My Old Kentucky Home Vacation: Day 1

Recently I was able to enjoy a week long vacation. 

My sister-in-law has always wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby and I just so happen to be from Kentucky. My parents still live there (although they are moving soon...) and so I thought we should take advantage of my connections!

Back around Christmas time we kept saying how much fun it would be to go and that we should go etc. Now, there are a couple things you should know about me. 1: I don't like talking about doing something without putting it into action. 2: I love vacations. LOVE THEM. 

So I decided to see what ticket prices were like for the big day. 

WHOA BUDDY. YIKES. 

Too much money for my blood even for the super low class seats! (And there was no way I was going to be an "Infielder"! That's not the kind of experience we wanted anyway...)

More digging ensued and finally I was able to find tickets for the Kentucky Oaks for a much better, checking account happier, price. To make it even better, it's all about ladies! The Oaks race has been supporting Breast Cancer research for a few years now and so, though there are plenty of men there, it really is a day all about the ladies! 

What is The Kentucky Oaks?

Well, long story short, it's the "Derby" for fillies. (As in female horses...) It is owned/sponsored/funded by the same company as the Kentucky Derby (Longines) and held at the same track, Churchill Downs. 

On Day 1 of our journey we drove from Manti, UT to Kansas City, Mo where we stayed the night it was a long day but we had a lot of fun and saw and talked about some places we wanted to stop by on our way home. 

Here are some pictures! 

Colorado:

 There was a complete white out and then we drove through a tunnel and BAM! Sunshine.

 Kanorado: It's an experience and a "town".

 After we passed Denver I was going to take a nap. Yeah, that didn't happen. It was SO WINDY! There was a high wind warning out. We Googled what that meant and discovered that it meant there was steady winds from 35-45 mph with gusts 75mph for the area we were driving through. I was grateful that Kristen was driving and not me! She had some stiff arms by the end of her shift!

 I never doubted that we would be okay but there is something unsettling about seeing 13 semis (and probably more that we missed) all pushed over by the wind! Yikes.