Louisville

Way back in July we visited Louisville for the first time. 

We left with a list of options, but knew we wanted to start our trip at Churchill Downs. We arrived in time for the first tour (and thank goodness we did because it was HOT). 

We enjoyed the tour despite the heat and learned quite a few fun facts about the space and the horses. Aside from the history of the races, I enjoyed seeing the twin spires up close, sitting in the stands, seeing the Infield and new big screen, and learning that Secretariat's heart weighed a whopping 22 pounds - a normal horse heart weighs 8 pounds. Did you know that people attend car shows to bury their booze in the Infield since the Derby does not allow outside alcohol?

The tour wasn't all that interesting to Sophia, but there was enough inside the museum to keep her attention. She raced horses with Dave, tried on race silks, rode a few horses, and shopped in the gift shop.

After the museum we headed to lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Across the street was a mural of Hunter S. Thompson. Dave is a huge fan, so it was fortunate for us to come across it.

We headed to the mega cavern, but had a wait until our tour so we headed to the waterfront for a quick exploration. Sophia picked the playground over the water park, but fortunately there were misting fans to help keep us cool. Did I mention how hot and humid the day was?

After running around and getting sweaty we headed underground to the mega cavern. It is a unique space for sure. I would love to head back when the girls are older so they can do the ropes course and zip line tour. The tour we took was interesting, but a little too long for what it was. At least it let us cool off a bit.

We ended our time in Louisville with dinner at another hole-in-the-wall restaurant before taking the drive back home. There is a lot more Louisville that I would like to explore so I am hoping to make a return trip in the near future. 

COSI

Last month we planned a day trip to Columbus, which is about an hour and a half from where we live. I came up with a list of activities to keep us entertained, but we decided to start with COSI and ended up spending the day there.

We started at the Ocean Exhibit where Sophia went into a submarine and explored the controls. Her favorite part of the Ocean area was building with the k'nex and making creatures. I think she followed the directions to make three of them before we left to explore more of the museum.

Next stop was outdoors for the Big Science Park where the highlight was lifting up a car. Sophia liked that the car lifted her off the ground too!

We ventured upstairs to the Space exhibit. Sophia got to ride in a space capsule, test her armchair astronaut skills, and make a mini movie. Her favorite part was sitting on the toilet that is used on a shuttle. She has been potty trained for awhile, but I felt the need to keep reminding her that it was just a display toilet and not the real thing.

For convenience we ate lunch in the courtyard of the museum and spent a few minutes exploring part of a riverfront park. Sophia just wanted to run and didn't have much patience for a Mama who wanted to take a few pictures.

When we returned inside, we spent some time pretending in the Little Kidspace. I hope whenever our local children's museum gets freshened up it looks more like this. 

When we were able to drag Sophia away, Dave and Sophia headed to the Gadgets area. Emma and I took a milk break and I found Dave and Sophia in the crowds of summer camp kids making their contraptions fly in the wind tunnels. This exhibit was fun, but loud.

Progress was Sophia's least favorite exhibit. She was the three year old walking around saying "I don't like 1962." She did enjoy riding the 10 cent rocket and being a news broadcaster, but kept asking when we would be back at the museum. Ha!

We briefly visited the Life and Energy Explorers exhibits, but we did not take in any of the live shows this time around. I am looking forward to a return visit when the girls are a little older so they can both explore and enjoy the museum.

We were at the museum from open to close. After stopping for dinner at Cap City Fine Diner (which was so good!) we make our journey back home. 

What should we do next time we make the trip to Columbus?

Sunflowers

On the way to Columbus we passed two roadside patches of sunflowers. Our side of the road did not have much of a shoulder, but the other side had a pull off so we stopped on our way home. 

I had visions of an amazing "golden hour" sunflower photo shoot. That didn't happen, but it was a great opportunity to stretch our legs and have a bit of fun.

Real life.

Sophia took about 50 pictures of Daddy - this is one of my favorites.

Sophia wishes every road had a patch of sunflowers on the side.