Carter Caves with Lt. Dan

For the second year in a row we went camping with the Abrahams on Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately Ella had a soccer tournament and therefore couldn't join the fun. We soldiered on and tried to have fun without her.  This year we went to Carter Caves State Park in eastern Kentucky.  Overall it was a beautiful place to visit as you can see from this picture.

We pulled in late Friday night and set up camp in the dark.  The campground was not exactly a spot for privacy.  Not pictured here are the other campers who were all around us.  There was line dancing on Friday night, axe throwing on Saturday night, and a whole line of activities for the holiday weekend.  In addition we had a neighbor we called Lt. Dan who spent most of the weekend with his shirt off chopping wood.  As Claire Abraham said at one point, "this is the most country place I have ever been!"

We always want to make sure that we are well fed when we go camping, and each family is put in charge of certain meals.  For night one we brought the hot dogs, sausages, beans, and potatoes.  The fire took a little work, and the wet wood we had meant that we often had more smoke than fire.  But eventually we had what we wanted, a fire hot enough to cook a good summer meal.

On our first full day at the park we participated in a day long scavenger hunt. We got a sheet of paper that had a long list of clues to places throughout the state park and we had to take a picture of our group with it.  It was a great way to see all that Carter Caves had to offer, and it was surprising how few people we met on the paths.

One particular clue had us taking a short hike through a pass that had huge boulders and cliff faces.  It wasn't what we expected when we first made the reservations at this park, so it was a very cool surprise.

Just to give you a sense of the scale we are talking about, here is a picture from that hike with most of our crew walking along the base of one of the cliff faces.  Kentucky's scenery is about more than just bluegrass and horses.

There is an outdoor amphitheater at the park, and one of our clues required us to take a picture acting out a dramatic scene on the stage.  We were more than happy to comply.  However, asking a stranger to take this picture was a little awkward.  But we managed.

We don't remember the name of this particular individual in the portrait above the fireplace, but he was key to us finishing off some of the last clues in the hunt.  As always, most of our crew was ready to pose, whether the clue required drama or not.

We were only one of the three groups that completed all of the tasks associated with the scavenger hunt, and it came down to the pictures we took.  Our group had a picture of a real bat while the second place team had a picture of a stuffed animal bat.  Authenticity matters, even in state park scavenger hunts.

Of course, this camping trip also coincided with Sarah's birthday, and we made sure to celebrate appropriately with a candle and a cupcake.  Reese brought out her special shirt for the occasion.  We are going to act like she planned it.

One of the things that drew us to Carter Caves was that on this weekend they were showing a movie inside one of the caves.  So we got to take our camping chairs inside the cave, form a row, and watch the movie Jumanji. We also got to bring snacks in and they sold popcorn, so it was a real theater experience.

The movie turned out to be more enjoyable than expected, and the setting itself was "pretty awesome".  That was a phrase we became quite familiar with during our initial tour of the caves, because our fine tour guide relied on it as his main adjective to describe just about anything.  And while it was certainly chilly in the cave during the movie, we should note that Lt. Dan still did not put his shirt on.

On the second night we had some visitors that you can see if you look at this picture closely.  Although we had tied our garbage to the top of our tent over the picnic table, two raccoons still tried to get a hold of it.  We scared them off, but they didn't go too far.  And then Claire had some fun playing raccoon noises on her phone outside our tent just to scare us.  It worked.

As our prize for winning the scavenger hunt the previous day we got free passes for the miniature golf course at the camp site.  So we made sure to play a round before we headed back to Lexington. This wasn't just any golf course - it had a unique twist that added challenges to some of the wholes depending on your results when you spun a wheel.  John had to play one whole using his golf club as a pool cue, for instance.  In the end, Callie pulled off a win.  But really, we were all winners because it was another fantastic camping weekend with great friends.

New Beginnings - School and Triathlon

This year for back to school we were launching from our house as opposed to last year when we were still in the apartment during the renovation.  So we wanted to feature the hydrangeas since we don't know how long they are going to last.  She had already met her teacher, Mrs. Martinez, and was excited to be in the same class as her good friend Ella Hughes.

And while it is hard to believe, Callie is entering her last year of elementary school.  She and her friends are now the fifth graders who know all the teachers and rule the school.  Fortunately she has picked up some phenomenal friends and they are going to be benevolent overlords.  They are certainly going to ensure that it is going to be a wonderful year.

Another new experience for the girls in 2018 was the YMCA Kids Triathlon.  Some friends of ours had done it before and coordinated a training group for a number of kids.  Unfortunately our schedule didn't allow us to participate in the group training, but we made sure the girls ran, biked, and swam throughout the weeks leading up to the big day.  As you can see here, it was pretty official with the numbers written on arms and legs just like the real deal.

Reese's group was the first to go, and after she finished an excellent swim of 100 yards she made her way to the transition area to get her biking gear and bike.  Honestly, the transition area is just as intimidating as it looks, but good thing we had John standing right outside to make sure that Reese could spot her bike and get the guidance she needed to change clothes and not panic.

Meanwhile, back at the pool Callie was stroking her way through her 200 yard swim.  She is in the middle of this picture, looking pretty good.  She may not have liked when we made her swim laps before she could play every time we went to the pool over the summer, but it paid off.

Here is Callie in action again, this time in the midst of her transition from the swim to the bike.  Although we practiced all the individual sports, we failed to practice the all important transition.  With that being said, both girls did an excellent job.  They took their time, but they did everything they needed to do and didn't stress out.  And that latter part was particularly important, because we wanted to make sure they had fun doing this.

After a one mile bike ride, Reese brought it home well in the half-mile run. She has a great stride and it didn't look like she was all that tired as she cruised through the last of the three stages.  It was great to see her finish strong.

Callie wasn't that far behind, although she had to bike for three miles and then run a mile.  Like her sister she finished strong and we were so proud of her.  She beamed when she saw that on the other side of the finish line all participants received a free ice cream from a truck placed strategically within sight.

These two girls have now done something that neither of their parents have done.  We believe that this will probably be the story for years to come as the two of them continue explore the world with great curiosity and a willingness to try new things.

Of course, we need to be completely honest as well. The girls were not entirely excited when we reached the staging area the morning of the triathlon and may have even said they didn't want to do it.  It is possible that we reminded them of a certain reward they would receive upon completion of the triathlon.  And it is very likely that the reward in question was a sundae at Baskin Robbins.  And that explains this final picture.