4.44 Miles and a Touch of Fall

The rains came yesterday at about the time that another autumn heat wave was supposed to arrive and elevate the air temperature to the mid 80's. Fortunately, the rain won the race and kept the temperature down in the mid-to-low 70's. So, I took advantage of the pleasant (although still too warm) temperature and ran 4.44 miles this afternoon. I followed a route that starts on the street outside of my building and heads straight for the river. The following Louisville Landmarks can be enjoyed while running this quick route:

• University of Louisville Hospital and The J.G. Brown Cancer Center - eyesores architecturally, but valuable institutionally


• Louisville Slugger Field - home of The Fighting, Flying, Louisville River Bats of AAA Baseball. Farm team of the always bad Cincinnati Reds. Nice park that harkens back to the days when masons built ballparks. The team was actually really good this year. Probably could have given their AAAA bretheren a run for their money


• Riverfront Park and The Great Lawn - Louisville's attempt to reclaim the downtown waterfront from the utter lack of good judgment exhibited by city planners who decided to adorn the river with an ugly interstate (I64). The attempt was actually quite successful. People use the park. Just this afternoon, I saw a couple of groups of kids playing ultimate frisbee and a gentleman manning upwards of 12 fishing poles.


• The Belle of Louisville and Spirit of Jefferson Steamboats - The Belle has been a city-owned treasure for years now. Originally christened The Idlewild, she used to offer ferry service between Memphis, TN and West Memphis, AR, presumably to provide passage for satanic, ritual murderers escaping the holy backwaters of West Memphis. She came to Louisville in 1931 and offered service between downtown and Fontaine Ferry Park, an old amusement park in Portland. Now, in her golden years, The Belle hosts dinner cruises and daily calliope concerts. The Spirit of Jefferson also hosts lunch and dinner cruises and was put in place to address Louisville's unquenchable thirst for steamboat revelry.


• Those crazy, giant inflatable white moneys - unfortunately, the aforementioned monkeys have disappeared. They had been stationed just south of Sixth St. and River Road. No one knows why they were there. One popular theory suggest that they are migratory, inflatable monkeys who travel along the Ohio who, upon finding the Falls of The Ohio impassable, decided to dock in downtown Louisville. Another rumor is that they were tragically deflated. In any case, everyone agrees that they are missed and are welcome back at anytime.