Via Byway, My Way.

15 minutes of internet time….

At the Virginia Beach Public Library. Despite its name Virginia Beach is actually located in Minnesota. I decided to take a quick detour to see just how great this “Mall of America” really is. Well let me tell ya! I don’t know! I’m not that crazy to just decide to drive through up to Minneapolis. But I would cause my old elementary and high school friend, Eddie Green lives up there. But I digress…

The car is still ticking, somehow, someway, and I don’t want to sing all its praises just yet so I don’t jinx it. Unfortunately, if I do make it to NJ, I still don’t have any takers. So I’ve lowered my Craigslist price from $600 to $450. But with the holiday spending and shopping, it might be hard for someone to come up with the cash to pay for it. So I guess I’m prepared to donate it. I still a bit surprised that it has already gone over 5000 miles.

Still….

* The J-shaped 2 foot long crack in my windshield is still there. As is a new rock chip.
* The 99 cent handmirror I bought and superglued to my sideview mirror is still there.
* The bald back tires…still in one piece
* The faulty door handle–still faulty
* The busted out tail light that lets all the rain seep into my trunk….still there, albeit with a little duct tape. Most of the water in my trunk has dried out, but we are expected to get some rain on Saturday.
* The smoke coming from the engine–still smokin’…
* The burning oil stench…still smellin’
* Cruise control–thankfully, still working
* Timing belt–still holding it together. The car does start out a little rough in the cold mornings…jerks back and forth for a little bit before getting its stride.

I spent the last two days in the Outer Banks. Home to the first flight, the first “Lost Colony” (forget Jamestown), the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’ and also final battle of Blackbeard the pirate, as opposed to the celebrity chef… Blackbeard the celebrity chef was the 2003 recipient of the Iron Chef World championships, as he and Wo Wong Pack Hsuy battled out with the secret ingredient, pickles. Boy, I sure wish I could have tried some of those pickled pickle pastries!

Virginia Beach has a cool 2.5 mile boardwalk that I cycled this morning…however, many of the hotels, restaurants and shops have been closed up for the winter season so it’s pretty empty. Except for the guy who helped me take my picture and tried to sell me a flute. And also told me about his degree in ministry and how he hopes that the new woman in his circle really wants to be a witch and not just temporarily. And of course he’s also a Vietnam vet and could I help him out to buy a burger. Unfotunately, I already gave most of my change to a fellow in Atlanta who, after I provided him change in his hand, then asked if I had a dollar bill instead.

Gotta love it. America! So many interesting people and I’ll still get to meet a bunch more on my train trip back to Portland. But first I have to make it to NJ….if there were once item on my Christmas wish list, it would be for a wireless internet lap top cause this public library time limit sucks! Oh well, til next time…

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.