Well, the first part of the day was good

August 3 Shepardsville, KY

Woke up around 7am to the drone of the trucks on the interstate--now, I figure that people aren't here for the peace and quiet, given the number of shrieking kids everywhere, but why would you want to sleep where the loudest noise is the highway? I took my time getting ready, since the zoo didn't open until 10 and I didn't want to get there too early, and left around 8:45.

The roads to the Seneca house sucked. Summerfield rocked and bounced, although Temperance was better and Jackman not bad. I cut through the subdivision from the Jackman Road school, and found that the roads had been resurfaced and were wonderful. Until I got to Fir, then I crept along very very slowly to keep from rattling to death. The house looks good and the yard sure is green, but given how much rain they've had that's not surprising.

I then drove down Lewis to Alexis to I-75. Which was under construction, and was doing stop-and-go traffic for a mile or two before the exit to the Trail. I got off OK and parked at the new parking lot, then checked out the new zoo area first.

What used to be parking is now the Arctic and African savannah (with several species of herbivores all together in a paddock). I do like that the animals here tend to have nice large cages--they seem to be about the size of the Cheetah valley on the other side. The four wolves were just getting up and walking around and greeting one another, which was cool, although the wild dogs were sacked out (and remained sacked out when I rechecked them before I left--the only things moving were the tails!). Much of the rest of the zoo is as usual, although I did get to see the hippos doing some status-behaviors and one of the elephants was being given a bath. The place was FULL of people; Lucas county residents get in free on Monday mornings, and the wagons and strollers and Hoverrounds were so thick it was hard to get around. After I scanned everything I got a kid's meal (hey, other than the drink being small, it was great and cheaper) and headed back to the RV.

I had left the cats in the fabric kennel, with water and the litter box, and a top vent and one window (facing the wind) open. Since I didn't lock the kennel, Nell had managed to open it and I had to recorral the cats before I could leave (and no, they weren't happy). It was roughly the same temperature in as out, and since the rig was in full sun I was pretty happy.

The next six hours were hell. Heavy traffic, construction everywhere (seriously--Toledo/Dayton/Cincinnati/Louisville, plus several parts in between, were tore up), bad roads everywhere else, and a serious wind that pushed the rig around like mad. It was particularly fun when trucks would pass me and get into my lane, because the combo of the wind and the airflow off the truck would shake the RV rapidly back and forth until I slowed down, then of course another truck would move in . . . .

I'm just south of Louisville, and feeling better since I've set up camp, fed the cats, and fed myself. Still, I suspect I'm ready for this trip to be over. Tomorrow, of course, it's supposed to rain; I may not get too far, but I have a reservation at a campground in Panama City for Wednesday, so we'll see. I may not need to get too far, since I drove a long way today. And yes, the A/C is on, and we're grateful for it even if it does make listening to the radio/watching TV impossible. Bah.