Oh yes, one more question. My husband and I would probably find the distillery tours interesting. Is that highly inappropriate for children (don't intend to give them a sample) or would they find it very boring?

Thanks again!

My kids liked the distillery tour--it was interesting to see how a product was made, even if they don't get to have any.

If you find that you are pushed for time, you could skip the Shaker Village. It's interesting from an adult point of view, but the boys will probably be bored to tears.

Is there enough to do in Lexington? I don't want to drive around too far as the boys will be tired of the car by the time we get there. Is there time for a stop in Louisville on the way back - would that be time better spent?

In Lexington, visit the Kentucky Horse Park. I think it would be perfect for boys the age of yours.

I agree that Pleasant Hill might not interest the kids very much..they serve a great lunch, however.

Whoops! I've been out in the sun all day with middle school students, or I would have realized you already had the KY Horse Park on your agenda! I haven't checked the schedule, but you might see if the Legends are playing (minor league team)at home that weekend. They have a fun area for kids and the games are very family oriented. If the boys like sports, they might enjoy a visit to the UK Basketball Museum. There is a decent children's museum called the Explorium of Lexington, which features lots of hands-on exhibits.

As far as restaurants, two of my favorite casual places in Lexington are the Atomic Cafe (N. Limestone) which has a Caribbean influenced menu and Ramsey's, which has grown into a local chain, and has great "meat and three" type meals. There are about 3 Ramsey's located around Lexington, but my favorite is still the downtown location on E. High.

I concur with the previous Shaker Village/Pleasant Hill comments. It's a pretty place, but I think it is overrated as a tourist spot. It can be boring. Regarding food...we have been there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner over the years, and I have been underimpressed.

Definitely would recommend the Kentucky Horse Park. For a distillery tour I would recommend Maker's Mark, even though it is a bit of a drive. There were kids when we went, and they seemed to enjoy dipping the Marker's Mark bottles in wax at the end of the tour.

Restaurant recommendations:
Like the previous poster mentioned, Ramseys is a good casual option if you are looking for a meat/vegetable type place. I've always heard great things about Billy's Bar-B-Q in Chevy Chase (101 Cochran Road, 859-269-9593) but I haven't been there yet. Joseph-Beth Booksellers would be a great stop...they have a gigantic children's section and a good cafe with outdoor seating if the weather is nice(www.josephbeth.com, 859-273-2911). Chain restaurants in the area with reliable service and food include Abuelo's (Mexican) at Fayette Mall and Carrabbas (Italian) near the Hamburg area. For pizza, Pazzo's and Joe Bologna's are local favorites (I personally prefer the pizza at Pazzo's...but it is more of a college atmosphere near UK).

Local places we have tried recently that I would NOT recommend include: Regatta Seafood, Holly Hill Inn, and Giuseppe's.

If you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary, there is a dinner train in Bardstown. The setting and meal is a step up from casual, but the kids might get a kick out of being on a train ride during dinner, if they don't mind that type of atmosphere (www.kydinnertrain.com).

I hope you enjoy your trip! Please post about it when you return, I'd love to hear any recommendations you have...we are still learning about this area.

Why are you visiting Lexington? Family? I agree that the horse park is fabulous, but Louisville has so much more to offer tourists. We're having Abbey Road on the River that weekend. So many great things to do and see...

Lousiville is also a consideration. I ended up picking Lexington thinking it would be 'more different' from a big city like Chicago. Hoping for a bit of southern feel? Another option is to stay between the two places (recommendations?) and visit both.

I know that I will get railed for the following but Lexington will bore your kids to death, I live here and have two boys so I know.

You could do Kentucky Kingdom in L'ville (which I really like for the price) or King's Island in Cincy (cost too much) but those are just your regular amusement parks. Newport Aquarium would be a good choice for the boys. L'ville Slugger Museum never dissappoints boys and you get a free mini bat.

Maker's Mark is too far of a drive for a distillery tour and I don't think a 6 year old would enjoy it much.

