Thunder over Louisville

This throwback Thursday is dedicated to Louisville.  (By the way, it's not pronounced LOUIE-ville like most people say that are not natives of the city, I learned that very quickly).  Danny grew up in Louisville and among the many times we visited over the last few years, my first visit to the area was very memorable.  It was also the first weekend with Danny's parents and boy was I nervous! We had been dating for a few months at this point and I had met them in person only once.  After all was said and done, we had an amazing experience and I bonded with Danny's parents and friends so much after that weekend.

We visited Louisville in the spring of 2012.  They have a little event called the Kentucky Derby in early May, so they have a big kickoff to the festivities called Thunder over Louisville (side note: I think I need to add "Go to a Kentucky Derby party" to my 30 before 30 list.  I want to buy a big hat so bad!)  Danny had always been in Louisville for this event and he had a few friends that had houses near the firework extravaganza.  Also, its important to mention that Thunder over Louisville is unlike any other firework show you have ever seen.  I made the mistake of telling Danny I had been to firework shows before when he was telling me about it, but he corrected me very quickly saying that Thunder over Louisville was different.  Turns out it is the largest annual firework show held in North America!

The first day we were in Louisville, Danny took me to a local winery by his parent's house, Huber's Winery.  Boy, did he know me well, right? I ended up loving it and we go back to Huber's every time we are in Louisville! We also tend to buy 56 bottles of wine to take home with us, because we never know when we'll be back and we don't want to run out!

Danny and me wine tasting at Huber's.

We bought a bottle and ate some cheese and crackers. Typical.

The next day was fireworks day.  We got up early to meet some of his friends at their houses.  Luckily, we met them the night before at dinner, so I was already pretty comfortable with who everyone was.  We started at Danny's friend, Adam and his girlfriend, Emily's house.  Adam is one of Danny's best friends and he was the best man at our wedding.  We had a great time at their house meeting friends from Danny's high school and getting ready for the festivities.  I also hung out with Danny's friend, Doug who would become one of his groomsmen at our wedding.  Doug is fun, outgoing, and the life of the party.  He always makes me laugh so we bonded instantly.

At Adam and Emily's house.

Boys take really good pictures (Doug, Adam, and Danny)

Me and Doug

After spending some time with Adam, we headed to Danny's other friends house, Kris and Kathryn.  Kathryn and Danny have been friends since elementary school and I always heard such good things about her since she was one of Danny's closest friends.  Kathryn is the sweetest southern belle you will ever meet.  Kathryn's boyfriend, Kris is one of Danny's closest friends and he was also a groomsmen at our wedding (sensing a theme?).  Kris and Kathryn's place was so much fun.  We played numerous rounds of flip cup (one of my favorites) and I got to know all the girls really well.

At Kris and Kathryn's.  I'd also like to note that I thought Danny was behind me in this picture and I thought that was his arm around me until I turned around and it wasn't...

Me and Danny by the river.

After a full day of drinking which mind you I hadn't done since college, we finally got to see some fireworks!

All in all it was a great weekend getting to know Danny's parents and friends better.  It is one that I will never forget and we hope to go back for Thunder over Louisville sometime in the future.

The day we left Louisville.

Danny with his childhood dog, Pebbles.

I've added this vacation to our travel adventures page, check out some of the other places we've visited together.