Jun. 18, 2008 - 11th Anniversary

My husband and I were able to take a trip together, just us.
We drove last Wednesday morning to Mammoth Cave in KY.  We stopped at a Steak N Shake and we both got our own shake and we didn't have to share with anyone. (although we shared bites with each other)
We set up our tent and then ate at the hotel restaurant and went to a program at the amphitheater about creatures that live in the cave.
In the morning, we had breakfast at the amphitheater, then went for a hike on the Green River Bluff trail.
We made it back to the hotel Cafe for lunch and coffee.  Then we went on a cave tour.  We toured the New Entrance so we could see the "Frozen Niagara."  We drove our van to Cave City and had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. 
During the night, deer walked all around our tent.  They had no fear of people it seemed.
In the morning we had breakfast at the Hotel Restaurant and the best cherry preserves I've ever had.  I bought a jar b/c they were so good.  We then drove on to Louisville.  We stopped at the birthplace of Lincoln. We saw the Sinking Spring and walked around a bit.  We saw the museum in town and the new statue of Lincoln as a boy.
When we got to Louisville, we checked into our bed and breakfast.  It was a place called Austin's Inn and it was located so close to downtown.  It was a bit rainy, but not too bad.  We walked to the Belle of Louisville and got our tickets for a dinner cruise.  Since it was raining, they kept the boat tied up.  But we ate dinner and listened to the band (called Crushed Velvet).  I told them it was our anniversary and so they played a song for us and gave us a CD of their music.  It was fun.
On Saturday, we had a delicious breakfast and visited with a couple from Indiana.  Come to find out, the lady is the publisher Tanglewood.  It was very interesting talking to them.
We got our bikes out and rode all around town.  First, we rode through the historic district on the way to Churchill Downs.  We saw one race, got some lemonade and then left.  I just wanted to know what it was like.  We didn't do any bets or anything, but apparently it was a good day for a race.  It was a Stephen Foster thing.  I don't know, but now I can say I've been to Churchill Downs.
We rode on to a quirky restaurant on the other side of I-65 called Lynn's Cafe.  I had pancakes with chocolate and vanilla custard (oh my, you can't imagine my delight).
Then we rode to the Slugger Museum for a tour.  We got mini bats when it was over.  Then we rode our bikes over the 2nd street bridge to the the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  My husband made the comment that Indiana is the only state we've been in that we have only been on bikes in.  Weird.
We then found an Old Spaghetti Factory and shared a meal and a Kentucky Derby Pie (of course). 
  I know you're thinking, "Good grief all that food." But I justify it by thinking, "I was riding my bike all day."  I think we rode something like 25 miles all day.  That night, to soothe our aching you-know-what's, we took a bubble bath in the B&B jacuzzi.  We crashed and slept very soundly on the memory-foam mattress.  You can't imagine how well we slept and how late we slept.
The next day we had breakfast with the couple again.  They were so very nice and fun to talk to.  We packed up and said goodbye.  We drove from Louisville to Land Between the Lakes.  We had a picnic that overlooked the Kentucky Lake.  We continued on to the Golden Pond.  Someday we'd like to come there and camp and hike and all those things we love to do.
We drove to our house in Conway and then on to Texarkana getting there by 2am.  We drove for 14 hours and the van's a/c was dripping water on my feet inside the van.  It was ready for bed too.
That was a long day. 
On Monday morning the children woke us up at my folks' house early.  We gave them the trinkets and gifts we found for each of them along the way.
 It was one of the best anniversary trips we've had.