Day 24 summary

Every few days I am struck by either the enormity or ridiculousness of what I'm doing.  It's usually a pleasant feeling, actually.  I had one today....I've been doing this for 24 consecutive days!  And I've got another 60 to go!  And how the hell did I manage to push this silly machine to Kentucky?  These are good things, trust me.

We left Lexington early and made the tour at the distillery.  I was oddly disappointed by the overall distilling process.  It seems like, in the end, whiskey is basically watered-down, wood-flavored grain alcohol.  Not to say that the final product isn't delicious...but I find the beer brewing or wine making process somehow more satisfying.  Hard to explain.

We passed through Frankfort, which is a tiny little town that just happens to be the state capital.  I ate a hotdog in its honor.  Get it?

Turned out there was about 15 miles of fairly strenuous climbing west of Frankfort.  There was also quite a headwind, but the worst was how unexpected the uphill was.  Somehow we got through it and in to Shelbyville.

Since it was another 20 miles to the next real town we decided to stay the night here.  The decision was instantly rewarded when we found out that the county fair was going on this week!  We went out to our hotel, cleaned up, and biked back to the fair (without bags...so fast).  We ate corn dogs, walked the midway, watched a horse show and caught the end of the rodeo.  Who could ask for more from Shelbyville, Kentucky?

We'll get to Louisville tomorrow for lunch and see the sights for a couple hours (Churchill Downs, etc).  Then we'll head a few hours into Indiana and call it a night.  Woo new state!  I did some quick math...I should end up hitting 21 or 22 states this summer.  Craziness.

We've been in motels the past several nights, and may continue to do so for the next couple nights.  Part of Adam's recovery from his terrible poison ivy is to keep as clean as he can, and sleeping on the ground, unshowered, in his contaminated sleeping bag does not qualify as "keeping clean".  It's perfect for me - I get to sleep in a warm bed without blaming myself for going soft on my sleeping arrangements.  And I'll never say no to a free continental breakfast.