Kentucky Kingdom

 

Well all the best made plans always have changes.  Originally, I was staying in Kokomo with the youngest grandchild.  But then we were invited to go along.  And we did.  It was a nice three-hour drive to Louisville, Kentucky.  We booked two nights in a hotel.  And we spent two days at Kentucky Kingdom.  

Kentucky Kingdom is a waterpark/amusement park.  If you know me, you know I don't do rides.  A little something to do with motion sickness.  And yet I did do one ride with the youngest two grandkids, and it wasn't fun.  And then I did this swing with the oldest.  116 feet up in the air.  The view was grand for about 15 seconds and then it was spinning so fast you really couldn't see anything.  I told her she was very very special for me to have relented and rode the swing.  She said it was really fun.  

Everyone had a pretty good time.  I noticed all the adults, except me and Anthony, got sunburnt.  All the kids, except the little woman, did not.  And the little woman was sun screened up multiple times.  All that red hair just makes it so she burns so easy.  

I didn't make it all the way through the second day.  And it turned out the youngest two opted to go home with me.  They had had their fill of all the fun and I'm sure that made the last few hours for the rest even better.  

It was a grand family outing and memories were made.  

All The Fun

 The little man had a wonderful time.  Just a quick recap.  We went to the circus, went swimming at Firstenburg, Jumping at SkyZone, three nights with his dad, played with Dax, played with the neighbor's puppies, walked with me at the mall, went to Round 1, etc.  

Our time went by pretty quickly and then it was time for the long commute back home.  We took the northern route and stopped in MN.  We had dinner with Barney and Denise and then stayed at Brenda's house.  He was excited to spot the Buffalo in ND.  And we agreed that it is a long drive.  We made it back safe and sound.  The only disappointment was the pool was closed at the hotel we stayed at in Billings.  

And now on to the next adventure.  Love that boy so much.  

Back Home Home

 The little man and I made the trip from the Midwest to the PNW.  It was really uneventful, just the way I like it.  It took three days.  We spent the first night in a hotel and the second night at a rest area.  Again, I ran into a full Motel 6 and I didn't feel like doing much searching.  I was tired.  The little man thought it was exciting.  

We met a trucker in Utah who was feeding ground squirrels.  He shared his Fritos with the little man and then he got to feed them.  He even had a couple take them out of his hand.  He said he felt the little teeth and that they tickled.  I kept my mouth shut even though I have a great fear of being bit by rodents.  

I was amazed that at every gas station he took it upon himself to be the window washer.  There are a lot of bugs on the way.  He does an amazing job of washing bug guts off the windshield. 

Now we are looking forward to our plans for the time he is here.  He is full of ideas.  

New York, New York

 

My favorite twelve-year-old and I spent a few days in NYC.  We did the touristy things like the 80th and 86th floor of the Empire State Building.  We did that one in the morning and again at night.  The lights were fabulous.  We visited the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty.  

We took a candlelight tour of the Catacombs of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we visited the 911 Memorial and Museum.  I was actually very surprised at how much she enjoyed the Memorial.  I didn't expect it to be of interest to her and I was wrong.  She took it all in in her usual empathic self.  

We did an immense amount of walking averaging over twenty thousand steps each day.  Our feet hurt and we were tired by the time we got back home.  We got caught in an east coast rainstorm that drenched us and we survived the day it was 95 degrees. It was such an adventure and I am blessed to have taken it with her.  We created some memories for her to take with her her whole life.