Day 22 (Part One)

Traveling around the States and staying in cheap hotels is eventually going to bring about some bitterness and last night it hit us. There was a bunch of 'homies' staying in the few rooms around us and they made a lot of noise until very late into the night. Rather than poke my head out and risk any altercations, I opted for the makeshift ear plugs and stuffed a bit of toilet roll into each ear. It wasn't perfect but I was able to fall asleep, which is more than Paulo could do.

We were straight up this morning and out the door as we had an important round of mini-golf to play. We started the game with threatening skies at Leatherman Golf Center. The course was deceiving because there were lots of par 2s that took us each 3 or 4 strokes to sink. I had a hole-in-one on way to a round of 53, which beat Paulo by two strokes. The first dollar of the competition exchanged hands and I took a 99 to 101 lead in the competition. But since Paulo kept score and marked a 2 for my hole-in-one, I questioned the final score. I have asked for a review to be carried out and the findings are still pending.

After the round of golf, we paused for a few minutes to reflect on the almighty power of the Rod of God.

Then it was straight over to IHOP for some breakie and several cups of sweet, blick coffee.

There was still a bit of a drive ahead of us to reach Atlanta so we didn't hang about North Carolina for very long. We drove on 85S all the way into Atlanta and made it there by 5:00. I had found a Travelodge that was only a few miles from Turner Field on Route 75. We checked in, changed our clothes and left for the ball game as quickly as we could.

Day 21

Hit The Road Jack

If this trip were a sporting event, today would be a transfer day.

Once again we woke up about an hour late. Life on the road is not always easy. The Amish Milk Stoudt left me feeling dehydrated so I gulped down a pint of water and stepped out into 'the furnace' for a run. The only thing that matched the number of degrees in heat was the number of bugs that flew into my head during the run. We ran a two mile loop along a path that goes behind Bri & Michele's gaff. Paulo did one loop, while I opted for two. My knees are much better but I'm still from from 100%. However, it still felt good to get some exercise and 'sweat it out'.

After Paddy Powers & breakie, we said goodbye and set off on our way to Charlotte, NC. We took Route 70 to Hagerstown and then turned on to 81S. We stopped outside Harrisonburg at a Subway for a bite to eat and were shocked by the dimness. There was a kid working there who kept getting in our way at the counter carrying boxes back and forth across the shop. Then the woman behind the counter over charged me and couldn't figure out how much change I was owed. She almost gave me an extra five bucks but in the end a sliver of light got through to her brain and she realised the mistake. We continued on, stopping again to fuel up and switch the drivers role outside Roanoke.

We passed through the Shenandoah Valley that sits between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. This area saw a lot of action during the Civil War and is full of historic sites, none of which we stopped to see.

Having passed between the two mountain ranges, there was a long eight mile descent down to the border of North Carolina and the views of Virginia to the east were incredible.

We finally arrived at Charlotte, shattered from a long day of driving. We followed the usual routine - find a cheap hotel with a discount (this time a Ramada), check-in, go for some food and then pan out eating and watching baseball. It would have been nice to drive into Charlotte but we were both so tired and it was raining, so we stayed put and had a bit of wi-fi time.