The next day, we went to the Falls of the Ohio State Park (http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/), which was actually a beautiful setting (even inside, they have a Chihuly sculpture hanging). Even though it was loud when we arrived (the interpretive center is not very large and there was a school field trip present that day), we still enjoyed learning about it in a video, exploring the interpretive center, playing in the children's area, and THEN digging for fossils (there were signs all over saying not to take the fossils; but, the people at the desk said we could take fossils...I asked twice!). We had to maneuver through flood "rubble" (lots of washed up trees and majorly uneven terrain); but, both boys found some fossils (and some rocks my 5yo LOVES to throw into the water). This place apparently has been the source of the most (and the most intact) fossils in the world, having to do with how the sediment formed on the river basin. It was pretty neat to see the history involving Lewis and Clark. I believe the center is actually built on land that one of those families owns/owned.
Then, we found a little lunch place that offered gluten free sandwiches (Bread and Breakfast) just across the river from Louisville. They had great fresh ingredients; but, they were lacking something in the preparation department...something was missing...in service, as well.
We decided to go to downtown Louisville after that. We ended up on "museum row". But, we did not have enough time to pay admission for the science museum. And, the boys passed on the Slugger Museum and Factory; but, we took a picture by the giant bat for posterity. We did walk by some GIANT art sculptures that had the boys laughing (anatomically correct sculptures); and, we did not realize we were in front of the 21c Art Museum and Hotel (which I had read about in advance). The boys said an emphatic "YES!" when I asked them if they wanted to go inside the art museum (it's free!). We all really enjoyed the modern art gallery there! They had some really neat interactive exhibits...even the bathrooms had art in them!
BTW, everywhere on this trip, from Indy to Louisville to Nashville to Atlanta to Charleston to the Outer Banks to Asheville to Knoxville (and many places in between), EVERYONE let us use their bathroom. With the exception of ONE, in Louisville, along the river walk, the tour boat visitor center would not let us use their bathroom (FYI). I am not sure if it was my pregnant self or just genuine hospitality; but, I was SO GRATEFUL every time they said yes!
Then, we walked a LOOOOONG way along the river, thinking we would eventually get to the park we had seen along the way driving by the day before; but, we got to a fence, with a sign pointing to the park (inside the fence somewhere), with an admission fee to some kind of festival, that we decided not to go to. So, we found some trees to climb, watched some people, and walked the LOOOONG way back to our car through the city (with my 5yo sometimes piggyback on my 8yo...it was sweet). Then, we picked up some roasted chicken and salad to eat at the hotel and get ready for bed, our last night in Louisville.
The next day, we got up, got packed, and headed to Mammoth Caves (http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/gocavetours.htm) on our way to Nashville! The bonus here was (again, I forgot the time changed BACK to CST), we "sort of" gained an hour that day. We were fortunate that we got to the caves in time to eat our lunch we brought, get onto a tour that wasn't too laborious (The "Domes and Dripstones Tour" had only 500 steps to climb up and down...this did not seem hard while doing it; but, my pregnant calves were aching for 3 days!), and leave in time for a snack before hitting the road again. We were 250 feet below ground and learned the history of the caves, including previous owners (interesting), saw a bat, sat in pitch darkness for a minute (weird); and, we all loved it! Moving through the caves was pretty easy on the tour we selected...not too tight (for pregnant bellies) and not too much (for short legs). It was interesting to learn that a one inch "drop" of stalagmite (or "tite"? both, I guess), takes about 1000 years to develop. So, imagine how many years you are looking at with a 10 foot stalagmite!!!
Then, onto Nashville! We got in town just in time to meet our family for dinner (Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, Sister and Niece). We mostly visited with our family on this leg (my brother and his wife and their two kids came up from GA and my cousins came back to town for our visit). But, we DID go to the Nashville Farmers Market (on Saturday; but, they were also having a race downtown that day so it was harder than normal to get around downtown) and enjoyed the many splendid offerings of the FOOD TRUCKS (why do they not have food trucks in every town?). The only thing I did NOT enjoy was paying $13 for some artificial color/flavor laden sno-cones (my silly self thinking I was getting something natural, made with real fruit, like Italian ice...that's what that's called!) and, taking it back because it tasted GROSS and they did not apologize or offer a refund. My poor kids! I definitely should have opted for a second helping of the gf cupcake we enjoyed! Live and learn. On Monday, my aunt and uncle and cousins returned to work/school, my brother had left for GA on Sunday and my sister and I (with our kiddos) went to the Opry Center (?) mall. I got some maternity clothes (that I did not think I would need) and we spent some time avoiding the rainstorm. We enjoyed one more night with family and then got ready to depart for Atlanta on Tuesday morning.
I have to say here that one of our favorite drives was from Nashville to Chattanooga (so pretty!). We even stopped at one of the scenic outlooks and had a snack! Atlanta, here we come!
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