Day 6 and 7, On to Kentucky

We are getting pretty good at this packing up thing, and Kyler loves it every time. Today we are heading from St. Louis, to Kentucky. About 4 1/2 hours. One they was we cross into Indiana for a short while

And then on into Kentucky. It was a really beautiful state. Of course everything was gray and dead as we drove by, but I could just picture it in the spring, it would have been breath taking.

We were headed to Mammoth Caves National park, and on the way, our car hit the 30,000 mile mark. If we still had our Mazda, we would have hit 100,000.

I really miss my Mazda. I was excited to see it turn 100,000. But this car has been a blessing for us. I don't know how we would have gotten everything here if we were still in the small car. Hopefully I can avoid the crazy drivers out there and see this car turn 100,000...almost there.

Kyler has learned that he hates his car seat, he fights tooth and nail when it's time to go somewhere. When we packed up for this trip, he screamed for almost an hour, there was nothing I could do to calm him down. He finally fell asleep, and Brian said a prayer that he might get some of the sleep that he needs. After the prayer he made a comment like "wouldn't it be cool if he slept the whole way there". Ya right I thought. Oh ye of little faith! He did! He slept for almost 3 1/2 hours! It was incredible. Thank heavens for the power of prayer and great husbands!

When we got to Mammoth Caves National Park, we went to the picnic area for lunch. There were so many trees I so wished we could have been there during the spring. A herd of 7 deer joined us. Kyler was mystified. We were the only ones there, so it was kind of magical. Then we headed back to the hotel to just hang out. Kyler and Brian were so cute on the bed watching cartoons. We ordered pizza in the room and all went to bed early.

The next morning we packed everything in the car and headed into the park for our Cave tour. We took the New Entrance tour, which includes the Frozen Niagara tour. It was about 2 hours and Kyler was perfect! There were about 15 people on the tour with us, the Ranger said in the summer they usually have 150, so it was fun to have a small group and get a more intimate approach to the caves.

We are fans of National Parks. I think it would be great to visit all the national parks. This park is different from what we are used to because it is all under ground. This tour starts out by going down a lot of steps. At the lowest point we were about 250 feet below the ground. I am glad Kyler did so well.

Then we set our sights for Cumming Georgia, to visit Phillip and Jamie (Brian's Brother and fam). It was supposed to be a 5 1/2 hour drive but right as we started a Semi lost it's contents all over the highway. We ended up going only 5 miles in an hour and a half. Kyler slept most of that time, so when we actually got on the way he was already to be done. I kept him busy with food and movies for the most part, but after we stopped for dinner he had had it. We were about 45 min from Phillip and Jamie's when he started to cry. There was nothing I could do to console him. He cried for half an hour and then threw up all over himself. Joy. We pulled over to clean him up and get the gunk out of his car seat. I didn't have anything to dress him in, so Brian just wrapped him in a blanket and tried to calm him down while I cleaned up. Then a cop pulled up behind us. He was just making sure we were all right. We told him our story and then he was on his way. A few seconds later another cop pulled up. This one stuck around till we were all packed up again and on our way. Thank heavens Phillip and Jamie's house ended up being just around the corner, I'm not sure we would have survived much longer.

I was sooo frustrated. Kyler was so tired but refused to fall asleep, a 5 1/2 hour drive took us 7, the weather was terrible (it was raining) so I was stressed with driving, and then Kyler decides to throw up just to top it all off. I wanted to blast the music on the radio but Tiffany wanted it off, she couldn't handle more noise. We were starting to get mad at eachother just because we were so frustrated. It is a good thing we are done driving for a while. It has been great to travel with Tiffany, we make such a good team. But after more than 32 hours in the car we were all ready to be done.

Phillip and Jamie were wonderful. They were the safe haven from the strom that we so desperately needed. They were great to help us unpack and get the car cleaned up the rest of the way from Kyler. Thanks to them for all their help.

It's been great to be here. Kyler has had a blast playing with his cousins, and Brian and I have had some time to rest and recuperate. It will be fun playing with Phillip and Jamie and their family while we are in North Carolina. We have several fun trips planned.