THE GRAND TOUR - Day 5 - St Louis to Cincinnati - 360 miles, 6 hrs

I had more or less expected this. A day with little to report.

Day 5 was pretty much getting from point A to point Z with little in the way of fuss or muss in the middle. We zoomed along the interstates without much ado, passing across Illinois and Indiana farmland for the most part. Then, crossing the Ohio river for the first time we rocketed past Louisville and up to Cincinnati for a night in Covington - across the Ohio from Cincinnati itself.

Breakfast was in a Cracker Barrel, a regional casual dining chain familiar to people in the central United States.  I enjoyed a wonderful cinnamon apple oatmeal, which was perfect for my morning wants.

The drive was beautiful, and as we approached the eastern side of Indiana the land began to become more hilly and forested. A couple of rest areas kept us from being too stiff.

We did have a nice little side-trip, though only a short one. We saw signs for "Kentucky's Artisan Distillery", which looked promising. We headed off the highway to investigate, arriving just as the hostess, at the tasting room was shutting off the lights. Katy. Being a Kentuckian she graciously said we could look around quickly, and she would reopen the register if we wanted to make a purchase. Naturally we did, so spent a few minutes talking to her about the distillery as she worked to ring up our two bottles of bourbon - the specific bottling of which is apparently only available at the distillery. There were other bottles and types, of course, but these were of a limited set.

After the pleasantries we left Katy to finish her day and resumed our travel. In a little over an hour we

found ourselves enmeshed in Cincinnati construction traffic, finally winding our way down into Covington. The hotel, appropriately named The Hotel Covington, was a delightful surprise.

After checking in at the desk we admired the very trendy looking lobby, noting an outdoor seating area and very nicely appointed bar. A few minutes in the room to freshen up we headed down for what we both agree  was the most pleasant meal of the trip so far, at Coppin's at the Covington.

A few more pictures below, but as noted, not a terribly eventful day. And sometimes that's exactly what you need.

Louisville