Kentucky: Kangaroos, Caves, and Wedding Anniversaries

It's official. We have been married whole 3 years! Holy moly. Seriously?

In some ways it feels like yesterday we were stressing over wedding details and getting our travel arrangements set for England.. but in other ways, it feels like we have been together forever :)

(...Because we have. It's been..9 years altogether)

This year, since our actual anniversary fell right in the middle of the week (Wednesday, April 12th) we decided to take our anniversary trip a few days early and spent April 7-9 in Kentucky! As with most of our trips, the hardest part was deciding WHERE to actually go.

In fact, as of Friday morning, I still didn't have anything booked as far as lodging or activities. We still weren't 100% sure where we were going. I had several contenders, the main two being:

 Kansas City, Kansas (we need Kansas for our travel map) 

OR

Glasgow/Bowling Green, Kentucky (it was reasonable driving distance and they had kangaroos)

Originally, we were looking at Denver, Colorado- but, since our trip to New Orleans last month, time has kind of gotten away from me and for last minute decisions (like this one) I didn't want to spend the extra money (or headache) of booking last minute flights and accommodations. In the end, because my doctor wasn't thrilled about the idea of me flying in a hot air balloon (as I was gunning for in Kansas City) we decided Kentucky was the best choice. 

I was able to book a bed and breakfast Friday morning for that night and Saturday, and after showers and getting ourselves packed, we headed off for the 5 hour drive. We came through Mt. Vernon around lunch time and I had Micah call his dad and ask if he would like to have lunch with us. He did, and we went to the Blue Goose (FINALLY!). Micah and my father in law have talked this place up as the best Greek food around for so long, but I have never gotten to go because they are only open during weekdays and I was never in Mt. Vernon on weekdays. But, you know what? ...they were SO right. Best. Gyro. I've. Ever. Had. 

My father in law also wanted a picture of us in front of the restaurant since it was my first time eating there, so..here ya go.

..Er.. just kidding! Looks like I didn't save the picture he sent me through text message..

The rest of our 3-3 1/2 hour drive was pretty uneventful. I drove from the welcome center rest stop in Indiana to Owensboro Kentucky (and we didn't die, I might add!) and then Micah drove us the rest of the way to the Bed and Breakfast in Glasgow.

I chose Main Street Bed and Breakfast because:

1. we had never done a B&B before and wanted the new experience

2. it was HALF the price of the chain hotels near the interstate

3. I was able to book it the morning we left for that night + Saturday (so basically, it was available last minute)

Upon our arrival around 4pm, we had to call and let the owner know we had arrived so we could pick up our keys to the house/our room. I wish I had taken a few more pictures since the place was adorable..but we were in the Carroll Cottage behind the actual main house. It wasn't anything extravagant, but it was clean, the bed was comfortable (seriously, I actually slept pretty well both nights and that's saying something since I'm a light sleeper and don't typically sleep well away from home, or at all since being pregnant...) and the bathroom was clean and the showers were hot. It also had a small flat-screen tv with cable! I was able to watch travel channel for a few hours Friday night, which is a luxury to us, since we don't have cable at home. 

There was a Shogun Japanese Hibachi restaurant within walking distance of our B&B so we decided to have our one "expensive" meal that night and ate there. We both left feeling sick from eating so much food and neither one of us cleared our plates..they served SO much. But on our walk back to the B&B, we stopped downtown to take a photo under the gorgeous, flattering, yellow streetlight,

and watched TV until about 10pm, which was about the time that some of the other guests in the main house decided to go stargazing outside our door and stay out there talking and their kids running around yelling. But, we both put in earplugs and only heard them a few times after that.

Saturday morning started off with scrambled eggs, bacon, and waffles for breakfast in the main house at 8:30am, then we set out for Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo, which opened at 9. We got there a little after 10.

As I was afraid of, there was already a line out the door. I figured they'd be busy since it was a forecasted gorgeous Saturday during several different school spring breaks. After waiting in line for about 5 minutes, the family in front of us turns around and asks if we were purchasing our tickets at the counter or if we had already bought them and had a voucher. I told them we were just planning to purchase our admission at the counter and they told us they had already bought a groupon for 4 adults without reading the fine print. They thought they were buying a family pass (they had two children with them) but the Groupon clearly said 4 adult admissions. So, they offered to just let us have their other two spots if we would pay admission for their son (the daughter was still young enough to get in for free). Children's admission was $15.95, so I gave them $16 and we all went in together.  

Once inside, I made a beeline for the kangaroo enclosure (at the back of the park, naturally) because, let's be honest, that's why we were there. It's free to go into the walk about, and $1 per food cup. We got two, one for me, one for Micah, and headed in. It was amazing!

They were so sweet and gentle, and their fur kind of felt like a rabbit's- soft and fluffly. We ended up going at the perfect time because the kangaroos hadn't already been fed all day and they were interactive with us. I even had two fighting over the food I had in my hand. We had an emu come up to us as well. I would have tried to bring one home, but I left my big purse at home. WHAT was I thinking?! (I'll come back for you, Rocko!) 

We spent close to a half-hour inside the kangaroo enclosure, or the "outback walkabout" I think it was called.

