http://www.usresident.com/content/articles/us-travel-guides/kentucky/ Sat, 19 May 2012 19:12:33 +0000 43200 http://www.usresident.com/content/articles/us-travel-guides/kentucky/the-kentucky-horse-park-lexington-a-magnificent-experience-r67
The Kentucky Horse Park
The Kentucky Horse Park is easy to find if you follow the signs from the Interstate and highways surrounding the City of Lexington. We had no trouble at all finding the place. The Park consists of 1200 acres and is fenced with white plank fencing. The white fences on the rolling green hills lets passersby know that this is horse country. The Park is a unique attraction, dedicated to that magnificent species, the horse.

The Park has two excellent museums that educate visitors on horse history and breeds. It also features twin theaters and more than fifty breeds of horses call the Park home.

Educational Programs
The Educational Program has a wide variety of courses for adults and children, as well as weekend classes that are designed for both experienced and beginning riders. Each year the Park offers a six month course, the Equine Management Program. If we lived closer, I would take full advantage of the Park’s Educational Program.

Visitor Information
Be sure to stop by the Visitor Information Center when you enter the park. The staff is courteous, friendly and will be happy to help you plan your stay at the Park so you don’t miss anything. You can also watch the presentation, "Thou Shalt Fly Without Wings," at the Center. It is shown several times a day and is a great introduction to your day at the Park.

The Hall of Champions
The horses that reside in the Hall of Champions are magnificent specimens. Take in a presentation and see the beautiful Thoroughbred legends

Henry, Gypsy Supreme, Western Dreamer and Cigar, among others. These beautiful horses will make your visit come alive with the excitement of the ring and the track.

International Museum of the Horse
This is a great place to learn more about the horses of Kentucky. When my husband and I visited the Kentucky Horse Park, the exhibition was Kentucky Bloodlines: The Legacy of Henry Clay. We learned a lot about this learned man and his role in brining magnificent breeding stock to the Lexington area. His story will be told at the Museum until October 31, when it will be replaced with another fantastic exhibit. We certainly enjoyed learning how Kentucky became one of the greatest horse breeding Meccas in the world.

Man O’ War Memorial
One of the things that I enjoyed most on my visit was the beautiful bronze statue of Man O’ War. You will see it as your enter the Park and it is magnificent. If you wish, you can stand by the graveside of Man O’ War and learn about his exemplary career in the world of race horses. Man O’ War had a twenty-eight foot stride. His jockey, Isaac Burns Murphy, who to this day holds the record for highest percentage of winning rides, is buried not far away. Man and horse; together for eternity.

Gift Shop
Inside the gift shop you will find all types of gifts and souvenirs. T-shirts seem to be the most popular among tourists. They were beautifully done with pictures of horses on them and the words, Kentucky Horse Park. Other gifts and souvenirs included stuffed horses, books, different types of clothing, pens, pencils, bells and some great books on horses. From the gift shop you can enter a room where there is a presentation movie and a hoard of information on famous race horses of the past.

Campground
Spend a night, or several nights, at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. There are almost three hundred campsites that have hookup for electricity and water. Included for your convenience are fire rings, picnic tables, paved pads, two bathhouses, two dump stations, a Laundromat and more. Take a dip in the Olympic sized swimming pool, play a game of tennis or basketball, pitch horseshoes or step out to a square dance at the recreation center.

If you are visiting the area of Lexington, Kentucky, I highly recommend you take the time to visit the Kentucky Horse Park. It’s a great experience for all those who love horses.]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:59:45 +0000 5878a7ab84fb43402106c575658472fa http://www.usresident.com/content/articles/us-travel-guides/kentucky/mammoth-cave-national-park-kentucky-r66 If you want a complete tour, plan on spending two to four hours. Shorter tours are available where you will see the wondrous natural environment around the two cave’s entrances. The longest tour requires four hours of walking and is only for those who are physically fit. Throughout the tour you will explore over four and a half miles of the cave system and will exit at a different location that you entered.

A unique tour is offered to those who wish to explore the mysteries off the beaten trials. Though this is an awesome experience, it’s not for the faint of heart. Visitors are required to crawl through narrow passages and climb steep grades.

Mammoth Cave National Park is located on the Mammoth Plateau. Short hiking trails wind from the roads to special points of interest. If you’d like to camp in a secluded area, head to the Park’s backcountry, where you will see wondrous sights of nature. Mammoth Cave National Park offers over seventy miles of trails for the avid hiker. Combine, the Green and Nolin Rivers provide water enthusiasts with almost thirty miles of river in which to enjoy boating, canoeing and fishing. Scenic boating tours are available from early spring to late fall.

