We woke at the Utica Fire Station hoping to continue on to Sebree, KY. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow us to do so. It was rainy most of the day with some severe thunderstorms. There also were a lot of flash flood warnings for throughout the state of Kentucky. We didn't want to risk riding in the rain (and not have any towns in between to stop at). A man came to the fire station to fix the television. He greeted us warmly and told us to stay as long as we wanted. Knowing that we were welcome at this wonderful (and free) facility, we opted to stay in Utica. 

Tomorrow is Michelle's birthday, so we celebrated early. We walked to the only two stores in town (a Dollar General and a small mom n' pop market) and bought some goodies. We got a lot of Easter candy that was all 25% off, a kit to dye eggs that was 50% off, a cake mix and frosting, pizza, and ingredients to make bean dip. We proceeded to eat ourselves full and look for creative ways to stay entertained (there was no internet and the television hadn't been fixed yet). We discovered some board games, so we played Monopoly; Emily dominated. We also played Guess Who? and read our books. 

Michelle enjoyed her birthday cake: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. There weren't any pans in the kitchen here, so we used our little camping pot and pan. We made a two-tier cake and decorated it with leftover dye from our Easter eggs. Emily managed to scrounge up some birthday decorations in one of the cupboards as well as some candles that spelled out the name "Christian." We were trying to figure out what word to put on her cake instead of Christian...you can only imagine what we came up with! Our final decision was not the most kid-friendly choice, but it did quite accurately describe the weather and the quality of cake-decorating (see photo album). 

The television was fixed later on in the day, so we watched whatever the three available channels could pick up (a mix of Jerry Springer, Maury, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent). We also packed up our stuff which was taking over every corner of the station. When we arrived yesterday, everything was soaked, so we emptied out our panniers completely and laid the stuff out to dry...even our tents! The man who fixed the television told us that we might have some visitors tonight. If there are severe storms, the residents in the area seek shelter at the station if they don't have a basement or safe place at home. That was extra motivation to get things cleaned up.