Somerset, KY trip October 2006

Sarah has been wanting to go to Somerset, KY for some time to introduce me to her relatives and see the local sites. Much of her dad's side of the family came from there. We debated riding the motorcycle but the weather forecast was cold with possible rain so we took my Jeep Liberty CRD. In keeping with a motorcyle spirit I would make this a 2-lane trip and be on the lookout for good motorcycle routes. I had planned to leave around 9 am, but due to my being a lazy bum we didn't get on the road until closer to 11 am. Sarah wanted some Arby's breakfast, then we hit the credit union, and then went to M&E Honda. I used the gift certificate I'd won in the Relay for Life ride and bought Sarah a helmet. She normally uses one I have but it's too big for her. Now she has her own. The trip has barely started and she's already making out like a bandit. US150 from Paoli to Louisville is a good road. Scenic, slow curves. I've never crossed the I-64 bridge at Louisville. It was a lot less crowded than the I-65 bridge. The southbound traffic goes under the northbound traffic. I like the I-64 bridge better. We took 264 to the US150 turnoff then stopped at Wendy's for a road break and Coke. Once we cleared the suburbs of Louisville US150 became a good road again. In several places it runs the ridges with some spectacular views. Sarah kept laughing at the 'Blue Collar Comedy' on Sirius, and I laughed at her. US150 goes through Bardstown where several of us had been a couple months before on our summer motorcycle trip. I showed Sarah a couple of the places we went as we drove by. US150 was a good road all the way to Stanford where we switched to US27 that took us to Somerset. US27 was flat, straight, and nothing special. It was 4:30-ish when we pulled into the Somerset Holiday Inn Express. We unpacked and Sarah called her relatives to let everyone know we'd arrived safely. Prior to our trip I'd copied down all the local dial-up numbers for ISP.com, who I use when I'm away from home. I was having trouble making a connection on the first two numbers. I happened to look down at the wireless icon in the system tray. It was lit up. I checked...YES! The hotel had unadvertised high-speed wireless internet. Life is good! Dolly, Wallace, and Audrey Our first stop was to visit Sarah's great-aunt Dolly since she only lived a mile away. Sarah and Dolly caught up on news and gossip while I drifted off to sleep a couple times. Next we loaded up in the Jeep and headed over to Wallace and Audrey's. They live farther out in the country and we needed Dolly's guidance. We spent the better part of two hours there. Sarah played with the little dog they were babysitting. They caught up on old times. We agreed to meet at Frisch's the next morning for breakfast. We took Dolly home then stopped at Sonic for some quick supper. It wasn't hard to fall asleep that night. Day 2.