Camp, backpack, hike, canoe, fish or spend a day horseback riding through 53,000 acres of majestic parkland.

Tours of Mammoth Cave are available every day of the years, except Christmas. Camping sites are closed from December until March. Reservations for campsites should be made six months in advance.

While in the Park, be sure to visit the Mammoth Cave Hotel where you can stay or just stop for a positive dining experience. The Hotel has been greeting visitors since the early 1800’s, and is nestled in a scenic woodland setting. Rustic cabins, cozy cottages and rooms are available.

Stop by the coffee shop for your morning pick-up or enjoy a delicious breakfast at the restaurant. Meals are available throughout the day, but breakfast is mouth watering. If take-out is more your style, it is available from a fast food eatery at the Hotel.

Visit the award winning gift shop and pick up a few mementos of your visit, or take a few souvenirs home for loved ones. Local Kentucky arts and crafts are on display and they are magnificent. There’s a large variety to choose from.

For the ultimate cave and outdoor experience, visit Mammoth Cave National Park. It will be an experience that you will always remember.]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:57:09 +0000 7e7757b1e12abcb736ab9a754ffb617a http://www.usresident.com/content/articles/us-travel-guides/kentucky/abraham-lincoln-birthplace-kentucky-r65 This past summer, while visiting friends in Kentucky, my husband and I decided to take a side trip to visit Honest Abe’s birthplace.

When we arrived, the first thing we did was stop by the Visitor Center. Here, we browsed the exhibits that showed the tools that Lincoln’s father would have used when he lived here. Axes, whips, threshing forks and scythes reminded me of the tools that grandpa had used on his farm when I was a child. They brought back more than a few memories.

After my curiosity was satisfied, we once again entered the Memorial Building. We viewed the film, Lincoln: The Kentucky Years, which we both enjoyed. Kentucky certainly was a lot different back then compared to what we’ve seen on our visits.

When the film was over, we took a walk outside and admired the Memorial Building, which is made of marble and granite before continuing over to the spring that flows out of a ledge and cascades into a natural sinkhole below. This is where the Lincoln’s went to get water for drinking, bathing and all household tasks. This spot is lovely and we both enjoyed the tranquil setting.

Abraham Lincoln only lived on this farm until he was two. At that time, his father, Thomas, purchased a farm at Knob Creek, which is just ten miles northeast of the Heritage Site.

The wood rail fences that border the site look the same today as they would have when the Lincoln’s lived here. These also brought back childhood memories, for many a time I’ve climbed onto the top rail of a split rail fence and idled away the hours munching on a freshly picked apple, daydreaming and enjoying a beautiful autumn day.

One the west side of the Lincoln farm stood an old white oak. In 1805, the surveyor recorded this tree and specified the huge oak as a boundary marker. Insects and the elements have wrecked havoc on the tree and today all that remains is a stump. The tree was estimated to be 28 years old when Lincoln was born. Today, the stump is significant in that it is one of the original boundary markers of the Lincoln farm.

My husband and I both enjoyed the visit to Lincoln’s birthplace. The atmosphere was such that we felt as if we had stepped through a time warp and entered Lincoln’s home of the early 1800’s.

If you are in the vicinity of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, be sure to see the birthplace of this great President. Take Highway 65 South to exit 91 and follow the Lincoln Parkway approximately 14 miles to the park.]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:46:44 +0000 9766527f2b5d3e95d4a733fcfb77bd7e http://www.usresident.com/content/articles/us-travel-guides/kentucky/shoney%e2%80%99s-restaurant-in-morehead-kentucky-good-food-good-service-and-friendly-staff-r64
It was a nice welcome to step into the air conditioned atmosphere of Shoney’s and out of the scorching 112 degree temperatures. We were seated by our server and cold drinks were ordered and delivered promptly. Before ordering off the menu, we asked what was on the buffet.

I have to be careful of what I eat, because I am diabetic. Our waitress, Jodi, told me that the buffet was a perfect choice for diabetics and she was right. She invited me to take a look and as a result, both my husband and I chose the buffet.

The salad bar was terrific. There were every type of vegetable imaginable on the buffet table and it was easy to choose something that was right for me. My husband was able to select a wider variety, but it all looked enticingly good. We weren’t sorry. The salads and vegetables were crisp, fresh and delicious. We were able to enjoy corn-on-the-cob, which wouldn’t have been in season yet had we been home. It was sweet and a real treat for us in early July.

The buffet table included fish, chicken and other meats and these were cooked to perfection, as well as piping hot. All were moist and not dried out from the heat lamps as I’ve found on many buffet tables. Whoever was in charge of the buffet had great know-how.]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:45:24 +0000 fa7cdfad1a5aaf8370ebeda47a1ff1c3