July 22, 2015 (Kentucky)


Mile 1 according to schedule!......if you're lucky.

So my goal today was to leave around noon. I had prepped and planned four days ahead. The girls had been packed for 3 days. Myself and Thomas for two days. Mr. Bullington was traveling the first part of the week, so we knew that he would have to pack the day of the trip. Y'all, it was like I was on an episode of Candid Camara. Mr. Bullington at 12:30, Oh! I know i'm not quite packed, but I think I need to mow the grass before we go.....1:30, I still haven't packed much, but I  probably need to take a shower before we go, what with all of the grass and all... And, then there is the "what if..." packing that happens during the last 30 minutes(this is my part). What if we want to have a picnic?  What if it snows?! What if we need paper plates? What if there's Cholera? It goes without saying that we left two hours after our original departure time and we are crammed like sardines what with all of the antibiotics and picnic blankets....

Mile  245.3

The third installment of "See the Nation by Graduation" is off to a splendid start!   We made it to the Cracker Barrel in Nashville. I know, I know, we have a Cracker Barrel right down the road in the 'Retta. But, eating at your backyard Cracker Barrel just doesn't feel right. Scarfing down chicken and dumplings with a side of fried okra washed down with a slug of sweet tea fits like a glove when you are out of your jurisdiction. Also, according to scientifically based I.Q. testing via the lil' table top golf tee game, my intellectual pendulum swings between ig-no-ra-moose and jus' plain dumb. And, John is purdy smart!

Mile 324.7

Who wants to sleep in a Wigwam??? Pick me!!! Pick me!!! We finally reached our destination of the day when we rolled into Wigwam Village #2! 

If you'd like a little history, there once were 7 wigwam villages gracing the by-ways of this fine nation. Sadly, only 3 remain, one in Arizona, one in California, and ONE IN CAVE CITY, KENTUCKY!!!! 

Now, to be completely transparent, we aren't actually sleeping in a wigwam. But, more like a 52ft-high, concrete cone from the 1930's that looks like a tee-pee on the outside and a Motel 6 on the inside. It has been lovingly maintained in it's original depression-era splendor. The wigwams are situated in a semi-circle with a play area in the middle. 

Home Sweet Home!

The patrons of Wigwam village #2 represent many walks of life and e'rebody likes to get real comfy down by the campfire. We met a sweet, multi-generational family from Alabama. The matriarch of the family first stayed in this particular road-side stop back in the '50s when she was a little girl en route to see her grandmama in Ohio. Unfortunately, with the advent of much bigger byways, folks don't pass this way much anymore. But, we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and getting to know about their motorcycle journeys!

"Mama, they've got a fancy table for your make-up"
That doubles as a coffee station! How Charming!

The sun sets and the natives are restless!

Where McDonald's playgrounds go to die.
RIP,  Mc NASA

Thomas did have a date with "time out" tonight when he told us he was bored. I mean, your parents spend tens of dollars so that you can have the experience of a lifetime and you are bored?!?