One of my favorite memories of my parents is road trips. It's why my sister and I have no issue with hitting the road for quick jaunts...or long jaunts. Just as long as they're jaunts.

And I'm talking about anything PLANNED. When we were kids, it was common on, say, a Friday afternoon for Dad to just say, "Hey, let's go somewhere." And somewhere was where we went.

If he said that on a Sunday afternoon, that simply meant a drive in the country to see what we could see, but on a FRIDAY? Well, that meant we were spending the weekend at an "undisclosed location."

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And those "undisclosed locations" were often state resort parks. And we're fortunate that Kentucky has so many good ones. We would Barren River Lake State Resort Park (just like I did last month), but mainly it was Land Between the Lakes.

But sometimes he'd say that on a SATURDAY and THAT meant Rough River State Resort Park. That way he and his buddies could play golf while we all went swimming.

All the state parks I've visited--Barren River Lake, Green River Lake, Nolin River Lake, Lake Malone, LBL--all have great swimming areas. But my favorite was always Rough River State Resort Park.

And when I was young, I would have been deeply disappointed upon seeing THIS on social media (if we'd HAD social media back then):

That IS a shame, but as the post says, there are other great places to swim around the lake and with Labor Day Weekend still more than a month away, I have no doubt they will be very busy.

Until next year...

Quirky Kentucky Attractions Less Than Two Hours from Owensboro

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

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