We left the motel and cycled into town and had breakfast in a diner in Cave in Rock. Once again, people stared a bit and didn't speak to us until we were almost ready to leave. An older woman approached and said I had cost her a cup of coffee because she and her male breakfast partner bet on whether I would finish the "long stack" of pancakes (3 huge pancakes). I couldn't finish them. Her partner was an 88 year old man who then chatted with us. He is in great shape and confided he has a 71 year old girlfriend. He choked up while telling us of his son who died at age 18, hit by a drunk driver. He even showed us his wallet photo. We suspected his son would have been our age if he lived. We noted the building across the street was smashed in and a waitress confirmed our assumption that the damage had been caused by a drunk driver. Good reason for Rhona to keep a sharp eye in her rearview mirror.
The view on the Ohio River was beautiful this morning.
We missed a turn but it worked out fine because in the next half mile, we saw hawks, two deer and wild turkeys and found this camping area with bathrooms. We were missing our grandchildren, musing about how much they would enjoy playing on this set. That's one of the drawbacks to being on an extended tour, missing relatives and friends. It helps to talk on the phone sometimes, but just a little.
It's been mostly farmlands and horse pastures today. In one crossroads hamlet, a fireman unlocked the firehouse so that we could use the restrooms. Traffic in Kentucky is not as accommodating as in Alabama and Mississippi and the roads are not as straight, but no one has been rude or threatening. We cycled into Henderson through construction at rush hour, so Rhona was a bit tense. Tonight, we are staying at a Days Inn, quite a contrast to last night's digs.
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km) Total: 802 miles (1,291 km)
