Holy horses, Batman - I turn 30 in less than 48 hours! I'm thanking my former self for having the foresight fifteen months ago to put attending the Kentucky Derby on my Operation 30 list. I'm just getting back from a terrific weekend spent in Louisville, Kentucky where some friends and I maximized our Kentucky Oaks and Derby experience. It was a-ma-zing and the perfect culmination to my Operation 30 journey!
#13. Go to the Kentucky Derby - check!
I'll start with the most important piece of Derby preparation - the hat. I feel incredibly lucky because a Zeta friend of mine, Ann, is also on milestone journey this year. (She's doing 50 fabulous things in her 50th year!) It just so happens that one of the items on her list was to make a hat for someone going to the Kentucky Derby. BINGO! I was the lucky recipient of said hat, and love that this is a party of my Derby story.
Ann and I met in March at the Haberdashery before my travel craziness began. The goal was to get a sense for the style that would work based on my head shape and to get ideas. (Turns out I have a big head, as many of the hats we tried on were tight on me.) We decided a shorter, square ridged style would look best. However, before Ann would start on the design she wanted to get a feel for the overall look.
I didn't help in giving Ann much time to incorporate everything, as I wasn't able to get a Derby dress until two weeks prior due to my crazy travel, work and ZTA schedule. However, once I found the winner at White House Black Market, I shot Ann a picture of it right away so she could start brainstorming. We met up the following weekend (just one week before the Derby) and went to a few wig/hat shops before finding a winning base hat at Steinmart. It was perfect! From there we stopped at Hancock Fabrics and Hobby Lobby for fabric and flair.
Thanks to Ann's creative genius and vision, the end result was absolutely spectacular! Here we are on Thursday night, on the eve of my pending journey. I still have no idea how she was able to pull it all together in such a short time, but am forever grateful for the attention to detail and hours upon hours that were no doubt spent to make this fabulous hat. Ann, you're awesome!
As if that weren't enough, Ann also helped me to accessorize for the Kentucky Oaks races on Friday. I had purchased a fascinator at (ok, near) Windsor Castle during my visit in March with full intentions of wearing it to the Oaks. However, what I bought was a plain tan/beige piece that needed more flair. Enter Ann. She again went above and beyond by adding flair to my fascinator, covering a bracelet of hers, and giving me a flower accessory for my purse. She even made pins with pink lillies for all of my friends who would also be attending the Oaks so that we'd be appropriately wearing Pink Lillies for the Fillies, per tradition. The end result was super-bueno, as you can see for yourself...
But enough about the preparation...what about the event itself? The journey started early on Friday morning when Diane, Stacie, Amy, Lindsey and I started our travels from St. Louis in the best minivan $150 could buy for the weekend. (Actually, it turned out to be pretty bad ass...leather seats, a DVD player...we felt like we got the hook up!) About 70 miles later we stopped in Mount Vernon, Illinois to pick up our sixth crew member, Tim, who I give enormous credit to being brave enough to sign up for hours in a confined space with a bunch of women.
We rolled into Louisville by early afternoon and were able to easily find the "lovely" Quality Inn and Suites that was only about five miles from Churchill Downs. I say "lovely" as if I'm being sarcastic, but the truth is that it wasn't that bad. Granted, it wasn't four or five star rated (maybe three?), but it served the purpose, especially considering the price we paid (over $250 per room per night...relatively cheap for a place so close to the Downs).
Mid-afternoon on Friday it was time for business: get settled in the hotel, change, and head to the Kentucky Oaks races. We didn't waste any time finding a ride to Churchill Downs, choosing from one of the many fliers at the front desk of the hotel. (We chose Mike who charged a flat $50 because his fliers were quarter sheets and therefore more environmentally friendly. Haha. Came to find out he was saving up for an engagement ring, which is why he was earning money by shuttling on Derby weekend. Glad we chose Mike for his cute story.)
Getting to the Downs a little after 4:00pm, we headed straight to the Infield and immediately sought and found the Oaks Lily drink, which is the official drink of the Kentucky Oaks. It's a combination of vodka, sweet and sour mix and cranberry juice and was a delicious way to start our experience. Unfortunately, less than twenty minutes after we arrived, the heavens blew over and a huge rain storm hit the Downs. We sought shelter under the edge of a food tent until the rain subsided. It was pretty intense for a while! Races were delayed for 45 minutes in total, but afterwards we were able to place some bets and even see a few horses and watch the big race of the day. (Nope - didn't win any money, but had a good time regardless!)
