Before I go too much further, if you like to vacation to non-resort type destinations, you might consider a National Parks Passports. We got ours after this trip and are now convinced we have to go back to Kentucky to get our stamps! Save yourself the second trip and get your passport at any national park. If you do the Junior Ranger program, the kids get a chance to be hands on at the parks and really learn something. I talked to someone recently whose parent's had one since childhood and they cherish it and the memories!
OK, back to this year's trip to Kentucky. It's a long drive from Chicago, but doable. We left in the afternoon, had a leisurely dinner somewhere around Crown Point, IN, and arrived pretty late in the evening - the tornado that my DH insisted we drive through rather than pull over did not help our speed at all. With nice weather - it probably wouldn't be a bad drive since it's straight down 65 for much for the drive.
On the first part of the trip, we stayed at the Residence Inn Marriott Louisville Northeast. It was a suite, with a kitchenette/living room and separate bedroom and had a nice breakfast buffet each day. The room was a little small for the 4 of us, but it did the trick. It had a pool and was very close to a lot of restaurants, so we could just walk to get dinner. Therefore, it met the requirements. The second part of the trip, we stayed at the Hawthorne Suites Louisville East. It also was a suite, had a pool and was near a lot of shopping, however you had to drive everywhere. It was a little bit tired and the rooms seemed very dark - not a lot of natural light. Again, it did the trick. There was a big trucking convention in Louisville the week we were there, hence, the difficulty in finding a room for the full 5 nights.
Day 1: Louisville Zoo
On our first full day in Kentucky, we headed to the Louisville Zoo. This zoo was very manageable, had a nice layout and some interesting animals. Several of the exhibits were interactive, which is always fun for the peeps. Lorikeet Landing allows you to go in an enclosure with the birds and you can buy food to feed them. In the Wallaroo Walkabout, you can walk a path within a wallabies (think small kangaroo) enclosure while they hop around you! It was very fun!Day 2: Lexington
We drove out to Lexington - a beautiful drive - to visit a friend and her horse farm. Spectacular views and a very fun day - but probably won't apply to most. I hear the Kentucky Horse Park is very interested for anyone who is interested in horses or horse racing. My parents went and loved it. It would have been a long day for my little people, so we decided against it this trip. I thought it might be better for them when they are a little older and could appreciate seeing some very famous retired horses. Day 3: Lousiville Slugger Factory, Kentucky Derby Museum
This was a fun day!! The Louisville Slugger Factory is an awesome factory tour. I'm not even into baseball, but I love a good factory tour and this one fits the bill. You start out in a little baseball museum while you wait for your tour to start. During the tour, you watch every step of how a bat is made. I don't mean on a tv screen or from a gallery - you are right there about 2" from all the equipment (safely protected by plexiglass in some cases) and professional bats! Sorry, no pictures allowed in the factory. At the end of the tour, you even get a miniature baseball bat to take home. Perfect! To top off the visit, when you are finished, you can use their batting cages for a nominal fee and try out some Louisville Sluggers. For the little kids, they have a little batting cage with tees/balls as well as a coloring and play area. CAUTION: These bats are considered weapons by the FAA and must be packed in checked baggage only. For lunch on Day3, we went to Against the Grain Brewery housed within Louisville Slugger Field - just down the street from the Factory. The Food was quite tasty... as was the beer!
After lunch and some swimming, we headed back out to the Churchill Downs to go to the Kentucky Derby Museum. We ended up going pretty late in the day, so we had a bit of a cursory tour. The museum itself was pretty good as it had a bunch of the crazy derby hats and an area for the kids to sit on mechanical horses and "race" each other. Within the museum, there is a 360 degree movie room with the history of Churchill Downs which was interesting for all ages. Included in the general admission price is a 30minute Historical Walking Tour, which walks through the public areas of the grounds and talks a little bit about, you guessed it, the history of Churchill Downs and the Derby. I think the Inside the Gates or Barns and Backside Tours would have been interesting as well, but we were in a bit of a rush as we snuck this in at the end of the day. Day 4: Mammoth Cave, Abe Lincoln's Birthplace
This might have been my favorite day of the trip, however, Day 2 and 3 were pretty awesome too. On Day 4, we drove south to Mammoth Cave! En route, we stopped at Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. I feel a little bit bad and kinda un-American, but it wasn't really that interesting. At the top of the 56 granite steps (one for each year of his life), there is a monument that enshrines a symbolic log cabin -not the real cabin. As my DD said, "What?! We don't even get to go in?! Now, looking at their website, they have a National Parks Junior Rangers program. If I knew then what I know now about this type of program, the stop would likely have been a bit more interesting. Maybe we'll give it another try some time.
Once we got back north into Louisville, about 1.5 hours later, we went to Lynn's Paradise Cafe for dinner. This is a pretty goofy restaurant with some wild decorations. We chose it because their Hot Brown Sandwich, loaded with roasted turkey breast, Mornay sauce,
bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese, was included on Food Network's The Best Thing I
Ever Ate.as Alton Brown's favorite sandwich. We like sandwiches, so we decided to give it a try. The food was very tasty and the gift shop/waiting area was a hoot (as was DD trying out their wares)!Overall, I'd give this trip an A+ (minus the tornado, of course). Definitely recommended for families!
