Kentucky I

I'm going to have to take a couple of days to talk about Kentucky.  My grandparents on my mom's side were from Kentucky and I still have several second cousins there.  In fact, one of them reconnected with my first cousin and me via Facebook just a couple of days ago.  (Hey, LaMar!)

The only time I ever remember my grandfather drinking any alcohol was the Mint Julep he had every Kentucky Derby Day.  The silver tumbler was chilled, the mint growing around the tennis court picked, the sugar and water boiled into syrup - everything ready so that as "My Old Kentucky Home" played before first post, he could sip his perfect Mint Julep through red and white straws and sugar dipped mint.  Our family's Mint Julep recipe is slightly different than that in the postcard above - we crush the mint in the bottom of the cup and leave it there, we use sugar syrup instead of powdered sugar, and the mint leaves for garnish are dipped in sugar before being put in the silver cup next to the straws. 

I've been to two Super Bowls, the World Series, the 84 Olympics, the Final Four basketball tournament, and the Rose Bowl.  I've been to a variety of horse racing tracks.  I've sipped a few Mint Juleps.  But I've never sat in a box at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, wearing a fancy hat and sipping a mint julep.  Bucket list!