Anderson works for a company that works for a company that works for RJ Corman Railroad. Got that?! Every year they have a big company picnic at their headquarters outside of Lexington, Kentucky and invite all the employees from around the country. We love visiting the central Kentucky area and were so excited that the party was moved to the fall this year! It gave us a great excuse to experience “all the fall things.” The weather was gorgeous, so we spent as much time outside as possible. Some of our favorite spots were:
Eckert’s-Boyd Orchard – This place is the best apple orchard/corn maze we’ve ever visited! We loved exploring the apple orchard, getting lost in the corn maze (Kingston beat us big time – I thought we might have to call 911 to get out!), walking through the pumpkin patch, and playing on all the classic corn maze attractions! We spent a whole afternoon here. And I took a lot of pictures of corn. 😉
Castle Post (The Kentucky Castle) – This castle is fascinating to me! Mainly because it’s a medieval-style castle completely enclosed by a stone wall with turrets on a huge 50-acre estate… in what feels like the middle of no where. For decades the castle was a mysterious sight on the side of the road with no one at home. In the 1960s, a couple traveled to Europe and loved all the castles so much they had to have their own. So they bought property in Kentucky’s horse farm country and started building. But the project took so long that the castle was still unfinished when the couple divorced years later. Yikes. This fairy tale did not have a happy ending. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself! It’s currently a hotel and (obviously) a popular wedding venue! Last time we were in Kentucky, Anderson drove me to the castle, but we couldn’t get inside since we weren’t staying there. This time we tried to stay there but they had a big wedding the weekend we were in town, and all 10 of their rooms were booked. But! They did agree to let us take a tour of the property, so that was fun!
Last year we visited The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and I was excited to take Kingston this time, because he loves “old stuff.” 🙂 One of the activities at the village is a river boat ride down the Kentucky River. We did that and then had dinner at the farm-to-table restaurant where everything they serve is grown at the village. After dinner we walked around the small farm then sat around a bonfire and listened to music! There’s a quaint inn on the 3,000 acre property and the rooms, suites, and cottages are decorated in traditional or modern country style. So cute! It’s like a step back in time. We keep saying we’re going to stay there one of these days. It’s such a peaceful spot hidden away in the mountains. When we were leaving the sun was starting to set, so we ran up a mountain and took some pictures of the sunset. It was the perfect end to a busy day!
I think our favorite adventure was having lunch on My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. R.J. Corman owns this train that travels through a forest into the limestone mountains. During the 2 hour ride, they serve lunch or dinner and tell you all about the areas you’re riding through. Kingston’s favorite parts were: 1. standing on the platform in the very back and 2. getting to drink coffee. Not sure that was a great decision while on a long ride in a tight space. We walked around a lot!
Listen, I just need to mention that there is a brand new Grimaldi’s in Lexington. It’s in an upscale outdoor shopping center called The Summit at Fritz Farm. Grimaldi’s is our absolute favorite pizza! Every time we go to Brooklyn we HAVE to visit, so we were total nerd-level excited to find one in central Kentucky. And it was everything we hoped it would be!
The last part of our trip was the annual RJ Corman company party. We somehow got suckered into another corn maze where Kingston once again left us in the dust. The party is always so much fun though. They go all out with tons of great food and lots of activities for the kids. And the people are some of the nicest I’ve ever met. Kingston found the dance floor and ended the night getting his groove on! It was such a fun weekend together, and I’m thankful that we got to experience fall… even if just for a few days!
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