Reunion

We had heavy rain overnight.  By this morning the rain had passed but the clouds remained. They stayed with us as we continued down the Shenandoah Valley and turned south to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Near the top of the mountains, the road climbed right into them and the visibility dropped to just a few car lengths.  By the time it cleared, we were in North Carolina.

We have come to Charlotte to see one of my oldest friends.  I met John at the bus stop on the first day of school in 1956.  The last time I saw him was in 1974.  We reconnected last year through Facebook.

He let us park in his driveway even though it was a tight fit and put us up in his mother-in-law suite for the night.  We are grateful as tonight is supposed to be cold.  We went out to dinner at Mickey and Mooch and had a great meal.  Afterwards, we discovered a new grocery store, Harris Teeter, where we saw our first Buddha's hands, dragon fruit, and South African baby pineapples.  Safeway is never going to seem the same again.

Day 41
Salem, VA to Charlotte, NC

Daily Mileage:  192.3
Total Mileage:  7,862.7