Day 101 ~ Abraham Lincoln Birthplace & Boyhood Home

Hodgenville is where Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace, Sinking Spring Farm, is located. We finished the day about 20 miles east in Bardstown and will be up in the Louisville area tomorrow.

This is where we had breakfast. It was the size of a matchbox and a haze of smoke filled the air. Gregory and I couldn't stand it so we ate our egg, ham and cheese croissant sandwiches (very tasty) out on the bench. Mike decided to hang with the locals. (While Gregory and I were sitting there a man came in with his oxygen tank so we had a little talk about lung cancer...)

Tobacco Barn

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Park

Gregory working on his Junior Ranger Activity Booklet

Ranger Rhonda makes Gregory an Official Junior Ranger at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace NHP ~ Behind them is a statue of Lincoln's father Thomas and mother Nancy who is holding the newborn Abe. His older sister Sarah is behind Rhonda.

The Memorial at Lincoln's Birthplace houses the log cabin and has 56 steps, one for each year of Lincoln's life. (Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs but we did climb and count the steps.)

Gregory's Favorite Candy Bar

Gregory and I explored the herb garden at Abe's Boyhood Home, Knob Creek. Here Gregory is picking some lemon balm.

Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home: Knob Creek

Logs for this cabin were taken from the home of one of Lincoln's childhood friends.

Down the road a piece... "OUT OF ODOR" (Not Order...) ~ The sign on the door says "Vacancy"

Date: October 28, 2009

From: Munfordville, Kentucky

To: Bardstown, Kentucky

Route: Got off the alternate Mammoth Cave loop and back on the Trans Am. We took Hwy. 31 into Bardstown, to shave off a few miles, because it was getting late and we knew we wouldn't make it going the other way.

Miles Today: 54 miles

TOTAL MILES: 2,888 miles

Top Speed on this trip: 54.1 mph

Weather: Mid 50s and cloudy but no rain!

License Plates Collected: 5 Montana, 8 Wyoming (2 motorcycle) and 1 Idaho (found in WY), 2 Colorado, 1 Kansas (Gifted from David of Baldwin City), 1 Missouri (To be sent to Grammy’s by our new buddy, Kansas City firefighter Shawn), 1 Illinois, 2 Kentucky (Gifted from of Beth and Garry Feltus)

Flats: 8

Broken Spokes: 3

Cracked Rim: 1

The highlight of the day was touring Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park where Gregory became a Junior Ranger. That is two Jr. Ranger Badges in two days! We had fun exploring the exhibits, watching the movie and completing the activity booklet to earn the badge and certificate. We found he already knew quite a bit about our sixteenth president. We spent a good deal of time talking about the civil war and slavery and how Mr. Lincoln was assassinated at the age of 56. The memorial that is built on this site houses the cabin where he was born. The memorial has 56 steps, one for each year of his life.

Just down the road is the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home; Knob Creek Farm. The family moved from the birthplace on Sinking Spring Farm to Knob Creek when Abraham was only a couple of years old. He lived there until he was about 7 years old. The cabin that is built there was made out of logs taken from the home of one of Abe's childhood friends. The friend who in fact saved him from drowning in a creek because he could not swim. Here we explored the herb garden out back and smelled the lavender, lemon balm, and mint. "…frontier families, like the Lincolns, relied on their gardens as a source of fresh vegetables and herbs to see them through the winter." (Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Handout).

Mike was commenting that we seem to be getting used to the hills and they don't seem as daunting. We do manage the hills pretty well I must admit. Even still, I was absolutely exhausted when we came to Bardstown this evening. Mike thought we hadn't eaten enough today and the last few miles were a bit of a struggle. Near the end of the day we had one extremely long hill that wouldn't quit and I thought if there was one more I wouldn't make it. I felt weak and dizzy and just stared down at my top tube, slowly opening and closing my droopy eyelids and focusing on each pedal stroke. If you haven't done any long distance touring this is where you really have to dig down deep to find that extra something that will get you there. You know that quitting is not an option so you just pedal on and on and on. The destination becomes that much sweeter when you make it and you will make it.

