Day 19 – Friday

After viewing yet another beautiful sunrise, and picking up a bagel and coffee, I sat poolside for another couple of hours before meeting up with Mya at her poolside. Their condo, remember, is two buildings north, a short walk up the beach. By the way, for those who think or say, "If you've seen one sunrise, you've seen them all", t'aint so, friend. Every day the same thing....is different as I may have mentioned the other night. Truly fascinating when you think about it. We got some more sun before picking up lunch for Patsy and Louie who where working at the house. After lunch, it was a short ride to the I-95 entrance and off I went. After driving no more than 35 mph up and down A1A in Daytona Beach (where they say the cops are very strict with speeding), it was good to open it up and cruise at 75-80 mph on my journey north. I took off my shirt, spread some suntan lotion on my left side and with the top open and the temp at 89, the breeze and the sun felt good. I left around 1:30-2:00 pm and drove 548 miles to Kenly, NC and am now writing this at a Days Inn. The temperature is now at 73. The building seems brand new and the entire area just off the interstate is loaded with restaurants, motels, and gas stations. This seems to be the half way point between 10566 and 32118. I did stop in Manning, SC for a bite to eat at what was labeled a Japanese Grill. However, everything on the menu was what you would find on a Chinese take-out menu. I shied away from the fast food places and this “grill” was in a small mall…a good choice, I thought. A black gal and young man took care of the front counter, a Mexican was at the deep fryer, and a Japanese couple did the cooking and packaging. Ahhh sooo, amigo; how can I help y'all. Once again I had someone, usually the person waiting on me, call me, "sweetie," "honey," or "darlin'". Very friendly and probably because I'm old. Oy. Anyway, I couldn’t eat the General Tsao shrimp I ordered. I did get at the shrimp by peeling the gelatinous, chewy, doughy covering to expose the shrimp. The brown rice and a couple of broccoli clusters were sufficient. Coupled with the salad I had at lunch, I felt okay about today’s meals. I think in NC, SC, and maybe GA, it’s a safe bet to eat at the fast food places if you’re traveling I-95.

An observation while eating at this establishment. There were 3 couples in addition to myself seated at one of the tables. The first two did not look like they were from the area…they were just passing through, in their late 50’s. The third couple was definitely local. A young boy/man and his date; both in high school. He was in a tux, she in a robin’s egg blue floor length, off the shoulder gown (geeze I sound so gay) with, a corsage, and shoes that were bought special for the event, which I'm thinking was the Prom. There they were eating Chinese. It was 7:30pm so I think this was their big dinner and leaving from there for the big night. They were right out of the movies. He sported two rings on his right hand; the one on his third finger looked like a class ring and the one on his index finger looked the same but smaller. The were very comfortable with each other and conversed the entire time I mangled my food...with a plastic fork, no less. All I could think of was John Mellencamp singing “a little ditty about Jack and Diane. Oh well, life goes on….
The drive was easy, traffic was light and the bed I’m about to climb into looks very comfortable. Gotta figure a way to end this blog. Will make tomorrow’s trip the end.

At about 12:30 a.m. the loudest clap of thunder struck at what seems like outside my door. The rain came in torrents for about 10 minutes and, as quickly disappeared. I checked the local weather statements which read:

DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT.SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT AS ACOLD FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACH FROM THE WEST. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE STORMS MAINLY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 64...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THE PRIMARY THREAT IS FROM DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO.

Clever use of the words "and possibly a tornado" don't you think? How's that for getting me outta here early tomorrow morning. I did manage to capture a lightning strike nearby while watching outside my motel room door. The video is long but I "snipped" just the lightning.