Getting four weeks of vacation each year used to seem like so much. Of course, when you need to play show-and-tell with little Clara weeks go away a ton quicker than they used to. The first of two week-long tours this year was to Kentucky to visit Amy's sister, Nicole, and her husband Martin.
Clara was a mere nine weeks old when we left at 10pm. The flight to Detroit was remarkably uneventful and after helping wind the rubberband-powered props on our next flight we were on our way to Louisville. Amazingly, Clara slept virtually the entire trip and only began fussing when we tried to take a picture.
Nicole met us at the airport, but after dropping us at her house had to go to work. We toured around Louisville a bit to find some hiking info before coming back to crash at the house with the Clements' dog, Addie. We finally got to sleep at midnight after prepping for a day of hiking.
It was unfairly early when we got up, or at least it seemed that way. We dropped Nicole at work (and got sidetracked when Nicole's coworkers demanded to see Clara) before heading to Eastern Kentucky to hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest, specifically in Red River Gorge.
The hike was great with terrain and views we don't get in the Northwest. Even the weather was good with spots of sun, but generally cool enough to prevent dehydration. After about eight miles on the Auxier Ridge trail we did another 1.7 in Natural Bridge State Resort Park. We were well tired by the time we got home around 9pm. (For a more detailed description of the hike and more pictures go here.)
After almost 10 miles you'd think we'd be ready to chill for a bit, right? Nah. We drove south, this time, to Mammoth Caves National Park and headed into the darkness. Given John's claustrophobia there was some question as to whether or not he would emerge, but in spite of a couple of light checks when it went pitch black it didn't turn out too badly. After being 310 feet below the surface the Kentucky sunshine seemed a bit bright, but we got back to Louisville in time for dinner.
So after two days of adventuring it was time to relax. Where better to relax than the track? Churchill Downs was a lot more low-brown than we were expecting, at least where we sat, but still entertaining. We learned to bet on horses and even won a couple bucks on a few races, but lost far more than that on the other races. Dang.
The next day was more horses at the Kentucky Horse Park which was a bit overpriced, but educational. We saw former champions and future champions and a few retired, blind horses. Perhaps the most interesting/frightening bits were the two underaged country singers just inside the visitors' center. They could easily have been 12 years old and might as well have had major-label contracts.
Our last full day was a drive to Fort Knox (yeah, where the gold is) to do a little more hiking. We didn't find any nuggets or bullion or whatever it is they're supposed to have there, but we did see some really old bridges as well as a wonderful set of waterfalls. (I think Amy felt guilty for not getting me on the trails last time we were out so we got in about 15 miles above ground and two more below this time around.)
We flew out of Louisville in the early morning, swung through Minneapolis (which might be a future vacation destination given the outdoorsy impression the airport gave) and got into Seattle around 11am. I (John) joined the less-well-known Mile High Diapering Club after a minor blowout at 30,000 feet, but otherwise it was rather uneventful.
