Our strange winter continues. We have experienced warm and now cold again for two days with a bit of snow, now we should warm up again. The geese are down by the creek and I take that as a sign that spring is trying to make its way to Kentucky.
I was able to take my father out for a full day last Friday. When I called Papa to tell him I had a plan for us to spend a day together, he was so very happy. I told him I wanted to start with a visit to Mimi. He said, "I was just standing here looking at her picture and thinking about her." He was happy with the plan.
We left Papa's home about 10am. I stopped at the Church to put some things in the Primary closet and then we were on our way to visit Mimi.
It was a very cool morning so I pulled up beside Mimi's grave and we sat in the car and visited till about 11:30am. The beauty of the plots for Mimi and, eventually, Papa are that they are right next to the road through the cemetery. I bring the car in so Papa's side is next to Mimi's grave and we can have a nice visit no matter what the weather. I suggested to Papa we might want to continue with our ride and he was fine with that.
The plan was to go on to Versailles and then take Hwy. 33 south to Hwy. 68. Hwy. 33 goes though None Such, Kentucky and is a very out-in-the-country road. Papa loved this drive. Hwy. 68 took us across the Kentucky River on a very high bridge. The icicles on the limestone hills along the highway were magnificent. We did fine until we found ourselves in Danville or somewhere near there. Somewhere we got off Hwy 68 and ended up on Hwy 150. It didn't matter because the drive was beautiful, even with no leaves on the trees. I eventually wanted to get on Hwy 150 toward Bardstown anyway so we just kept on going on Hwy 150 to Bardstown.
Bardstown, Kentucky is a fun place. It is the location for the home that inspired Stephen Foster to write "My Old Kentucky Home" which is the state song for Kentucky. It also has a fun dinner train that we have taken a couple of times. There are lots of things to visit. I had a specific location in mind. We found it and stopped there first.
There is a stream running through an area in town. There are old homes and buildings made of logs that have been moved and restored in this area to be like a little community. I wanted Papa to see this. There is a Civil War Museum right by this little village. We headed there first to get tickets.
We toured the Civil War Museum first. One of the men who works there said this museum is rated 4th in the United States. There is one in Louisiana that is rated third. He happened to get Papa talking (this is not a hard thing to do) and Papa told him he was from Louisiana. Papa thoroughly enjoyed this museum. By the time we finished it was 2:30 and we needed to have a break and get something to eat.
We found a Burger King where Papa could have chicken tenders and paused for a nice break. I had not had breakfast and was famished. After lunch I told Papa our tickets allowed us to visit four more of the five museums. He had the choice of what we did next. He wanted to walk through the village so that was where we headed. I was very happy this was his choice.
The picture on the left was a fun one to take. It is called the 'Overall House'. The family who previously owned it and gave it to the village was named 'Overall'. However, as Papa's family well knows, he loves his overalls. So it is very appropriate to have a picture of Papa in the doorway of the 'Overall House'.
I was amazed at Papa. He did not bring his cane and he made it through the entire day without it. He walked this whole village. However, after that he was ready to head for home. I picked a route that would take him over a parkway to Lawrenceburg and then to Frankfort and then to his apartment. We got him home by about 5:30pm. He was tired but a very happy fella. He even went for a walk in his neighborhood the next day.
I am grateful I have this time with Papa. I will treasure the moments we have together. Even grocery shopping yesterday found us laughing. I know life is hard on him without a car but he does his best and that is all any of us can do. We will head back to the other museums in Bardstown another day.
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