Kentucky Summer Fun For The Grands

 In a few weeks, the granddaughters will be coming for their summer visit with grandma and papa. This will be the eighth year! Not sure what we will be doing this time. Madison will be a teenager this winter!! Some activities will have to be more "grown-up"...or not :) Let's go down memory lane....here are a few of the summer activities (swimming was always included and eating out at the lodge).

There were local things to see:

• Columbus Belmont State Park is dedicated to relics of the civil war. Large chains went across the Mississippi river to stop boats.

• The nature preserve at Land Between the Lakes. There were lots of animals, birds and flowers to study (and even some horseback riding). 
  

• The Riverboat Museum downtown was an educational stop. 

•  While downtown we took a tour of the Quilt Museum and one summer Grandma got the sewing machine out and we made aprons!

• Emma had a birthday, homemade rockets went off as well as fireworks down by the river, puzzles were put together on the kitchen table, little hands helped grandma make banana bread, bowling pins were knocked down, fevers and sniffles slowed us for a day and Pluto got lots of hugs!!!

 

• Kentucky has the longest cave system known in the world...Mammoth Cave National Park. One summer we went underground :)
  
  
  
  
• We also visited another interesting park in Wickliffe, Kentucky. The Wickliffe Mounds were a native American village around 1100 to 1350 A.D. The people of the Mississippian culture built earthen mounds and permanent houses.
  
• Some years we would travel to the zoo in St. Louis (went up in the arch), visited cousins in Arkansas and the Kansas City area. In Arkansas we went to a gem of an American art museum, Crystal Bridges and in KC the granddaughters went with their cousins to the Science Center and Hallmark's Kaleidoscope. 

 Last year we had a relaxing visit with a few fishing trips. It was a fast and shorter visit but we loved every minute of it!! Anytime we can spend getting to know our GRAND daughters better is time well spent!!!! Love you girls :)

  

"Grandma" Juliet