Where The Afternoon Took Us....

What a fun afternoon! We started out by stopping at the bank to deposit all of Jonathan's dimes, we do that once a year around birthday time, more about that later! Then we started driving. I took Jonathan to a candy outlet, I thought he'd like that, but they were closed for inventory. Next we headed down a winding road to Route 8, which runs parallel to the Ohio River. One of the things I love about this area is that we can take a drive in the country and we are still close to all a city has to offer.

We drove to Anderson Ferry, which transports cars across the Ohio River. For 50-cents, you can ride the ferry across as "foot traffic", so we parked the car and rode the ferry across the river and back. It's a great way to spend a dollar!

We hung out by the river for awhile, enjoying the breeze, watching the boats on the river and searching for treasures such as rocks and twigs. We sat at a picnic table and had a bottle of water from the cooler in the trunk of the car.

From there, we made our way through rush hour traffic to Florence, where we stopped at Culver's and had ice cream sundaes. Jonathan had a birthday coupon for a free sundae which was expiring in a few days, so it seemed like a good time to use it! Of course, the batteries in the camera died so I couldn't take any more pictures!

Next, we drove to Big Bone Lick State Park. I have only been there one other time, many years ago, and had forgotten all about it and even how to get there. The museum closed at 4 PM, so we couldn't go inside, but we played at the play area. We also hiked the trail out to see the bison that reside in the park. I discovered how out of shape I am! With all the changes in my life in recent years, I  have unfortunately not focused on myself very much. My husband and I used to walk a lot, and now a mile seems to be almost more than I can do! I need to do something about that.

We finished our adventure by stopping at a Sonic drive in and having our dinner on the patio. Again, we utilized a coupon for a free birthday meal for Jonathan.

The entire afternoon cost less than $10.00 (excluding gas). As we were riding the ferry, Jonathan leaned in close to me and said "Mommy this is living". I think he's right, it doesn't get much better than an impromptu summer adventure!