Kentucky is one place we were excited to make it to. This is Daniel Boone country! Daniel Boone was a man, yes a real man. With an eye like an eagle and as strong as a mountain was he…the real Daniel Boone was so tough and rugged. To tromp through wild country like that…impressive. And Fess Parker’s character is a family favorite.
We arrived in Kentucky and headed for Fort Boonesborough State Park. We ate lunch with the original fort site in sight.
Daniel Boone’s own hands helped build that wall…amazing…
Then we visited the living history fort, which is a working Fort Boonesborough. There wasn’t much going on since it’s only operational Wed-Sun, but it was still fun to see.
Whispering Hills RV Park in Georgetown was our last stop for the day. This was a wonderful, affordable RV park, with so many kid-friendly amenities. The boys wished we could live there for a month.
The next morning, we had a 10am appointment at Old Friends Farm to be part of a tour group. OFF is a “retirement home” for race horses and other horses used in that trade.
The horses are well-cared for and get to live out the remainder of their years the way a horse should — enjoying green grass and shade, getting regular care, and a good dose of carrots each day, thanks to all us visitors.
This guy was saved from going to a Mexican slaughter house. He is such a sweetie. Since he’s 29 yrs old, his teeth aren’t strong enough, so he has to have shredded carrots. And they have to be fresh 🙂
Kentucky is the horse capital of the world. You can see why — it’s so green and beautiful.
It was also a learning experience during the 90 minute walking tour. We now know the difference between a stallion and a gelding, a mare and a philly, a colt and a stallion. Very interesting. We’re all so glad to have been able to visit this special place.
This is the Kentucky Derby Winner Silver Charm
This is Dayne’s hand after loving on Silver Charm…never to be washed again!
The horse being fed is Popcorn Deelites. He played Seabiscuit in the movie.
The horses here at OFF are the premier athletes of their sport. War Emblem is here, as well. So this is the equivalent of feeding carrots to Michael Jordan, Arnold Palmer, Joe Montana, Pete Sampras…you get the idea.
This is Lucy. She also lives on OFF, and as her 25 lbs show, she lives a life of luxury.
Our last fun thing for the day was Kart Kountry!!
The boys were so excited to drive themselves! The track is 1.5 miles long.
Here’s Dayne’s take on that…”You have the orange car,” the Kart Kountry employee told me. I ran to the car and jumped in, quickly buckling up. Looking up, I waited for the OK to take off. The employee waved Ean off first, then a second later, she waved me off. I floored it immediately, remembering the deal us three boys had made — “Lets race, OK?,” Brodee had said. I had readily agreed. Anyway, I was gaining fast on Ean by the third turn and by the fourth turn I was right behind him. Now during all this, Brodee was not to be forgotten. He was very close by. I thought I saw an opening big enough for my Kart. As it turns out, it was not. Ean closed the opening and we scraped. Quickly steering away, I darted forward and passed Ean on the outside. I began to make a bigger and bigger gap between me and Ean. Brodee passed Ean and started gaining on me. I tried to keep ahead of him but was not able. He passed me as soon as I passed Ean. BUT I didn’t give in. I kept racing. But then dad passed me. After dad passed, he slowed down and let me and Brodee go by him. I sped up, taking advantage of he opportunity. I was right behind Brodee now. THANKS DAD!!!!! When we were about 1,000 feet from the finish, I realized I was not going to win by playin’ it safe. I saw an opening big enough for my vehicle to go through. I passed Brodee with about 250 ft. to spare.
Here’s Brodee’s narrative…Kart Kountry was absolutley awesome!!!! I had been looking foward to driving my own go-cart since I knew we were going there. When we first got there, my first thought had been to race with Dayne and Ean. So we agreed to race. But after the first few turns in our competition, I unoffficially dropped out of the race, and started to experiment with my “vehicle”. Right before every turn I would slow down to almost a complete stop. Then I would slam my foot down on the gas as far as I could. While I would speed around the corner, I wouldn’t turn the steering wheel until the last second. Then I would crank the wheel hard. After a couple experiments, I found that I could drift like those guys in the gangster movies. Having the second fastest type of car also helped. (They give you your kart according to your age. So mine was faster than Dayne and Ean’s, and Mom and Dad’s was faster than mine.) So even though Dayne ended up winning the race (Ean dropped out as well) with a “daring move” as Dayne called it, I think I found something cooler then winning a race. Drifting. I can’t wait until I have my own car. I hope I can get a 2018 Camaro zl1 1le. That’s my dream at least. And if you get a chance, please look up that type of car. Trust me, it’s worth it. 🙂
We did a few more errands before heading off to Louisville. Being July 3, we had some Indpenendence Day prep to do!
This was one BIG box of fireworks being sold at Costco. If you look closely, you can see the top of Ean’s head just above the box. It would’ve been fun to light them all, but Big Boy wasn’t big enough!
We did a few more errands before heading off to Louisville. Being July 3, we had some Indepenendence Day prep to do!
Our day ended with a walk across the Big Four Bridge. It spans the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indiana.
That’s Indiana across the river.
Speakers had been placed in the middle of the bridge. They were playing patriotic marching band music — very inspiring! It was impossible not to catch the spirit!
A Malo Walkabout 