Brian, here.
     We have found out that it is kind of hard to do a daily blog when you are sleeping in the truck, and don't have electricity, or internet access, so this will be synopsis of our first week.
The Interstate is not our favorite place to drive.  We prefer back roads, and not just because there are geocaches on them.  As a result, we average about 300 miles a day.  It is a good pace for us.  We meandered through MS, TN, KY, and WV (with three crossings of the Ohio River to get some more Ohio caches), and then to my mother's house in Pennsylvania. We had a nice week, even with evening thunderstorms a few times - not a problem with sleeping in our truck.
     It is really fun watching the fireflies in the evening, and listening to the frogs croaking, but when the crows start in the morning, it isn't so nice.
     We decided to stop at Mammoth Cave National Park, and take a tour.  The tour was guided by a gentleman whose family has lived in the area for almost 200 years.  He is a fifth generation cave guide. Some of his ancestors were guides as slaves and his family's farm had to be sold when the national park was created.  It was interesting to listen to his stories.  He was proud of his African-American heritage, and mentioned it often  Article
     The next morning, we took an early morning stroll around a pond at the park.  The frogs were having a symphony.  When we drove up, we didn't know what the loud noises were, and we were surprised that it wasn't some sort of machinery. Boy, was it LOUD!
     Kris and I don't  chatter too much while we are travelling, so we both have time to think about things and just look at the world that is outside of our windows.  Two of the things that I have noticed this trip are porches and barns.
    You don't see many porches  on new  houses these days, do you?   They seem to be something that have been forgotten about. Most of the country houses we see have chairs on the front porch, but when we are going by in the daytime, most of them are empty.  I think air conditioning and TV, along with other 'modern wonders' have made just sitting on the front porch cooling off and visiting in the evening a lost part of Americana.
     There have been several areas that we have visited in the past that have painted quilts displayed on some barns.  They were fascinating, and most of them had stories associated with them.  Kentucky had a lot of  them, and we got a kick out of waiting to see if there would be a quilt square on an upcoming barn. In Michigan, many of the barns had a sign describing the quilt square, and why it was chosen.  Not so in Kentucky.
     I like to just look at the different designs of barns, and see the activity around them.  For some reason, old barns that are falling down are especially interesting to me.  I wonder what stories the barns would tell if I had the time to stop and listen (and not be trespassing).

It is time to  get ready for church, so I will post more later.


Kris, here.
      One of the things we have noticed when we travel the back roads through small town America is the importance of a community making its claim to fame.  We passed through the Sweet Potato Capital of the World (Vardaman, MS) and Molasses Capital of the World (Arnoldsburg, WV).   We also visited Houston, Mississippi and drove by Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. 
      Watching the fireflies come out each evening in our campsites brings back childhood memories.  I can't wait to see how our grandson, Logan, reacts to them when he comes to Pennsylvania in a few weeks.  I will get a jar ready for him just as my mother-in-law always had one ready for our kids when we visited her in Maryland.
      Brian mentioned the quilt barns.   You can find out where they are by going to www.barnquiltinfo.com   They are fun to discover out in the rural areas. 
      We are now in Johnstown, Penn. for a week at Brian's mother's house.   The road trip will resume after the Fourth of July holiday.