Intown Suites Louisville South

Headed off from Nasville this morning after piking out last night. We went to grab some dinner at an Applebee's Bar & Grill before heading to a bar with live music near the motel, After a steak and shrimp with mashed potatos and a couple of Mango flavoured cocktails, I was all done in and could barely waddle my way back to the motel. Only drinking water and eating fruit for the rest of the trip. I ...

Couldn't sleep so off we went at 3:45AM- heading South. Set our New talking Garmin GPS system for Taylorsville State Park near Taylorsville, KY. The GPS chatters away telling you how far, where to turn and if you make a mistake her favorite word is "recalculating". I say 'she' because the Garmin uses a soothing female voice. I suppose Garmin does that so when their information is incorrect it helps keep one calm.

We nicknamed the GPS ...

... the trams around the city.

Monday - day trip to Sintra

Tuesday - roam around the city some more then fly to Terceira, Azores (4 hours ahead of Louisville time).

I'll be in the Azores from 9/8 through 9/17 for work. Only thing on the agenda (other than my pesky job) for right now is a half day whale watching tour on ...

A short walk from the hotel lead us to the Louisville Convention Center and my first Kentucky Starbucks. I made it a mocha since it doubled as my breakfast. I asked the barista if they carried city mugs and he replied with a slight southern tang, "Nope. Small market."

Right.

... built the hotel that stands today in 1972 and named it after Dr. Galt.

After a quick coffee stop this morning, we walked around the downtown and happened upon the Art Car Weekend, an awesome display of crazy painted cars with things glued on them that lasted a good four blocks. Among my personal favorites were the dental car, the Wizard of Oz car, and the penny ...

... creating my own agenda and itinerary is also making this trip have a more personal feel to it. Wow--3 weeks of travel and then a week off when i get back--that's not working for a whole month!! I think the last time that happened was the summer after graduating from high school back in 1998...seriously...I've worked a lot in the last 10 years...this is a much deserved break...48 hours from now we'll begin our journey!

... WV lies right on the border with Kentucky. Charleston is built on the Kanawha River at the base of the mountains. We saw barges piled high with coal ready to go down the river and trains with empty coal cars heading down toward the river. It also has a beautiful gold domed capital building that really stands out in the midst of the other buildings of the city. We crossed the Kanawha River four times while going through Charleston so it is a ...

Oh the wonders of nature and nature-stream restoration projects I volunteer on. Bernheim offers an abundance of programs for schools and families that educate and allow you to help conserve some nature!

Also, this park has many, many hiking trails. Yay hiking! We all know how much I love that. :)

... thank me later. The only thing that made it rough for me was recalling my previous stand up moments, ( I performed twice locally back in the early 90's) and how I should have stuck with it. Writing my own material was some of the most fun I've ever had, but I never continued to refine it as you certainly need to do in that business. Even to the day I still jot down bits as they pop in my head, but they always end up in the trash or ruined in the wash in my jean pocket. Ah ...

... small degree of horror, that there must be dozens of eyes just below that unbroken surface staring right back at me. We rode on after my uncle made like he was going to throw me in a couple times, and I vowed never to return anywhere near Crybaby Lane. I think it was about week later when I returned, and then a couple weeks after that I had a friend or two spend the night with me at my grandparents' house, and of course we hiked out to Crybaby Lane so I could tell them the story and ...