A Mammoth bike ride and news from home

So all of a sudden we are Giants fans and we have been watching the games when we can. It really started when we were in Philly and the Giants were playing Philly. All of a sudden we have SF pride and whatever, we only went to a hand full of games while we lived in SF and never sat through a whole game on TV.

So, the last game of the world series and we are camping in the Walmart parking lot trying to get the game on the radio and the radio breaks! We cannot say who's fault it is that it broke because that is unresolved...but it stopped working after M found the station it was on then A accidentally changed the station and tried to find it again but couldn't, then M tried to find it and the radio gave out. There was no violence against the radio before or after its demise and the cause and culprit are unknown to this day.

The night of the radio was a cold one and the first one that we slept in the back of the truck for a night that froze. We usually have space between us but we were so cold we were like little puppies trying to stay warm on each other. In the morning we woke up and found that we had a dead battery! A's parents neighbor Dennis had warned against setting out with that battery when he saw how old it was and the how corroded the terminals were. The good news is Walmart had a new one waiting for us just on the other side of the parking lot, how convenient.

Finally on the road by mid afternoon we made it to Shanandoah National Park for a scenic drive and a short hike. It is a pretty place and we enjoyed the visit but it doesn't have a schtick like other parks do and it couldn't keep us for more than a day, we headed to Kentucky.

Berea College in Kentucky is a regular college BUT it is free. The students work combined with federal funding pays their tuition and the college has a craft program that teaches things like pottery, iron work, broom making, weaving and woodwork. As a result of the craft college the town is overrun with high quality hand crafted things. We found lots of great stuff but decided that our money was best spent on fine, hand crafted pumpkin walnut fudge...

High on the list of national parks with a schtick is Mammoth Cave N.P.! It is beautiful above ground, but the highlight is the worlds longest cave system. Nearly 400 miles of cave! People go on expeditions inside this thing and they still find miles of new cave every year. We opted for the 2 mile, 2 hour historic tour which was pretty cool and took us 300 feet below ground. Back above ground we had a good bike ride through the woods and just barely avoided being out in a hale storm. It was good to be on the bikes again.

We have moved on to Tennessee now and we got a new stereo and spent our morning in starbucks hatching our plan. The call of country music is in the air(they only have country radio stations here).

This morning Albert also learned that his Grandmother Elinore died in her sleep last night. That is by far the best way to go and I am thankful that she is herself again, happy and with the Lord.