Racing to Cincinnati and Back

Day 7 - November 6, 2015 (Great Lakes Region Trip)

We woke up to Reveille again...and again...and again. Finally, we got up and got ready for our day. Yesterday had been a day of learning about Abraham Lincoln. Today we were going to learn about William Howard Taft. Hopefully, we would learn just as much.

As we left the base, we exited out of the Chaffee Gate. We had not been back through that gate since the first night when we arrived. We could now see in the daylight that the United States Bullion Depository was visible from the road. Of course, it was still in the distance. There were multiple layers of security fences but we know security is at a maximum and very secretive as should be expected. 

Some interesting facts about the United States Bullion Depository:

• Only 2 Presidents of the United States have ever been allowed inside - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
• It is protected by the United States Mint Police.
• In the past, the Bullion Depository has stored other treasured items, including the original Declaration of Independence (WWII), the U.S. Constitution (WWII), the Articles of Confederation, original copies of Lincoln's Gettysburg address, 3 volumes of the Gutenberg Bible, and Lincoln's second inaugural address.

We got onto US 31W to drive the 140 miles to Cincinnati. Knowing we had a distance to drive, we picked up Starbucks and breakfast and ate on the way. The weather was dreary, cool, and wet at times. As we drove, we passed by Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Speedway. We knew we needed to keep going since our destination was William Howard Taft National Historic Site. 

As we crossed the bridge over the Ohio River, we had a great view of some of the unique buildings in Cincinnati as well as some of the stadiums. 

We arrived at the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. Following our regular routine, we first went to the Visitor Center where we looked at the exhibits, watched the film, and checked out the bookstore. We signed up for the next ranger led tour of Taft's house next door.

The exhibit area in the Visitor Center was mostly 3-sided displays. Since they were a combination of writing and photos, we were busy for awhile.

When it was time for our house tour, we walked to Taft's house next door and met our Park Ranger.

She took us through most of the first floor rooms and explained some history in each. The Ranger was very knowledgeable and quite funny. Some of the interesting things we saw in the guided tour part were the child's potty chair, Mrs. Taft's sewing cabinet, the stereoscope, and the puddle draperies.

After taking us through downstairs, the Park Ranger explained the other areas of the house that we could visit on our own. One of the rooms upstairs was set up as a museum. "Will" Taft held many different jobs over the years.

Taft was the first President to open baseball season by throwing out the first pitch. There were, also, many displays about the Taft family. 

Down in the basement, we learned about the remodeling that had been done to the house. We saw one of the cisterns that was used to draw water in the kitchen.

It was interesting to see the stairs being built in front of a window.

Here are some of the things we learned about William Howard Taft:

• Taft was the only President who served as President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Taft's goal in life was to be on Supreme Court.
• President Benjamin Harrison appointed Taft as Solicitor General of the United State at age 32, making him the youngest Solicitor General ever.
• Taft was assigned as Governor General of the Philippines by President William McKinley.
• President Theodore Roosevelt chose Will as Secretary of War while Teddy was President. While in this capacity, he was sent to Panama to direct the construction of the Panama Canal and get delays back on track. He, also, established the Canal Zone government.
• Taft was friends with Theodore Roosevelt until after Will becomes President. Teddy didn't like things Will was doing so he ran against him in the next election. They both lost because they split the Republican votes, so Woodrow Wilson became President.

We left and drove around in Cincinnati, looking at some of the different areas. We saw more interesting buildings and closer views of the Cincinnati Reds' stadium.

Finally, we crossed the Ohio River again and were on our way back to Fort Knox.  We still had a long way to drive, but we were doing good on time.

We stopped at Kentucky Speedway. The racetrack was behind the Visitor Center. It was very windy and chilly outside with dark rain clouds approaching so we took some pictures of the track and the statue of Darrell Waltrip. Then we went inside and purchased a few Christmas presents in the gift shop.

Continuing on, we again made another stop. This time it was at Churchill Downs. Since it was race day for some horses, we did not want to pay $10 to park just to go into the gift store. We drove around the main road and asked a parking attendant if there was a place to park just to shop. She had a double park in a nearby space and allowed us to go into the building that housed the store and museum. There were a lot of people in the gift shop so we didn't spend a lot of time in there. We knew we didn't have time to go through the museum. That would have to wait for another time. Before we walked back to the car, we did take a few pictures of the front of Churchill Downs. We had already seen the stable area as we drove in. 

When we got back on US 31E, traffic was terrible. Since it ran through towns, there were traffic lights every few blocks. We weren't the only ones. Julie (Leigh's sister, our niece), Rene (husband) and their kids were coming to Leigh and Andrew's to help celebrate the double birthdays. They were coming from Lexington so they were hitting bad traffic as well. 

We got back on base and went to our hotel. We had to stop and take a few pictures of the amazing display of birds in the trees by the parking lot. Also, we snapped a picture of one of the pods on the tree directly outside of the hotel's front door. The fragrance as you walked from the parking lot was so nice, but we didn't know what kind of tree it was.

We quickly cleaned up and headed over to Leigh and Andrew's house. Julie's family arrived shortly after we did. Upon entering the house, the kids had to go through all of the introductions. Josiah is their oldest (8th grade). Dean and Robin had met Josiah in Chicago. Next, came Lily (3rd grade), followed by Charlotte (1st grade). All 6 kids were off and running once the introductions were finished. They are so excited to live only 45 minutes away from each other.

First order of business for the adults was to get dinner on the table. Leigh and Julie got pizza and salad ready while everyone snacked on chips and guacamole. It wasn't long and the kids were called to dinner. It was great to watch the kids interact and visit with the adults.

Now, came the birthday celebration. Since Robin and Dean were born 2 days apart, the girls had contacted Kimberlee to find out what kind of cake we both liked. That wasn't a hard question...is there anything other than chocolate? Andrew reminded Leigh of the tradition Robin's family had grown up with of putting coins (wrapped in tin foil) in the cake that equal the age(s) of the birthday person(s). They decided to surprise Robin and Dean and follow this tradition that had gone by the wayside once Grandma and Papa had passed away. 

After singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out candles, it was time to eat cake. The kids were so funny as they tested their piece of cake in various ways to see if they had gotten any money. It brought back lots of memories for Robin and Dean. We were thrilled to see the tradition experienced by family again. 

We really enjoyed the rest of the evening with the grown up family while the kids thoroughly enjoyed the company of each other as the second floor rumbled with giggles and laughter! It was wonderful to see how well-behaved these 6 children were as they interacted with laughter and talk without any fighting or cross words. 

Before we left, it was time for pictures. The kids were first and were asked to line up by age. This was fun to watch them getting in line! Of course, there were the standard bunny ears, dog in photo, and giggles. After all, they're kids!!! Robin and Dean got in the lineup with the kids. See who the oldest was and the youngest one...seems they got in the correct order!

Next, it was the grownups' turn. They were a little easier to control.

It was time to leave. It had been such a fun evening! It was a long time in coming, but it was well worth the wait. Julie's kids began asking if they could sleep over, but that wasn't an option this time. They got in their pajamas before loading into the car. It was so good to see everyone. After they left, Robin and Dean said their goodbyes to head back to the hotel. Although they were leaving Fort Knox in the morning, they would be stopping again on their way back home. 

As we drove back through the neighborhood to our hotel, we spotted 9 deer. I is hard to take their pictures at night because of the reflective nature of their eyes. They looked like alien eyes. 

For Robin and Dean, they had a little packing to do before their Reveille call in the morning. It was sweet dreams of family for them before long, preparing to face the next day.