Draws are here.

Susan Wright beat Bunnie Jackson 62 64 in a well-contested match…both players served really well in the second set with Wright garnering the only break at 5-4. Shannon Carney won the bronze by default (Pat Purcell was sick.) Kim Dean beat Sherri Bronson for the second time this tournament to finish 5th.

Toni Novack finally ended unseeded Wilma Lee’s run at the Indoors, taking the final 62 62. Brenda Carter finished third (Ann Bradley injured herself in the semis). Betty Wachob proved to be the master of the match tiebreak, beating Brenda Winstead in the semis of the consolation 11-9 then Gwenda Ward 64 06 (10-8) to finish fifth.

While Susan was playing singles, Shannon and I hit some tennis balls outside on clay in the beautiful sunny weather and Carolann Castell joined us for part of the hit. Then Susan and I hit the road.

I had planned to go by Lincoln’s birthplace but read erroneously that it was open 24 hours (it actually closes at 5pm)…we first went to Mammoth Caves and were too late for that part of the trip. Another time perhaps.

We first went on the Historical Caves tour which was interesting. Mammoth Cave National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the worlds longest cave at over 400 miles but explorers are still discovering new passages and it could be over 600 miles long. The cave was mapped originally in large part by Stephen Bishop whose owner wanted to turn the cave into a tourist attraction. It was named for mammoths (the animals) whose remains have been found in the cave. The cave is formed by the dissolution of limestone and sedimentary rocks, and the passageways formed by the flow of underground water. There were not stalactites and stalagmites in the area we viewed, since there’s a thick roof (we were many feet underground, and it was chilly!) and water isn’t dripping into that part of the cave.

We walked through some narrow and low passages during the tour which sent us down many hundred feet then back up quite a few stairs.

The caves date back thousands of years and were particularly important during the war of 1812 as they had a good supply of nitrates which were used to make saltpeter or gunpowder.

At one point the guide took us to a part of the cave which had not artificial lighting and had everyone put their cameras/phones away…and extinguished her lantern. I couldn’t see my hand an inch from my eye…that is true darkness. I would not want to be lost in that cave.

After emerging from the darkness of the cave we found ourselves near a trailhead, and walked first to a spring, then along the river and up through the beautiful forest (this area is the rainiest in Kentucky), lush and green to our car and headed back to Lexington.

For those readers in California…we filled up the car with gas at $2.99 a gallon.

And that’s a wrap on Lexington…next tournament stop is Peru.