Once we arrived, I knew if I sat down I was done for so I stripped down and got in the shower first thing. While Mike and Gregory got their showers I did lay down but only on the little bench in the room, not the bed, because I knew if I got on the bed I'd be out cold and I still had to put in the laundry. When that was done I did crawl under the covers and slept until dinner arrived. All the food was another mile across town and there was no way we were going out again so we ordered a pizza. Yes, that is pizza two nights in a row! Ugh! Oh well. I was two tired to care. Right now it is taking everything I have to stay awake to write to you! However, I know that tomorrow we will arrive in Prospect, Kentucky and home of Mike's cousin Kim. I don't want to spend our visit playing catchup with the journal. Kim tells us that her kids are looking forward to playing with Gregory and that there are pumpkins waiting to be carved! Gregory can't wait.

Day 100 ~ FIRE! & Mammoth Caves

Mike and Gregory working on the Junior Ranger Adventure Book prior to our departure on the 9:45 A.M. Historic Cave tour. When we saw a group of over 120 school children arrive we got a little worried. Fortunately they had their own ranger and went well ahead of our group of about 40! I've been there, done that!

The Historic Cave Entrance

Double click here to read about The Twilight Zone...the area around the entrance of the cave.

Not a great picture but it gives you some idea of the size of the "rooms" in these caves. You can see the back of Mike's head on the left. He is in the black coat.

Giants Coffin (Yes, I know I really needed something in this picture to give you some perspective. It is really massive.)

These limestone caves were formed by carbonic acid dissolving the rock. A sandstone and shale "roof" keep them primarily dry.

Fat Man's Misery (This wasn't even one of the tighter spaces we had to get through.)

Sidesaddle Pit (It wasn't raining in the cave I just had some drops on my camera lens.)

The Mighty Cavers

This is a little hard to see but we are casting shadows on the cave walls (l-r) Mike, Gregory and Dorrie (You can actually see Gregory's back and arms up in the area if you look on the left.)

Tulip Poplar trees were hollowed out using a spoon-bit auger (a type of drill). They were used as a water pipeline to move water from the waterfall at the entrance of the cave to the mining operation inside the cave. They have remained preserved since 1812 due to a constant temperature of 54 degrees with 80 percent humidity that is maintained in the cave.

Double click on this picture to read more about Salt-Petre Mining. "Cave owners in the early 1800s used mostly slaves to first wash calcium nitrate from the dirt, then process that into crystalized potassium nitrate. A lot of money was made doing this for our country during the War of 1812" (Junior Ranger Adventure Book)

Junior Ranger Gregory is ready to ride in the rain!

We saw over a dozen and a half wild turkeys today! Both the native white-tailed deer and turkey were scarce in the park at one time (because of hunting and loss of habitat to farms) therefore 62 deer and 15 turkeys were released into the park. Both have done well and now are a common sighting in Mammoth Cave National Park. (Information taken from Gregory's Junior Ranger Adventure Book)

Today was our worst rain yet. Gregory said, "It feels like hail is hitting my face!" It did feel a bit like needles, especially on the downhills. I kept hearing Mike say, "Ouch!" every now and then. He was getting pelted by either pokey wet leaf stems or bits of debris off the trees.

The Green River

FIRE! With the fire alarm blaring, our Super 8 was evacuated for about an hour. It turned out that the motel was just "firing up" the heating unit for the first time this season and the dust burning off triggered the alarm.

During our evacuation I had to run Gregory over to the Pizza Hut to relieve himself. This was the scene at the motel upon our return. It was pouring rain.

Gregory asking the fireman, "Can we can go back to our room?"

I felt so bad for him, not only because the whole experience was a bit scary but also because he had worked so hard to finish his journal and do his reading so he could watch some t.v. tonight.

Date: October 27, 2009

From: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

To: Munfordville, Kentucky

Route: A whole bunch of little roads but mostly Hwy. 70 and Hwy. 335

Miles Today: 25 miles

TOTAL MILES: 2,825 miles

Top Speed on this trip: 54.1 mph

Weather: Rain, Rain and more Rain, Low 50s

License Plates Collected: 5 Montana, 8 Wyoming (2 motorcycle) and 1 Idaho (found in WY), 2 Colorado, 1 Kansas (Gifted from David of Baldwin City), 1 Missouri (To be sent to Grammy’s by our new buddy, Kansas City firefighter Shawn), 1 Illinois, 2 Kentucky (Gifted from of Beth and Garry Feltus)

