Day 27 - Sebree, Ky - 36 miles

A short, relatively flat day. Sunny and hot again but with a breeze (stiff headwind at first). We also managed to finish by early PM, and are now enjoying the great accomodations here at the First Baptist Church: shower, laundry, mattresses, AC, and all the chocolate milk we can drink! And the best is yet to come: when we quized Bob the pastor about a good place to dine in town, he informed us his wife Violet loves to cook for visiting cyclists. He also tipped us off on some pre-dinner entertainment down at a local establishment featuring local musicians.

Sebree is the home of Purdue chicken., On the other side of town is a power plant with 4 big smokestacks belching a mysterious white smoke. Glad the wind is blowing the other way. Passed acres and acres of corn, soybeans and wheat today- we assume much of the grain goes to the poultry plants in the area.

The hot spell we've encountered has forced us to develop strategic plans to deal with this situation. First on the list is shade management. On long, uphill grinds, the next Oasis of shade is chosen at regular intervals where we rest, rehydrate, and rain sweat. Secondly,when approaching towns, we have noticed that about 50% of them have a dollar store. We have taken advantage of this situation to the upmost. Every store in this particular chain is cooled by AC to the approximate temperature of the Siberian tundra. Must be the owners immigrated from there (across the land bridge to save money-titanic tickets cost more than a dollar) and keep stores at this temp. to remind them of the home country. Anyway, stephanie strolls up and down the aisles until her beads of sweat freeze up and are easily brushed off. Meanwhile, Mike is testing out the durability of the plastic patio furniture on display. After about a half hour, Stephanie checks out (if we can get one of the cashiers back in the store from her cigarette break) with a gallon of water and a bag of ice.

PS- Had a delicious home_cooked meal with Bob and Violet, and especially enjoyed an evening of great conversation, fellowship, and prayer with them. It will be hard to leave tommorow!