It’s raining. It’s pouring. Inside it is boring. May and the beginning of June have been extremely wet here in the Cumberland Gap area. Today marks the fourth straight day of constant rain. I don’t mind rain so much when we are in Ohio because there is plenty to do inside the house. Including room to walk around a bit.
However, four straight days of rain while we are in the RV is a little much. The first problem is the constant dripping, pounding noise on the roof of the RV. It is very loud inside. Unlike a house, where you don’t usually hear the rain, an RV amplifies every drop. Tom thinks it is good for sleeping. It would be if it were constant. But I wake up every time the rain starts or stops. Fortunately I go right back to sleep but it is annoying to be awakened so much.
The second problem is that there isn’t much to do around Cumberland Gap National Historical Park that isn’t outdoor related. There are miles of hiking trails and beautiful creeks and lakes. We had a visitor ask on Sunday what they could do inside since it was raining. I couldn’t think of a single thing. The short list of things that I usually recommend are all closed on Sundays. Today is a Wednesday and I wanted something to do inside. I found several things that looked interesting, but they are only open Friday through Sundays. Humph!
A third problem, for me, is that my primary form of exercise is walking outside. If I don’t get a walk every day, I get grumpy. This morning I woke up and listened to the rain on the roof and felt like yelling. After I had been up a couple of hours, the rain paused long enough for me to get a couple of miles in before it started up again. Tom was especially glad that I got outside for a walk. When I get grumpy, he is the one in the line of fire.
The fourth problem with all this rain is the size of the RV. The only place to sit is the 80 square feet of living room/ kitchen. Only one of us can stand up and move around at a time. In fact, if one of us is moving around, the other person needs to pull their feet up off the floor. You can’t walk around much when the room is only eight feet long.
I don’t mind the rain so much on days we are working. People linger in the Visitors Center and I have some really interesting conversations with folks. We set attendance records in the VC over Memorial Day Weekend so there was plenty to do. But it would be nice for the rain to stop, occasionally, on our days off. There are some beautiful places out there. The rain makes everything lush and green. The hiking trails are calling and they are not boring.