As many of you know, Hubs and I planned to visit his family in Louisville, KY over Christmas. Because of my dad's death, however, we stayed in Virginia with my mom and brothers, and my in-laws graciously offered to come here for the holiday instead. We had a lovely visit, but we weren't able to see Hubs' sister (whose family we haven't seen in almost two and a half years!) or any of his hometown friends. So, we planned to visit The 'Ville at some point this spring...
Of course, I was finishing nursing school and taking boards, completing Reserves duties, and attending doctor's appointments and baby showers. And of course Hubs has been busy at work, with several business trips tacked onto his long list of projects! Needless to say, travel dates were hard to nail down!
We finally decided that an extra-long weekend this past week wouldn't conflict with any other events, and would also give Hubs two three-day weeks at work, which is always a bonus! I used the early part of last week to get the house totally cleaned, do some roadtrip shopping, and plan meals that would whittle down the contents of the refrigerator before leaving town. We had everything packed and ready to load into the car shortly after Hubs got home from work Wednesday evening.
Thursday, we woke bright and early and made pretty good time of the 10-hour drive! We were in town and lugging our suitcase into my in-laws house by 5:15! After freshening up, my in-laws took us to dinner at Pat's Steakhouse, a locally owned and nationally renowned restaurant downtown. I just couldn't resist ordering the Lady Filet Mignon and savored every juicy bite!
Friday morning, I took my time getting up and dressed while Hubs went with his dad to take our car across town for leather installation. This was supposed to be a Christmas present from our in-laws, but since our Christmas plans changed, they got us some other things. Regardless, Hubs and I really wanted to change out the upholstered interior of my car for leather and heated seats, so we bit the bullet and paid for it ourselves, questioning the entire time why we didn't do this when we bought the car two years ago! No matter, because we got a great deal since the shop that did the work also takes care of all the company cars owned by my father-in-law's company! After they dropped the car off, Hubs took me downtown to see the University of Louisville and to visit the bookstore. He finally made good on a promise to buy me a Cardinals sweatshirt, and of course I picked the most expensive one (but honestly, it was the nicest, and one we could share; I promise I didn't pick it because of the price tag!) and then to another local establishment, Bearno's Pizza for a fabulous lunch in a quaint downtown location right next to the brand-spankin' new U of L YUM Center (Basketball arena). Since it was pretty chilly, we opted not to walk several blocks down Main Street, and instead drove to the Louisville Slugger Museum. The original plan was to tour the museum and factory, but instead we decided that this would be a good activity once Baby H (and any other kiddos) are older. After all, what kid doesn't get a little bored when they're visiting Grammy and Grampy's house?!?! Hubs was so cute talking about buying them miniature Sluggers and tee-shirts!! Once we got home, it was time to go pick my car back up from the shop and then get changed for dinner with Hubs's best friend and his wife (who are also expecting their first munchkin just two months after us!). We went to Varanese for dinner and had a fabulous meal that even catered to the Catholic Lenten "no meat on Fridays" rule ($45 for two dinner salads, two main courses, and a dessert to share...can't beat that!). We hadn't seen this couple since our wedding almost three years ago, so after dinner we returned to their house to watch the UK-Ohio State basketball game! I was amazed that I was able to stay out so late (we didn't get home until after midnight)!!
