read more Once Tony and I turned the door knob to this massive red brick five story building, not only did I feel like I was stepping back in time, I immediately fell in love! Everything was just stunning. I realize it's a museum, actually 2 museums now but I am mainly looking past all the memorabilia and looking at the built in cabinets, shelving, Windows, fireplaces and woodwork details...just imagining what it looked like when it was built...shiny new in 1819. Spalding Hall is steeped with history. It is a federal brick building constructed in 1819 as St Joseph College and Seminary for men. During Civil War, it was a hospital caring for both Confederates and Union Soldiers. Later the Sisters of Charity converted it into an Orphanage for boys. Then the Xaverian Brothers established St Joseph Preparatory School, which became a International Boys Prep School from 1911 to 1968. First floor open to the public for museum, upper levels are office's and rental halls for weddings, receptions, etc. There is a parking lot.

On our way up from Knoxville TN to Louisville KY, we made sure to swing by here to see Abraham…read moreLincoln's birthplace! It was thunder storming and lightning abound when we arrived but cleared up during our stroll through the memorial and the visitor center. There is a longer path to the side of the visitor center where it's all covered by trees so we didn't get rained on. Inside the memorial is the replica of the log cabin where he was born. That closes at 4:30pm, whereas the visitor center closes at 5:00pm. I made sure to stop at the sinking springs next to the memorial for the watering hole where Abe took his first drink of water. It felt very cold in that area compared to the humid weather surrounding it. Very cool. So glad we made a stop here on our roadtrip!

Honestly? Abe deserves better, but it just doesn't seem like there's enough material to work with…read morehere, which may not necessarily be anyone's fault. My top-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality and I came by here last Thursday in the late morning at my request. I love presidential shizzle - one of my earliest memories is getting a book of the presidents and learning all of them in order, and instead of going to Disney World (don't get me started), my parents took me to a number of presidential homesteads and birthplaces when I was in elementary school, mostly the heavy hitters in VA and the Adams one in Braintree, MA. And I've legitimately celebrated President's Day by dragging some of my chums to Grant's Tomb at 9AM to listen to a reenactment of the 1873 State of the Union. So I came into this with some nerdy, executive branch street cred. Part of it was definitely the mediocre rainy weather, but I just wasn't that impressed. I want to emphasize that there might not have been anything the National Park Service could have done once they got involved, because the biggest issue here is that the actual birthplace doesn't really exist anymore. I'm sure they got the land/property lines correct, but the log cabin that we all naturally associate with Abe? Gone, so you have to settle for a recreation, and that recreated cabin isn't given its own space outside - it's housed in the Memorial Building, which makes that experience more claustrophobic than it should be, since the cabin takes up about 70% of the room. There may be excellent reasons why it had to remain indoors, but I found that decision pretty curious. And bottom line - it's hard to have a national park based on a birthplace that's largely abstract and not something you can see with your own eyes. The Visitors Center was relatively small but pleasant. I haven't stopped to think about it until now, but I'm guessing that the vast majority of Lincoln exhibits are at his home in Springfield, IL, which I know DOES physically exist. Again, they just didn't have as much to play around with here so they're relying more on fancy/tasteful Lincoln quotes on their walls versus, say, a glass case featuring his top hat. When a sizeable chunk of your Visitors Center is taken up by a gift shop and little movie theater showing a 15-minute video about Lincoln, you're pretty much broadcasting the fact that you don't have a lot of standalone items to display, which is a shame. The biggest selling point is the Memorial Building, notwithstanding the replica cabin situation inside. It's built up on a hill with 56 steps for each year of Abe's life, and bares a pretty strong resemblance to the more notable Presidential memorials in DC. I thought it was cool that several Presidents have stopped by, now knowing that this is a bit in the middle of nowhere, but it's also just an hour outside Lexington so it was also disappointing to learn that no Presidents have visited since Eisenhower. They can't fit in a 15-minute photo op over the course of four to eight years? Come on. It's Abe. The NPS rangers (right word?) were very nice. I'd be curious what the pecking order of historic sites is for the NPS but I have to think this isn't at the very tippy top. Regardless, lots of smiles and at least one of them went out of their way to ask us if we had any questions and to (unprompted) pull out a map to orient us before we left the Visitors Center to explore the grounds a bit. If you're in the area, sure, pay your respects to the beginning of Honest Abe's story. But if you have more time/bandwidth, I think the play is to jump ahead in the timeline and get yourself up to Illinois.

We were in Kentucky for a quick road trip and decided to stop at the Kentucky Railway Museum as a…read moreway to beat the heat. Located in New Haven, the old station houses both a gift shop and small museum. Many of the artifacts are from the old L&N line that made stops here. The museum also has a large model railroad but was slightly disappointed by the fact only one train was running in it. They also offer train rides, depending on the day and time of week. We were lucky enough that on this particular Tuesday they were operating. We took a hour long ride, heading south to Gethsemane and back again. The ride was smooth and cool but was generally very slow. We never felt the full power of the engine move us down to the track as we were hoping too. It's a nice ride but possibly not as exciting if you are a true train enthusiast.