The Legends are on a long home stand over Memorial Day weekend so I highly recommend taking in a game.

The train in Bardstown isn't bad but I would just do the day run instead of the dinner deal. Cost is too much and it is the same run but with a meal.
Rafferty's has good food and generally something for everyone.

You could do a Gatty Town afternoon (think Chucky Cheese for older kids) if you can't put together enough for the kids to do. Guarantee they would like that.

Falls of Ohio is too far unless you do a L'ville day. Maybe do it ane the Slugger Museum in the same day...

Someone else asked why you were in Lexington. I think you would be better served either staying in Cincy or L'ville as well if you are doing it for a family mini-vaca.

It's hard to know what boys that age will or will not like. The Horse Park is something that most will find interesting if they are interested in horses. If they aren't, well, the amusement parks in Louisville are a better choice.

We spent one evening in Lexington at a trotting race track. My husband and I both found watching the horses run was entralling. We had never seen anything like it. Would boys the age of yours like it too? It's hard to say. I think they would, my kids certainly would have!!

I am starting to get discouraged about this weekend trip. The bane of living in Chicago seems to be that there is nowhere interesting to go in drive-able distance! Really, really don't want to do amusement parks - I like to travel to experience culture, food, history - boys (really, only the younger one as my older is a mini-adult in tastes) may disagree but I think I offer them enough fun things most of the time. Chicago has a fabulous aquarium, zoo, museums, sports teams, lakefront etc. Countryside around Chicago is not pretty - Lexington sounds picturesque.

We took our then 12 year old grandson to Kentucky last year for a few days. He loved it. We were not able to stop at the Kentucky Horse Park, but we did take him to Sinking Springs Farm (Where Lincoln was born) http://www.us-parks.com/abraham_lincoln/index.html

We also went to Mammouth Caves and the Perryville Battlefield. He really loved all of it and the countryside is so green and beautiful. In the little town of Bardstown there is a corner drug store, The Hurst Drug Store with a counter with stools that you can order and eat lunch at, he really got a kick out of that. Maker's Mark Distillery is not too far from Bardstown. There is plenty to do if you don't want to be in the city and are looking for some history. We didn't try it, but I think there are several canoe type trips that you can take from just outside of Lexington that I remember seeing when I was planning our trip last year. Have fun!

Plan B -

Leave Chicago Saturday a.m. Arrive Louisville mid-afternoon. Look around, have dinner, spend night in Elizabethtown?( thinking this is a central location?).

Sunday a.m. head to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, look around Lexington, have dinner at Merrick Inn. Head back to Elizabeth town to sleep.

Monday a.m. head to Kentucky Down Under - head back to Chicago early to mid afternoon.

Possibly get a bourbon distillery tour somewhere in there too.

Comments? Suggestions?

Personally, this sounds like a lot of driving to me, given your short time frame. I think you would be spending more time in the car than actually doing things. Louisville to E'town is close to an hour and E'town to Lexington is about an hour and a half. If you want to do Mammoth Cave, I would just head straight to the Bowling Green area. Louisville does have a lot to offer tourists, but it has a different, more metropolitan feel than the Lexington area, which is surrounded by horse farms and bluegrass country. Since you are coming from a large city and are looking for "un-city" things to do, I would still opt for Lexington (unless you want to do Mammoth Cave). Basically, you will only have one full day and two half days, which I think could be easily filled in Lexington. If you get there around 3pm on Saturday, by the time you get checked into your hotel, it will be practically time for dinner. I would eat someplace fun downtown, stopping by Thoroughbred Park to let the boys pose with the horse statues. After dinner, Joseph-Beth bookstore might be a fun stop, as mentioned earlier. Sunday you could spend the morning/early afternoon at the KY Horse Park and then take in the Legends game that night. Monday morning, you might be able to arrange for a tour of a horse farm or if you really want to see Louisville, too, you could leave Lexington early Monday morning and spend the afternoon exploring Louisville before heading home. Check out www.visitlex.com for some more ideas on attractions and restaurants in Lexington.

