I'm a planner. I work for an effectiveness company. I have every planning location service app available. I rarely get a tank of gas without checking my CheapGas app to find the best price.
On this trip, I was reminded that too much planning doesn't allow the good Lord to step in.
Before the Bourbon trip I surfed the Interwebz of info for the best places to sleep, eat, drink, drive and how to position ourselves not to drink then drive. Fortunately for me, my work schedule was so great before the trip I didn't have the time to really map it all out, nail it all down and plug it into my calendar. We booked a B&B on Friday night and a hotel on Saturday night and off we went.
We arrived in Bardstown KY and checked in to Rosemark Haven. We had missed the last dinner seating so we were on our own to find a dinner spot fit for two weary Foodies in need of wine and deliciousness. We drove the mile into town and things were hopping. We skipped on Mammy's which was packed with a banjo player to go with their grits and greens. We eyeballed a couple of pubs and bookmarked them for a nightcap. I did pull out the Around Me app and found a place called Circa that looked interesting. I hit "map" on the app. It should have had a voice that said, "Hey, brilliance it's right in front of you." Sure enough, all I had to do was look up and there it was in a cute as a button yellow house.
We sat down at Circa and knew instantly we were in for something special. The placed smelled like heaven, white table clothes and big beautiful wine glasses. We were home. We ordered our vino and started to salivate over the menu. We started with an appetizer called "46" Beignet. It's named "46" after Maker's Mark's only new product in 46 years. This fried dough filled with barbecue pulled pork with more of the "46" bourbon BBQ sauce to dip. O M G!!!
Our salads were also fab with the highlight being the pesto on my caprese salad that must have been made while we were parking the car it tasted so fresh.
The entrees were equally impressive but we must note the Rosemary Rolls tasted like spring. Literally. They were like a cool breeze and the first smell of cut grass. I'm going to write and beg for the recipe!
On the way back to the car we swung in to a local pub for a nice bourbon nightcap. We were greeted with the happy surprise of a live band playing our favorite Tom Petty song. We bellied up to the whispers of the locals who quickly became like old friends. We danced, we laughed, we mingled with the carpet cleaners and the hog farmers.
This may not sound like such a big deal to a couple of gals that have spent many a Friday night in a honky tonk with a bar tab. Let me tell you why this was special.
Two weeks prior on the night of my actual birthday, I told another friend my idea of the perfect night. I told her I longed for a friendly pub with a live band where the proper attire was jeans and boots and I laughed and drank and danced until they finally had to close the doors. That's exactly what we had found. By accident. Without an "app" or a map.
Of course we know that it wasn't an accident at all. The good Lord knows better than Urban Spoon what we need on a Friday night. I was reminded of a valuable lesson on this trip. We can plan too much and not pray enough. That applies to dinner and destiny. Once I let go, all that I had asked for was laid before us.
The rest of the trip had the same vibe. Stay tuned for more reports from the Boots, Bourbon and Birthday tour.
