June 19, 2007 - Day 3

We got started late again this morning and although I can blame the weather, it was my own fault. There was a huge storm in Tennessee and I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to miss it. We finally decided to try to take a more northern route and stay in Kentucky a little longer. We ended up going pretty much due east and stayed in the state till we hit the the 75, and then straight south. Since we started late, we skipped breakfast and decided to stop a little later. We passed a monument and a few Amish carts, made a wrong turn, and found a great little restaurant named "The Old Mill" in Russellville. It was a good thing we did, cause that is why we noticed we had missed our turn. The food was good, even though we were too late for breakfast, and it was served by Amish waitresses. They were very friendly and helpful and I would absolutely recommend it if you pass that way some time. Back on the road, we were keeping a close watch on the dark clouds again. We made it to Bowling Green without getting wet, and made a right turn to head southeast. We stopped for a few minutes to verify our route and watch the direction of some more questionable clouds. While we were watching, they just kind of blew apart and disappeared. A few miles down the road they were back again, but still we managed to avoid any rain. It seemed like every road we went down they were wet from recent rain, but we just seemed to be right behind it. We got into Monticello and noticed in our mirrors as we entered the city, that the dark clouds all seemed to be behind us. I don't know how exactly but we seemed to have averted the rain. We were running several hours late now, but we were dry and figured we better stop for something to eat. We stopped at a little cafe on the corner just before we changed from the 90 to the 92, called Vicky's. The food was excellent, but the service was what made our day. We met this attractive young lady that was working her second job after spending the day teaching our children. I find it amazing that we expect our kids to be paid special attention to and to get a great education, but we refuse to pay our teachers enough to keep them from having to get a second job to make ends meet. We got so wrapped up in conversation, that we almost forgot how late we were running. As we headed up over the mountains and some very curvy roads, I knew we were going to be very late. We stopped for gas and called the hotel to let them know we were coming. Then as we headed down the mountain, it got very dark. Dark, curvy, steep, wet roads. What a way to finish up the trip to Knoxville. Well then we hit the freeway, and had to contend with a lot of truckers that all seemed to be in some kind of race, and foggy patches that kept coming and going. What a ride. We finally got in about 11 PM and still had to get this story completed. We are supposed to be on a ride at 9 AM, but we don't even know where and can't find out till they open at 9 AM. Well, if we miss it, we'll find another way to have a great day. The roads around here are supposed to have some of the best riding in the country. So if you happen to be at the Hoot, then I'll see you on the byways...