When planning a road trip I always look for a “stopover” city – or a city between destinations to check out and break up the drive, especially for the kids. I like to make the most of every trip and see a new place along the way whenever possible. This summer we drove from Milwaukee, WI to Asheville, NC and then Charleston, SC.
Louisville, Kentucky turned out to be the winner on the stopover portion.
When traveling with kids (and researching a stopover city) sometimes our planning revolves around the kids and other times it’s where my husband and I want to go. We decided Louisville would be a great place for both the kids AND the adults – everyone loves horses and Kentucky is known for its horses, no doubt, and I have two boys that LOVE sports so the Louisville Slugger Museum was a home run.
Here’s our Louisville Stopover – Horses and Baseball Itinerary:
Louisville Slugger Museum
The Louisville Slugger Museum is a great blend of past and present in the sport of baseball. In addition to the factory tour, there are interactive exhibits, galleries full of memorabilia and even a batting cage.
Highlights: seeing where and how the bats are made. The tour was a little long for our 3-year-old but there was enough to look at with all of the machines that she made it through.
Learning experience: A wall of answers (in the Ali and Aaron: United in the Fight temporary exhibit) to, “What beliefs do I go to bat for?” and “What freedoms do I fight for?”. This provided an excellent teachable moment to talk with our kids about Racism and our core beliefs as a family.
Bonus: everyone on the tour gets a mini bat with the Louisville Slugger logo on it.
Timing: we spent about 2 hours here
Cost: $15 per adult, Kids (6-12) $8 and Kids 5 & Under are FREE
The Big Bat is 120 feet tall.
Second Stride
This is a not for profit organization for retired thoroughbred racehorses. We love their mission:
“SECOND STRIDE PROVIDES PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION, RETRAINING AND PLACEMENT OF RETIRED THOROUGHBRED RACEHORSES.
The program specializes in giving retired thoroughbreds the proper care and quality training they need to succeed in something new.”
Learning experience: We visited this incredible horse rehabilitation center first thing in the morning right before we hit the road for the long drive. It provided a great learning opportunity for the kids as well as a chance to stretch their legs and walk around before being stuck in the car for another 6+ hours. Did you know that racehorses only race on average for about two years?
Timing: The tour is an hour and gives you a chance to get up and personal with horses.
Cost: Tours are $10 per person and they only accept a check or the exact amount. This amount is tax-deductible since they are a not for profit.
There is not the opportunity to ride any of the horses. However, if your kids have never ridden before this could be a great first introduction to these sweet, big animals.
Where we stayed
We always try to stay in an Airbnb whenever possible. It saves us money and gives us more room to spread out. The Airbnb we found in Louisville was one of the best we have stayed in. A huge room with 2 sets of full-size bunk beds for the kids. A private space for the husband and I and LEGOS. Yes, you heard me right there were LEGOS for the kids to play with. A lot of LEGOS. The host was so sweet as well and provided us with this useful website when I was trying to find a horse farm experience.
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