I left home (alas) back to the Denver airport for my trip to Lexington, Kentucky for the next leg of the Hellhole tour.  I arrived at O’Hare Airport with a lot of extra time—we landed 25 minutes ahead of schedule, but then I had two hours of layover anyway.  I had plenty of time to call Rebecca, our fan club president Deb Ray, and catch up on my email.  I am also starting work on our third Terra Incognita crossover rock CD, and I completed several letters to Shawn Gordon (exec producer) and Henning Pauly (score).

I arrived at my Lexington hotel at around midnight, just when an important basketball playoff game was ending (to much raucous cheers in the lobby).  Though it was midnight, I was two hours off of my regular Circadan time.  I dropped by the hotel bar and had one pint of their remarkable Kentucky bourbon ale, aged in old bourbon casks. Astonishingly delicious.

Next morning, I was able to sleep in until 9AM…not such a big deal since I hadn’t gotten to bed until after 2 AM.  I met my driver Debbie in the hotel lobby and we went off to stop at a couple of dropby stores on the way.  I had a traditional lunch of fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, and fried green tomatoes.  (It is Kentucky, after all.)

I did my talk and signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers: the last time I’d been there was for The Machine Crusade tour.  I met the store manager, then gave my talk to the audience, some of whom had already been there for our signing of the Butlerian Jihad books.

Back to the hotel at around 3:30 PM, I found myself confronted by an unusual situation—a day off! After I caught up on plans and correspondence here, I went out to explore the city of Lexington, found a microbrewery, and made plans for the night, following recommdations of the hotel concierge.

Oddly enough, it was quite a relaxing evening.  Bravo, downtime…and I stay here until tomorrow for my drive up to Dayton, OH.  I called Brian (after sending him all the Hellhole Inferno notes) and Rebecca.  Now I’m kicking back in the room to watch TRON: LEGACY (not impressed so far)..

Next up, Dayton, Ohio.