On day three of our drive south we drove through 4 states (Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama). We also entered into the Central Time Zone and gained an hour. Wanting to use those extra 60 minutes wisely, we stopped at Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park.
The longest known cave system in the world, there are 390 explored miles underground.
As I tend to be claustrophobic, (a result of our visit to the Lewis and Clark Caverns a few years ago and some Cuban caves many moons ago), I considered staying above ground. At the last minute, however, I took a deep breath and bought a ticket.
All was well until the guide, Steve, stopped to show us some of the cave's wild life. Okay. For the record I know bats live in caves. I'm not squeamish when it comes to bats. (John, however, FREAKS when it comes to bats!) So I was all smiles until Steve pointed out the CAVE CRICKETS.
Cave crickets. Above. My. Head. UGH!
It took every ounce of resolve and fortitude I could muster not to scream at the top of my lungs and run for the exit. I'd swear on a stack of Bibles the cricket's six legs would stretch from one side of my hand to the other, but John would argue they were much (much) smaller.
He wouldn't be saying that if we'd seen bats. If we had he would've screamed like a little girl and run for the exit. (Our daughter will verify to that. Just ask her.)
From there we continued on to Fultondale, Alabama, and arrived in Panama City Beach Thursday afternoon. More about that later. In closing, the photo below of our van is a perfect example of what John saw versus what I saw in that cave. See the big rig? The crickets were that big. HONEST!
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