Flats: 8

Broken Spokes: 3

Cracked Rim: 1

Our 100th day went out with a bang. We just got back to our room, after an hour outside, due to a fire alarm evacuation! The entire Munfordville Volunteer Fire Department came out to check out the second story of the Super 8. When the alarm went off we grabbed all of our jackets, Greg's journal and the computer and headed outside. It was pouring rain but all the guests gathered under the drive up overhang. Then, all of a sudden Gregory and I looked around and Mike was gone. He'd decided to go back in and head upstairs to see what he could do to help. Gregory and I went back into the lobby for a minute or so but the alarm was blaring in our ears and Gregory started getting really upset about his dad being in the building. I felt so bad for the little guy. I just hugged him and and assured him everything would be alright. Once Mike rejoined us outside Gregory felt much better. Mike felt it was safe enough for him to go back to our room on the first floor and he collected Gregory's kitty and doggie. That provided Gregory some comfort but then Gregory realized he had to go to the bathroom and was getting upset that we couldn't get inside. Mike and I were at a loss for a minute then I decided that, though it was pouring and firetrucks continued to pull up to the motel, Gregory and I would hightail it across the way to the Pizza Hut where we had our 100th day dinner a couple hours earlier.

Gregory kept asking us when we could go back to the room and when our answer of, "When it is safe" wasn't good enough for him we let him ask the 6 or so fireman that were standing out front with us. He got the same answer from them so decided he would sit tight on a bench with us. Ironically, as we sat waiting and watching, two of the fireman lit up cigarettes as well as almost every other motel guest! I told you we were in tobacco country! We did have one nice fireman come up and ask Gregory how he was doing. Gregory was at a loss for words (which rarely happens) and we told the firefighter that our bike and all of our possessions were in that room and would he do his best to protect them. He was great and asked for our room number and said he'd do his best. We finally got the all clear and it turned out that the motel had decided to turn on the heater for the first time this season and the dust created the burning smell and triggered the alarm. Luck was with us again tonight.

Today started off with a "bang" of sorts also. We got to tour the incredible Mammoth Caves. There are over 360 miles of charted caves with more that are undiscovered. It is primarily a dry cave due to the sandstone and shale ceiling over the limestone cave that prevents water from entering. For this reason their aren't as many cave formations like stalactites (like icicles hanging from the ceiling), stalagmites (mound-like formations coming up from the ground), draperies (coming down from the ceiling), thin hollow soda straws (a type of stalactite), cave popcorn (on the walls) and other formations like our own Lake Shasta Caverns in Northern California. Mammoth Caves does have some amazing formations including Frozen Niagra, it is just that the formations are only predominant in certain areas of this enormous cave system. We chose the "Historic Tour", a 2-hour 2-mile trek into the large caverns from the historic entrance.

The rock in which the cave is formed is limestone. "Water, mixed with carbon dioxide from the air and soil, makes carbonic acid, which dissolves away the rock." (Junior Ranger Adventure Book) Our ranger Tori also told us that carbonic acid is found in soda pop! If that doesn't get Gregory to cut back on soda nothing will! We actually have cut him way back and are having him drink more water, juice, milk and non-carbonated beverages.

We were fortunate that we could extend check out time until 1:00P.M. so, at noon, we went back to our room, ate our PB&J, and Gregory and I worked on finishing the Junior Ranger Adventure Book that he and Mike started prior to the tour. Packing up to take off in the pouring rain was a bit stressful. I was trying to finish the booklet with Gregory and have him write his thoughts in his journal, meanwhile Mike was packing and watching the clock for checkout time. This was a recipe for disaster and when Gregory was disrespectful it just happened to be one too many times for Mike. He'd had it. Gregory got a talking to, Mike was in a foul mood and I was left holding the bike in the rain while Mike attached the panniers and Gregory sat in the room crying. (The room had a back door slider so all this was going on just out in back of and inside our motel room with the door wide open!)

