Happy Little Trees

I did a 48 hour tour of Kentucky this weekend. I haven't been to my home state in several months and needed to touch base with home. Airfare has been really high lately, but I'm usually able to find a last minute special with Continental (so sad about the merger with United). So, this past weekend, a special was advertised with round trip access to Lexington, so I jumped on it. I rented a car and began my whirlwind trip.

In the little time I had, here's what I did:
-Took in the beautiful colors of fall on the Bluegrass Parkway
-Made friends with a Kroger Starbucks barista and encouraged her to make Rice Crispie Treats that night
-Drove past the original "My Old Kentucky Home" and through historic Bardstown
-Marveled at the beauty and elegance of the horse farms
-Prayed that a forest fire wouldn't overtake my sister's home
-Visited with Mickey the Dog and her adopted brother-dog, Paws
-Hugged my ever-changing red-headed nieces and compared shades of red
-Watched the documentary Babies with my nieces and got educated on a baby's life that's born out in the bush
-Relived memories on my nieces as babies while watching our family videos
-Got a whole case of Larabars from my sister (25 cents each!)
-Took fall pics of the girls & sis & bro-in-law for my mom's collection
-Drove to my mom's house
-Went to my home church
-Visited with a sweet friend at her beautiful farmhouse
-Scarfed down BW3 wings with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, & mom
-Played the restaurant trivia game & lost
-Treated the family to Starbucks
-Took pictures of my nephew for my mom's "Grandchild Wall of Fame"
-Went to Wal-Mart to develop pictures
-Helped Mom flip a mattress
-Visited with a neighbor
-Hightailed it back to Lexington to catch my flight

...and believe it or not, it was restful!

I had forgotten how amazing the season Fall can be. Everyone said the colors weren't as brilliant this year, but when it's been several years since you've witnessed an orange, red, or yellow tree, it takes your breath away. I had also forgotten what the falling objects were that were gently floating onto the highway as I sailed down the parkway--they were leaves. One of my favorite moments was catching a little whirlwind pick up about 50 or so leaves, spin them around, and then lightly lay them back down.

Kentucky, you are a beautiful state.