Kentucky Fun

In April the four "C"'s took a trip to Louisville for a weekend. Ok, all our names don't start with a C but they all sound the same. Karen, Kristine, Casey and Candace. The original idea was to go to Louisville for the Derby but after some research we decided that wasn't such a good idea. The tickets were expensive and if you purchased the affordable tickets you couldn't see the race. Therefore, after some discussion we decided to go the weekend before the derby so we could see some horse-racing but not be in the middle of craziness.

Our first stop in Louisville was the Churchill Downs museum. It was a central place for us to start our touristy fun unfortunately there was one slight problem. Louisville was holding their annual marathon that morning and most of the roads were closed around the racetrack. After a few minutes of aimless driving we stopped and I got out of the car to talk to a police officer directing traffic. I was sure he would know the best way for us to get to the museum. Nope! It turns out that he wasn't interested in giving us directions but there was a guy standing around that helped us out. The police office let us cross the barricaded road and the stranger led us through the mess and to the museum. Ok, sort of. We found the museum but parking was a bitch. We drove around for fifteen minutes looking for the right person to tell us where to park. We saw the parking lot but the entrance eluded us and it was annoying.

This is a statue of famous horse jockey Pat Day. The legend around the statue is that he always wanted to be five feet tall and he finally fulfilled that wish with this statue. It is just a little larger than life size.

 This horse was a ham. He knew people were taking photos and he posed for all the tourist. He seemed to love the attention.

 After the museum we headed over to the Brown Hotel for lunch. We all had Hot Browns and derby pie for lunch and this was the best meal we had all weekend. Super super awesome and not to be missed.

 After lunch we walked around the beautiful historic hotel and posed for several photos.

 I wanted to be queen for the day.

We were scheduled to go on a historic home tour after lunch but we ran out of time.I decided I still wanted to go on a tour and we found the historic home area and took a walk around a few blocks. The homes were old and beautiful and had tons of character and I wish I had taken some photos. Perhaps one day I will have the means to purchase a lovely old house.

After our walk we drove to our lodging. Karen found this fantastic B&B and we stayed in the large attic room. It included a big bedroom, a sitting room and a smaller bedroom. There was plenty of room for the four of us. This large four poster bed was so tall that I needed to use the footstool to climb to the top.

 This little table and chairs was also in the bedroom and there was sherry in the crystal decanter.

 The next morning I took a walk around the grounds and found the cute little gazebo room. I walked up, looked in the window and immediate backtracked to the driveway. When I looked in the window I saw a fluffy white wedding dress and a black tuxedo crumpled on the couch. Apparently, the room was very occupied and I was just looking in their windows. Oops.

 The old house had a gorgeous front porch. It had a nice view of the yard, trees and neighborhood. Honestly, once I sat in the chair I never wanted to leave it. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I could imagine spending hours sitting in the chair and reading books.

 After our cooked to order breakfast we headed out to try some Bourbon. We found a free Bourbon tour and tasting about an hour south of Louisville. As soon as we stepped out of the car at the Four Roses Distillery we could smell the yeast and my mouth began to water. All I could think about was yeast rolls with honey butter. Unfortunately, they didn't serve us rolls but we did get to taste four different Bourbons.

 The winner is....The Four Roses Small Batch.  Yummy!  I could imagine myself sipping it on a cold evening sitting by the fire.

It was a great weekend trip with great friends and I hope it will be repeated often.

The Friend Zone

A friend sent my writing group a notice of an online publication that was accepting flash fiction stories for publication. The email inspired me to write a story called "The Friend Zone" and I submitted the story to Fireside Magazine at the end of April. Today, I got the following rejection letter.

"Dear Candace,

Thank you for your submission of "The Friend Zone" to Fireside, but we've decided not to accept it for publication. Please forgive the form letter, but due to the high volume of submissions we can't respond personally on each story. We appreciate your interest in Fireside.

Sincerely,

X X"

Boo!  That wasn't how I wanted to start my Monday morning.  However, now that my submission was rejected my loyal blog readers get to read my story.

Enjoy!