We finally got the bike loaded and Mike pushed it around to the front of the building while Gregory and I took the key to the desk and then walked back over to the visitor's center to collect his Junior Ranger badge and certificate. You can see in the picture that he isn't an especially happy camper. In my mind I just kept thinking that departing at 1:00P.M. to ride 25 miles in the pouring rain with a cranky husband and an upset 9-year old is a recipe for disaster. Surprisingly we all pulled together and pedaled away safely. I asked Mike to stop 10 miles out at the McDonalds for a potty/warmup break. He wasn't too eager to do it since he knows how hard it is to go back out in a downpour but he also knew he had no choice…two against one! I could tell Mike was still stewing and I was happy he called his friend Scott back home to pick up his spirits. Gregory downed two chocolate milks and two hamburgers and was good to go. He did apologize to his dad for being disrespectful but I prompted him so I don't think Mike found it to be too sincere.

While I was in the bathroom using the hand dryer I got to thinking how it could dry out my rain pants which I was still wearing. At first I just dried the fronts but then I realized if I held out the waistband and pointed the air down the pants it was a cozy warmup. It also gave me clown pants. I had to call Gregory into the women's bathroom to show him and he liked it so much he had to give it a try. Meanwhile, Mike was suited up and ready to go standing out in the lobby. Ha! Anyhow, it was just the trick and we managed to ride 15 more miles without much consequence, except for a couple of dogs at our heels.

We arrived in Munfordville, Kentucky at around 4:30 P.M. and the temperature was 54 degrees according to the bank sign. The sign also read, "When making a living, leave room for a life." What a great quote to end the day on.

Day 99 ~ Corn Hurler

A Frosty Morning on Feltus Holler Farm

Beth and Oscar

Norm and I

Norm and Nicky know that Gregory has something in that hand.

The Feltus Farm Dogs ~ Nicky, Norm and Robin

Beth and Garry

Happy Cyclist

The Corn Hurler ~ He was hucking the kernels (not the cobs) at all of the road signs :)

I love this picture with the farm in the background and my happy boy in the foreground.

Beautiful Kentucky Countryside

Thumbs Up for our Favorite Stop

Mike enjoys his favorite, a Dilly Bar. I had an amazing Pumpkin Pie Blizzard! Gregory had his standard chocolate milkshake.

WOW!

We made it! We still had to cycle about 5 more miles to the Visitor's Center but it was quiet and gorgeous with a nice road surface all throughout the park.

Date: October 26, 2009

From: Caneyville, Kentucky

To: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Route: A Mapquest route that Beth gave us. We were mainly on Hwy. 70 at the end.

Miles Today: 50 miles

TOTAL MILES: 2,809 miles

Top Speed on this trip: 54.1 mph

Weather: Low to mid 70s with clear blue skies

License Plates Collected: 5 Montana, 8 Wyoming (2 motorcycle) and 1 Idaho (found in WY), 2 Colorado, 1 Kansas (Gifted from David of Baldwin City), 1 Missouri (To be sent to Grammy’s by our new buddy, Kansas City firefighter Shawn), 1 Illinois, 2 Kentucky (Gifted from of Beth and Garry Feltus)

Flats: 8

Broken Spokes: 3

Cracked Rim: 1

Gregory is the mighty corn hurler! Early on in the day we were stopped by the side of the road for a bathroom break and while Mike made a couple of phone calls Gregory and I took the dried kernels off of a cob of corn. He decided he wanted to put them in a baggie and use them for target practice! We made him promise not throw them at cars or dogs but let him take aim at every sign alongside the road. It kept him busy all day and we celebrated each time we heard a "ping" signalling a direct hit. Mike drew the line on taking target practice on the uphills!

We left this morning at least 20 pounds lighter. Mike did a major purge and we left a box with Garry and Beth that they kindly offered to ship for us. We decided to send home our stove, cook pot, utensils and fuel bottles, etc. With the days getting shorter and colder we just found that we weren't up to cooking in the evening. We've been rolling in near dark exhausted from climbing steep hills all day and just want to eat a hot meal and go to bed. We should be just fine without them since we know where the restaurants and grocery stores are located on the TransAm route and we always have bread and peanut butter and other snacks on hand.

