Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Horsing Around

On July 12-15, Tim attended the annual Water Professionals Conference in Lexington. The boys and I tagged along to have some fun in the Bluegrass State. We found plenty to enjoy. Here are pictures from our trip:

We started our week with an early morning stop at Keeneland Race Track. They run the horses from dawn to around 10 a.m. each day. This trainer was kind enough to pose behind the boys for the first photograph.

It was very tricky to get a good shot of the horses in motion. Pictured above are my best attempts. The track was quiet, except for the sound of the horses running. It was a lovely spot to spend our morning.

Next, we went to the historic Lexington Cemetery. This is a beautiful arboretum with extensive grounds and lovely statuary. The boys and I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures (we each had our own camera).

After dinner on Monday night, we made our way to the State Botanical Gardens on the campus of UK. The meandering trails were occupied by runners, and it made me wish I could enjoy an evening run there myself. Instead, we enjoyed a brief walk among the flowers.

On Tuesday we spent several hours at the Explorium, a children's discovery center downtown. This attraction was by far the most popular with the boys, and this water exhibit was their favorite. You could create a flood or a draught; build a dam; or re-route the water.

You could walk on the moon, pilot an aircraft, or climb a mountain. My favorite attraction at the Explorium was the "Bubble Room," shown above.

On Tuesday night, the Water Professionals gathered for their end-of-conference celebration at the Kentucky Horse Park. I had been here as a girl, so this return visit stirred lots of memories. The boys enjoyed the shows featuring the different horse breeds and the former racing champions. Afterwards, we enjoyed a late night pizza at Joe Bologna's on the campus of UK.

Our last stop in Lexington was at this antebellum home, built by the grandnephew of Daniel Boone. We had a very intense tour guide (dressed in a period gown) who paused after every fact she shared for questions (we think...). This made it a bit uncomfortable, as we were the only family on the tour. Tim and I had to pay great attention so we were prepared with appropriate questions to ask. The boys were tremendously relieved when it started to rain as we began the tour of the grounds, and our visit was cut short.

1 comment:

The Coker family said...

Sounds like a great trip (except for the last stop)! I love the pictures.