The Friend Zone

By csrulebreaker

Yvette knew she was attracted to Joel the first time she saw him in the dark pub. He wore faded jeans, a Star Trek t-shirt and a red Live Long and Prosper ball cap. She loved men who sported well-loved and fitted ball caps. Something about seeing the hat on his head and how it framed his face made her feel alive and interested.

Yvette had been a member of the weekly trivia group for three years and this was the first time she encountered a man who was cute and shared her love of Star Trek. She was seated at the opposite end of the table from Joel and she didn’t have much opportunity to talk to him. However, she spent the rest of the night ignoring the trivia and daydreamed about Joel.

She called her three closest friends the next week before trivia to have them help her figure out the best way to connect with Joel.  Quickly, they decided the best option was for everyone to arrive early and to leave only one seat open right next to her.  While she was at work that week she found herself doodling his name on her notepad and daydreaming about their next encounter. The more she thought about him the more infatuated she became however, she didn’t want to enter the dreaded friend zone with him. That was always her big move and her biggest mistake.  To boost her confidence on Thursday she wore her Star Trek t-shirt, earrings and panties.

Her plan worked and she and her friends arrived well before Joel. When he arrived he took the only available seat, right next to her, and both games began. She was nervous and excited. As they started their conversation she could almost hear her heart melting and feel herself fall into infatuation. Yvette asked him about his favorite Dr. Who episode and the conversation flowed easily between them. He was shy but willing to share his personal information and she soaked up everything she could learn from him. However, she couldn’t tell if he was interested.  He seemed to treat her the same way he treated everyone else.  Was that an indication of disinterest or was he shy around women?

The third week Yvette saw Joel was pivotal. She had a plan. She had a horrible habit of falling into the dreaded friend zone with every man she met. She would talk to them, be friendly and attentive but nothing. Often he would date one of her friends and her fragile heart would be crushed. She knew whatever happened that she didn’t want to fall into the friend zone with Joel and she decided to ask him on a date. She wouldn’t normally be so bold and ask a man out but she didn’t want to repeat her past mistakes. That was her “goto” move. Make friends and hope it would turn into something better.  Up until this point that tactic allowed her to make many friends and no boyfriends. She decided it was time for a change.

The evening went well.  The group came in second place in that week’s trivia challenge and she kept up a friendly banter with Joel. At the end of the evening she lingered around the table and hoped to have a private word with him. Her heart pounded out of her chest and her hands were cold and clammy. She took a deep breath and blurted out, “Joel, would you like to meet for drinks tomorrow night?”

“Sure, who else will be there?”

What-the-hell! She looked directly at him and said, “Just us. Usually, only two people go on a date.”

“Um, uh.Um. Ok, good. That sounds good. See you tomorrow night.”

She thought carefully before she dressed for the date. She wanted to get the right mix of cute and nerdy while incorporating sexy. She wanted to be viewed as an available woman and not as a friend. She decided to wear her low rise, perfectly faded jeans with a tight black scoop neck top with a tiny Star Trek symbol on the right side. She added her best geek jewelry and even spent forty-five minutes preparing her makeup. After a few minutes of indecision, she decided to go for the black knee high boots and not the sneakers. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn’t trying to make a new friend and she needed to make a serious attempt to be attractive.

She arrived ten minutes early and he was already there. She smiled to herself and walked over to Joel sitting at the long mahogany bar. He got up as she walked over and pointed to a two person booth in the corner. She was impressed that he decided to move to a more intimate space with her.

As soon as they sat down the conversation flowed smoothly. They had so many interests and hobbies in common. She often had intense and enjoyable conversations with people but it felt different with Joel. The words and opinions came out of her mouth so easily. There was never a lull in the conversation or an awkward moment and she felt her attraction mounting as the evening progressed.

The pub began to thin out and Yvette realized they had sat and talked for four and a half hours. That was an amazing amount of time to spend on a first date, but it was time for it to end. Yvette got up and Joel followed her outside to her car. She turned around to say goodnight and she was swooped into his arms. He gave her a passionate kiss that lasted forever. Yvette’s mind turned off during the kiss and she fell into the moment. When the passion subsided Joel gave her a bear hug and put her in the car.

The date was a success and Yvette was thrilled. She had successfully avoided the dreaded friend zone.