HallmarcDotNet

Thu, 10 Sep 2009

We had a hard time trying to decide where to go for Labor Day and finally decided on a camping trip to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. This was to bring closure to the trip we took a couple of years ago where we got there too late to get any tickets for the "good" tours (so we basically drove there for nothing). But this time, I almost waited too long and couldn't get a campsite… So we stayed in Bowling Green at the KOA (only thing available…someday I'll learn to plan ahead).

But we had fun anyway. It was pouring in St. Louis when we left.

We did spend one night in the tent in a rather loud and exciting thunderstorm. But the weather didn't affect us down in the cave. Mammoth Cave is, by far, the longest cave system in the world, but is mostly a "dry cave" so isn't particularly spectacular. We ate our lunch in the cafeteria underground, and hiked for four miles on our tour. I'm glad we went, but we have prettier caves right here in Missouri.

Bowling Green is where Corvettes are made. I would have enjoyed going on a factory tour, but since it was a weekend, they were not running and so we went to the Corvette museum instead and learned more than most people would want to know about Corvettes. I think Marc enjoyed it. There were some pretty cars there, and lots of people who were way more into cars than I.

We went to a Kentucky farm for homemade ice cream

and Melody and Thomas did a corn maze.

All the kids enjoyed the play area. Bryan liked being pushed around in this pipe. It would have made me throw up.

We found a couple of letterboxes to add to our growing log book. This time there were no mosquitoes.

I enjoyed seeing that we still remember how to camp and set up the tent and cook our meals. We had a little trouble cooking over a fire in the rain, and ate our tinfoil dinners in the dark, but it was nice to get away as a family. Here we are eating by the light of the van, since we forgot to bring a lantern. When you don't camp for awhile, you tend to forget what you need…

Now it's back to the routine. Except that Thomas has fifth grade camp next week. And then it will be Melody's birthday. And then Halloween…Where does time go?