Two more (#33, #32)

We awoke early Tuesday. Time to get out of town. The weather was excellent and we arrived at the airport around 7 AM.  We were headed back to Eastern time and wanted to maximize our daylight.

We had great conditions for the flight with the exception of the winds.  The front behind us and Michael South of us were creating a strong flow from the South East. This meant we had a 10 knot headwind.   The flight was 2 hours but we decided to grab another state while we were in the neighborhood.

Our path took us over Indiana. I chose Evansville as it was right on our course and was a towered field to make arrival and departure clearances easy.  One odd thing we saw was some low level wind shear.  The winds went from 20 knots at altitude to 40 at 1000 feet to 5 on the surface.

We were prepared for this and with our modern air data computers we are able to see this data in real time and react accordingly. Also, everyone infringes of us was making good reports so we were well informed.   We touched down normally and made the first turn off.  Tower read our new clearance and we were cleared for an immediate departure.  Quick in and out and we have a souvenir photo of the airport.

We continued on to Somerset Kentucky.  As soon as we cleared the runway, the local folks let us know where to park.  They brought a golf cart which we dumped the luggage on.  We declined a ride and stretched our leg.  The line guy took our stuff to the rental car for us.  The airport has very nice facilities and has free popcorn and cookies.  This makes it a top stop, sadly it is not on our normal route.

We loaded up the rental and headed off to sight see.  First stop was Cumberland falls.  They bill it as the little Niagara.  Now I think that is a bit oversold.  If they said some wide impressive falls, then I think they would be spot on.  We took in several different views and then headed off to hike.

We did the Eagle Falls trail.  It was billed as strenuous.  It was not a walk in the park but it was basically a lot of stairs and steep terrain over 1.5 miles.   The falls the,selves were cute but the hike was the main event.  You walked down the river and by Cumberland falls with some new views.

We took a final view of the falls and then headed off to counteract the exercise we just completed.

We were suitably hot and sweaty as we headed to the birthplace of KFC. This was the original location and it is a KFC and mini museum.  After enjoying some chicken and reminiscing about the Colonel, we were off again.  

It's probably the grease talking bu even though the Colonel may be gone, you can still feel his spirit or the life size plastic statute, one of the two.

We drove through rural Kentucky and stopped at a dam in a state park to enjoy the beach.  Yes they have a beach in Kentucky, not quite the same as home though.  The reservoir seemed to have been created with a large earthen dam.  It had a small hydro plant at the base as well.  It was sorta impressive and when I first saw it I had to say DAM!  

We then headed off to our hotel, a new Courtyard.  The irony is that we stayed in the Marriott Grand in St. Louis and the Courtyard is actually nicer.  Not only nicer but tech savvy. The room has 14 outlets to charge and 8 USB charge ports.  If you run out I am sure they will send up some power strips.

Somerset has tons of restaurants but most are chains that we have at home.  We took a chance and headed to a Pura Vida, a Costa Rican place nearby.  We were greeted by the owner.  He runs the front and his wife is the chef.   He suggested a sampler plate and we added an order of empanadas. 

The food was excellent and we chatted with the owner while we ate.  He was quite a character and had moved to Kentucky 15 years ago and built up a local clientele.  He seemed surprised that we knew the difference between Costa Rican and Mexican food.

As we were finishing the excellent food, he came to the table with a guitar and serenaded us with a Spanish love song.  Not only did they make great food but he could really play and sing.  After dinner We headed back to the hotel to check weather and watch new on Michael. 

We were struck by the fact that the weather was so great yet was about to turn.  I did check with the car rental company and confirm we could add a day if needed.  The hotel had plenty of rooms as well so we had our backup plan but things were looking pretty good for a mid day Thursday flight home.