Horses and Bumpers

So the next day in Lexington the plan was to go to the Kentucky Horse Park. I don't think my folks were really up for this but we knew that Rose would love seeing the horses. So after an awesome breakfast we headed on over there.


On thing to know about this place is that it is spread out. You'll do a lot of walking. The weather was cool and overcast, it had rained the day before. This was probably a good thing as the park was not hot and stinky and full of flies. Because it was Monday, the place was rather dead. Many of the stalls were empty and it seemed like a lot of maintenance was being done; they were probably recovering from the weekend. A lot of horses were being walked around the park. This gave Rose an opportunity to pet one.



Rose also got to do some "barrel riding:"





Maybe the barrel riding gave her courage to ride a pony, especially since Rose was WAY overdue for a nap. The pony ride was the highlight of the entire visit. Both my parents were glowing over it.





As great as the pony ride was, Rose's highlight may have been the playground. Rose is addicted to going to the park back home and the playground they had at the Horse Park was one of the best I have ever seen. And it was a real thrill for me for my Dad to be able to play with Rose on the playground.





While there appears to be a restaurant on the park grounds it did not seem to be open while we were there. At the entrance where we bought our tickets, Mom asked for a recommendation for lunch. I think most of us were still pretty full from breakfast but Rose was hungry so we decided to find this Sam's Diner for lunch.

We were told that Sam's Diner is a local favorite and sure enough it seemed that only locals ate there. I don't think that anyone of us had this kind of restaurant in mind. It was a true diner/truck stop. But it had bad juju from the time we pulled in.

I pulled our minivan in and parked by the front door. Since I pulled in a little crooked, I decided to back up and straighten out. Immediately there was a horrible crunching sound. I checked all my mirrors and everything looked good. So I started slowly backing up again. Again the crunching. I stopped and Dinah got out to look. I knew it was bad when she started mouthing "fuck, fuck, fuck." I got out and looked. The bumper of the minivan was resting on the ground in front of the car. The rebar used to anchor the concrete parking marker was protruding out about six inches on the left side. It had caught underneath out bumper and just tore it off when I backed up. I didn't even think I had pulled in far enough to even touch the marker. In hind sight I wonder if I had stopped after the initial crunching sound if the damage would have been as extensive. I'm a magnet for this kind of stuff, especially when life starts to go well. Bad shit happens to me.

And dammit the restaurant was a smoking facility. This is one thing I can't stand about KY, TN, and NC. I hate smoke around my food. ]

Sooooo, we all went into this dive of a restaurant. While our food was being prepared my Dad and I went outside to see what we could do. We managed to get the bumper off and into the back of the minivan. My Dad actually usually carries a full set of tools, don't ask, but not this time. But he did have zip ties! So we got the flaps tied up and the van at least in drivable condition. Hey, at least we look like we fit in now. If only I can find my high school graduation tassel to hang from the rear view mirror to complete the look.


Our food was ready shortly after we got back inside. My Mom and I both ordered Kentucky Hot Browns which was their version of the famous Louisville Hot Brown. I was expecting more of an open faced sandwich than something more akin to a casserole, but it was very good. Maybe too much sauce, but I did eat the whole thing, so no complaints.

After that we all headed back to the hotel for naps, but not before I backed into the car parked behind me. I didn't see any damage so we hauled ass out of there. Like I said, bad juju.