{Weekend Adventure} Day 1 - Birthplace of KFC + Kentucky State Capitol + Parkette Drive-In

With Hubby's schedule pretty filled up with Army National Guard obligations through the beginning of April, we decided to take this last free weekend with all 5 of us together (for awhile) and go on a little family adventure to...

{It was just a little bit sunny!}

With soccer games this morning, we didn't get out of town until late morning, but we had one goal in sight - make it to Frankfort, the capital city of Kentucky, before it got too dark.

Well, we didn't quite get there before dark, but we did take a fun detour along the way...

First Stop - Sanders Café - Birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken - Corbin, KY

 

We had fun looking around and snacking on some mashed potatoes and potato wedges (that's right, we didn't even order the famous chicken!) from one of the original booths...

 

Now, we aren't big KFC eaters or anything, but I can't pass up the birthplace of something like that!

Next Stop - Kentucky State Capitol Building - Frankfort, KY

Well, we didn't quite make it by dark (we were a day before the "spring forward" time change), but (though it doesn't look like it from the photos) we DID get there by dusk...

 

Hubby took B and L up the stairs, so that B could check that off his list.  He wants to visit every capitol building in each of the 50 states and "run up the stairs to the top"...

Frankfort, Kentucky - CHECK

Last Stop - Dinner at the Parkette Drive-In - Lexington, KY

From Frankfort, we headed over to Lexington to grab dinner at a fun little place featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives...

 

{All In a Day} North Carolina State Capitol + President Andrew Johnson's Birthplace - Raleigh, NC

After spending the morning exploring the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, since we were already in Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, we decided to walk the short distance over to the state capitol building.  In addition to learning about the U.S. Presidents and visiting sites related to them, B has gotten very interested visiting state capitol buildings and (in his words) "running up the steps to the top", so being literally just steps away, we walked over and took some pictures on the grounds...





 

 

before visiting a couple of markers related to the birthsite of President Andrew Johnson...

  

 

Lastly, on the way out of town, we stopped by the actual building where Andrew Johnson was born, which now stands in Mordecai Historic Park...

 

{All In a Day} Groundhog Day FUN at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - Raleigh, NC

I've always loved a good holiday, and it's always been on my "Bucket List" to attend one of the actual groundhog ceremonies on Groundhog Day - yes, probably a weird thing to have on a "Bucket List", but it's there!  I guess that can be traced back to my kindergarten-teaching days where we celebrated Groundhog Day every year and did a coordinating unit on shadows...

So, since Groundhog Day happened to fall on a weekend this year (and Hubby was coincidently drilling), I decided on a whim to take the kids to visit a real groundhog.  So, General Beauregard Lee is still on my list, but today we headed up to Raleigh to visit Sir Walter Wally at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

First of all, WOW, what a wonderful museum!  Admission was free and there were at least 4 floors of fun to explore.  The littles had a GREAT time.

We ended up getting there about 10 minutes after the ceremony had ended (bummer), but we did get to see Sir Walter Wally up close after learning that he DID indeed see his shadow...

We had sooo much fun exploring the museum and taking advantage of all of the groundhog-themed activities and crafts...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{All In a Day} President Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home - Augusta, GA

With Hubby drilling this weekend, I'm always up for a little mini-adventure with the littles here and there.  Continuing to work on our big goal of visiting various Presidential sites, we headed down to Augusta, GA this afternoon to visit the boyhood home of President #28, Woodrow Wilson...

 

I was happily surprised with how thorough this tour was...

Though it was nearly impossible to capture a photo of it, the docent showed us where President Wilson made his mark on this house as a child, carving his called name (or the beginnings of it, maybe he got caught?), "Tommy", in the window pane...

We learned that he formed a neighborhood baseball club, The Lightfoot Baseball Club to be exact, and here above this barn is where they would meet...

Overall, this turned out to be one of our favorite Presidential spots to visit...

{All In a Day} Elizabethton, TN

Hubby and I have always said that it is so much easier to get in the car and GO, than to stay at home cooped up in the house all day.  Now, when I say GO, it doesn't have to always be somewhere.  It can be a hike at a park, a walk around the neighborhood, whatever.  Of course, we are known for just hopping in the car and going on an adventure, too...

Today was one of those days...

Anyone that reads this little blog knows that B is our resident expert on the U.S. Presidents and is always interested in learning more about them.  We've decided to visit as many homes (of the U.S. Presidents) as we can from birthplaces to where they raised their families to their final resting places ~ and everywhere in between.

So, because we are nearly *complete* on all of the homes of U.S. President #17, Andrew Johnson, today we popped up to Elizabethton, TN to visit the site of the home of his daughter, and where he died while visiting her on July 31, 1875.

 

Evidently the original home was moved a couple of times and was most recently purchased by a local doctor and restored on his property...

 



Though it is not open to the public daily, I did find out that they hold a yearly event on the property and give tours of the home at that time...

So, it proved to be a quick and uneventful trip up, but a nice way to get out of the house and go on an adventure...

More to come, I'm sure!