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[Turbo Ninja]

This Tough Economy has taken a huge chunk out of my corporate overlords' bottom line and they have responded by requiring that every employee take* three unpaid days off between now and June 30, and then three more between July 1 and September 30.

That's six days on top of the three weeks of paid vacation I have yet to touch this year, resulting in a robust 21 days off.  Trouble is, I have no idea how I'm going to spend it.  The last two years required me to be a PTO miser, what with a trip to India in 2007 and a wedding/honeymoon in 2008.  Now I'm flush with vacation and short on ideas.

This year's big trip: SF/Sonoma in July.  At least one dinner at the kind of place that would serve Shaved Tsukiji Market Hamachi "Ravioli" with Quail Yolk and Chive-Tobiko Mousse, and good seats for a Giants game.  That's five days off.  I need 16 more.

So I come to you, People On The Internet, for suggestions.  Bonus points for ideas in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania or West Virginia because those would all be within a tolerable drive's distance.  Places in Illinois, Virginia, New York, or Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia or southern Ontario will be considered if they are super-awesome.  I like cool architecture, baseball games, good restaurants and concerts.  I am not into spas, golf, or heavy traffic (I consider Chicago, DC and Philly to have heavy traffic - I think I can handle any other city within my target area).

What would you do?  If I accept your suggestion, I pledge to take several photographs and recount my experiences herein.





*Or not take, but you're going to get docked for three days' pay anyways.  Better than layoffs, I suppose.

[wombat]

Architecture: Have you ever been to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, in PA somewhere? I have never been but I hear it's cool.

If Toronto counts as southern Ontario, it is a good place to go eat in restaurants.

I think that Baltimore is super-awesome, but I am not sure I can construct a coherent argument for this position. It may just be the closest place that seems cooler than DC.

[AugustWest]

If you like hiking (or other outdoor type stuff), hosss or whiskey I can give you plenty of suggestions in KY.

[Turbo Ninja]

If you like hiking (or other outdoor type stuff), hosss or whiskey I can give you plenty of suggestions in KY.

I think Kentucky might get the most of my attention.  I've been to Bardstown/Loretto for some bourbon tourism and I wouldn't mind going back.  I liked Ellis Park up in Henderson the couple of times I've been there but I feel like I should take in a track in the heart of thoroughbred country.  Bowling Green is apparently a big enough city to warrant its own minor league baseball team now, so there's that too.

Bring on the suggestions.

[wombat]

Mammoth cave!

[miles]

The Jesus Lizard is playing in Chicago this July, and I imagine there will be more dates. Might be later in the year though. I'll see them in July.

[AugustWest]

Mammoth Cave is amazing.  hoss country is beautiful, but it really takes about half a day to do a drive through of it.  You could spend another half day at the hoss Park.  Right now is the best time to see hoss farms because the grass is so green and there are lots of foals around.

Red River Gorge is also very cool.

Both Louisville and Lexington have minor league teams.  Louisville has a very cool ballpark.  I've never been to Lexington's.  If you went to Bowling Green you could also check out the Corvette Plant.  Bowling Green is about half an hour from Mammoth Cave.

Assuming that you are not an axe murderer, you could also check out Casa West.  Where are you coming from?

[Carlos del Vaca]

They make bourbon in Kentucky.  I frequently get invitations from Makers Mark to visit their distillery, but haven't made it out yet.

[Choop]

bourbon tour sounds like a hell of an idea: maker's, elijah craig, anything but bulleit. have some tastes and build a collection for the home bar.

[Turbo Ninja]

They make bourbon in Kentucky.  I frequently get invitations from Makers Mark to visit their distillery, but haven't made it out yet.

Maker's has hella upgraded their tour over the last few years.  First time I went was 2006 and it was really lo-fi, with a very small gift shop and bourbon candies rather than an actual tasting anywhere along the tour.  Now they've converted one of the warehouses into a huge, super-modern company store and tasting room, where they give you a slug of unaged "white" bourbon to taste before letting you sip the final product.  They'll also let you dip your own bottles in the signature red wax - I used these as groomsmen's gifts after going back last summer.

They let you dip your finger into the mash tubs to taste the brew at various stages of fermentation, which is a big contrast from Jack Daniels where everything is sealed up tight.

The drive is crazy in a fun way - I don't think there's an easy route to get there.  The road in Loretto is very twisty and I seriously suspect there's some secret industrial road that the big trucks use to get back there for pickups and deliveries.

PROTIP: If you register yourself on the Maker's site as one of their ambassadors, they'll treat you like a king when you show up for a tour.

I'd be coming from Columbus via Cincy and probably Louisville, or perhaps via Evansville because I hear they have a super-olde tyme ballpark and Owensboro would be on the way.  Moonlite BBQ is the finest.

[AugustWest]

Moonlite is very far from the finest BBQ in Owensboro.

[Bobby Isosceles]

Architecture: Have you ever been to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, in PA somewhere? I have never been but I hear it's cool.

If Toronto counts as southern Ontario, it is a good place to go eat in restaurants.

I think that Baltimore is super-awesome, but I am not sure I can construct a coherent argument for this position. It may just be the closest place that seems cooler than DC.

Are you insane? Baltimore is Lovecraftian insanity. It is a horrible gaping maw of madness. I'll fill you in on the baltimore stories once we do Burmese (or at Baco de Mayo). Stories thus far include cab rides to street fights, no-hands dirt bike wheelies, swat busts, the Twat Jagoff name tag party, Wesley Willis concerts, Honfest, polka bars ...

[wombat]

Yeah, see, just like I said. Awesome.

[theinevitable]

my one experience in baltimore included hearing people having sex A LOT, and going to a bar where they didn't card. Also, horrible pizza.

Also, the visionary art museum is cool, but not cool enough for how much they charge you if you aren't a student.
I bought a Mork and Mindy poster, because I have leftover affection from childhood for Robin Williams.

[KeithHernandez]

This girl in Boulder I was kind of seeing lived right next to the Mork and Mindy house, I loved it.