Home

Our plan was to be on the road by 9:00 EDT and we made it but it was a wet pack up.  Fortunately, there was let up in the rain showers when we could get out to unplug things.  We made it through Louisville and into Indiana on I-64. 

This is the bridge across the Ohio River at Louisville,

Back in Indiana.

We drove I-64 through Southern Indiana.  It was enjoyable and scenic.  Finally the rain stopped.  We stopped for gas in Haubstadt, Indiana.  There was a Denney's there so we ate an early lunch.  Neither of the boys had eaten at a Denney's so that was a new experience for them.  Illinois welcomed us back with more rain.  We later learned that some of the smaller towns around Decatur had flash floods while we were gone.  We made it back to Lakeland Road at 3:30 and immediately began to unload things.  Everything was unloaded and nearly put away by 4:30.  I still have lots of laundry but that can wait until tomorrow.  We met Kara and Jason at Steak and Shake at 5:00.  Everyone was glad to be back be back together again.
 
The motorhome performed well....as it should with all the work that was done to it.  It was good to get out in it.   It was a fun but short trip.  There is still lots to see in that part of Kentucky so at some point we may  have to make a return trip  We had a lot of rain but for the most part, it occurred in the night when we were sleeping.   Our next big trip will be in the fall beginning with Turkey Run and the Covered Bridge Festival and then we go south.  That will be a new direction for us.

Mammoth Cave and Lincoln

It didn't get dark until nearly 10:00 p.m. so the boys played at the playground area until nearly that time.  Hunter and Keegan both played Gaga Ball and met some nice kids who shared their love of the game.  Needless to say, we all were very tired and sleep came easy.   This morning we ate breakfast at McDonalds (yes, that is what I said) before going to Mammoth Cave.  We didn't realize that the Cave is in CDT but even with the extra hour, the cave tour we wanted was sold out.  We were able to enter part of the cave through the historic entrance so the boys got to experience being in a cave.  At one part of the cave, the ranger told us about how this cave was used to gather from the dirt a chemical similar to gun powder and it was used during the War of 1812.  The men who worked in the cave were slaves and his five times grandfather was one of those men. How neat to hear their story from one of the descendants.  There were 160 steps down into the cave and, of  course, 160 steps out.  It was a good test for Carol's  bionic knee.  He took it slow and steady and made it.

Carol heading down into the cave.

Caves are dark and wet and this water was at the entrance.

It is lush and green at the entrance of the cave.

Next stop was Abraham Lincoln Birth Place National Historic Park.  This park is built on the land that Abraham Lincoln was born.  The house is no longer there but a memorial was built in 1909 to commemorate the event.  There are 56 steps leading to the memorial for the 56 years Lincoln lived.  There are 16 windows in the memorial for the fact that he was the 16th president.  Inside the memorial is a replica of the cabin Lincoln would have been born in.  It was mentioned that even though Illinois likes to call itself "The Land of Lincoln,"  Kentucky was where Lincoln was born and lived his first few years.

The farm Lincoln was born on was called Sinking Springs.  They were lucky enough to have a natural spring from which to get water.

By the time we left the park and arrived home, it was nearly 5:00 p.m.  Carol and I had work to do to get ready to head home.  We loaded the car and hooked up the sewer so we could dump our tanks tomorrow morning.  The kids went swimming and played in the park until a big rain storm came in about 8:00.  The winds blew hard and there was lots of thunder and lightening.  I think we are in for the evening.  We will probably play some Crazy 8's and Old Maid on our last night of the trip.  We are estimating that it is about 400 miles to Decatur so we won't be up too late.

 

Baseball Bats, Gold and General Patton

Left camp around 9:00 headed north to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum.  We missed our exit for GPS guided us to where we needed to be.  The tour of the factory lasted about 40 minutes and was filled with so much information that I couldn't keep track of it all.

The biggest bat we have ever seen outside the factory.

The boys.

Below is the bat Babe Ruth used in 1927 when he hit all the home runs.  He would put a notch in his bat after each home run.

Hunter is holding a Cardinal bat and Keegan is too.  I tried to get them to hold a bat from the Cubs but the would have none of it!

Keegan learned about Jackie Robinson so he wanted his picture with the statue of him.

The stadium above is made of Legos as are the baseball hats below.

Saw this unusual limo on the street and had to have a picture.

On the streets of Louisville.

The Gold Vault!!

We visited the Patton Museum on Fort Knox.  It was very nice with displays of several things owned and used by Patton.l  These are his walking sticks.

This is the car he was riding in when the accident occurred that paralyzed Patton from the neck down.  He lived 12 more days after the accident and is buried in Germany.

A life-sized statue of his famous dog William the Conqueror or Willie as he was called.

The pistols and holster that Patton was famous for wearing.

This was the first Nazi flag that was captured by General Patton and his armored division.

This prints were in the concrete entrance to the Patton Museum representing Willie and General Patton.

The boys resting after a long day.

The drive back to camp was through a rural area of Kentucky as the pictures show.

Back to camp around 4:00 and the boys and I headed for the pool.  We spent the rest of the evening watching the boys play at the play area...Keegan on the jumping pillow and Hunter playing gaga ball.

We are going to have a fire tonight because the weather is so beautiful.  No rain today so we can enjoy sietting outside.