My "For Now" Kentucky Home!

October 6 - 13, 2020


We made reservations back in January for a two-week stay in October at My Old Kentucky Home State Park.  At the time, we had no idea we would be anticipating a new granddaughter being added to our family while we were there!  



This state park is like no other state park we have stayed at.  It offered full hook-up for RVs, which includes water, electric, and sewer hookups.  Super nice!  The state park is land once owned by the John Rowan family in the late 1700's and included the mansion and about 325 surrounding acres known as Federal Hill.  In 1923, the family donated the mansion and grounds to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Federal Hill was renamed "My Old Kentucky Home" in honor of Stephen Foster's song which became the state song a few years later.  Stephen Foster was inspired to write this song by life at the “Federal Hill” house.  Stephen was a member of the anti-slavery faction in Kentucky politics.  The song is an abolitionist-inspired ballad.  We were able to tour the mansion and grounds where we learned much about life during this time period.



Generally, we don't eat out often; however, we do like to catch some local flavor if we can find a COVID-safe environment.  We did get to enjoy some southern style food at Mammy’s, which offered outdoor patio dining as well as socially-distanced tables.  Our sever was Mammy's son, who offered some great insight to his favorite dishes!  We even bought a jar of Mammy's bourbon sauce for some home cooking Mammy's style!



It's hard to be in Kentucky without taking in at least a couple of distilleries!  With tours being reduced to small numbers for COVID safety, tickets were a bit scarce; however, we were able to get tickets to visit Bardstown Distillery (where our last tasting came directly from a keg) and Heaven Hill Distillery.  Delightful and educational all at the same time!  



During the Civil War, Bardstown contained factions from both the North and the South.  It has quite a bit of history to it, so we found ourselves touring the Civil War museums located in town.  We also found a perfect spot to hang the hammock and get in some R & R.  Other leisure time activities included some reading (my Tuesday morning book club continues to let me join them virtually!) and, of course, a little sewing!




On October 13th, we learned Norah had come into this world a couple of weeks early, ending our stay in Kentucky sooner than we expected!  Before we knew it, we were pulling camp and heading back to Iowa to meet this newest grandchild!


Next up:  Meeting Norah!

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