Shillito Park

Location: Shillito Park, Lexington (Reynolds Road)

Cost: Free

Suitable Ages: All

A few weeks ago my youngest son turned 8 years old (insert sniffle here). We didn't want to have the party here at our home so we took the kids to Shillito Park. It was perfect! There is plenty of room to play and the weather was made to order. While we only used the playground and took advantage of the ample grassy areas, there is plenty of other things to do at the park. There is a public pool, baseball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, frisbee golf and miles of walking trails. Ramadas are available but with so many shady grass areas, we felt it was best to simply bring a folding table and camp out under the trees. I would highly recommend this location for any get together.

PLAY BALL!!

Location: Whitaker Bank Park, Lexington

Suitable Ages: elementary school and older

Cost: admission can range from free to $22, food and drink extra

One of the very first cultural differences we came across in moving here was the absolute, undying obsession with Kentucky sports, basketball in particular. I am not exagerating when I say all events are scheduled around the University of Kentucky basketball games. Local churches plan their sermons around home games, weddings are rescheduled if they conflict with tournaments and stores close if our team makes it to the finals. We didn't make it to a UK game yet but we did make it to another local team- the Lexington Legends Baseball team.

The stadium is a small, comfortable stadium perfect for minor league ball. The players are close enough to see, even from the cheap seats. Keep in mind, being only minor league, even the good seats are still cheap. If you are super strapped for cash, you might get lucky and find someone outside the front gate giving tickets away. You can also try hitting the dollar days games, when all drinks- alcoholic and non- are only $1.00. No outside food or drink is allowed inside the park.

When we went, we had free tickets and attended a $1.00 day game. Each of us got a drink($7). The younger kids got bored after the 7th inning stretch so we left and went to Taco Bell for dinner, spending about $20. We had a fun and memorable family night for under $30.

p.s. If your younger ones get bored like ours did, play this game. Use your camera to zoom in on someone far away (such as Ol' Man Jenkins, the ticket taker in the pic above). Then show the camera to your child and have him or her try to find that person in the stadium.

Raven Run

Location: Raven Run, Fayette County
Suitable Ages: Any
Cost: Free

A year round family favorite of ours is Raven Run. This is a nature sanctuary overlooking the Kentucky River with miles and miles of walking paths ranging anywhere from smooth grassy walks to steep rocky grades. Our children like to find walking sticks along their path. The adults find the change in scenery interesting. In the winter it is all brown and chilly like in the photos above. During the summer it is green and muggy and right now, the weather is perfect and all the flowers are in bloom.

On clear evenings in the summer months, the University of Kentucky astronomy department take their telescopes out to Raven Run and set them up for anyone to use. They will set the telescopes up to see a specific star, planet or galaxy then tell you all about it. It is fun for the kids to see but can also be a nice romantic date as well. When we went, it was a tad crowded but everyone was well mannered and quiet.

There is a brand new building for classes and displays. We have been inside it but there wasn't much there at the time. Picnic tables are located just beyond the parking lot for anyone who wants to bring a lunch.

If you go: bring sun protection, good walking shoes and water. Strollers are okay for the meadow paths but still get stuck once in a while. Elementary school aged children or cub scout groups can easily travers the harder trails. You can visit their website at http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=276

Friday Night Flick

Location: Jacobson Park, Lexington
Suitable Ages: All
Cost: Free

One of the first things our family enjoyed in Kentucky was the FREE Friday night flicks at Jacobson park throughout the summer.

The boys ran their legs off playing frisbee in the cool grass, wrestled on the blankets we had laid out, petted the animals at the small petting zoo, slid down the inflatable slides and walked around to the various vendors collecting freebies. If they happened to get bored with that (rarely), we would walk to the other side of the park to play on the most AMAZING playground- ever! We would catch fireflies (a first for us!) once the sun started getting low then finally settle down to watch the movie around 9pm.

This was a perfect Norman Rockwell type activity every week. The movies were clean, the whole family got good exercise and we spent a lot of quality time together. The only negative aspect of the experience was the occasional smoker and the parents who let their children run wild throughout the movie. Both kind of people bother me in public situations. Other than that, you can't go wrong with this one.

If you go: bring your lawn chairs, picnic blankets and a portable dinner and be prepared to have a great night under the stars. Movies are shown, weather permitting, at dark every Friday night through the summer.