Tim picked me and my big ole' suitcase up early this morning at my hostel, our mission which i forced Tim to do before we left Nashville: to tick Kentucky off my states to see list. I begged him to drive me to K Tuc and he kindly relented.  We drove north about 45 miles and stopped at the border and i took some photos, Tim took some of me hugging the sign ha with me looking like a loony tourist with lots of trucks rolling past giving me strange look. We drove on to Bowling Green as it was the nearest 'biggish' town according to our map which I couldnt understand one bit, we had to be at Nashville airport for around 1pm as Tim's flight to Phoenix left at 2.30 and mine to NYC at 2.50. So we reached Bowling Green and drove into downtown, it seemed like a decent sized town but there were no people around, seriously it was so quiet, strange for a Saturday morning. Tim parked up and I wandered around a bit and took some photos, we must have seen about 5 people on Main Street! There was a Disney movie marathon going on at the local movie theater so maybe thats where everybody was! It was so desolate and quiet in town. We drove around again and found a Shoney's for breakfast, i had fried eggs, bacon and toast and Tim had a big breakfast buffet.  It was very good and the price was reasonable and we had the most adorable waitress.. down South everyone is adorable in my opinion! Drove back to Nashville and i fell asleep in the car, i seem to have a habit of falling asleep in cars on this trip. Woke up about 10 minutes before we got to the airport, i got a text from my mum saying 'thanks for the birthday card' i sent her a card last tuesday so it got there quick. Her birthday is Monday, Happy Birthday Mum! And now I can say iv been to Kentucky! woohoo! But I didnt have Kentucky Friend Chicken, hehe! If I ever go back to Kentucky, i will probably go somewhere like Louisville, surely there must be a bit more life there? who knows! maybe i'll find out one day!

Before you go to Mammoth Cave, please go to the National Parks website to purchase your tickets and decide on which cave tour you want to take. During the summer months, it may be impossible for you to purchase tickets at the site since they are so crowded. The cave tours vary in distance (miles) and length (hours of tour). Do not go by the hours. Look at the distance of the tour, how many steps there are, because the deeper into the cave you go, the more steps you will have to take down and coming out. It is well worth the money. Also, there are several other caves to visit in the area which may need a whole other day to enjoy.

All of us agreed to get an early start on Saturday morning.  The weather was cooperating and we needed to take advantage of our good fortune.  A very uneventful day.  Traveling on the busy interstate is not our preferred route, but we didn't have a choice.  Making miles was our main objective so we rode tank to tank, not stopping anywhere inbetween.  One tank of gas usually stretches to 200 miles at speeds of 75 MPH and up, so we were stopping about every three hours.   Riding straddle of a big motorcycle for three hours straight causes the legs to get stiff.  We all looked like refugees from the local nursing home when we tried to dismount and walk.   

After twelve hours of hard riding, we started looking for a place to spend the night.  We had made it all the way to Erie, Pennsylvania, and we were tired to the bone.  We asked for suggestions for dinner, and the nice lady working the desk at our hotel told us about one of the local seafood restaurants down by Lake Erie.  We weren't only tired, but we were hungry.  It was Saturday night and we figured we would be fighting a crowd at the restaurant, but it was getting close to 9 p.m. and the crowd had thinned out by the time we arrived.  We all enjoyed our dinner as we talked about where we were going and what we were going to see.  It's just such fun to travel and share good times with friends.

Downtown on the square is good night life.

5/26-27/06

Sikeston, MO to Paducah, KY to Bowling Green, KY

Continued on the curvy road to Paducah this morning.  Very important to be there before the holiday weekend started so that I could spend some time with Sally Terry.  I have a Prodigy Longarm Quilt Machine that we purchased last fall from Sally and her daughter Sarah.  She offers a two-day class with the machine if you buy from them.  Not knowing for sure when we would be in KY (if ever) I wasn’t able to sign up for the official class.  Sally was nice enough to spend some time with me going over some helpful tips that I will put to good use when we get home.  Still think we need to pull a trailer with my quilting machine in it so I can quilt in the campground each night.   We skipped the sites at Paducah, only because we saw them last year.  The Quilt Museum and the Painted Walls along the river are for sure things to see.  We made a late drive on to the KOA at Bowling Green for a two-night stay.  Needed to do laundry and plugged in a rest day.  :-}  We don’t like to be on the road too much on holidays.  If you ever get to Bowling Green try to fit in the Corvette Plant tour and the Corvette Museum next door.  KOA had WIFI but I just couldn’t get it to work for me.  A lot of campgrounds have WIFI now and most of them have been free this year.  When we stay in the city/state parks we are out of luck. 

Gas @ Paducah  $2.589………….15.73 mpg