It's always fun to get visitors in Kentucky, but it was a special treat to get Mike, Kristen, Ella, Ethan, and Eli Skonieczny all to our own for 5 days on our home turf. This family means a lot to us and we wanted to ensure that their trip was memorable, especially because it was well off of the usual route they take driving from Connecticut to the upper peninsula of Michigan. The first full day here we signed up for a horse farm tour and it did not disappoint. Not only did it highlight some beautiful horses, but also the beautiful scenery all around Lexington.
The next stop was the University of Kentucky so that we could try and convince at least one of the three younger Skoniecznys how great it would be to go to college right around the corner from us. We'll have to wait and see if it works, but we showed them some great flowers and some of the cool new buildings on campus.
No trip to Lexington is complete without a visit to Keeneland. Unfortunately, since it wasn't April or October we couldn't take in any races. But they still train the horses in the morning, and John went with Kristen and Ella to get the full experience. It's always amazing to see the power of the horses up close. Meanwhile, the boys in the family stayed in bed so they were rested for the next phase of the trip, a visit to Mammoth Cave National Park.
The plan was to camp at Mammoth for two nights, and we lucked out with some great July weather after dealing with some rain in Lexington. After setting up camp for the first night we went for a hike to get a good look at the park above ground. Although it wasn't a difficult hike, it was just nice to be in the midst of nature. And for Mike and John, it was another dream come true to have their families hanging out and having fun with each other.
Within minutes of their initial arrival in Lexington, all five kids, ranging in age from 7 to 14, got along like they have been living next door to each for years. Callie and Reese certainly looked forward to spending time with all of the kids, and they all managed to have fun on the hike their parents made them go on.
Eli is more than willing to explore and push boundaries, which meant that Reese was extremely intrigued by him and willing to follow where he led. We are happy to report that this stopped when Eli used the family axe to make kindling. Both Reese and Callie apparently need to develop a greater comfort level with sharp tools - or not, either way is fine with us.
Camp life is always fun, and especially fun when the people you camp with have all of the necessary tools. We had a delicious meal that included hot dogs, sausages, baked beans, corn on the cob, and roasted potatoes. We are not sure if the food was extra good or if we were just extra hungry. Regardless, it was a great night that ended with all of us playing pictionary until we realized we probably needed to abide by the campground quiet time rules.
The next day we took one of the long cave tours. We have numerous pictures of that tour, but just about all of them are too dark to make out the incredible sights we saw. Instead here is a far better picture of the whole crew right outside the entrance to the main cave. Good looking bunch, if we say so ourselves. After one more night under the stars the Skoniecznys headed north to Michigan and we headed east to Lexington. It was another great memory for all of us.
