2014 Bowling Green motorcycle trip
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On the way back from our Georgia trip this summer we spent the night in Bowling Green, Ky. We found there was lots to do in the area so we put it on the list of places to revisit. John & Debby came up with the idea of melding a Bowling Green trip with a night in Louisville to watch a concert and the trip was born. The Kurdzioleks had conflicting plans so the trip would be John & Debby and Donna & I.
Wednesday evening I walked out of work and fired up the bike. Vacation weekend was finally here. I felt my phone vibrate. I had a voicemail. It was Donna. She had hurt her finger mowing the grass and was at the ER. Long story short...she was mowing around a small tree and caught her finger between a low limb and the steering wheel and it tore the end of her right index finger (graphic picture). Nine stitches later she was back home. She is right handed so I got to help her tie her shoes and put her helmet on. I had planned to clean the bike that evening but I finished mowing the yard instead. Later I checked out the bike, did some packing, programmed the GPS, and some other odds and ends. I didn't get to bed until 2am or so.
August 14
 The plan is to be at the Potter's by 9am so we got up around 7:30. I did anyway. Donna had awoke during the night and her finger wouldn't let her sleep, so we were both a little tired this morning. We finished packing and loaded the bike. Donna is showing the world she is 'number one'. That joke will get old this weekend.
 We stopped at a convenience store for water and Advil so we arrived at John & Debby's at 9:02. We're using the Castle streetbag for the trip.
 Twenty minutes later we were off. We both had plenty of gas so it will be a straight shot to the hotel. The weather forecast for the weekend is sunny with cooler than normal temperatures.
A perfect 68*.
A trooper using a white Dodge truck had a car pulled over. Sneaky!
 There was a lot of construction near the state line but nothing that seemed to affect us. Soon we were crossing into Kentucky. Just several miles to go. We peeled off at exit 132 onto Crittenten Drive. As usual the GPS told me to turn just as we passed the turnoff to the hotel. We pulled into the next parking lot and had to wait on a garbage truck to empty a dumpster. John radioed and said he was in the back parking lot. What? I looked behind me and he wasn't there. He'd made the correct turn and they were waiting on us. Sidenote: Our radio setup has been working great since we tweaked them in Chattanooga.
 We are staying at the Holiday Inn across the road from the Kentucky Fairgrounds. We can walk there. The bikes get to rest early today. Donna's arm is already tired from keeping her finger elevated. It was only 11am so we weren't surprised when the desk clerk said it would be another 30 minutes before our room is ready. All four of us are sharing a room. We went next door to Arbys and had lunch to kill time.
 There is a railroad yard nearby so we saw several trains from the room. Here is an autorack train.
 Napping bikes. I have a half cover but forgot to bring it. John lent me his. There is a UPS hub near the airport so we saw a bunch of UPS planes.
 After lounging for a bit we decided to go to the fair. Crossing the road there is a sign for Gate 4. However, it seemed like it may have been a long way down the road so we headed south and entered through Gate 3. Initially the guy at the gate told us we had to go all the way to Gate 1 but he was joking with us. Everyone seems to be really friendly. Gate 3 led to the midway where people were still setting up on this first day of the fair. There was a nice breeze and the temperature was a little cool when it was cloudy and warm when the sun was out. I prefer cool.
 The main drag was in full swing. We walked down one side and up the other. There were some booths the girls could browse and lots of food booths to check out. The sun was making itself known so we moved into the shaded pavillion and checked out rabbits and poultry. I didn't realize there were so many varieties of rabbits, chickens, pigeons, etc. From the pavillion we took a stroll through the food tent to see what they offered. We stopped to burn some cigarettes then cut back through the pavillion into the main buildings. We checked out the various displays as we made our way to the south wing. There is so much to see. Toyota had a big display and some of the workers invited us to visit the factory for a tour. Sounds like another bike trip! Texas Roadhouse put on an hourly presentation on ways prepare steak so we rested our feet and checked it out. I might even have napped a little. Between naps we changed seats because some lady and her kids sat in front of us and were constantly jabbering. When we were leaving I ran into a guy from work. Small world.
 The Kentucky State Police had a large display where they were raffling off this nice truck. We did buy some T-shirts and talked to some of the guys.
 The south wing consists of three huge rooms. We just meandered around checking things out. We came to a flea market here in early 2013 and Donna was able to revisit some of the vendors. She restocked on jewelry cleaner, summer sausage, dip mix, and a bunch of free stuff. She was constantly asked about her finger injury and people told their own injury stories. I checked out some new Ford trucks as Ford has an assembly plant in Louisville. The first one I came to was a loaded Superduty...crew cab, dually, diesel, 4WD, King Ranch interior...over $72K!!!! Ho-ly crap! How can anyone afford a new truck? In 1999 I paid $31K for mine. We met up at 5pm and decided to eat at the food tent since there were lots of tables to sit at. We were all getting sore feet. We walked all the way to the other side of the complex where the food tent was located. We all ended up getting food from the Cattlemen booth. Nothing like a steak sandwich...mmmmmmmmmmm...although I was torn between that and pork chops.
 After supper we walked back down the main drag to Freedom Hall and found some shady seats to hang out and smoke at. Nearby this guy wearing stilts and a tree outfit was getting lots of attention. Tonight we are watching Billy Currington and Lady Antebellum. We decided to go inside and see when they would be opening up the arena. They opened it up at 6:30 so we only had to wait a few minutes. We were some of the first people in the arena and found our seats. We had over an hour until the show started so I napped some more. Getting to bed late and all the walking had worn me out. I hadn't been to a live concert in many years. It's just easier to watch something on Youtube. I really had a good time. The shows were good. The music was good. The crowd was good. The only part that was annoying was when people would stand up in front of you.
 When the show was over we walked back to the hotel. We went via Gate 4 this time. In the picture above the little dot above the ferris wheel is a helicopter with its search light on. Not sure if they were looking for something or just had it on for effect. When we got back to the hotel we cleaned up, put on our lounging clothes, and sat outside at a table discussing the next day. We'd do breakfast around 8:30 and try to be on the road by 9am.
81 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure. |
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