We woke up our first morning to (very) chilly temps – we haven’t felt this number in a long, long, long time.

Eric went to school at UK and made plans to visit his new fraternity house for Alpha Gamma Rho or ΑΓΡ. His contact (Marcie) picked us up at noon and we started with lunch at OCB Kitchen.  He’s  interacted professionally with her in his role at work and she married one of his fraternity brothers.

It was an appropriate concept  for Lexington – lots and lots of bourbon.  Every post has to have a bit of learning, here you go:

They are another place that strives for local ingredients.  I like that!

›We were doing it before it became ‘cool’.  What can I say………………..we’re trend setters, ha!‹

They have this really cool (got to find another word) idea (ok, probably not the first one to use it) that I really liked:  an IPAD showcasing their food with photos.  I did make my choice based upon the photo and changed from my original selection.

And it it turned out like this.  Pretty similar, but I took a close up shot of the food, versus a plate shot.

I totally loved the decor.  Their website says they took ‘centuries old local barn wood’ for the look they wanted inside the establishment – it definitely works – along with the barrels.

And yes, you can see they have an extensive list of bourbon.  It was a good way to start the day (eating, not drinking bourbon).

Marcie did a great job giving us a tour around campus.  The campus has a lot of construction going on and all the new architecture is blending in with existing buildings making for a cohesive-looking college campus.   When possible, they are keeping the facades of older buildings and incorporating that into the new one.  The old Alumni Gymnasium now houses a work-out destination for the students.  That was an excellent idea.  The gym was the first place the school played basketball in the 1920s.  Plus, she could tell us what future plans were coming for the school campus.

We walked to the AΓΡ house and met some members who gave us a tour, including their own room – that took guts.

We found Eric’s chapter photo.  Yep, that’s right, the date says 1987.  Sorry hon, I had to point that out.  🙂

The item below was a donation given to the house, which we were told was found at a garage sale.  They framed and back-lit the stained glass to hang above their mantle.

Marcie also took us to their new student union building-it was fabulous!  I definitely am jealous.  I wonder what Purdue has done………..

They have a great student food destination inside that I only dreamed about  when I was going to school.  Once again, they are supporting local and state-grown items.

It was a great way to start our week in Lexington.  Thanks Marcie for the tour!

Ginny