I was invited on a press trip with Toyota. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Hey beautiful people!! Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Louisville, Kentucky with Toyota for a few days! When I got the email I was super excited for many reasons. I get to work with one of the brands that I truly love and I get to go to Louisville, a city that I’ve never been to before. If you’ve been following me then you know that I’ve been traveling to a lot of places that I’ve never been before! If you want to learn more about Toyota’s largest manufacturing plant in the world and also some cool things I got to experience on the trip keep reading :).
Day 1
I arrived to Louisville on a Thursday and was greeted with so much southern hospitality! We got the chance to stay at the Brown Hotel and I was very excited when I found this out because the Brown Hotel is Louisville’s most legendary hotel!! The brown hotel has so much southern charm and is really a true gem! Anchoring downtown Louisville with a firm grasp on history paired with a 21st century appreciation for hospitality. It is a landmark hotel at the corner of Fourth and Broadway that blends breathtaking architectural features with the modern amenities and services today’s most discerning travelers expect.
A fun fact: The Brown Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel is a prime location that offers easy access to many of Louisville’s most in-demand destinations, including the Brown Theatre (across the street), the Palace Theatre (half a block) and the Kentucky International Convention Center (seven blocks).
Our first stop was at the Louisville Slugger Museum! We did a tour of the facility. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory aims to celebrate the extraordinary role of Louisville Slugger in baseball’s past, present and future. It’s a great place to take your family if you are visiting Louisville! I will definitely bring my family back to experience this amazing museum. You even get a free mini bat after your tour to take home! This fathers day they are giving free admissions for all dads! If you are in the Louisville area make sure you head over to check out this amazing museum. Even if you are not a baseball fan it’s fun and you can learn something new! I got to see the bat actually held by Jackie Robinson!! That was the highlight for me!
Day 2
We got to get a chance to pick our rides and take a scenic drive down to Georgetown Kentucky to visit the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky! On the first day we decided to drive the 2019 Toyota Camry XSE! It has a sporty design with LED headlights with smoke tint. I loved the panoramic glass roof and of course the Apple car play! It even has a 10 inch color heads up display. The ride was super smooth! Felt like we glided all the way to our destination! It was so fun to get to drive the car on the road and really get to experience the car and its features.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky
We arrived at the Toyota Manufacturing Plant and I was amazed at the size of the facility. This is the largest Toyota Manufacturing Facility in the world! The plant size is equal to 156 football fields and is 9 million square feet! That’s huge! The plant produces the Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES350.
It was an amazing experience getting to see the process in which the cars are made. I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit the largest Toyota manufacturing plant in the world! I’ve never been to a manufacturing plant before and it was amazing to see all the processes that go into making a car. It’s a very cool process. You can book a tour at this plant if you would like to see how the cars are made.
The Toyota TILT Lab
We then took a short drive over to the TILT lab. The TILT lab was created to give Toyota engineers everything they need to take an idea from concept to prototype. It’s truly an engineer’s playground with 3D printers, virtual and augmented reality technology, lasers. It has everything you need to dream up an idea and create it, all under one roof. For those who are tech heads and creatives this place will blow your mind!! Once tested, TILT Lab creations may even be applied at Toyota plants to improve processes or solve challenges! That really helps those over at the plant to make their jobs easier.
We ended the day with a Tasting and Dinner at the Rabbit Hole Distillery. Distilling is part of Louisville’s culture. Rabbit Hole is located in the city’s creative heart, the NULU district, the nexus of old and new, where artists and entrepreneurs pursue their vision without budgeting for regret. The views were amazing! I’m not a Bourbon girl but I did make sure I tried some of the offerings. This was a very cool tour. We got to see how the Bourbon is made and what goes into creating the perfect Bourbon recipe. You can also take a tour of the Distillery or even book an event. This is a place you must visit if you are planning to visit Louisville soon.
Day 3
We got to switch it up and drive the Toyota Avalon for the day! If you’ve been following me for a while then you remember that I drove both the Camry and Avalon before. I loved how Toyota allowed us to really experience the vehicles features on this trip. We drove about an hour out to the Old Friends Farm to visit some of the retired thoroughbred race horses. I love nature, animals and the outdoors so this was right up my alley.
Old Friends Farm
Old Friends Farm was founded in 2003 by former Boston Globefilm critic Michael Blowen. The organization has grown from a leased paddock and one horse to a 136-acre farm, a herd of over 175 rescued and retired horses, and two satellite facilities.
I had so much fun getting to see the horses and feed them. This farm is so amazing for taking the retired racehorses in. I love organizations that aim to help animals.
We then headed to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby! We got to take a tour of the facility and also bet on some races! We even got to present the winner of one of the races with their trophy in the paddock! I have never been to a horse race so this was very exciting. I definitely have to make plans to visit Kentucky again for the Kentucky Derby.
Overall this was an amazing trip. I met some amazing people, got to learn more about Toyota and also got to take a little tour of Louisville’s southern hospitality.
Thank you so much Toyota for having me! I truly had a blast!