Yes - I checked all the mileages and it is too much driving. I think I will stick with the original plan. I guess anything you see every day would seem boring after a while. Lexington sounds quite different from the area I live in. I know my 6 yo would have enjoyed Kentucky Down Under (he's just fascinated by all things Australian right now) but it's too much of a trek.

Another area not mentioned which we love is the Natural Bridge/Red River Gorge area just east of Lexington. You get a feel for the Appalachian area. You can take a sky ride to the top of the Bridge and walk back down a trail to the lodge.

I agree that you can fill in your days just around the Lexington area. Keep your original plans also (Shaker Village, distillery, Perryville Battlefield). You can take a quick walk through in Shaker Village, maybe eat lunch or dinner there. If your kids get bored somewhere -- head on to the next.

Curious as to how your trip turned out.

We had a very good trip to Kentucky. We started out about 8:30 a.m. from Chicago, stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel just past Indianapolis, took the scenic Old Frankford Pike and Pisgah Pike detour and arrived into Lexington around 5 p.m. We settled into our hotel, Springhill Suites at the Red Mile - very nice, newer hotel, spacious rooms, comfortable beds, good showers, convenient hot breakfast for a AAA rate of $94 + tax. We also had a view of the track and enjoyed watching the harness race horses practice in the morning. Our dinner reservations were at Merrick Inn - fabulous food though the service was quite slow. Portions are generous and most appetizers could be shared.

On Sunday, we set out early for Kentucky Horse Park. We were very impressed by how nicely this park is kept. It was not very crowded for a holiday - curious how they are able to afford running such a large park? We initially purchased pony rides for my kids ages 6 and 10 since we thought the 6 year old was not allowed on the trail rides. The pony ride is really meant for very young children so it was not very exciting for the kids. Since my 6 yo is big for his age (over the minimum height requirement but not min age requirement of 7) we asked if they would let him on the trail ride. It was okayed and the four of us took a very enjoyable 45-minute trail ride. I thought it was pretty reasonable for $15 a head. Prior to the trail ride we had caught the parade of champions show which we found very interesting. We also took the horse-drawn trolley (included in admission) but this is very short. The museum is very interesting - wish we had more time for this. Lunch was okay - typical fare and prices for a theme park.

Next we hit the road for Daniel Boone forest. Our main stop was at Natural Bridge State park where we took a sky lift to the top of the formation. We hiked to where we could walk on the formation and then we hiked back to a point where we could see a view of it. The kids really enjoyed the lift ride. We stopped for ice cream at Rosie's - no southern charm in the service here! After returning to our hotel and cleaning up we went to DeSha's for dinner - good food but not same calibre as Merrick Inn - but nearly same prices. Pecan and Derby Pie were delicious but slices were tiny for the price. But for kids, this is a better choice in that it was more casual.

On Monday morning we again got up on the early side so we could take the drive down 68 toward Harrodsburg and the Shaker Village. We peered at the village from the hotel parking lot - it was very picturesque. Next we headed up through Frankfort, stopped at a scenic outlook for a view of the Capitol building and then took a Rebecca-Ruth chocolate factory tour. Being a holiday, nothing was being made but the story behind this business is very interesting and the Bourbon balls are worth the stop. After this tour we headed to Buffalo Trace for a bourbon distillery tour - this was an hour long - a bit too long for the kids - but interesting for us. I personally didn't care for the bourbon but I don't like hard liquor. The kids enjoyed root beer for their tasting. We pushed onward to Louisville for a late lunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe - recently featured on the FoodNetwork's Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I tried one of Lynn's winning throwdown recipes - the Kentucky farmhouse scramble - very good but also very over-priced at $14.95. Coffee was excellent. My husband and older son had burgers which again were good but expensive ($10.95) Service was so-so....we had to wait quite a while for our food (and the place was nearly empty) and the order was mixed up. At any rate, this meal filled us up enough that we didn't have to stop for dinner on our way back to Chicago. We made it back home by 8 p.m.