Kentucky Adventures

We have started Day 3 of our road trip and everyone is still alive. Eric hasn't killed us and we haven't killed him.
Yesterday, after making a stop at the Bowling Green Harley Davidson store, we headed to Mammoth Cave National Park. I think I am coming to the conclusion that once you have been to Yellowstone and Glacier, all other parks are going to be a dissapointment. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but the scenic majesty is just not the same. It reminded me alot of Arkansas and one of our state parks. They are also remodeling the visitors center. There is a lot of hiking trails and about 5 different tours into the caves that you can take. We didn't get there until 11:30, so our options of tours was very limited. We opted for the 1:30 tour that took about 2 hours and had 500 steps total. The walk in was very fun, it was straight down, very, very narrow, and occasionally wet. We saw lots of crickets, spiders and one baby bat. The girls had a fun time. Leah started to be a little scared of the dark at first, but soon got over it, leading the way. Before we went on the tour, we had to waste a little time, so we went for a small snack at the picnic tables and then a one mile total walk down a hiking trail. Mom would be proud.
After the cave adventure, we headed toward Abraham Lincoln's birthplace down scenic Hwy 31. Before we got far, Leah was asleep and Elizabeth was crying that she was hungry. It had been a long time since breakfast and we didn't really eat any lunch, AND we had walked a lot, we decided to stop for an early supper. Eric was determined to have a steak, so we ate at Colton's. Leah slept for 1/2 the meal, which was a relief for the rest of us. Once we were done with our meal, we started back down the road. Hwy 31 was a real nice drive. Lots of hills, farmland and beautiful houses. We were an hour late to get to see the birthplace of Lincoln. We were very dissapointed. We drove on down the road to his boyhood homeplace and we could walk around there. One thing I read was that the time the Lincoln's lived in Kentucky, it was not uncommon to have land disputes, and that's why they had to move around, and eventually Lincoln's dad moved onto Indianna. The spot he had picked to live in for there boyhood home was beautiful, in a valley, and I would have picked it too.
We then headed to Lexington to find a motel. I had the girls convenced that if they mentioned another word about swimming, we would never go swimming again. The time changed on our drive to Lexington, so we lost on hour. When we got to the motel it was 9:30 their time. I got the swim suits out as soon as we got there, and the girls were able to swim for an hour right before bed. I was told I was the best mom in the whole wide world!!
Today we are headed to Kentucky's Rockies - Natural Bridge and Red River Gorge. I have been typing while we have been driving on the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkwasy, and I think I have missed a pretty drive. Eric says he believes this would be beautiful in the fall. May have to bring him back. Poor guy.