Day 4, Jan. 24, p.m.

What a day this has been! I left the Comfort Suites Inn about 10 a.m. Those people were so nice. One of the guys came out and brushed the snow of my truck. The odometer read 13865.8 and it was 27 degrees. I only burned about half a tank of gas yesterday, so could put off filling up until later.

The woman at the desk told me where to find a Verizon Store, the next exit off Rte. 95. She said it was a huge store and I was looking for a huge store. Turns out it was just one of those places in a strip mall. Good thing I was stopped at a light or I would have driven right by.

I was there about an hour and the guy could not get my phone to work right. After an hour, he suggested I send it back to the manufacturer (Samsung) or buy a new phone. Buy a new phone? I’ve only had that one a little over a month and I’ve only used it three times. Needless to say, I was not happy when I left.  

I got back on 95 heading south, speed limit 70 mph. I was upset about the phone and being alone, I only had my thoughts to occupy me. What am I going to do about that phone? At that point, I just wanted to get further south into warmer weather. I no longer cared about Williamsburg. I wanted out of Virginia. Eventually, I practiced some breathing exercises to help me relax (ones with my eyes open.) There wasn’t much for scenery. It was a boring drive, but attention had to be paid to traffic. I did notice that there were more pine trees than I’d seen the day before.

Coming into Richmond, Rte. 95 went straight and Rte. 295 looped around the city and was the way towards Williamsburg. I had to make a choice. Going straight through the city, there were be more traffic and it would be scary for me. I opted for the long way around… and it was a long and boring drive. The highlight of that route was the bridge over the James River. It went really high, just a road with cement-like railings but at the apex were tall pillars with bridge struts (not sure of the terminology) holding them together. Oh, I wish I could have taken photos, but there’s no way anyone could stop and survive.

I was hungry, but wanted to get back on 95 before getting off to eat. My face felt flushed. I wanted to find a steak place and once I was back on Rte. 95, I found a Cracker Barrel in Emporia. It was 1 p.m., the odometer read 13995.2 and it was 31 degrees. I ordered a 10 oz. rib eye, 5 oz. of which was fat and gristle. I sent my baked potato back because it was cold and the butter wouldn’t melt. Still, it filled me up and I felt better. I didn’t eat it all and then ordered blackberry cobbler because I felt I needed some sugar. I only ate half.

Leaving the restaurant, I got gas at Exxon, $3.53/gal. My plan was to get into N.C. and find a place for the night. The next gas stations from the highway were around $3.33/gal. Wouldn’t you know it.  I passed into N.C. at 2:18 p.m., odometer read 14007.4 and it warmed up to a whopping 34 degrees. At the Visitors Center, I picked up a few brochures and the woman showed me coupons for hotels. She couldn’t really “suggest” a hotel, but she kind of leaned towards the Quality Inn. Something bothered me about it, though, and I decided not to stop.

So my plan of stopping early at the first town didn’t pan out. I kept going towards Rocky Point. I noticed more green on the sides of the roads and beyond. Bushes, more pines, and even a hint of green in the grass. In trying to find the exit for the Comfort Suites, I ended up on Rte. 64E, another major highway, heading towards Cape Hatteras. I decided not to turn around and kept going which is how I eventually ended up in Tarboro. Maybe I was meant to go this way.

I found this Comfort Inn and it’s not near the highway which means I don’t have that noise tonight. It’s pretty inside and the lady put me up the end near the front desk. She said that they always put single women close. My room number is 102 like last night except I was the last room down. There’s no indoor pool here (sigh,) so I can’t go swimming tonight, but that’s okay.