After a long week of driving, the Tater Team was itching for some action by the time they hit Louisville, Kentucky. And they got it in a big way. Right off the bat they got swarmed by thousands of people at the Pegasus Parade Preview. The young, elderly and everyone in between descended upon the convention center to get a sneak peak at the best floats to come. In my completely unbiased and professional opinion… the award definitely went to the Big Idaho Potato. Call me crazy but from the reaction on everyone’s faces I think they probably would have agreed. The tater tots alone were getting so out of hand that we had to call in backup and by now you should know that means none other than SPUDDY BUDDY! He ran, wrestled and was even asked to get married (though soon after he found out she was already engaged to one of the other mascots at the center). Yep it was a grand start to what can only be described as an epic week.
As fun as the preview party was it just couldn’t hold a candle to the actual parade itself. The Pegasus Parade is an incredible experience, and, if you are sitting on top of a giant potato, an incredible view. The streets were alive with people of all ages and they were sure to ask the age old question, “Is that real!?” Of course, if you have seen the new logo on our truck this year then you can understand why they would be so perplexed. We spent the whole time dodging the question (as we love to do) in order to maintain the mystery and suspense that surrounds the Big Idaho Potato.
The rest of the weekend was left to the team and they made sure to take full advantage of their surroundings. On Friday they were invited to bring the potato to the only underground zipline in the world! Mega Cavern is a gigantic man made cavern into Louisville’s limestone bedrock and is now the home of temperature controlled storage and adventure activities (video to come). And Saturday Kristie showed the boys a thing or two about getting dressed up as she outshined them in her hand made dress at the Kentucky Derby infield. This was a cultural delight as they traversed mint juleps, dapper pastel outfits and confusing horse racing lingo. And though they didn’t win any money, they felt like winners as they wrapped up a long and successful week.
Remember, this year’s tour is just getting started so be sure to warn your family and friends so they can keep their eye’s ‘peeled’ for us… or you can always just send them to this video below.
Salutaters,
Ivan
