Friday, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, March 5, 2011

Last day of Bob's convention was today. I got to go with him to the exhibit hall to learn about what he does. We looked at trucks, accessories, pipes, and software.

Trade show: Bob explaining something to sis-in-law, Nancy.

High-tech electronic camera (robotic).

Salesperson talking to Bob's brother, Steven.

Amanda getting a pic of me getting a pic of her.

Cutaway of pipe showing a high-tech camera inside.

Next on the agenda was the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. Major league baseball bats are made with either maple or white ash wood. On the factory tour we saw billets, shaped pieces of wood, from which baseball bats are carved. They are sent through carving machines which can mill a bat in 30 seconds, much quicker than carving by hand (in the past) which took about 30 minutes. Louisville Slugger baseball bats are used by 60% of major league baseball players. Computer specifications are kept for each player's baseball bat. The ash bats have the Slugger logo burned into the bat, but the maple is more fragile and metal decal logos are attached to those bats. 

Photos from the museum...

Ken Griffey, Jr. and me.

Honus Wagner, The Flying Dutchman

The Big Glove made out of Kentucky limestone.

It was raining outside and I just couldn't get a good picture of the Big Bat at the entrance. Luckily, there was a sign inside showing the bat and telling about it.

The big bat stands outside the museum.

Bat mobile (not to be confused with Batman's car).

Explains the "Bat Vault."

 

 
After the museum, we rode a trolley around downtown as the temperature had dropped to 47 degrees with a stinging rain, otherwise we would have walked. 

Impressions of downtown Louisville...

Originally the Bank of Louisville.

 

Artistic bike racks around downtown: my favorite.

 
Lunch was at O'Shea's Pub and was really good. I had lamb stew with carrots and parsnips over real mashed potatoes. Bob had chicken prepared with a local blackberry jam and mashed potatoes. We highly recommend this restaurant.

The warm ambiance of O'Shea's Pub in Louisville, KY.

Looking forward to our comfort food on a cold, dark day.

We returned back to the room and packed for our flight home tomorrow. On the news, the weather forecast is predicting temperatures of 33 degrees overnight with possible snow flurries early in the morning. We'll see what the morning brings.