Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park

Jill's Journal: We said farewell to our luxuries at Cave Country RV Campground and went back to camping reality, moving just about two miles up the street to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp. The girls have no idea who Yogi Bear is, but they are enamored at every turn – pools, waterslides, miniature golf, a duck pond, and more. It’s also absolutely packed with people here, particularly youth groups, and the pool today had to have exceeded its maximum occupancy rate.

Highlight of the day: a 300-foot waterslide. Erika had no fear and happily went time and again. Madelyn hesitated, but when she saw Erika come down with a smile on her face (and not drown), she decided to take the plunge too. She LOVED it and was pretty proud of herself for being such a big kid! A father of another 4-year-old asked me her age and pointed out to his son that if a girl the same age could do it, he should be able to also. Poor little guy!

Victoria was dying to go, but they don’t let a parent ride with a child and I couldn’t send her by herself with only a lifeguard to catch her on the other end (or wait at the bottom and trust that she go). I explained carefully to her that we had to wait for her Daddy to join us on the slide in a day or two and then she could go all she wanted. Thank goodness she agreed to be patient and wait…she’s our volatile one and normally has quite the attitude if she isn’t able to keep up with her sisters! She must be growing up too; patience is a big thing to learn.

Hillbilly Disneyland

Jill's Journal: We headed south out of Bardstown to our destination for the week: Cave City, Kentucky. This place is hilarious! I swear, the only way I can describe it is the hillbilly equivalent of Disneyland. I had no idea. It’s campy and goofy and oh, so much fun. As we drove down the street to our campground, the girls were treated to the sight of everything from dinosaurs to a knight in armor to wigwam teepees to a giant chicken statue to live goats being chased down the street by locals. Names like “Redneck Golf,” “Guntown Mountain,” and “Hillbilly Hound Fun Park” leapt out at us.

With such campy things just waiting to be explored, the girls were highly disappointed at our choice of campground. But alas, Cave Country RV Campground is the place that actually had an opening on the Fourth of July! The girls don’t understand such things yet. :) We’re in what looks like a relatively new park – it’s all flat with only small trees, very unusual for Kentucky. It could not be more different from our Bardstown campsite. There’s plenty of space between campsites and the sort of amenities I get excited about: flat ground (I’ll never again take it for granted!), full hook-ups (which means I can catch up on laundry!), and wireless internet. Even though the campground doesn’t have a lot of personality, it feels like great luxury (and at a very, very good price). There’s even cable t.v. service! I don’t know how to work our television yet, but I promised the girls they could get a huge treat and watch cartoons in the morning. Somehow that didn’t take the sting out of seeing the campground we’ll stay at in three days (a Yogi Bear Jellystone Park kid camping mecca). Oh well, they’ll get over it eventually. :)