ROADTRIP of the day:

Today we’re heading to one of my favorite cities in America – Louisville, Kentucky! Sitting on the bank of the Ohio River across the border from southern Indiana, Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark (brother of one half of Lewis & Clark fame) and is pronounced by most locals as “Luhville” or “Lohville” although the name is actually French and bestowed in honor of King Louis XVI of France (of Marie Antoinette fame) whose soldiers aided American soldiers in the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War, Louisville was a Union forces stronghold but during Reconstruction, Confederate veterans took political control of the city leading to the accusation that Louisville joined the Confederacy after the war was over. The city is perhaps most associated with Triple Crown horse racing in the form of the Kentucky Derby, but it is also a major center for healthcare and corporate interests such as Humana and Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut). Other major influences on Louisville’s economy are the tobacco industry (Reynold’s Brown & Williamson featured in the movie “The Insider” was based here) and the bourbon industry (one-third of Kentucky bourbon comes from Louisville). And despite the sad fact that the White Sox are trying to kill me with their abysmal performance, I feel compelled to draw your attention to the six-story, 68,000 lb. baseball bat leaning against the front of the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.