We took Jack to Mother's Day Out on Thursday morning, went home and packed up, picked Jack up right after lunch and headed north! We had an uneventful drive up. Jack did well, even though he only slept for about 40 minutes of the five-hour drive.
We found a great deal on a hotel that has two-room suites. So after the drive, dinner, and a quick trip to Wal-Mart, we put Jack to bed (a not-so-easy task in an unfamiliar place) and had time to relax and watch TV without disturbing Jack. We slept in Friday morning (even Jack). We actually had to wake the poor guy up because we were afraid we were going to miss the free hot breakfast! But he was happy when we woke him up!
Then we headed to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, which is run by Answers in Genesis. It is a beautiful facility with a gorgeous garden and nature trail outside.
The museum is well done and seems to have a ton of great information. However, it's not super-conducive to a toddler. Jack did well, but we weren't able to see the short movies, read all of the signs in each exhibit, or visit the special effects show and planetarium. It might be a neat place to come back when he's old enough to understand and appreciate the museum.
Check out this cool dragon above the bookstore entrance!
They had lots of neat dinosaurs!
Jack enjoyed looking at the fish and turtles they had a tank in the main hall!
We did take a nice stroll through the gardens and stopped at the petting zoo to see some unique animals. Jack seemed to enjoy that at least a little bit.
The outside grounds of the museum were amazing. They had a beautiful botanical garden and a petting zoo. I did finally convince Jack to pet this sweet mule!
These are called "Zonkeys" ... part donkey and part zebra.
Peering at the animals over the top of his too-cool-for-you shades!
Strolling through the beautiful gardens. Jason says he want our yard to look like this one day ... including the bridge and fish pond!
Lunch at Noah's Ark Cafe ... yummy! After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for naptime!
On Day 2 of our vacation, we decided to go to the Duke Energy Children's Museum (one of the best in the country)! We had all kinds of trouble getting there due to traffic, terrible construction, and an uncooperative GPS, but once we finally got there, it was amazing ... well worth the trouble. And unlike the creation museum ... it was perfect for Jack!
The first thing Jack saw was a big room full of balls and all kinds of things to do with them. He was so excited! He wasn't even sure where to start!
Driving a dump truck full of "rocks" ... He loves anything he can "drive!"
There were all kinds of drums to play. He LOVED this gong. He would hit it and then say "Yea!!!"
The water table is always a favorite at the Discovery Center ... and he loves it in Cincinnati too. Only this one is much bigger and more on his level! He looked so cute in his little blue rain coat!
Jack loves wheels! When you turn this wheel, it makes a windmill spin. Jason got a great, artistic shot from above.
The front of the museum center was amazing. It had a gorgeous fountain. We enjoyed running around exploring the fountain. Here's a great shot of the fountain! It was beautiful!
Sweet boy!
After the museum, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap ... but Jack never did fall asleep. I left him alone in the dark for over an hour and he just sang and played. Finally we gave up and decided to head back out to shop at Newport on the Levee ... a great shopping and dining area right on the river. He fell asleep in the car on the way there and was out like a light!
The Ohio River with the Cincinnati skyline in the background.
Jason enjoyed walking around looking at all the shops while Jack slept. The weather was great (and it was nice to not be chasing Jack around). Unfortunately, he woke up while we were eating dinner and then cried and whined the rest of the time. We couldn't get him to calm down at all. He was so exhausted! After dinner, we retreated back to the hotel to rest.
We had considered staying one more day and going to the zoo. But after the rough evening, we decided trying to keep Jack strapped in a stroller at a crowded zoo would probably not go over well. We opted to head home and enjoy the rest of our vacation days at home instead.
All in all, it wasn't the most child-friendly vacation, but it was still really nice to get away from the day-to-day routine and have a change of scenery.
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