 ****if you want to plan a trip to Kentucky Down Under: ****
 Go in the morning and make it the first thing you do. We looped back around after exploring the rest of the zoo (it was about noon-30) and there was a wrap-around line to the entrance of the enclosure and swarms of adults and children alike inside. And by that time, most of the kangaroos were curled up in the sun trying to nap, having presumably being fed for the past 3 and a half hours. It would not have been the same experience had we waited and gone through the zoo first, or had waited to do the zoo until the afternoon.

After feeding and loving on the kangaroos, we walked over to the bird house and fed the birds. I got pooed on :( but we had a good time taking pictures with the birds.


Micah, the bird whisperer...

From there we went to the sheep herding demonstration and got to watch two dogs herd a flock of sheep. There was some sort of presentation going on with it, but they didn't have a microphone on the guy so we couldn't hear anything he said. But it was very cool to watch him give commands to the dogs and watch them do their herding.

One day, I WILL get my hands on an owl..But that day will have to wait a while longer :(

Kentucky Down Under also had a few birds of prey you could look at (but not interact with), some Macaws, parrots, a Kookaburra, and several other species. They also had lemurs, arctic wolves, foxes, bison, goats, horses, and a beautiful white peacock.

Located in the middle of the grounds next to the gift shop was the opening to Mammoth Onyx cave, of which a tour is included in your general admission price. So, we decided to take the tour happening at noon.

The cave itself was neat, though if you have trouble walking or squatting, it's not the tour for you. There were several instances where the stairs were steep, wet, and wandered out of reach of the handrail.

You also had to crouch in several places to get through the passages, and the man in front of us (he was a larger man) had to "suck it in" as his children said, to get through the narrow opening at one point. The tour itself was pretty short, we spent the most time waiting for everyone to get into the space that we were supposed to stop to hear the tour guide speak. The group was entirely too large for that little cave... they need to have a ticket system in place so they have a max number. But again, it was neat, and a welcome break from the 80 degree sun above us.

After the cave tour, as I mentioned, we took another look at the kangaroo enclosure and decided against round two after seeing the crowd and we just left. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel (it was about 1:30pm) and then headed to Diamond Caverns, near Cave City, KY. I had thought about doing Mammoth Cave, but after my own research and the advice of our Bed and Breakfast owner, we decided to forego the crowds and tour a less popular attraction. Plus, I have been to Mammoth Cave before- when I was young. I remember our tour being sort of a trek, and being pregnant..wasn't sure I was up for a trek.

We got to Diamond Caverns and walked into the main building and neither one of us got a good vibe from the place. The staff we encountered seemed almost apprehensive, like we were an annoyance to them, and the cashier in the gift shop gave me a look of "either buy something or leave" when I was reading the signs for their tours. And I guess I was standing in the wrong place or something because I stepped into an open doorway to get cell phone signal and was told by the staff I couldn't take my purse on the cave tour and I needed to leave the area... I told him I wasn't on a tour, I was trying to get cell phone signal and he was super rude after that.

So, we left. On our way out, I picked up a brochure for Lost River Cave in Bowling Green (30 minutes away) and this cave tour was a boat tour. That's where we headed!

Lost River Cave had a much different atmosphere. We got to the grounds a little after 3, and the next tour was at 4. This particular cave had some great nature trails you could walk and a little play area for children. We walked down part of the nature path to where our tour was supposed to meet, found a bench, and waited.

We enjoyed the nature trail heading down to the mouth of the cave, and the tour guide stopped once to tell us a story about the river that runs through the cave. The boat tour itself was short and sweet, and our boat got stuck at one point and the guide had to use a long stick to push us off of the bank. There is also an interactive tour, if you are more adventurous, it gets you all muddy crawling around in the cave... we didn't do that one. By this point we were both tired from walking and being in the sun all day. Lost River Cave was also a nightclub in the 30's, 40's and 50's, so we took advantage of the tourist-y cutout on our way back from the mouth of the cave.

We ended our evening with a round of mini-golf at Kentucky Fun Park (or something like that). The park itself looked like it had seen better days, but for $5 a person to play 18 holes of mini-golf, we decided it was worth it. We both hit hole in one's on the course! ...oh, and I WON :)

The park also did ziplines, horseback riding, and other activities, so if you have children, you could probably easily spend half a day here doing the different things. We just did the mini-golf though.

We got back to the bed and breakfast around 7, I took a shower to get the bird poop from the morning out of my hair, and we ended up driving to Arby's about 9pm to eat a small dinner.

On Sunday morning, we were served more eggs and bacon, and all you can eat pancakes in the main house. After breakfast we checked out and set off for home. We met Micah's parents in Mt. Vernon for lunch again, and got back home around 3pm, just enough time for me to do laundry and get ready for the week ahead.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure about this weekend and how it would end up going. I didn't really want to go anywhere, I didn't have anything planned out and set up, I was physically and mentally drained, and that old thought in my head had popped up saying "do you really need to spend the money to go away again when you've got other projects going on at home and all the usual bills..." but, as always, I'm glad we went and made the memories. It's our anniversary, and to us: it's always been important that we take care of OUR relationship first. It's important that we spend time together celebrating us and that we don't our let day-to-day routines bog us down and make us forget how fun life can be with someone you love. (Now's the part where you either gag or say "Awww!")

So, in a way, our little weekend trip was the perfect ending to year 3 of our marriage. I can't wait to take on year 4 and all the changes that will happen between now and next year.

Heck, we've already had one this week! Our hot water heater is leaking and we have to buy a new one! Yay for homeownership! Yay for being an adult! ...... :/ Oh well, it's just money, right?