on the road again

...and this time to the bluegrass state. On a whim, we went to Lexington, KY this Memorial Day weekend to visit Ada's Aunt Suzi and cousin Roman.

Saturday night, Suzi already had plans so the three Moncriefs headed downtown for an outing of their own. While my sister has lived in Lexington for over 10 years and we have visited many times, we had never made it to the downtown area. Suzi lives in the Hamilton Place Mall area equivalent so it was nice to see the other section of town. First stop, Alfalfa's. We now consider this a must eat for anyone who passes through this downtown. As an appetizer we enjoyed scrumptious spinach quesadillas and as our entree split delicious fish tacos.


We asked our server, Mars ("like the planet"-literally- that's what she said) where she would recommend for a nice dessert. Our planet inspired friend pointed us to a swanky little place called Desha's where we enjoyed a peanut butter and chocolate dessert and tall glasses of milk. Yum!

Sunday Jimmy, Ada, Suzi, Roman, Ray, Connor and I headed to Suzi and Roman's church Southland Christian Church. It is one of those churches that makes you want to put in for a job transfer just so you can be there for regular attendance. After the service and a quick lunch we headed to the Kentucky Horse Park. Having ridden competitively for over half of her life, Suzi was able to personalize the tour with her love and knowledge of horses.

At one time a jump called the Giants Table featured a fence nestled in between these chairs large enough to accommodate Goliath. I was thinking about the poor horse that did not make it over.

Connor (5) and Roman (3)

Chickaroo and Jimmy too!

Suzi and her buddy Ray

Suzi, Roman, Ada and I with our beautiful tour guides.

How much do adult horses eat? About 20 lbs of hay and grain per day that are washed down with 6 to 10 gallons of water. Can you imagine? This guy is beautiful. . .

I think it is safe to say that Roman enjoyed his ice cream. He should, after all, it is a Campbell Family requirement.

Once again, Ada fell asleep in the Baby Bjourn.

There were several events going on at the park. One was a rodeo. We caught the tail end (excuse the pun), but enjoyed one of the most entertaining parts: bull riding. Many people do not know this, but Jimmy (not pictured) actually rode bulls in High School. When first told, I did NOT believe him until he showed me a newspaper clipping with his name and picture attaching him to the sport.

This statue marks where the infamous Man O' War is buried. He is buried in the traditional manner with only hooves, head, and heart resting underneath.

We were also able to catch a polo match that Jimmy and I were extra excited about. While it is something we always wanted to do, it was a first for both. We decided the horse had to be the perfect combination of soccer player and ballerina. It was very impressive.

Ada enjoying Aunt Suzi while we enjoyed the polo match.

Roman enjoyed his own means of amusement. Did I mention, I think he enjoyed his ice cream? :)

Suzi and Roman: Thank you so much for a great weekend. We love you guys bunches!