Speaking of things being lighter, we all got on the scales at the Feltus Holler Farm Cottage. Mike was pleased to find that he is at his lowest weight that he can remember at 178 pounds. Even his driver's license has read 185 pounds since he got his permit! He weighed 195 lbs. at the beginning of our trip on July 20th. I'm pleased to say that the "budda belly" is gone and he is looking fit and healthy. Gregory and I on the other hand haven't lost or gained a pound. I am maintaining my weight at 150 pounds and Gregory is holding at 62 pounds. Some days we feel like Gregory isn't eating enough but he always seems to have plenty of energy to spare. I on the other hand eat a lot more carbs than when I am more sedentary. I control my diabetes with diet and exercise so I have to watch my carbs. My legs feel more muscular so I'd like to think I've lost weight and gained muscle but the important thing is that I feel healthy and strong.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. We were able to ride in shorts and short sleeves all day! Woo! Hoo! The sun felt great! There were clear blue skies and the temperature was perfect at around 70-75 degrees. We still had some steep climbs today but not as many as compared to the past couple of days in Kentucky. The fall colors seem to get deeper and richer each day and of course are at their most glorious when the sun is filtering through the foliage.

We still had to deal with lots of dogs today but we are finding that if we just cruise past them at a slower pace and say, "Stay" and "Good Boy" that we get better results than trying to race by. This just seems to get them more excited and revved up for a hot pursuit. Of course, when we are climbing a steep hill we don't have a choice in the matter. Ha! Most of the dogs don't come out into the road but we did have one little guy today who chased us right down the middle of the road for quite a ways. He never even got close and it was kind of comical to watch him. I even got a little video clip. The other day we did have a dog bolt right out in front of Mike's front wheel. Mike screamed so loud he scared the dog into cowering back to his yard but not before Mike had to swerve to miss him. For someone who was bitten by a dog as a child (on the foot and while on a bike) I am handling the whole dog thing pretty well I think. Trust me you don't EVER want to be bitten. It is super painful.

We arrived at our destination of Mammoth Caves near dark. Again, we did enjoy riding at dusk and watching the sun set through the trees but we are sometimes cutting it a bit close. We have lights but don't like to ride in the dark. One of the nice things that came out of our late arrival were the dozens of white-tail deer all along the roadsides and throughout the campground and visitor's center grounds. On the flip side it was a bummer that the store at the campground was closed forcing us to head even further up the road to the visitor's center area to find food and lodging. We are happy to be here and looking forward to touring the caves tomorrow morning.

Day 97 ~ Kentucky ~ Tobacco Territory

Our quarters in the youth basement of the First Baptist Church in Sebree, Kentucky. Gregory has another kitten to play with.

Great Halloween Decorations

I spent over a half hour chatting with Cliff, Froggy, Ed and Sonny about our trip. Sonny got his camera out of his truck and took our picture. They were glad to hear we had a nice stay at the Baptist Church.

Lots of Caterpillars Today

Gregory watches our friend Brian take a picture of a tobacco barn with his iPhone.

Someone pulled up to the market on their mower to pick up a snack.

You may know that when corn is green and growing it grows upwards but when it is drying on the stalk it hangs down.

Checking out the dry corn we plucked off a cob from one of the roadside fields. I know some of this is used for feed corn.

A kitty Gregory met on one of our roadside stops.

Gregory makes kitty friends wherever we go. There were about 8 cats in the yard across the road from our snack stop at a small market. At first I wouldn't let Gregory go over into this yard, so, he started meowing at them from across the street and they all starting coming over to him! For their safety I had to let him cross the road!

We found this guy belly up on the side of the road. Gregory wouldn't pick him up so I just had to so we could get this shot. He must be almost 6 feet long!

SPECTACULAR!

Tobacco Drying In Barns

This woman named Donna wanted to do something special for her mother who was ill and because her mother liked quilting she painted her favorite quilt square on their barn. That is what started it all. Now there is a movement across the country and tourists actually go around checking out the quilt squares. It brings people into these smaller communities. Our hostess Beth actually paints these. The quilt block here is called "schoolhouse." (Note that our shadow, and Brian's shadow, are in the foreground.)

