Last night was a night to remember. We checked into our hotel in Cincinnati/Florence and discovered that we were very close to the interstate. And the windows were no help in keeping the noise out. So I figured it was going to be a long night. We went to bed at 10 and at 12:30 AM were blasted out of our bed by the fire alarms. Oh, great. We manage to get to sleep in spite of the road noise and this happens. So we dressed and evacuated the building. And eventually the fire department arrived with lights flashing and two firemen got out and went into the building. After a while, they came out and told us we could go in. Well, we returned to our bed, but after all of this excitement, who could sleep? I was awake until at least 2:30. And when I did doze off after that, my dreams were full of droning trucks rumbling on the highway. It was a long night. Will never stay here again.
So this morning, at 9 AM and 66 degrees we hit the road and headed south. As we drove through Florence we passed a wonderful
area of the state with beautiful houses, all with their own large pieces of landrolling green pastures bordered by what I call horse fencesyou know, the ones that have four horizontal slats. Some were white but many were bare wood just left to weather and turn gray. This is what I think of as the iconic Kentuckyhorse country. We looked for an opportunity to photograph some horses, but they must all have been in the barns.
Soon we came upon a park beside the Ohio River. The plaque memorializes a horrible crashing of two ships and a large loss of life. I have provided a photo of the plaque. It is an interesting story.
We later passed through less affluent areas where the one and only general store must not carry house paint because most of the houses were thirsty for a new coat. (Kidding). The roads were rough and as they moved higher in elevation, we eventually were in the clouds and the fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife. For many miles we saw little and found no photo ops. We eventually came back down on roads cut through mountains, you know,
the ones that leave the striations in the rock from the drilling and blasting. I always find these interesting, especially out west, as they are brightly colored in reds and oranges. These, however, were various shades of gray.
Owenton was a small town with an aged downtown area and one high rise buildingthree stories high. Each of these towns has its own charm and we enjoy seeing them.
We decided to stop in Frankfort to see the state capital. And this time we found it. See the photos. This is a nice town and a very inviting downtown area right across the street from the Old Capitol. The trolly car tracks are still there, right in the middle of the road.
At 1 PM we arrived in Mammoth Cave National Park, at the visitors center. We had tickets for a tour and, after spending some time in the shops, we were called to board the bus at 2:30 and head to the cave we were going to view. We had chosen the Frozen Niagara tour as it is the easiest to maneuver and only one hour and fifteen minutes long. It was an interesting tour and we
saw the usual stalactites and stalagmites and a rock formation that looked like a 40 foot waterfall frozen in time. See photos. The colors of the formations under the special lighting was beautiful. And on our way out, we were introduced by some of the wildlife that live in the cavesspiders and crickets. (Not my favorite part of the tour.)
After the tour we headed to our hotel in Cave City, just a short ride away and checked into our hotel to find out we had moved onto Gold status with Hilton. Now we will get much better bonus benefits when we stay in their hotels. Yah.
Tomorrow we head to North Carolina. The drive to our daughters house is too long for one day, so we will spend a night in Asheville before heading to Raleigh.
