2018 Bardstown trip

This past Christmas Mike & Jerri surprised us with a cool gift. An excursion on the RJ Corman dinner train in Bardstown, KY. After some planning and work scheduling we decided to go on April 21. We'll go down on Friday night and stay at the Bardstown Parkview Motel. Given the season we decided to make it a Suburban trip. Had it been warmer Mike could have ridden his new trike. April 20 We met at John & Debby's at 4pm. The Suburban was clean and shiny. We loaded our luggage, socialized for awhile, then headed south. The route is straightforward...I-65 through Louisville, then east on KY-245 to Bardstown. The 117 mile trip should take a couple hours. Tomorrow is 'Thunder Over Louisville' so we'll avoid that and find another way across the Ohio River. We stopped at Farmer's Market for refreshments. I saw some guys from the fire department who were headed to the races in Brownstown. Our route took us passed the fairgrounds and it was full of nice looking racecar haulers. It was a nice ride down being chauffered in the luxurious Suburban. Soon we were at the Bardstown Parkview Motel. We checked into the family-owned motel and got adjoining rooms. This being the off season it was quiet and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. To the left is the outdoor sitting area where we will hang out later. The rooms are nice and clean. Microwave, refrigerator, wifi, peaceful views, all for $72 plus tax. Donna had us unpacked in the blink of an eye. The My Old Kentucky Home state park is acrossed the road. It makes for a pretty view. After we had unpacked and unwound for a bit it was time for our next order of business...supper at the Kurtz Restaurant next door. It is a family resturant that is owned by the same people who run the motel. We had been drooling over their menu for months. We were seated right away. The restuarant feels friendly. I was planning on having a combo of chicken and chicken livers until the waitress mention their special. Pork chops! OMG, the food was wonderful. I had pork chops, chicken livers, salad, potatoes, baked apples, hot bread, green beans, spiced beets. There were some desserts bought, but not by Donna or I. We were too full. That was good food! It would make a nice motorcycle ride-to-eat. After supper the guys ran up the road to Walmart for some supplies. We spent the rest of the evening lounging outside and patting our bellies. April 21 The dinner train (actually lunch for us) boards at 11:30, and they ask you be there an hour before. It is only a couple miles from the motel so we arrived at ~10:15. We were the first in line. The doors opened at 10:30, so we picked up our tickets, perused the gift shop, and waited in the seating area. The train boarded at 11:30. About fifteen minutes later we were headed west. I had salad first. For our main course Donna and I had 'Kentucky Hot Brown'. From the description we both thought it was a sandwich but it ended up being more like a turkey manhattan. The trip was scenic and when the main course was over the train had reached it reversing point west of Clermont. The engines ran around the train and we headed back to Bardstown. For dessert I had an apple dumpling and boy was it good. Donna had a raspberry mousse, but didn't care for it, so the waitress brought her an apple dumpling (which I enjoyed the next day...mmmmmmmmmm). No train ride for me would be complete without a little napping. I can't help it, my tummy was full and I'm officially elderly. After the train ride there was plenty of time left so we went to the Old Barton Distillery gift shop. Mike and John bought some bourbon. From here we took a non-Louisville route back to Indiana via the Maukport bridge. We stopped in Corydon and visited a couple antique stores. Jerri bought a wash tub that will be a flower planter. A couple hours later we were back home and our short vacation was over. I probably gained ten pounds after all the great food. It was a nice warmup for our upcoming motorcycle trip in June. Thanks Mike & Jerri!