Day 35 - 201 Miles

Destination: The Atlantic Ocean

Coast to coast X2 (almost). Wow, I'm still in a bit of a fog thinking: did I really do this? I cooked breakfast for my self for the first time in I don't remember when. Scrambled eggs with sweet onions, cheddar cheese, with bacon. Mighty tasty if I must say so myself.

Actually my destination is my cousins house in New Bern, NC. But I figure if I'm going to brag about a coast to coast adventure, by damnit I better get to the other ocean. So I'll drive the extra 40 miles past New Bern to Atlantic Beach for that iconic picture of my scooter on the other coast, tomorrow.


I head out of Greensboro on Alamance Church Road which eventually leads me to Chapel Hill on some of the most picturesque back roads in NC. After crossing Interstate 85, one house catches my eye.  Some bizarre greco-roman gingerbread renovation frozen in a state of flux.  There's statues, and columns, and archways scattered about the front yard.  In the back yard I spy a medieval sort of parapet wall.  There's a carved statue strung on a utility pole resembling a cross between an Easter Island statuary and a Totem pole.  It's a visual cacophony of styles and images.  Next door, sharing a driveway, a small engine repair shop sports all sorts of lawnmowers rusting away.  I'm guessing they're related.

The signs pointing to Chapel Hill lead me through Kimesville.  The village built a dam back in 1812 to run a grist mill.  A cotton mill was on the site until 1931.  It's a picturesque recreational setting, water gently trickling over the side.  I remember as a child, my family driving to see holiday decorations and animated lighting displays strung out over the dam during Christmas time.  I'm curious if they still do decorations.  Several small buildings, and a replica of a lighthouse dot the edge of the reservoir.  One shack advertises: "SEE ROCK CITY" on it's roof.

If the cool shade was a cash commodity, cows would be the miser kings of cool. They know how to milk every inch of cool from a tiny patch of shade. An if there's not enough shade they just pile in a pond and swim around to keep cool. It is miserably hot and humid. It's supposed to be 103F when I pass through Raleigh, but my outside temp gauge tells me it's 109F. Lots of farm lands remind me of the bucolic midwest landscape I just traveled through with their silos sticking in the air.

I'm always amused at signs on the highway displaying a double entendre, like 'Eat here, Get gas' and this one in Goldsboro is no exception. Folks who are not from around here are always get a giggle from this sign. I always wonder if the guys from the DOT had any idea how amusing that sign really is. Double click on the image for the full size.

I decided to stop in Kinston and pick up some barbeque. That's Eastern NC barbeque, it's a noun around here not a verb. It's pulled pork from a slowly smoked juicy pig that's spiced with a vinegar based sauce. Not too hot and never sweet. It's always good. My outside air temperature gauge tells me it 118F when I'm waiting at a stop light. Hell's inferno can't be this bad.

Ben and Marion's house, on the Neuse River is the gathering point for a family re-union. At some funeral many, many years ago, my mother and her three siblings decided to not wait for the next funeral for a get-together. This half of the family made a concentrated effort to do that, and it's truly been a treat throughout the years. I haven't made it to all the gatherings, but those I've been to have been a delight. My Uncles, Cullen and Tryon have passed away in the last two years, and each one of these events become more precious for me.

It's just too darn hot today to continue on to the beach. Besides lots of family folks are leaving today. Slide show today: