Hodgenville, KY - State # 1

 Our adventure began on July 24 to Hodgenville, KY. We took a daytrip to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Park. I did not know this existed until we started researching things to do in Kentucky. Kentucky is known for its horse racing and bourbon, which we were not really interested in. We stumbled upon Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace and knew that it was the winner.

It took us about four hours to get there. Our original plan was to visit the park first and then grab lunch afterwards, but we were both starved by the time we got there, so we grabbed lunch first. Hodgenville is a really small town with a population of 3,333, so there were not a lot of options. We ate at Laha's Red Castle, which is pronounced lay-hays. This is a family-owned business that has been voted as the best hamburger in Kentucky.  It is a very small diner, but the staff were very friendly. We highly recommend getting the double deluxe burger.

After lunch we headed to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace. When we arrived, we jumped right into a tour with a park ranger. 

We spent about an hour in the park and most of that time was on the tour. There isn't much to see outside of the tour. It was recommended to visit the Knob Creek location, but we opted not to. The Birthplace is home to the first Lincoln Memorial. We learned there are 56 steps leading up to the memorial because that is how old he was when he was assassinated. There are sixteen columns and windows as he was the sixteenth president. Inside the memorial is a log cabin that is a replica of his childhood home. We also got to see the springs where he would have had his first sip of water.

After visiting his birthplace, I had plans of stopping by Mammoth Cave National Park, but we ran out of time. We hope to go back and visit as it seems like a really neat place.

On the way home we were able to find a gift shop to get a souvenir and some postcards. If you'd like to receive a postcard from us head over to our Patreon and join our friend group.

We would recommend visiting Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace if you are near the area or love history. 

Cost Breakdown:

Gas - $28.50

Food - $31.64 (the breakdown is as follows: Laha's Red Castle was $13.06, snacks at the gas station $7.55, and snacks at Dollar General $11.03)

Souvenirs - $21.60 (Marvel mug $10, Christmas ornament $6.99 , postcards $.99)

Total cost: $81.74

Let us know if you decide to visit any of these places. 

The Ark Encounter

We took a weekend trip to Cincinnati, Ohio the weekend after Christmas. We talked about Noah and the ark in school early on, so I thought a field trip to the Ark Encounter would be perfect. We decided we wanted to go during the Christmas season, so we chose the weekend after Christmas. Nana and Pops came with us and we are so glad they did. We rented a house through Airbnb that was pet friendly so we could bring all of our dogs. Nana and Pops have two dogs and we have one.

We are country people, so renting a house in the city was interesting lol. We found out once we got there that there was a major NFL game on Saturday, and we were extremely close to the stadium. My mom and I realized why it was so hard trying to find a place to stay. I tried to take some pictures along the way.

In our room there was a door that said, "No public admittance" and was locked. Part of me wanted to know what was in there and part of me decided it was best I not know lol.

Marley had no problems settling in...

My mom's dogs on the other hand were a little on edge lol...

We ordered pizza from Domino's and called it a night on our first night. 

We went to the Ark Encounter first, and it did not disappoint. The only disappointment is it was raining and cold.

The Ark Encounter has a total of three floors and are all wheelchair accessible. The inside is made of wood and is just absolutely beautiful! The amount of detail that went into the ark is just incredible. The animals had feeders and waterers in their pens to make feeding and watering them easier. All their waste was collected at the bottom of the pen and could easily be cleaned. It was very spacious inside. If the Ark Encounter is truly what the ark was like I would have loved to be on it. Christmas music was playing softly and it just felt so peaceful inside. We spent 2.5 to 3 hours. There is a small zoo area and a kids play area, but unfortunately it was raining and we couldn't enjoy them. We also didn't get the full affect of the Christmas lights as it was still pretty light when we went. Had it not been so cold and rainy we would have waited around to enjoy them :)

After the Ark Encounter we went back to the house we rented and got ready for dinner. The rest of the night we just chilled.

The next day we went to the Creation Museum. I didn't enjoy the Creation Museum as much as the ark, but it was still pretty interesting. The Creation Museum also had their Christmas lights still on, but much like the Ark we were not able to enjoy it. It was even more cold on the day we went to the Creation Museum, and we just could not handle it lol. I would love to go back another year just to see the lights. 

We had a great time visiting both the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. I'm so glad we got to make these memories together, and look forward to our next adventures. The last few pictures are just ones I snapped as we were driving around. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

When we were packing up to head home it was snowing! We don't get much snow in Tennessee, so even though we were beyond freezing we were also happy to see some of the white stuff :)