UPDATE 3/28/14: See post #213 for tentative schedule info, always subject to change; nothing is mandatory.
karung99 has a room reserved for Fri/Sat nights, but cannot come. PM him if you'd like to take it over; otherwise he will cancel.
Likewise for
cocobird.
Ride-share/carpool offers:
mile ho Updated: From CMH 11 am Thursday, to CMH 8 pm Monday
Ashasan2005 From LEX 4/4 11:45 am; to LEX 4/7 6:00 am flight
toomanybooks From LEX 4/3 11:45 am; to LEX 4/7 ~15:30 flight
Ride-share/carpool requests:
Mbcijim10
Sunday April 6 is Military Day at Keeneland. Active duty, Reserve, vets, and families get in free! Some free food/music as well. If you qualify, bring your ID.
http://www.keeneland.com/calendar/military-day-races
AIRLINES SERVING LEX:
http://www.bluegrassairport.com/airlines.html
If you cannot get award space or a good fare into LEX, keep trying. At least on AA, it opens up often. I usually use Avios.
There is an airline club at LEX, with access for the following:
AA Admirals Club
DL Sky Club
UA Red Carpet Club
"Day Passes," presumably Priority Pass (?) and maybe for anyone
Other airports to consider (all easy access via interstate, 3 hours max):
SDF, CMH, CVG, DAY, CRW, IND
Well, after we skipped an October 2013 LEX DO (except for
Herb687 all by himself), there seems to be quite a bit of interest in repeating in April 2014.
For those not familiar, what we have done in the past is:
1. Go to Keeneland (
http://www.keeneland.com) including breakfast on the backstretch (one of the most beautiful racetracks in the world)
2. Hit a couple nice restaurants during the weekend
3. Consume some adult beverages, perhaps at Country Boy (
http://countryboybrewing.com) or the Beer Trappe (
http://www.thebeertrappe.com/)
4. Visit a horse farm or two (
mile ho is in the "horse bidness")
5. Tour one or more bourbon distilleries on the KY Bourbon Trail (
http://kybourbontrail.com)
6. Have a Saturday eve party/reception at my parents' house
7. Dinner somewhere like Billy's BBQ (
http://www.billysbarbq.com/) or City Barbecue (
http://www.citybbq.com). Or maybe somewhere else for a KY specialty like a Hot Brown (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Brown)
8. Finish up Sunday with a big southern brunch at Stella's (
http://www.stellaskentuckydeli.com), where we completely fill the space under that red awning at left. Mmmmmm, Bourbon Ball Coffee and Bourbon Vanilla French Toast. And proper Southern Biscuits and Gravy, none of that Hampton Inn-type stuff.
8. Some folks go to Keeneland again, with LEX conveniently across the street for a last-second departure.
Lexington is very easy to get around, but you'll need to have a car or share with someone. The airport tends to be a bit expensive to fly into/out of, but Avios redemptions work well. Or you can fly into one of the alternate airports given above and rent a car; some beautiful scenery along the way.
bk3day scored a nice UA bump out of LEX last time she attended.
Party Central is the SPG 4 Points, a category 2 hotel on the north side of town. Low redemptions, near I-64/I-75 intersection, and a Waffle House across the street for those 1:30 am munchies. I suggest you reserve right away if you think you might want a room at the 4Pts. 3000 SPG points per Fri/Sat night (cancelable) vs. up to $169 (all-in) per night for a cancelable reservation. 5+ cents for a Starpoint! Too bad it's no longer a cat. 1.
UPDATE: Friday and Saturday nights are sold out;
karung99 and
cocobird have reservations you can take over.
Most folks arrive Friday.
mile ho will do his best to line up visits to a mare farm (where he has a mama horse and usually a foal boarded) and a stallion farm where the action happens, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.
Youtube channel for Lexington, with some nice material:
http://www.youtube.com/user/LexKyCVB?v=oxkjCDpXdkY
Bourbon news from the Lexington "Herald-Leader":
http://www.kentucky.com/1354/
Previous threads to give you an idea of what goes on:
April 2013:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-7-2013-a.html
October 2012:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-kentucky.html
April 2012:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...ington-ky.html LOTS OF USEFUL LINKS IN THIS ONE.
Please post if you are definite or maybe. Tentative schedule appears in post #213.
Attending/very likely:
toomanybooks
ORD-TGU
Sweet Willie
HPN-HRL
bk3day
KMA26
mile ho
ElmhurstNick
thegrailer
livingthedream99
arollins
GrizShel
Mbcijim10 + 1
Melville + 1
Herb687
GG
LexPassenger
rxgeek + 1
mhnadel
Santander (+1?)
Ashasan2005
John Rxman + 1
iris30
iolairemcfadden + 1 (TOBB)
makersmark
WanderLuster
Maybe
HPN-HRL's + 1
polkacat
USHPNWDLUA + 1
luvtworce
bynxnjynx
mommafrica +1
Maybe (from TOBB ["The Other Bulletin Board"]):
Denro
TAHKUCT
Can't make it
CubsFanJohn
PV_Premier + 1
karung99 + 1
FindAWay
Flying Machine (+1?)
dinasoar
cocobird