Day 53 - Visiting With Family And Our First Hotel (July 24th, 2024)

City To City: Springfield - Berea

Miles: 75

Miles Total: 3,557

Flats: 11

Video:

Dinner With Family

Mark And Jon-Daniel

Thomas Making A Funny Face

    Since my dad wanted to arrive in Berea at three in the afternoon to spend time with my other grandparents on my dad's side, we got up early and immediately broke camp because we didn't want our "friend," the sergeant, to come by again. We were pretty sure that we had camped illegally in the state park. The state park was more of a tourist attraction with little cabins and things to do inside them, and it wasn't a place to camp.

    Cars kept coming by, so the first thing we did that morning was pack our tents away.  We got on the road earlier than Matt and Mark and told them we'd see them there.

    We didn't dilly-dally with our breaks and were hard-pressed to achieve our ambitious goal. For lunch, we stopped at a farm where bikers were allowed to camp. There, my dad called the chief of police about the sergeant incident, and she had excellent judgment and was on top of everything.  She had already watched the footage of the situation, talked to the police, and now listened to my dad's side of the story.  

    It turns out that the park had recently dealt with homeless people and had to call the police. Yesterday, he had already dealt with two homeless people, so when he got a call from the couple, he had already been wound up.  

    After the chief police said she would have another talk with the sergeant, she asked us where we ended up staying for the night, and my dad said, "Lincoln Homestead State Park."

    All she said was, "Oh, okay." She obviously knew when it was worth it to pick her fights. She knew we were probably well away, and the deed was already done, so filing a citation for us wasn't worth it. After the call, my dad felt better that he had called and felt like he had done justice on his part. Now, it was up to the police chief to decide how far she wanted to take things.

    The farm owners came by and told us there weren't any bike shops or as many towns in Eastern Kentucky as in Western Kentucky.  They also told us that recently, they had changed the Trail, and instead of the previous nineteen miles to Berea, Adventure Cycling had changed it to ninety-five miles to avoid busy roads with many twists and turns.  So, my dad checked every turn we made with his map, even if it had the route arrow pointing in a direction, because we weren't sure if the government had updated that.      But the one time my dad forgot to check it, we went down the old route.  About halfway down a longish hill, my dad realized and yelled for us to stop.  We did and waited for my dad to finish studying the map.  When we figured out things, there were two options, continue on the road and cut off a mile or two but be on a busier road, or go back up the hill and then go the newer route.  Henry voted to get back on the newer route, but I didn't want to go back up that hill.  We had already gone up and down the entire day, and I didn't want to turn around.  We continued on the older route, and it wasn't too busy.  

    We got to our hotel on time and greeted my grandparents and siblings, who had come along too.  My grandparents paid for three hotel rooms, for which we were so grateful.  My sister, Adria, and I got a room, and I got a queen-sized bed for myself!  After we were all showered up and our dirty, stinky laundry was put into the washer, I went into my brothers' and dad's hotel room stole the popcorn bag, and went to my room, where my grandmother, Adria, and I hung out.

    My grandfather and Henry went to a bike store and bought Henry new bike pedals. Once we were all ready, we went to a restaurant that an employee from the bike shop had recommended.

    Mark and Matt joined us for dinner there, and we had a wonderful time. Mark, Matt, and my grandparents immediately got along and had a great time. Before we left the restaurant, my youngest brother, Jon-Daniel, showed Matt the tractors in the next room. Later, Jon-Daniel said, "I like those guys. They're funny, but I especially like the one who came to see the tractors with me."

    As we said our goodbyes, Mark asked, "Don't you feel guilty about staying in hotels while we're going to be in a fire department?"

    "Yes," my dad said, not one bit guilty.

    I unhelpfully added that we would have a great breakfast in the morning, and Mark sarcastically said, "Thanks, Layla.  That was super helpful."  Poor Mark, who loves food, was wistfully thinking about all the food he was going to miss.

    When we returned to the hotel in the other city, my grandparents asked if we wanted to go somewhere else. My dad said, "Maybe ice cream?" So we drove again to the other city and got ice cream before returning to the hotel. That night, we slept well in a bed while Matt and Mark slept in a tent.