Trippping Along Towards the Snowy North

Route: I-20 towards Florence, I-77 N, I-85 N, I-95 N

Stopped by my friend Heather's house which hosts a friend's adorable daughter, a french cafe themed kitchen, and a ham and cheese sandwich. Entertained by friend's adorable daughter and absent-minded conversation with poor Heather. My brain had turned off and I"m not sure why! It was worth the trip, anyway.

Slept at Hampton Inn Exit 12 in NC on I-85-- very nice hotel with comfy beds. Ate at Brian's steak house, not to be confused in any way with Ryan's steak house. Ate a very decent meal of squash, onion rings and prime rib perfectly done and tender to chew. Wrote 10 thank you notes to friends then slept like a log untill 9am. Grabbed yogart down in the lobby and headed on my way.

Stopped at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, exit 80 on I-95 above Richmond (Lakeside exit). Very lovely system of paths with dead plants. 20 minutes into the walk I turned around, went back to the car, and changed from my sweater into a tee-shirt. The thermometer on my dash said 70 degrees F. Rumors of snow are greatly exaggerated! Went back and wandered for about 2 hours through all the little winding pathways. I truely enjoyed my stroll, but definitely plan to come back when everything is blooming. A small inside conservatory was dressed with palms and poinsettas in the middle (still decorated for christmas), orchids down in one wing of every variety, and oderous flowery plants down the other wing. The back wing was closed, as were the gift shop and the tea shack. That may explain why the place was so empty and peaceful-- I could always see someone in the distance, but rarely met anyone close. There was this great little path that lead to a series of rhododendroms with some varieties about 200 years old per the gardener I ran into. They ranged from really old to brand new hybrids all donated by the Rhododendrom society. He pointed out a small path down by the lake that led to an old bench and a great hiding spot to just sit and relax (which, or course, I did). As mentioned before, it deserves a spring or summer time trip-- but then there will be bees! Yikes.

Drove to Brian's house in D.C. and am now sitting down to write up the journey so far. Brian and Beth are both working until 5pm so I'm at loose ends until then (which gives me a chance to unwind from the start of D.C. rush hour traffic).

I'm really looking forward to my journey to Baltimore tomorrow. It will be nice to get started and stop worrying about the getting started part. More later when I have a computer-- and that may take awhile! I may have to resort to internet cafe.