In the Holiday Spirit...

Maybe it's the "mix-mas" music playing on our local station....maybe it's that cool "smell" in the air blowing around outside....whatever it is, and whether we're ready for it or not, the holiday season is, or at least will be, upon us. My sister in law has been watching the Hallmark channel all this past week which has just drenched it's programming with holiday spirit. Maybe i'm starting too early, but I've got all kinds of memories playing around in my head right now. All of my earliest memories revolve around Kentucky State Parks. My First Christmas was spent on a Kentucky State Park, my first "white" Christmas was experienced on a Kentucky State Park, and I think even the first time I sat on Santa's lap was at a Kentucky State Park.

One of the traditions that I enjoyed the most with my family was picking out a Christmas tree for our house. For years we'd buy a beautiful Christmas tree with the root ball still intact so my father could plant it somewhere on the park after Christmas. You could still see a few of these trees in and around the park where we used to live. My mother always supported this up until the Christmas of, if I can remember correctly, 1984 or so. We had selected a long leaf pine, I think it was a scotch pine if I remember correctly. Mom loved the smell a scotch pine would give off, especially in a nice warm house during the Christmas season. I only wish I had pictures of how beautiful that tree looked. All the bright colorful lights, the homemade decorations that my mother had collected over the years, and not to mention all the wonderful gifts that accumulated under the tree as we approached Christmas morning. To be quite honest though, I can't remember a single thing that i got that year for Christmas, but I do remember what we all found in our living room that morning. As always, my brother and I would be the first ones up so we could see what was under the tree for us. I opened the door and ran out and there, in our living room, were hundreds, possibly even thousands of teeny, tiny.....bugs. Our large picture window was just filled with small, green bugs. Bugs on our family pictures. Bugs all over the coffee table. Bugs all over our presents! Upon further inspection, these bugs were not just any little green, creepy crawly, but the terrifying, lethal, praying mantis, or at least that's how it played out in my mind. Now I of course was raised by a naturalist, and while at 8 or 9 years old, I respected all the little creatures of the forest, but praying mantis? It still sends shivers up my spine today. They were literally

Terror on Christmas morn'

everywhere. Once my mother was up and aware of what was going on, the great mantis removal was underway. Hand fulls being thrown outside, towels harvesting as many as they could hold. My father, all the while trying to save as many as he could from a "squashed" fate. We had mantis's.....manti....whatever the plural would be for not only the rest of December but all the way up through January and beyond. Once things had calmed down we began to give the tree a good once over to try and figure out what had happened. There upon one of the branches was the empty egg sack that no doubt had gotten a jump start from the warm temperature inside of our humble abode. My mother was a really good sport about it. Had this ever happened to my wife....well....there's no doubt that she would have never set foot in that house again. I'm just glad my parents don't live in the house anymore, because I'd probably even have a hard time getting her in there today.

Everyone out there has there own memories of Christmas. Maybe another time I'll tell you about the Christmas I got my first "Power Wheel"...all I'll say is that if you ever get one for your child....make sure you teach him how it works BEFORE they hop on it. (Needless to say, our Christmas tree never stood quite right after that) With that said, I'd like to ask everyone to check back often as I'll be updating the blog to reflect all the wonderful holiday festivities happening here at Blue Licks. Including a visit from Father Christmas himself, to our dinner theaters and new years events and more! As always....get out there and enjoy your state parks!! And hey, if you'd like to share a story with me about your memorable experience at a Kentucky State Park, please feel free to share. Email me HERE.

Change

Wow.....Okay....so my apologies to anyone who may actually be following my blogsite. I always want to think that I'll be able to update on a regular basis but it always seems that time slips by so fast that I don't even realize it. So once again.....here we are staring at the finish line of another year, another season. The temperatures are dropping, leaves have changed and are all but gone, and those aren't the only things that are changing around here at the park. Blue Licks said goodbye to our park manager for nearly 4 years in September. Mr. Michael Schwendau has moved on to bigger and better things. He will be missed here at the park. Since about mid October, Blue Licks has been appointed a new "captain," if you will, who will assume the position of park manager. Mr. Rob Mack comes to us from the Indiana Dept. of Parks, having served at Hardy Lake State Park for several years before receiving this most recent appointment. We wish him well here at Blue Licks. If you get a chance to stop in some time, be sure and tell him "hello." Oh yeah, and check back often because I promise to do a better job keeping up with our blogsite so you can find out about everything that's going on here at park!

If your looking for some ways to get the family out and about this holiday season, look no further than Blue Licks. We've got a host of special weekends coming up during December that you're sure to want to check out:

December 6th & 7th:

FANTASTICAL THEATRICALS PRESENT  :

No holds are barred as television favorites to some traditional Christmas classics get skewered in these light-hearted parodies. The whole family will have an uproariously good time!

The four parodies included in the evenings performance are:

Santa and the City: The Old Mid-West will never be the same when four young single ladies in Manhattan, KS try to open a shoe store. Little did they reckon a greedy land baron, whose hair has hypnotic powers, would try to take over the town just before Christmas

The Holiday Surprise: It’s the day before Christmas and Santa is nowhere to be found. The residents of Goosebump, Alaska (the first town South of the North Pole) try to find a substitute. Only a Canadian Mountie can save the day!

The Grouch Who Couldn’t Steal Christmas: The Annual Holiday Pageant in the town of Whooterville goes awry when Phineas P Grouch seeks revenge from a broken heart. But who is the real villain here?

The Magical Christmas of Mistle Toe, Kansas: The town of Mistle Toe is broke and the land rights are up for grabs. Mayor Georgette Bradley pins all their hopes and dreams on a one night only benefit performance by “The Amazing Ricky and His Magic Wand”. You won’t believe the magic that occurs when they discover the true meaning of the season.

For prices and availability, follow  this LINK to our events page.

December 14th:

Breakfast with Father Christmas!!

Join "Father Christmas" for breakfast at the Hidden Waters Restaurant Saturday December 14th at 8am. After breakfast, enjoy storytelling from the Robertson County Library and then have your picture taken with Father Christmas. Call the park for more details. 859-289-5507

December 31st:

New Years & Comedy in the Parks!

Join us at Blue Licks for an evening of food, comedy, and musical entertainment as we ring in the new year. Enjoy an all you can eat buffet prepared a by our staff at the Hidden Waters Restaurant. Then, at 7:30pm Lee Cruse will be making his second appearance on the Blue Licks stage with his unique blend of comedy. Afterwards, stick around and celebrate the evening with "The Piano Doctor" Dave Stahl and saxophonist extraordinaire Freddy Helm! For reservations and additional information follow this LINK to our events page.

This should at least give you a place to start, so check out our events page, give the park a call, or feel free to send me and email right HERE. And remember...get out and enjoy your Kentucky State Parks!