Next we headed to Fourth Street for the Friday night party. We had VIP passes to the OAR concert compliments of some co-workers of mine. (I love where I work!) Shortly after some delicious Budweiser we were asked if we wanted to meet the band. Um, YES! So we headed down to the private area where we were eventually able to chit chat with the super-friendly members of OAR. Here we are capturing the moment...
This would be the fourth time I would see them in concert, so it was a nice treat to actually be able to meet them beforehand. Also in the VIP area with us was Wee Man from Jackass. (I love where I work!) In my slightly inebriated state I decided to chat with him for a little bit. Somewhere there's a picture that documents that moment, but unfortunately I don't have it...yet. :-) After many Budweisers and an awesome concert, we called it a night Friday and headed back to the hotel to rest up for Saturday. And oh, what a Saturday...
We headed to Churchill Downs at about 10:15am. After some interesting directions from a security guard and U-turning around some bat statues in front of the baseball stadium, we were eventually able to find the rest of the group who had gotten in late the previous night. They had an extreme tail gate set-up...with bags, life-size jenga, flippy cup, and more. It was a great atmosphere! We came prepared with beer galore and (continuing Bonnaroo tradition) made a paint can (and named it) to kick things off. This one's name was Bombpop Daddy Go Get Your Gun due to it's scrumptious taste. Here I am enjoying the little guy...
Oh, and that's Frank on my lap. He's kind of been my boyfriend ever since we met at Bonnaroo last year. He's now a staple on road trips like these and I'm happy Amy was thoughtful enough to bring him so we could be reunited. (Notice how he has on his Derby hat? That's because he's classy...don't let the bared teeth throw you off.) My friends were also thoughtful enough to bring me birthday cake and ice cream Oreo's which I happily blew the imaginary candles out from before opening...
By mid-afternoon it was time to Derby. We headed in the Central Avenue entrance where we unfortunately had to abandon our chairs but were able to take some nice photos...
Once inside, first priority (after bathrooms) was to try the drink of the Derby - a Mint Julep! Prior to attending I had heard from people who either loved Mint Juleps or swore up and down how disgusting they were. Therefore I was eager to try one and make my own assessment. As a true beer girl, I was skeptical as to whether or not I would like something with so much bourbon. But my honest assessment - not bad! (Good enough to have two, anyway!) Glad the glassware was a keepsake, otherwise I might have had more reservations about spending $11 per drink. (Yikes!)
Here I am excited to be headed to the Paddock area where we were able to see the horses getting ready to compete in Race 8. Super awesome.
Next stop: infield. Here I am with Craig, Hille and Tim...clearly participating in some debauchery while still keeping things classy.
Enter sunburned, shirtless guy who decided to jump into our group photo. The perfect example to illustrate what the infield is all about. (It was between this photo and mesh shirt guy.)
After getting what we could out of the infield experience, Stacie and I headed to the seats in the Grandstand bleachers that I was able to get compliments of the Stella Artois team who was one of the official sponsors of the Derby. (Have I mentioned that I love where I work?) Here we are enjoying some nummy Stella in a chalice while enjoying our view...
The big race was great, even though we still couldn't see the horses from our seats. Once it was over we headed back to our tailgate spot where we proceeded to give out "Free Beer" from the back of our party van while waiting out the line of traffic. (It's amazing how many friends you make by giving away a few Bud Lights and Lime-a-Rita's.) Eventually we made our way back to the hotel with full intentions on showering and heading out for continued celebrations. It was somewhere in between 9:30pm and 10:00pm...so already pretty later. The showering part happened, but unfortunately the going out part didn't, as some of us might have passed out and not woken up again until two and a half hours later. Still - a great day of Derby-ing and great to get some good sleep after a day spent in the hot sun. (I guess I haven't mentioned this yet, but it was dripping sweat hot in Louisville on Saturday. Probably nowhere close to mid-nineties, but that's what it felt like.)
I'll Have Another is the appropriate title for this blog entry because it's not just the name of the winner of the 2012 Kentucky Derby, but it also perfectly expresses my feelings toward my experience this past weekend. Attending the Kentucky Derby is not something I want to be a one-time thing. Like me to the bartender serving tasty Budweisers at the OAR concert, "I'll have another!".
We're almost at less than 24 hours. BRING IT, Birthday! I'm ready.
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