Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Caves and Wigwams

The plan was to get up early to be at the Jim Beam Distillery by the time it opened, go on the tour and then head to Mammoth Cave for a tour at noon. We got up early, showered, packed and were walking out the door when Jan got a text from our high school friend, Jim, wanting to know if we were still around and did we want to get together. Ok, so much for the distillery. We found our way to Jim’s, visited for a while and left thinking we would be pushing it to get to the cave on time. Not to worry, we figured out the cave is on central time and we were on eastern time---did we really need to get up so early? Why yes, of course we did. On the way to the cave we passed a barrel making factory—just happened to look in and see what was going on as we drove by—turned around for a photo op. Down the road we cam to Lincoln’s boyhood home---the workers were putting it together, apparently it sustained damage in the ice storm earlier this year. The prisoners, who were picking up litter alond the highway, had stopped here for a picnic so we took a few quick pics and moved on. We drove into Hodgenville and took pictures of Lincoln in the round about. We were going to find Lincoln’s birthplace but somehow got on the wrong road, missed it, and headed on to the cave. We got to the cave with just the right amount of time to spare. We didn’t have to wait long for our tour to start. We did the Historic Tour with a less than stellar guide. He thought he was better than he was but he did tell us about the history of the cave and answered questions so I guess that was what he was being paid to do. We are always amazed at the people we end up on tours with (for various reasons) and they people who do things that they obviously shouldn't do. Enough said. Mammoth Cave is truly awesome. After the cave, we were starving since we had skipped breakfast, so we went in search of food. Not much in the way of good eats in Cave City. We had to settle for the Watermill aka the Bel Air. Since it was mid afternoon, there were not many people there but the ones who were there were obviously locals. We ate and headed down the interstate to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Had to take the interstate so we could get there before it closed at 5. The museum was really good and chock full of....Corvettes! It was interesting and we really didn't have enough time but we did make it all the way through. We took the back roads back to Cave City and our Wigwam! Ahhh, the Wigwams. Thank goodness that is the last wigwam I will get (have) to stay in!!! Now we have stayed in the ones in Holbrook, AZ and Cave City and have seen the ones in Rialto, CA---we're done!!! The Wigwams have few amenities for the 21st century. No outlets in the bathroom, no internet service, no cushy beds, pillows or towels, single ply toilet paper...you get the picture. I was able to get internet outside. While sitting on the bench in front of our "room", we got surprise attacked by a cat jumping over the back of the bench and running across my computer. So much for sitting outside! One of Jan's friends who lives nearby came and visited with us for a while. It was time to eat again and we had a hard time (once again) coming up w/ someplace to eat but Leanne remembered a place in Horse Cave, Snappy Pizza (not to be confused w/ the Snappy Diner). We called, it was open for another 45 min or so, so off we went. We both had spaghetti and Leanne sat with us for a while. Leanne had to get home and we were tired so we parted ways and headed back to the Wigwam for a good (?) night's rest.

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