Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Mammoth Cave, Museums, and Monuments

Mammoth Cave .....


To say the least we have had a busy two days. Saturday we got up around 7:00, ate breakfast, and then had to go get the oil changed in the car. About 9:00 we were on the road again. It took a little less than an hour to get to Mammoth Cave National Park. There were several tour options available, but we decided on the self-guided Discovery Tool. Most of the other ones were sold out, not to mention the fact that some of them took over four hours to complete. We were able to walk at our own pace and take our time looking around. The part of the cave we were in was wide and open. I was the most impressed with the Rotunda area. I have know idea how big it actually was, but massive is the only word that comes to mind to describe it!


Museums ....


After lunch we headed up to Louisville to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. I was excited to see how they made the bats and I knew that we would get to take a tour and see bat making in progress. Unfortunately, the production part of the factory was closed due to inventory. However, we still got to take the tour and it was FREE since they were not actually making bats that day. It was neat to see how quickly they can turn a round piece of wood into a perfect bat. The coolest part was getting to hold and see the types of bats that several of the Major Leauge players use. Several have contracts with the factory and can call and order bats anytime. Each one has a specific bat that they like to use. We held bats that had been ordered by Andruw Jones, Ken Griffey Jr., and Derek Jeter to name a few. How cool! The other section of the museum had baseballs on exhibit that had been signed by 18 different presidents.




Monuments ....

Sunday we visited the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. There is a section of the actual log cabin he was born in. They have built a nice building around it to protect it. The monument is on the actual land that his father owned called Sinking Springs. The spring is below the ground and they say that that is where Lincoln took his first drink of water! I always enjoy history and Monty enjoys taking pictures so it was a good place for both of us. There were also two statues in the town square that are monuments representing Lincoln as a boy and as an adult.




Tomorrow we head out bright (barely) and early for Virginia!!

Friday, June 27, 2008

We Made It To Kentucky

We left this morning at 9:00 for our big trip! At about 9:30 Monty realized he had left his camera charger at home so we had to go all the way back to get it! So . . . at 10:00 we were really on our way. Lunch was in Little Rock at Corky's BBQ (yum!). We met Mom and dropped off Austin. After that it was pretty much straight driving and a quick stop for gas in Memphis. At about 9:00 we arrived in Franklin, KY where we had a hotel room reserved. Tomorrow we are off to the Louisville Bat Factory and Mammoth Cave National Park. We are already having a great time and we're just getting started!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

A Day In the Life of a 14 Year Old

A typical day for Austin . . . .
1. Wake up late.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Play video games.
4. Eat lunch.
5. Play video games.
6. Eat dinner.
7. Play video games.
8. Go to bed late.
Really, he has done a little more than that (he mowed the yard on Tuesday)! Austin is enjoying relaxing, sleeping late, and not having to go to football practice and do chores every day. I am enjoying having some company while Monty is at work. Monty is enjoying having a guy in the house to share movie quotes, funny videos on tv, and sports related conversations.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I've finally given in ....

After trying Myspace annd Facebook and finding them way too "busy" and complicated, I've decided that plain old blogging is the way to go. Not that there's that much going on in our lives, but it will give us a way to keep up with friends and family.

I am currently enjoying my fourth day of summer vacation. So far I have been to the dentist and had a cavity filled and two cavities fixed. Yesterday I got one wisdom tooth removed. That's right, just one!! I was lucky enough to have just one that was growing in on the top. I can't say it was fun, but I today I finally feel like I am back to normal.

Friday we are heading to Hot Springs to pick up Austin, my youngest brother. He is finishing up football camp this week and then he will stay with us for two weeks. Most of the time he is here, Mom and Dad will be in Seattle visiting our other brother, Andy.

The 27th Monty and I are headed on our huge vacation!! Our goal is to visit every National Park, all 50 states, and every Major Leaugue Baseball Park together. (We hope to be done by our 50th wedding anniversary!) Last year we went Mount Ranier NP and to Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Marineers). This year we will add Mammoth Cave NP and Shenendoah NP. We plan to go watch the Philadelphia Phillies play at Citizens Bank Park and the Baltimore Orioles play at Camden Yards.

Our 18 day vacation will take us through about 11 states. Trip highlights will include Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Amish Country in Pennsylvania, Hershey, PA, and Historic Philadelphia. We will be blogging our trip and posting pics so everyone can see where we are each day.