Via Byway, My Way.

Thanks for reading my blog. I would normally keep a journal, so this is all new for me. It has been hard to find public internet terminals, or even Internet cafes. One place in New Orleans was charging $8 an hour to use the computer’s internet!

I really lucked out as far as the weather. It sure has been cold, but thank goodness none of the wet stuff. A day ago the low hit 19 degrees. When I got gas today, when I picked up the squeegee to wipe down my windshield, the cleaning solution it was in was frozen.

I appreciate the non-essential work updates from Hope and Nicole, as well as contributions from Rashad, Kelly and Katie. Where do y’all find those interesting passages from books and magazines? Glad to hear that laughter and silly playtime during your lunch breaks. You’ll have to fill me in on “Divinity” and all the daily “peace and joy” holiday treats that appear in the break rooms.

I really enjoyed my few days in the Ca-ca-lackeys. Locals refer to the Carolinas as such. Greenville, SC is definitely worth a visit. They have a great little main street area that leads to a city park and waterfall with a pedestrian bridge. I ended up eating and doing a little Christmas shopping there. Wilmington, NC is also a nice waterfront surprise, near Cape Fear. Charlotte was nice, although there is absolutely no downtown street parking whatsoever. If you happen to find a parking meter, make sure you don’t get there at 4pm like I did. Because on each meter there is a sign of a tow truck and a warning NOT to park there from 4pm-6pm. Cause they need all their lanes for rush hour traffic.

Williamsburg, VA is like a historic Disney theme park. They have a section of the city devoted to the historic village, complete with folks in costume, carriages, British flags and other old-world touches. But you have to buy a pass for almost $30 to visit some of the buildings. Otherwise you can wander the grounds and take in the old buildings and houses from the street.

Richmond is pretty cool, which surprised me. I didn’t expect there to be so much to see. The Edgar Allen Poe museum is here. Carytown is like a longer version of Portland’s NW 23rd Avenue. They have a huge city park with hiking, biking, and even rafting opportunities. Tomorrow I’ll do their 1.5 mile Canal Walk and check out a Civil War historic site.

There is a lot of history with all the cities I have visited. I wish I really had more time to spend and to discover other smaller towns and communities. I am a bit road weary, as I’ve had a lot of nights where I’ve stayed up pretty late just chatting with my hosts and hostesses, and then waking up around 6 or 7 to get an early start on the next city to drive to. When I am old and “retired,” I’m pretty sure I’ll be one of those senior citizen people traveling around in a Winnebago and being volunteer hosts in campgrounds. Well, maybe not a Winnebago. Something more like the Honda Element like I used to own. Something with AWD, a great sound system and plenty of room for my bikes, camping equipment and outdoor gear. I still have like 100 national parks/monuments and sites to visit. And I still have to make my drive from Portland, OR to Alaska. So, who wants to come do the Alaska drive? Those that need the pampering of a nightly hotel room need not apply!

Time to wrap it up and get some sleep.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 10:33 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.