We joined the grandkids for The Santa Express. Perhaps our expectations were out of line. We had…read morehoped for a Christmas decorated train chugging through some nifty Christmas lights. The exterior of the train was old, faded paint. The interior had a strand of lights extending the length of each car. And the luggage racks had lots of wrapped boxes. There was no one to lead Christmas carols. No one to give us any history of the woods & fields we chugged through. (one "conductor" told us there was a field where a decisive civil was battle took place). Late on the ride back, Frosty, Santa & Mrs Claus walked the aisles. Some Elves gave the kids a commemorative button. I saw folks dozing off. We were all ready for the ride to end. And we were pleasantly surprised to arrive to "snow". I think the Santa Express has a lot of room to grow. One other thing, don't expect to post much. Cell signal was non-existent.

Very nice display with a lot of different uniforms from all different eras and countries. The good…read morething about the tickets for all three museums is that they are good for two days so you don't need to be rushed.

"I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before…read moreAlmighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind."-Lt. Gen. Harold G. "Hal" Moore Jr. Hal Moore was a native of Bardstown and one of the most celebrated soldiers of the war in Vietnam. He survived Pork Chop Hill in Korea and Ia Drang in Vietnam, where his bravery and selflessness led to his being played by Mel Gibson in the 2002 film, "We Were Soldiers," based off a book written by Moore, "We Were Soldiers Once,...And Young." Moore was a 1945 graduate of West Point who had fought in Korea before he was sent to Vietnam in 1965 as commander of a battalion of the 7th Cavalry. The Battle of Ia Drang, in 1965, was the first major U.S. engagement of North Vietnamese Army troops. The 43-year-old lieutenant colonel, saved the lives of most of his men despite being greatly outnumbered (10 to 1) by the NVA. Before the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. American officials declared the Battle of the la Drang Valley a victory.

I took my hubby to this museum while visiting Elizabethtown and he was like a giddy school boy…read morelooking at and reading about all the cars. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. And the number of cars you get to look at is worth the visit. This is a nice "free" museum. If you like old cars- this is a must do while you're in Elizabethtown.

This is a very nice museum. There are plenty of cars and you can spend a lot of time reminiscing. I…read morespent several hours there taking photos to keep the memories alive. I gave it four stars instead of five because it is not the biggest I've been in. I must say that all the cars are in pristine condition. They are well cared for and even the engine components have been painted and polished. I'd been there last in 2007 and owed it to myself to come back and spend more time. I'm very glad I did. One activity that you can take in to really enjoy the place is to investigate the biographies of the cars by scanning the 2D bar code on each vehicle's windshield. Cars are spaced nicely apart so you can get a good view of the cars from different angles and it accommodates photography very nicely. Clientele present on my visit was very respectful when I was there. Since it is far away, I don't think I will go back. By the way, my review should carry some credibility as I am a retired automotive engineer and volunteer at another car museum. If you are in the area, go there.

Crazy big boat - but should be bigger b/c it's based on our modern arm length & humans were overall…read moretaller 4K yrs ago. Shuttle there was pretty fast. Many of the extra exhibits around the ark are extra money of course. The little zoo was nice. The inside was loaded w/ things to see. If you read it all it would take all day. The photo op at the beginning comes out to about $35. Also, many of the prices in the gift shop was very high. One aspect I thought was kind of odd was the unusual number of dinosaurs displayed in the ark. You would think there were more dinosaurs back then then most of the animals we are familiar with. Maybe it's just a way to attract the kids attention. It would be cool if they had a time-lapse video of the construction, and maybe I missed it. The buffet was definitely worth hitting up. All the food was actually good. I had no complaints and the staff kept most things very fresh. There was plenty of options and many drinks to choose from as well. The desserts were all tasty as well. Donut holes were a kid fave. Tons of seating too.

A great place to learn about Noah's Ark, especially for me because I am not very familiar with the…read morestory. I'd been hearing about the Ark Encounter from friends for years, so we finally made the trip over the Fourth of July weekend. Ideally you can spend a half a day here... My pro tip: get there early, especially on weekends. There are huge crowds and while there's plenty of parking, it's $15 fee and you'll take a shuttle to the Ark. If you don't want a long walk in the full sun or long shuttle lines, arrive early or wait until a couple of hours before closing. Inside the venue there are plenty of clean bathrooms on every level. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and exploring. It's fascinating to see how they explain everything from food storage and waste to daily life aboard the Ark, along with exhibits covering the Ice Age and biblical history like Adam and Eve. I'd recommend this more for adults or older kids. Younger children might lose interest quick since many of the exhibits are reading based. We visited during a heat wave, so we skipped the zoo, restaurants, and zip lines outside. My only downside is that admission is a little pricey, especially since those attractions aren't included with the ticket but the park is well kept, so clean. The staff were amazing, super friendly and very knowledgeable.