This American Wife: Kentucky: Part 1

Luke took lots of photos with the real camera but here's my phone photo rundown. We planned a trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to see our friends Laura and Pete and also check out Louisville, a town I've heard good things about. I promised the girls viewings of horses and Moana. I found about a cool hotel in Louisville on Instagram and spent a while on the phone with the reservationist, trying to anticipate what a 2 and 4 year old would want four months in the future. (??? why do I do these things?) The hotel kids' package included vouchers to the nearby science center, nightly milk and cookies, and a teepee.

Because Louisville is less than 5 hours away and we were in no rush, Wednesday morning was very pleasant: we slept in, packed, got doughnuts and coffee from Felicia at Ray's Donuts, and were on our way. We listened to the Moana soundtrack and a bit of Hamilton, the latter saved for later because we couldn't hear the lyrics well (between the wind and the whining).

Josie with Hoe-see (very favorite lovey at the moment) and Uni, C's unicorn that she occasionally lends Josie because, simply, "Horsey and Uni are sisters."

Lunch at McDonalds: chicken nuggets, their ardor for which is a teeny blessing because they don't balk at similarly breaded fish... as long as I call it chicken.

21c Hotel. We arrived in Louisville during a brief cold snap and a severe storm was forecast for that night.

Margarita in hand, we looked at the hotel's art collection. A current exhibit is The Future Is Female and it's so fun to hear the girls' impression of the artwork. Of this tentacled piece made out of acrylic nails, Clem exclaimed: it's a oppo-pus! I keep thinking about a scene in the documentary City of Gold (highly recommend!) in which writer Jonathan Gold takes his teenage kids to a museum and they contemplate a single work for 30 minutes and then discuss it.

image via

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, Proof. Absolutely delicious. A whiskey flight (for him); a Hendricks and tonic (for her); grilled cheese and chicken tenders (for the kids); crusty bread with very salty butter that had been whipped with olive oil; grilled drumsticks with chili oil; rye cavatelli with squash and hazelnuts; an aged ribeye that was astoundingly delicious.

They watched movies on the tablet - rearranging the tent, the bed... it was maddening. They didn't nap and didn't sleep until midnight. Note to self: forgo swanky hotel for something with a Holidome and adjoining rooms. Luke went out to investigate music venues while I pondered how much better life would be in the cheap(er) suites and the children ran amok.

C took this picture, probably as a pretense to get her hands on my phone.

But at last, everyone slept (me alone and Luke with a child in the crook of each arm). Up the next day for breakfast across the street at Atlantic No. 5.

This David replica stands outside the hotel and Clem thought it was sooo funny that we could see his buns!

The only photo I have from the science center. The girls loved it. It was so cacophonous on a weekday I shudder to think what a weekend would be like. This is the same dread that has kept me from taking the girls to the Magic House here in St Louis.

Off to explore the Highlands, a cool neighborhood I had heard about. Unfortunately, the day was blustery, cold, and spitting rain - not ideal for the stroll I had in mind. We ducked into a bakery for a coffee, cookie, and cake ball while Luke was in a guitar store. This is C's new picture smile.

Mural on Highland Morning, where we had breakfast the next day. We had lunch at Qdoba to keep something familiar for the girls: they caught sight of it and rattled off their order - quesadilla (JUS' CHEESE!), appa-sauce, milk!

A kids' bookstore - what a treat! I bought two books recommended by the staff, Journey and Yoga Bunny, an illustrated book about horses, Beauty and the Beast with narrated CD, and some sticker books.

C took this one: SAY CHEESE!

NuLu: coffee at Please & Thank You; chatting with the florist at Mahonia, a gorgeous home store - houseplant boutique - floral shop. I bought a succulent that made it home mostly intact after its harrowing ride in the backseat, enduring a torrent of flung-off snow boots, dropped iPads, and discarded water bottles.

We drove through NuLu and downtown many times while the girls napped - Nap Shark must.keep.moving.