Kentucky Derby with Noah: Derby145 Getting There

Getting to the Kentucky Derby is always an adventure. Plus, with so many people going this year, we were all taking different routes with different schedules. I rode to Fort Walton Beach Wednesday night with Chris, Tracy and Kevin and then we all flew from VPS to Cincinnati the next morning and took an Uber to Bill's condo in Louisville. My mother rode up with my sister, her son and Missy Thursday/Friday. They stopped at a hotel Thursday night and drove the rest of the way in Friday morning. Kelly and Wes drove up Friday from Montgomery. That is a lot of people.

My trip started Wednesday night in Fort Walton Beach. Our Thursday morning flight was early and none of us wanted to wake up at l:00 AM and drive to the airport so I got us a hotel room we could share not too far from the airport. We got to Fort Walton Beach about sunset and had dinner on the water at The Shack. It is a great place with great food and a great view.

Back at the hotel, Tracy and Kevin were done for the night; Chris and I, though (peas in a pod), found a pub directly behind the hotel (Shalimar Cheers) that was open late, had plenty of beer and even had people we knew there (Chris knew them. I did not).

The next morning came early, but we made it to the airport and a golf cart took us from the parking lot to the front entrance. Nothing special getting through security. We all had morning drinks at the airport bar and then boarded an almost entirely full flight - a whole lot more full than our empty flight the previous year (but it didn't make us feel quite as special).

Wednesday night dinner at The Shack

Shalimar Pub where everyone knew our name by the time we left.

I feel like I should have taken more photos from Wednesday night, but it is probably best that I did not. Hopefully, none of this will ever go to court.