Sunday, June 21

I didn't write last night, because we stayed in a hotel in Mammoth Cave National State Park, and it didn't have internet. It wasn't camping, but pretty close. And I lost my camera (it may be in the van somewhere, but who would know.)

We started the day in Beckley, WV. Two miles away from where we stayed was an exhibition coal mine, so we started the day there by taking a 45-minute coal mine tour.  We rode a little open train, and the girls each got a piece of coal. While we were in the mine, the guide who was a retired coal mifner, showed us tools that the coal miners used throughout the years.

Then we drove to the New River Gorge Bridge. People can parachute off the bridge on one day in October. There we walked to an overlook to see the view of the river and the bridge. As we were looking at the bridge, we saw the top of a port-a-potty go by. We couldn't see the truck the potty was on from the overlook viewpoint, only the top of the port-a-potty going across the bridge. It was funny. We walked about 200 steps down to the overlook that looked down on the New River. The view was spectacular.  This was a really fast stop.

Then we drove about two hours west to our first Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives stop. For those of you who don't know, that is a fun show on the Food Network that showcases hometown eateries in the USA. I googled the website and found the address for Hillbilly Hotdogs in Lesage, WV, an eatery on our way that had been featured. We plugged the address into the GPS, and had no idea what we were headed for. It was unbelievable! I'll try to upload pics later, but google Hillbilly Hotdog pics. and there is even a video on youtube. Hillbilly Hotdogs is a shack with two buses connected to it for sitting.  The owners enjoy for people to bring them things, and then they display what is given to them somewhere inside or outside the shack. For example, outside there is a tree filled with hubcaps on the trunk, boots on another, and stuffed animals on another trunk! Then they give you markers to sign your name somewhere. The bus, tables, and walls are covered with signatures. Then the hotdogs! We had a scrambled egg hotdog, a pizza hotdog, a taco hotdog, and two corndogs. The taco hotdog was the best. Basically, they put any topping on a hotdog, and the result is surprisingly tasty! Their menu is also on the web and can be googled. We had a blast there. We began talking to three bikers, two male and one female. The female gave us recommendations on what to order, and showed us how big her salad was when she got her order. She showed where she had brought a baby blanket to the shack with all of her family's signatures on it, and where it was displayed.  Before leaving the shack, if you leave a tip, the workers sing a "weenie" song to you. It was quite a fun experience that we talked about all day. If you are ever near Lesage, you have to stop.

Then we drove on to our hotel in Mammoth Cave, KY. The speed limit in Southern West Virginia and Kentucky has been 70 mph.  In total we drove over 400 miles today, and were very happy to get to our hotel.