Monday, July 4, 2011

SnR UGRR Tour 2011 ~ July 4 Tour Day 17 Rest Day 2

Spending the day with a King

Covington, KY

Happy July 4th everyone!  On this day of our country's "birthday" I like to remember Frederick Douglas.

Today is rainy. Drizzly, and I couldn't find my phone or the hotspot and we're leaving the hotel. Need I say this is the lifeblood of the trip. Without those two devices I may as well go home.  It took me 30 mins of visiting the front desk twice, having them program a key, twice and going back to each room before I found two of the most important objects on this tour. They were where I securely placed them, inside the less often used netback bag. Because, at the time of our unloading to go to the rooms and my having to go park the van it was  the most logical and safe place to put them, albeit, unusual. Crisis over. Heading down the road about 40 miles to King's Island as we're treating the Youth Cyclists to a day of "rest"(?)
Since I'm working today I won't be attending the much needed day of fatigue gathering. Not that the fact that running around in the heat will stop this bunch. The glares I received because I couldn't find my phone and hotspot were enough to tell me "Let's GO!!"  My duties today will be the 3 day old laundry. Life on the road is tough. Life without underwear even tougher. I reluctantly took my new role.

GPS devices and the applications that come with them are a gift from Heaven, or the military if you want to be accurate. Its not easy finding a laundromat. Most communities of condos and large homes have their own. I punched in "laundry" it I was guided past Xavier University to Super Laundry where the manager helped me through the foibles of doing laundry in a laundromat again for the first time in 15 years. I could have done the whole shebang in one hefty industrial sized washer, he told me, as he was giving me a new box of soap powder to cover my mistake. One of these washers cost $6.40.

I don't know how long I was in there but it didn't seem too long. Before I knew it I was on my way to Jim and Susan's home in Covington; our Station Masters of the Safe House for the evening.  Both Jim and Susan Vogt are overflowing with gracious hospitality and welcomed me into their home to setup my makeshift office to log in and begin working. They are friends of friends back in Chapel Hill, NC. Mary Andrews put us in touch with them to assist us on this journey of history and self discovery for the Youth Cyclists.
  




Later that evening I picked them up and they were wiped out. To think that they wanted to stay until the park closed. As my grandmother would say, "their eyes are too big for their bellies". Before long most were uncontrollably passed out on the ride back to the Vogt's home.



Spoke 'n Revolutions Youth Cycling UGRR Tour 2011 ~ Visit the nation's National Parks. 
Let's Move Outside!

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