Spring Breakin

Okay...where have I been? Well, I have been on Spring Break of course! Instead of following all the others to the Gulf beaches, me and daughter decided to do something totally different. Hubby had some important stuff going on at work and could not take time off, so we decided to take a girl trip. We headed north to Lexington, Kentucky to see horses. This is something we have always wanted to do since I grew up with horses and daughter loves them too. Hubby is not so much a horse fan, so this was something we could do together that we had a genuine intrest in. We had Quarter Horses when I was growing up and yes, I admit, I was a country bumpkin - but who cares? I had a lot of fun although it was hard living in the city and wearing cowboy boots to school when everyone else dressed differently. In the words of Barbra Mandrell, "I was country, when country wasn't cool". Of course in the early 80's I fit right in because of Urban Cowboy, everyone wanted to be country. Darlin, I was already there. We lived in the city, but had land in the country and that's where we kept our cows, horses, ducks and pigs. Occsionally we had goats too, but they would end up eating their way into someone else's land or something and just disappear. It was hard because we had to go out there several times a week and check on the animals and other things, but we had neighbors out there that kept an eye on things too. When I was a teenager I actually showed horses in Western Pleasure and sometimes run barrels or pole bend too. I know, I am such a city slicker now it's hard to imagine, but put on some Hank Williams Jr., and the old me comes out. I go back to the horse show and rodeo days.

Anyways, daughter got her top braces on Monday and so we gave her a day to get settled into those before we headed out. We ended up leaving Tuesday morning around 10ish and drove straight up. We were going to stop at Kentucky Down Under, but it started snowing and it was absolutely freezing so we decided to save that for on the way back. We didn't have much for breakfast because we had decided we were going to stop at the very first White Castle we could find and pig out (we love White Castle but do not have one around here). We did stop at the very first one and yes, we did pig out. We got into Lexington around 4ish and stayed here:


That's the Campbell House Inn. It was very nice, but I will warn you, it's right accross from the hospital so occasionally during the night you will be awaken by ambulance sirens. The rooms were very nice and it was pretty much center to everything we wanted to do.

Wednesday morning we got up and headed to The Kentucky Horse Park. Okay, this we pure heaven for my daughter. We got to see some retired race horses as well as other horses that were on the premises. She was very excited to see Cigar! We also did the Saddlebred Horse Museum the same day. The people there were very nice and the horses were awesome.

Daughter making a new friend.


Thursday morning we got up and had breakfast and drove over to Keeneland Race Park. They were not having any live races that day, but simulcast ones, so it was not that busy. We walked around the area and took some great pictures. There were some people there that had been working their horses so they let us hang out with them and watch things that went on behind the scenes. That was a great experience for my daughter. She really loved it. She met up with some thoroughbred horses that were getting shod, so we watched and one of the owners gave my daughter some peppermints to feed them as they waited their turn.




Exciting note here: We went into the simulcast area and I decided I wanted to bet on a horse for the first time. I went to the information desk and asked how to do it. After it was explained to me, I let daughter pick the horse and it won! I won five whole bucks! Needless to say, I stopped while I was ahead and took my winnings and bought moon pies and cherry cokes with it.

After that, we decided to head out to Pleasant Hill, Shaker Village. This was really a beautiful place. I love shaker furniture and crafts and this was a place I had always wanted to go. Since Kentucky schools had already had their spring break, it was virtually deserted so daughter and I had run of the place. It was fantastic! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!



Staircase in the hotel/dining house


We ate dinner at Shaker Village and it was fantastic. Too much food to eat, but definately worth it if you ever get the chance to head up that way.

Friday we headed back home, but stopped in Lousiville on the way back to visit Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. It was much better than I thought. We got to go behind the scenes and see where much of the action starts and finishes. It is amazing when you see all the work that actually goes into all the racing. Here are some pictures:

The grandstands


Down the track


We never did get to stop at Kentucky Down Under because guess what? It was snowing on the way back too! Besides that, daughter wanted to get home and see her boyfriend and her friends. We had a great time and I am glad we decided to do something different. Hubby was completely jealous that we went without him.