Berea, Kentucky, Day 2 starts with a wrench

So far this traveling is testing my abilities as a do-it-yourselfer.

As you will remember Day 1 started with a chain saw. Well, today started with a socket wrench.

After pulling in yesterday I had trouble separating the trailer hitch from the car. The ball was loose, but the crank on the trailer wouldn't lift the hitch off the ball. Because we were tired last night and I really wanted to watch the MSU basketball game I decided to put it off until today.

I thought maybe by waiting overnight, the ball might happily give up its hitch, but it didn't. Try as I might, it became obvious that the problem was with a stripped gear in the mechanism that raises the trailer hitch off the ball.

So I went to the RV park manager and he had a new one for sale for $40 and it was a simple matter of swapping out the bad mechanism for the new one, but it cost us an hour and we really didn't get up and out of bed until about 9 a.m.

With the vehicle now free from the trailer we were free to explore Berea. The town was pretty much closed. It's Sunday and only a few stores were open so we walked around the Berea College campus and took some photos. It's also dry, no wine for Joan. No problem for me as I don't drink.

We were able to make dinner reservations for another evening at the Boone Tavern and found a few shops open. We pretty much killed the afternoon on a leisurely walk through Berea.

Our plans to go to church in Lexington did not work so we had a little quiet time to ourselves back in our trailer. It was a disappointment to miss church on Palm Sunday.

Before we returned to the trailer we stopped at Wal Mart to do a little grocery shopping. So kind of a welcome, low key day. I've posted some photos of us in and around Berea today.

The people here are nice, although Joan was a little taken aback at being called "Sweetie" by a young waitress at the Main Street Cafe where we had lunch on College Square.

We moved up this little walking tour of Berea because the weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday looks, well, looks bad. Snow and cold temperatures are in the forecast so wanted to walk as much as we could today outside. High winds are predicted tonight so we're hoping that tomorrow morning we are still wheels down.

We hear the weather is equally bad in Michigan.

Everyone seems very concerned that "y'all are havin a good time." Whatever Kentucky is doing to promote tourism seems to be taken to heart by its residents.

Two photos: Joan by a painted hand in downtown Berea and Joan sitting on a bench with a Berea College Chapel steeple in the background.

Tomorrow: Kentucky Horse Park, Kentucky wineries, more Berea and whatever else turns our steering wheel.