Oh, the Kentucky Derby...

So we went to the Kentucky Derby.  However, we did NOT go to the Kentucky Derby that you have envisioned in your head.  You know - the pretty dresses with the gorgeous hats, seersucker suits, mint julep and other classy drinks in hand.  No, we went to the infield:

 "That whole thing will be jammed with people; fifty thousand or so, and most of them staggering drunk. It's a fantastic scene--thousands of people
fainting, crying, copulating, trampling each other, and fighting with broken whiskey bottles."
-Native son Hunter S. Thompson

Other websites say there is usually around 80,000 people there and I would believe it.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience pretty much because I, personally, would not want to experience it again.  Oh sure, for 40 bucks I could pay to go another year - but NO THANK YOU.  Here's not to say we didn't have fun and see all sorts of sights (in fact I wish I could have just video taped everything my eyes saw) but it was enough to last me a lifetime.  If we do it again, I'll be paying the big bucks for the grand stands.

Now knowing what the infield is like, it was completely appropriate for our group to go with a denim white-trash theme. 

The florist at work and I created my hat - deeming me the "Produce Princess"

This hat was amazing! I had my picture taken over 50 times, received countless compliments,

was interviewed by the Kentucky news AND made it onto the newspaper's website! (#45)

EPIC.

Here are just some of the other sights we saw - clockwise from left in a spiral :)

1. The Grand Stand a.k.a The Kentucky Derby you envision

2. An airbrushed hard hat

3. A teeeeeeny tiny little jockey

4.  A man with a bloodied face from one of the TWO fights we witnessed

5. Elvises

6. Another awsome hat

7. Suprisingly one of the few mullets I noticed

8. Some of the classier folk

9.  Ross and the lime green suit he would like to wear next year

And finally - the stars of the Kentucky Derby - the horses.  We were able to see a few.

I hope this gave you a glimpse into possibly the most interesting day of my life.  I would say more, but there really are no words and not even enough pictures.  The quote above truly describes it all.  It is not a place for children and definitely not for the faint of heart.