Day 19: Louisville, Kentucky to Summersville, West Virginia #fiveexplore #travellingduringcovid19

Day 19 – August 4th

As the sun rose over the Ohio river, we geared ourselves up for the meandering last part of our journey.

We drove an hour east and headed to Whispering Woods riding stables just north of Lexington. We had originally planned to ride horses near Trail Ridge on the Rockies, but we forgot to confirm. No American road trip would be complete without moseying on down, ideally on a prairie or near a saloon bar. We chose a quiet farm. At least we were close to the Kentucky Derby and still in a southern state (just).

Rather alarmingly the lady at reception would not talk to us until we had filled out multiple waiver forms. America’s litigious society in action. Once I confirmed our 4-year-old would not be providing her own helmet, had medical insurance and would not hold the farm responsible for anything, we collected our riding helmets. I also paid a 15% tip up front. Heavy going considering nothing had happened yet.

We boarded the horses. I had a large white beast called Choppy who seemed more interested in eating grass than responding to my feeble attempts to control him. He also liked bullying other horses who came near his grass. Three lively ‘wranglers’ guided us up a hill.

Alaina undertook her first horse ride on an animal twenty times her size. She nonchalantly grasped the saddle, dug her heels into the stirrups and looked completely unphased by the whole thing. It seemed the horse could accidentally flick her off at any moment.

After the ‘cabin’ ride, I returned to the farm and Sarah went off on a longer ride with the other girls. Alaina climbed a range of completely unsafe wooden playground equipment and I discovered portacabin restrooms that made music festival toilets look like Buckingham Palace.

Sarah returned and we moved on to part two of our action-packed day. We continued east into the beautiful state of West Virginia. The scenery slowly shaped into large hills and large, winding rivers.

Starting at Charleston, we drove down Route 60, (or the Midway Trail,) alongside the Kanawha River to Hawks Nest State Park. The first few minutes are not that impressive, but it is worth sticking with the journey. Soon we were revisiting a tamer version of our Rocky drives round large hills overlooking falls, rivers, and luscious vegetation. My only complaint was all the look out points were covered in trees so you couldn’t see anything. Defeats the purpose really.

We eventually left the trail and headed south for Ace Action Adventure Park. We had a slot booked at the outdoor water park. Once again, we filled out numerous waiver forms. This was unlike any water attraction I had been to before. It was basically a large lake with a range of inflatable slides and climbing frames. At the entrance, huge carp swam back and forth (separately to humans I hope). I’m not sure where the water comes from. What looked like a medium sized sewage pipe poured water into the lake. There was also a zipwire, large slide, and a ‘Blob’.

We got changed in restrooms which made the earlier farm toilets look like Buckingham palace. Every swimmer had to wear a life vest. Once you left the ‘natural’ sand on the beach, the middle of the lake fell away into a deep pool. I followed the girls to climb, slide, and fall off various inflatable objects. Zaria and I went on the large slide and zipwire which was excellent fun.

Now if you are wondering about the ‘Blob’, this is a large inflatable object. Swimmers jump from a high platform and land on their ‘butt’ before bouncing into the lake where large amounts of water fills your nostrils. The real fun though is one swimmer sits at the edge of the blob (-assuming they can stay on), then a second swimmer jumps onto the blob and sends the first one flying. I convinced Zaria this would be a great idea.

After various attempts from Zaria to bounce me off (-which didn’t work as I kept falling off), Zaria sat on the edge of the blob. I read that there should not be greater than a 100lb difference between the two swimmers. When asked about this I told the lifeguard there was just under a 100lb difference. I’m over 120lb heavier than Zaria. Sarah is probably reading this now and fuming.

I tried to jump gently. A few children whispered "Wow!" as they watched Zaria fly. I peered round the edge of the Blob and a slightly shaken looking Zaria was swimming towards me. I enthusiastically asked if she had enjoyed it. Zaria’s silence and shrug of the shoulders spoke volumes. I suddenly felt like the worst father in the world.

After that, I stuck to climbing less ambitious inflatables with Lyra. When skidding off one of the yellow monstrosities into the water I came face to face with a human faeces. This was becoming a regular theme today. I quickly suggested to the children we try another section of the lake.

We finished at sun set and scuttled back to a cheap hotel for another evening of trying to relax while sharing a room with my entire family. The call of home, and our own bedroom, was strong.

In addition to this daily blog, you can check out our Instagram feed for more photos and short posts documenting our 2020 road trip @fiveexplore