Free Cookies and WiFi

The last time I wrote here I was at home in Jonesville, Virginia and was thinking about the ease and comfort of being in a place you know. That’s changed.

We hit the road less than a week ago but we’ve already been deep into unfamiliar territory. I’ve been to these parts of eastern Kentucky before, but never like this. We’re seeing the places and the people I would usually zoom by at 70 miles per hour. And we’ve become again the faceless, forgettable people who “aren’t from here.” Everybody’s a stranger and every turn is undiscovered country. As much as I enjoyed being home and rooted, life on the road ain’t bad either.

“Their only opportunity for employment.”
From my hometown we crossed into Harlan County, Kentucky to see a factory producing garments for the U.S. military while providing jobs to disabled individuals for whom it may be their only opportunity for employment. We’re finishing up that video story and should have it posted soon.

“Tore up what seemed a near-vertical incline…”
At the Harlan County campground where we stayed, we met a group from Kansas that arrived in luxurious RVs towing expensive off-road ATVs. They were here to ride the county’s relatively new ATV trails, built partially over reclaimed coal mines. It’s an in attempt to buffer the losses of that declining industry with a new tourist trade. We talked the Kansas crowd into taking us into the mountains on their spiffy “side-by-side” four-wheelers and got a loud, bumpy introduction to off-road motorized recreation. One of the vistors from Kansas is 73 years old and tore up what seemed a near-vertical incline with his wife strapped in next to him. Not bad. We just posted that video today.

“Set about consuming as many cookies as I could get my hands on.”
From Harlan we came north, not far south of Lexington. We’re working on a few stories in the area and will need to stay near here for a few days anyway as we wait for a part for our RV’s air conditioner. When we arrived at South Toyota in Richmond, Kentucky to have it looked over, Jim, the friendly and efficient service manager, offered us free sodas, cookies and WiFi in the waiting area. I immediately responded that this was the best Toyota dealership ever and set about consuming as many cookies as I could get my hands on. We assumed you would be skeptical of this claim and took a photo to document the offerings.

Unfortunately, Jim returned with news that we’d need a new fan motor and that he couldn’t get one before early next week. Not a huge deal, as we’d already planned some stories near here. We’ll just make the short trip back to Richmond when Jim’s ready to fix us up.

It was 90 degrees today, so not an ideal time for the AC to give up the ghost. I like to bake in the heat and humidity, but there’s always a time for closing the windows and cranking the air. The situation’s not grim, though. We have a second fully functioning air conditioner on the roof that keeps us plenty cool at night and whenever we’re stopped.