Hello from Jeffersonville, IN! (just outside Louisville)

We're off to Texas!

As you can see, Bogey and Marcel drove most of the way.

Here is a description of what we saw today, which I wrote earlier while in the car:

I am typing this from Lexington, Kentucky, while Bari is driving (perhaps this is where the Sprint wireless internet card would come in handy).

We left VA today around 1:00. The kitties were quite meowy for the first thirty minutes, but they settled down after that. In fact, Marcel has been particularly good. He has preferred to be in his carrier but has been really quiet, even letting Bogey walk on his carrier while he is in it! Bogey has been fussy at times but also has been ok in general. She has preferred to roam the car (we have her on a leash while we are driving). We expected hours and hours of meowing, so we are pleasantly surprised so far. Marcel turned into a different kitty for a while--he was actually good!

Our first stop was the West Virginia Welcome Center for a bathroom break. The women working there were not very welcoming—they seemed more interested in watching TV. They did inform me that West Virginia's slogan is "wild and wonderful." They could not really tell me, however, what exactly makes the state "wild" or "wonderful." The next stop was in Big Otter, WV. I can now say that I have been to Big Otter! My dreams have been fulfilled! Inside the gas station they had a big ad urging customers to contact Congress to oppose a tax on cigarettes, claiming that the tax discriminates against smokers. Awesome. I also picked up a flyer for the local bluegrass festival. Activities at the festival include “kiss the goat."

We did a quick drive through Charleston, WV, the state capital, to see the capitol building (in honor of Mark, whose family wants to visit all fifty).

Unfortunately we did not see the capitol in Lexington, KY. Oh well. We also stopped in Huntington, WV, home of the Marshall University Thundering Herd (featured in the movie “We are Marshall”). Our final pit stop was in Shelbyville, KY to change drivers. Bari won 50 cents in a 50 cent KY lottery game (which was similar to a scratch ticket but involved no scratching--weird).

As you might imagine, we have listened to the radio a ton today. XM Radio has been great. At one point while Bari was sleeping I listened to a show on XM channel 2 that Tom Petty hosted which highlighted his favorite "unknown" songs. There was great variety: funk, blues, rock, etc. We also listened to a bunch of baseball: some of the Red Sox game, the Nationals game, and Barry Bonds' at bats from the Giants-Dodgers game. I love listening to baseball on the radio. As Bari said, "baseball is the one sport where you can really see what is happening over the radio." This is especially true when you are listening to a good announcer, such as Vin Scully from the Dodgers.

Here is what we have paid for gas across the country: Arlington, VA: $2.83. Big Otter, WV: 2.79.

Total miles traveled: Approximately 619

States visited today: 5 (VA, MD, WV, KY, IN)