What should we do for memorial day weekend?

May 19, 2010 7:54 PM

I'd like the take the out-of-state girlfriend on a weekend trip for Memorial Day weekend, any suggestions for destinations/activities? [Central KY]

The girlfriend and I are planning to take a little trip during the Memorial Day weekend. Starting point is Lexington/Louisville, KY and I'd like to stay within 4-5 hrs of our starting destination. Ideally we'll leave friday afternoon and be back sometime monday evening.

She's from out of state (Upstate New York) and I'd like to show her something she's never seen/done before. Current thoughts are Nashville/Gatlinburg, TN.

posted by all the kings men to travel & transportation around Kentucky (4 answers total)

Well, it's not necessarily out of state, but it's 5 hours away. Land Between the Lakes. (and yes, part of it is TN, so that works too) There's plenty of camping, lodges, hiking, lake stuff, and if you want, roll down to Nashville (hour and fifteen away) and do something really nice for the last night. I'm originally from your area of the state and now live in Murray (right off LBL) so I'm biased. Gatlinburg works as well.
posted by deezil at 8:15 PM on May 19, 2010

Mammoth Cave? It's the world's longest. They've got several tours, and quite a bit of above-ground park, too. Might at least be a good waypoint on your way to somewhere for the night.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:18 PM on May 19, 2010

You might try to get a reservation at the Shaker Village, outside Harrodsburg KY. It's a fully restored Shaker community with period buildings, very very quiet accommodations, unbelievable home-cooked food served family style. Wonderful romantic getaway-type place. www.shakervillageky.org. It's about 45 minutes outside of Lexington.

For a very singular KY experience try the tours on the Bourbon Trail (www.kybourbontrail.com). You can't go to KY without trying the whiskey! The distilleries are spread out along the Bluegrass Parkway between Lexington and Elizabethtown KY, about an hour and a half out of Lexington.

Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Farm Tours offers tours of thoroughbred horse farms around Lexington. Haven't done this, but it looks interesting and is again a singular KY kind of thing. www.seethechampions.com.
posted by getAttr at 9:36 PM on May 19, 2010

Memphis, TN is a great city for a weekend trip. Lots of tourist-y stuff to do, like Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum, which are both key bits of Americana. At night, there's Beale Street, which has live music, great food, and plenty of booze, if you're into that. There are also lots of BBQ joints scattered throughout the city that have great ribs, etc.
posted by PhatLobley at 9:03 AM on May 20, 2010