Our Big Kentucky Road Trip Part 5: waterfalls and fried chicken
After we left The Ark, I didn't have much of a plan. I know. Gasp! I wasn't sure at that point how much time we'd have left (in other words, how much longer before work would begin calling Seth), and I hadn't really decided if we were going to continue heading south down the eastern side of the state or scoot back over to the western side. I really wanted to spend some time in Daniel Boone National Forest. I had several sites picked out I wanted to visit, but I also knew we definitely wouldn't make it to all of them. We quickly agreed that we didn't want to go back down to Louisiana the same way we came up so we stayed on I-75 south and made our way towards Daniel Boone. We were only going to have one day there so, of course, Cumberland Falls was my first choice.
We didn't have hotel reservations so Seth drove while I figured that out. On a whim, I chose the little town of Corbin. That was definitely an unexpected surprise! I fell in love with that place and really wanted to stay longer. We checked in to our hotel and then ate supper at the Italian restaurant across the street. It was so. good. They even gave us a discount on our meal when we showed them our hotel key. We loved our hotel! I don't even know how I lucked up on this one, but we ended up with two rooms. There was another room off to the side of the main room that had a set of bunk beds and a television in it! It was also the same exact price as a regular room. I can't even begin to tell you what a treat this was after being pretty cooped up in hotel rooms across the state with three kids for, by this point, a week! The kids had a room to themselves, and everyone had plenty of space. So, yes, we already loved Corbin.
The next morning we headed out to Cumberland Falls. There's a moonbow at the falls, the only one in the western hemisphere. It was very cloudy and overcast on this particular day so we couldn't see it (I don't even think it was a full moon either so the weather probably didn't matter). It was also a bit cooler so that was another welcome treat.
Cumberland Falls was super easy to navigate with the kids. After our near hiking disaster with Hannah Kate at Mammoth Cave National Park, she was not excited about the prospect. But I have to say it really wasn't "hiking." There were two other waterfalls I wanted to go to, but those did require "hiking." Needless to say, we didn't even attempt it. So here is Cumberland Falls, also known as the Niagara of the South.
The day we were at the Falls was also our anniversary. 17 years.
I never imagined on that day that 17 years later we'd be in the midst of a 10-day road trip through Kentucky with our three children!
Hannah Kate had to visit the ladies' room so Mason and Ellie played along the shore of the Cumberland River.
I spy with my little eyes way up top on the rock . . .
Ever since Seth and I went to Glacier National Park a couple of years ago, the kids have begged us to take them to the mountains. We aren't exactly "close" to any kind of mountains so that's a trip we've never taken with them. So this was their first time being in the mountains. That was another reason we made this trip.
We were really hungry after spending the morning at the Falls so we drove back into Corbin for lunch. Again, I loved this town! It just so happens to be home to Sanders Cafe, which was the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken!
Needless to say, it wasn't up for discussion where we were going for lunch! Seth asked me when was the last time I ate at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I couldn't answer him. Because I have no idea! I mean, I'm pretty sure I have. Maybe? I think. That's just not going to be a place I choose to go. I couldn't even tell you where one is near where we live, if there even is one. But, really, you can't visit Corbin without dining at the original!
I've said before that my father-in-law makes fun of my skinless boneless chicken breasts. It wasn't until recently (like, within the past year!) that I would even cook a bone-in chicken. And even then, I don't fry it. I roast it. But Seth has sort of mastered the technique of frying chicken legs, and my kids LOVE chicken-on-the-bone. That's what they call it. There's a difference between chicken and chicken-on-the-bone at our house. So they were so ready for this.
This was quite possibly their favorite meal of the whole trip! The four of them ate every since piece of chicken in that bucket! (I had chicken tenders.)
I wanted a picture of them holding the bucket. I don't know why. But somehow it ended up on Ellie's head.
There was a neat little museum here and lots of history about Colonel Sanders. This picture just trips me up. My kids, especially Hannah Kate, are suckers for statues. You'd think he was real they way they're all cozied up to him!
After we ate lunch, we continued south. We talked about several options and then decided to spend some time in Chattanooga. The drive from Kentucky and down through Tennessee on I-75 was just beautiful! Again, I was searching for a hotel. Seth suggested we spring for a "nice one" and stay in the downtown area. I was all like, "Nah. All we do is sleep there. We don't really spend any time at the hotel. I'd rather just do what we've been doing and save the "nice one" for another time."
We booked two nights in Chattanooga, and our hotel ended up being less than a mile from this, which just so happened to be our very first stop the next morning . . .
