I have no earthly idea why all of the other entries are centered on the page now. I didn't do it!
We've been busy. Going thru my mail upon my return from the desert, I discovered that I had 20K hotel points expiring at the end of the year, and only 2 weekends left this year when neither Don nor I were booked. One of those weekends was this past one, so of course, we had to take off again for a trip. This REALLY wasn't planned, mind you, but I'm not one to let a freebie go to waste!
So... we ended up getting 2 free nights at the brand-new Comfort Inn and Suites in Cave City, KY, and we enjoyed our first visit to Mammoth Cave National Park. The entire weekend totally exceeded our expectations. The hotel was gorgeous, great free breakfast, giant comfortable rooms, nice indoor pool. We had a fridge and microwave in our suite, so to save money we packed an ice chest full of food and only ate what we brought. Sandwiches, chips, and pasta salad for lunch, taco salad and Spanish rice for dinner, and yogurt, fruit, popcorn, and brownies for snacks. All we spent for 2 nights/3days out was the cost of the cave tour tickets, and the gas to get up there!
Mammoth Cave fascinated me. We booked the 4 1/2 hour, 4 mile Grand Avenue tour, and that wasn't enough for me! I couldn't get over all of the different rooms and "slot canyons" and climbing we did. That cave had multiple personalities and I just loved being in it; I felt like Indiana Jones! We plan to go back to do the Wild Cave tour. That is the only longer tour that is offered, and for that one, we'll suit up and slither around... real spelunking. Woo-hoo! It's been 13 years since I've done that... way too long! The woods above ground were beautiful also and we enjoyed hiking the trails. On Saturday night, we went to an outdoor ranger presentation on cougars, and that was really fun, but the most excitement came from when I nearly stepped on a copperhead on my way to the amphitheatre. I think the entire park heard me screaming!
Don and I have recently started volunteering at the animal shelter where we adopted Penny. Our first day was last Monday, and it was quite the learning experience! I got to walk dogs, play with cats, refill food and water, and help visitors. This is what I have discovered so far:
1. Wear old clothes. It IS possible for a dog to pee while running, poop, throw himself into a washtub of drinking water, and tackle a person, in that order, in less than a minute's time.
2. Getting a slipknot leash on a hyper dog is similar to lassoing a cricket.
3. It is easy to tell when a cat has a cold. (Look for the snot along the sides of the cage.)
4. Accidentally locking oneself inside a kennel with a big dog is very humbling!