Saturday, we had a quick breakfast before hitting the road again! This time, we headed two and a half hours west, to a sleepy little town called Carmi, IL, where my mom's parents live. The day before we drove to Kentucky, I learned that my Mamaw had fallen in the garden and chipped her knee cap. She was in the hospital for a few days before being discharged to a rehab facility to rest and keep the weight off her leg while she healed. I hadn't seen my grandparents in over two years, and with pregnancy, a cross-country move, and their deteriorating health (80+ years will do that to you!), I didn't know when, or if, I'd get to see them again. I was so happy that Hubs was unselfish enough to share one day of the trip to see his family so that I could see mine too! We arrived in town late morning and visited with my grandparents until Mamaw was ready for physical therapy. While she was exercising we went to lunch and came back with McDonald's for my Papaw (Mamaw insisted on eating the yukky hospital food!). Shortly after we got back to her room, my uncle popped in for a visit, so I was able to see him as well! Since the weather was getting bad and we had 150 miles to go, we left fairly early to get back to Louisville before dark. Of course, no trip is complete without some drama, and after we'd been on the road about 40 miles, my uncle called to say that my wallet must have fallen out of my purse, because it was sitting on the edge of Mamaw's hospital bed! We were too far out of town to turn back, and even though my uncle offered to meet us half-way, I just asked him to mail me the wallet... Of course, it being Saturday afternoon, the postoffice wouldn't be open until Monday, so he had to mail it to me at home in Virginia and I'd have to live without credit cards, IDs, cash, and all that for a few days...and be careful as I helped Hubs with the driving since getting pulled over with no license is generally not a good idea! A couple of hours after we arrived back in Louisville, Hubs's sister, her husband, and their three kids arrived! Like so many family members, we hadn't seen them in over two years, so it was wonderful to catch up! My father-in-law grilled hamburgers and we had a great family dinner, capped off with an early birthday celebration for my two nephews and brother-in-law, who all have birthdays next week! After getting the kids to bed, my brother- and sister-in-law, Hubs, and I all went bowling. We played three games, trading partners each time, and discovered that if you can't drink (me!), you also can't bowl...or maybe I just suck that badly! Either way, we had a blast and got home at midnight once again! I really enjoyed the time with Hubs's sister and her husband, because we really haven't been around them much since getting married, and I'd never had the opportunity to sit and chat and get to know her!
Sunday, after SIL, BIL, and their kids left, we relaxed a bit, and Hubs changed the windshield wipers on my car, which we'd noticed were making a scraping noise and just not doing a great job. Once we was done, he took me to a favorite burger joint in town, WW Cousins (they don't have a website, but if you're ever in town, it's a great little spot!), and then we took a drive down memory lane, with Hubs showing me the house he grew up in, the lawns he used to mow for neighbors, his old high school, and the park where he used to go running! We returned home to watch another basketball game and eat a yummy lasagna my mother-in-law baked before packing our bags and getting to bed early before a long drive home yesterday...
Monday morning, we woke up early to see my father-in-law before he left for work, had a quick breakfast and packed a cooler with drinks and sandwiches for the trip, and hit the road well before the sun came up (and rush-hour traffic got bad!). Once again, we made great time (I was a champ, and at 30 weeks preggo, only needed two bathroom breaks that coincided with our one gas stop and regularly scheduled pit stop at a rest station before hitting the West Virginia turnpike!). We even made such great time that we missed Richmond rush-hour and could drive right through the city rather than skirt around it! I won the mileage award, averaging 35.4 miles per gallon for the 250+ miles I drove, and we made it home in time for a light dinner, laundry, and unpacking, before crawling into bed early... It was so nice to snuggle into our nice comfy queen-sized bed, which felt ginormous after four nights in the double bed that is still in Hubs's room at his parents' house!
Hubs factored in an extra day of leave so that he could relax today before heading back to work tomorrow. So we spent the morning at the gym and grocery before he spent the afternoon washing the cars and rotating his tires (and getting a plug for the nail we found in one)... Then we each called two real estate agencies, getting the details on rental services they offer as we prepare for our upcoming move! Tomorrow's to-do list includes choosing the realtor we like the best, finding a pediatrician for Baby H, and accepting delivery of our crib!! It's another busy week in Hagan House, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
Hope you enjoyed that long diatribe of our visit in Kentucky! If you ever find yourself in the area, check out the links I included above as well as this post from our visit two years ago and consider a visit during Derby week, which was my very first Louisville experience and the first big event Hubs and I attended after we started dating!!
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