July 2

Well, the cooler weather we have been enjoying has left us. Feeling more like Florida every day! We kinda slept in, well, honestly, I am the one who sleeps in, as Bill continues to get up by 6:30 if not earlier. He and Xena take their first walk and he reads or maybe turns on the TV. I had 2 biscuits left from last night so make bacon, egg, cheese biscuits for breakfast with a bowl of fruit. Just as good as Mickey D’s.

Becky called and said her daughter and husband might not be available to meet up, so we agreed to have lunch together today after our tour of the Corvette plant in Bowling Green. She works only 5 minutes away. I programmed her cell number in my cell phone to call her once we got out of our tour, so we could meet at Wendy’s near the GMC plant.

We headed to Mammoth to see about a tour for later today or for tomorrow. Bill narrowed his choice down to 3 and I eliminated 1 of those so it was whichever of the last 2 we could get on. We know it’s to be a busy weekend so hoped for the best. It was more crowded today than yesterday. Our first choice tour was not available today and only had 1 spot for tomorrow, so it was out. The other had space for today so we thought we better get it as it is one that you can only get tickets on the day of the tour. It was the Frozen Niagara Tour, which would be in a wet cave, which meant there would be stalactites and stalagmites. A totally different kind of cave.

Once we had our tickets we hit the road for Bowling Green to tour the Corvette plant there. I had called a couple of days ago and verified if we needed to reserve a spot for the 11:30 tour and was told no, that they always take their walk-ins. When we arrived I realized that I didn’t bring my cell phone with Becky’s number….oops and panic mode set in. She was expecting to meet us at about 12:30. Bill had his phone so I called Kerry and got Becky’s home number, then called there and luckily got her husband who gave me her cell number. We weren’t allowed to take ANYTHING into the GMC plant, no cell, no purse, no cameras, I felt naked! Bill put some cash in his pocket as the tickets were $7 each for the tour and if there were souvenirs, of course we might want something. Well, apparently, it would have been much better to have made the reservation because it isn’t one group. Since we were walk ins, we were in group 4, so we didn’t leave the “tour room” until after 12. With no way to contact Becky! Then since it was break time, the workers were pretty much stopped and we waited at some stations to see the process and didn’t leave the building until 1:30. I called Becky but she was on her way back to work from lunch as she had appointments to keep. So maybe next time we can do a better job of scheduling. The tour was good, just a little draggy and our guide stammered around a lot and didn’t know the answer to questions I thought would have been pretty standard. I learned there sure are a lot of parts in a Corvette. Most of the info was over my head, not being a “car” person. I was more interested in the process. We watched them put the insides like the seats, arm rests, all the interior, then we saw the body come from the top and on a conveyor and was perfectly timed to set in on the base. Then the exhaust is added. Those cars go through literally over 100 final checks, the last being put into a car wash to check for leaks. Then, if they pass all the inspections they are taken out on a test drive track. They start with 4.3 gallons of gas but who knows how much is left once they test drive them.

So we missed lunch with Becky, but I did enjoy my Frosty! We stopped at a little grocery in Cave City on the way back for a few things, then back to the RV to check on the pets and chill until it was time to head back to Mammoth for our 5:30 tour. It was listed as only 1 ¼ and ¾ mile. This one took us by bus to a man made entrance. At one time this section was not part of the park, but owned by a “competitor” who blasted it open and lied to tourist by telling them Mammoth Cave has collapsed and come to his more beautiful cave instead. There were law suits flying and fights and ill will in the neighborhood, but eventually the top notch legal system managed to get it worked out and in the end the government got all the land, so I’m not sure who really won. Anyway, this one was prettier than the other tour, not so many steps, only 49 down and 49 back up. It’s main feature is the Frozen Niagara which is a huge flow stone of rocks that looks like Niagara Falls when it freezes. The entire area has a variety of formations due to the limerock drips. There are soda straws, popcorn, stalactites (that hang from the ceiling) and stalagmites ( that rise from the floor) and some meet in the middle to form a column. There were draperies and bacon. At the lowest level the view up to the ceiling was awesome. Too bad the limestone drips don’t have more minerals in them to create a more colorful artistry. The formations are basically white. In addition to the formations, we were able to see cave crickets. They actually look more like spiders to me. They live on the ceilings in this part of the cave and do not make any noise, so I don’t understand why they are called crickets. Bill got annoyed with me for pointing them out once we were shown them. Being the excellent “spotter” that I am, once we were back on the bus headed back to the Visitor Center, I spotted a wild turkey with her chicks and 2 deer along our side of the bus. Most of the passengers were non-observant but once I spotted the turkey they were suddenly keeping an eye out the windows.

As usual Xena was very happy to see us and Molly was perched on the counter at her bowl waiting for a refill. While Bill walked Xena I heated up the leftovers of chicken, orzo and made salads. Then after dinner I made a batch of low-fat brownies from a mix that I left in the RV. Had to throw in a few pecans though to make them truly edible. Now I also had a load of wash going and while it was doing its thing I was on the computer labeling my pictures. All of a sudden the power went off. Well, it didn't bother me since my laptop went to battery mode. Thinking it was the whole park, I didn’t really get worried, but since it didn’t come back on for a bit I decided I better check it out. Our breaker panel and fuses were as they should be. The breakers switch outside was fine too. A neighbor came over and said it was only us with a problem, so I came in and called the park owners. She sent her husband, who in another life was an electrician. He reported that it was the breakers for our spot and showed Bill the pole and how to correct it if it happened again. We made it through the night with no further issues. I was up too late setting up things on my travel blog and labeling all the pictures we’ve taken so far. Dragged myself to bed after midnight! Bad Girl!