Jane's Saddlebag

Yesterday (09/12) was the first day of the annual Amazon.com picnic for CVG-7 and CVG-5. Tom works at CVG-7 and signed us up to attend. It was down in Boone County Kentucky, just a stone's throw from the Ohio River and within sight of Indiana. It's a bit of a drive ... down I-75-71, exiting near Florence and then continuing west through the "boonies".

The picnic was held at Jane's Saddlebag in Union, Kentucky. We arrived about 1 pm and stayed perhaps an hour and a half. Much of our day was spent in driving. The location is in the Big Bone Lick area and near the same-named state park

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Amazon's Annual Picnic was both September 12 and 13

We had our choice of days to attend

 Parking was in that field at the base of rolling hills. The setting is beautiful though cell phone service is minimal.

 On the same side of the road as the parking is a petting zoo ... not open while we were there. The side of the barn is covered in signs.

 Closest to the entrance is this "Whine Shoppe" and ...

... the General Store.

 Behind them are a number of smaller structures that would mostly be of interest to children.

 There is an amphitheater behind the main building which, I imagine, is a great setting for concerts. With the bowl-shaped land surrounding it, acoustics must be wonderful. The setting would be particularly beautiful on a clear, starry night.

 These fishermen were on the Big South Fork, a large tributary that empties into the nearby Ohio River. There is a marina nearby Jane's Saddlebag.

Big South Fork - looking east

 Recent rains had left the ground muddy and soft. Tom kept his distance but I walked as close to the water as the weeds grew ... and felt myself sinking as I stood there.

Bill and Tom - waiting for the grub to be served

 Amazon conducted a raffle while the food was bring served. Tom had the tickets on the left and won a $10 Kroger's gift certificate. "That's the Sunday paper for the next five weeks," I told him. My non-winner (figures!) is on the right.

 When Tom signed up to attend the picnic, one of the options was for a "meatless menu". Some organizer must have forgotten that step because there was nothing available (grilled) but for burgers and brats. We each made a cold cheese sandwich and piled on condiments.
 They said we could get a grilled cheese and I told them we'd like two. We never saw them. A veggie burger would have been nice, especially since the option was offered. Even so, the food was good ... baked beans, potato salad, brownies and chocolate chip cookies, all homemade and excellent. They also had cans of soda and bottled water. No complaints, really.

 The day was cool (60's), breezy and there were spits of rain in the air every now and then, but nothing heavy enough to spoil the picnic.

The food line

 All in all, a nice day, but I think with a minimal turnout. It's quite a drive for many families, especially with children, but it allowed Tom and I to see parts of northwestern Kentucky we were not familiar with. On the way home we missed a turn and saw more of rural Kentucky than we planned to.