NORTON

NORM

Date: October 24, 2009

From: Sebree, Kentucky

To: Caneyville, Kentucky (Feltus Holler Farm) Near Falls of Rough on the TransAm

Route: Hwy. 56, Hwy. 136, Hwy. 140, Hwy. 764, Hwy. 54, Hwy. 736

Miles Today: 75 miles

TOTAL MILES: 2, 759 miles

Top Speed on this trip: 54.1 mph

Weather: High 50s with blue skies

License Plates Collected: 5 Montana, 8 Wyoming (2 motorcycle) and 1 Idaho (found in WY), 2 Colorado, 1 Kansas (Gifted from David of Baldwin City), 1 Missouri (To be sent to Grammy’s by our new buddy, Kansas City firefighter Shawn), 1 Illinois, 2 Kentucky (Gifted from of Beth and Garry Feltus)

Flats: 8

Broken Spokes: 3

Cracked Rim: 1

We knew today would be at least a 70-mile day and though I was still mighty sore I pushed on knowing that at the end of those 70 miles would be Feltus Holler Farm, home of Beth and Garry. They found us, via the Internet, early on in our journey and invited us to stay. We've really been looking forward to our visit. When we called to make arrangements and let them know we were traveling with Brian they graciously invited him along also.

Their home is 8-9 miles off our route and many more steep hills including one that was about 17-22 percent…(Brian's GPS said 17 and Gregory's inclinometer said 22), but we made it and enjoyed a beautiful Kentucky sunset in the process. They gave us a warm welcome and set us up in the cottage they were living in while their home was being built this past year. We opened the door to the smells of chicken and vegetables roasting in the oven and it was heavenly. Beth also informed me that Garry was cooking a ham up at the house! The cottage was toasty warm and we quickly settled into our comfy accommodations complete with a fridge stocked with beverages and snacks of chips and salsa and bananas in case we couldn't wait until to dinner. They also had 2 Kentucky license plates waiting for Gregory and a pumpkin and carving kit. They have just been so thoughtful in every way. How could they know how much Gregory and I love to carve a pumpkin every year. It is a tradition I had with my Grandpa Sapp, Dad, and my brother Dave and sister Kim when we were kids…

The shower felt heavenly and was just what I needed to easy my pain and set me right again after the long 75-mile day of climbing hills. Brian rode along with us today and commented on how much use we were getting out of our granny gear. Ha! We would be grunting up a nice steep hill and he would ride along beside us until a car came along and then pull in behind us. I was a little paranoid about having him watching me as I huffed and puffed along. He didn't even look like he was having to work at it. He also said, "It's a good thing you didn't do the Missouri Ozarks!" "Why do you think we did the Katy Trail," I told him. I told him I could just imagine how his blog for today might read…"Today I rode with the Williams Family. They are definitely going at a much slower pace than I am." I also hope it will say he had a good time exploring with us. We made him stop and check out the drying corn on the roadside and we cracked open some soybeans for him to examine, educating him about roasted soy nuts and Edamame. I also gathered up 4 of the big fuzzy orange and black caterpillars and put them in his hand. Unfortunately they decided to do their business on his new bike glove. He laughed about it and got a picture. I also pointed out the tobacco drying in the many barns along the roadsides. When we hit the 17-20 percent grade hill on the road into Beth and Garry's house, Brian would ride up and then loop back and ride alongside us for a while and then go up a ways and ride back. I told him he was a stinker and was going to get it! Despite my compromised comfort level and the enormous amount of hills, it was a glorious fall day with blue skies. It was crisp and cool but I rode without tights the second half of the day to increase the air flow. It was chilly at first but I warmed up.

At the farm Gregory's first interest was in meeting the dogs. Beth explained that Norm was the rambunctious one and showed Gregory Norm's command for sit. Nicky is their older dog and Robin is a herding dog they inherited along with the property. All three are just as sweet as can be and we had a great time throwing the Frisbee for them to catch. We met the cats when we went up to the house for dinner. Dinner was a feast of chicken, roasted vegetables, ham, macaroni and cheese and a delicious salad with feta and olives and a Greek vinaigrette dressing. I had seconds on salad since I never seem to get enough vegetables. With dinner they also served a delicious Bogle Cabernet and later a Bogle Phantom which is a blend of Petite Syrah, Old Vine Zinfandel & Old Vine Mourverde ~ V.2006. It has been a long while since we had some good California wine. Later Beth gave us each a taste of their homemade Limoncello. (Anyone who has seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane will know what Limoncello is!) We talked until almost midnight and kept Garry's mom, Jeannie up way past her bedtime. She has been so sweet and even gave Gregory a great big hug.

Back at the cottage it took no time at all for me to fall fast asleep and I barely stirred when a large plaster decoration came crashing down off the wall and on to the tile. I heard it but it wasn't enough to raise my head from the pillow. Gregory didn't hear a thing and slept soundly the entire night.