Washington, NC 10/16/1998

I had gotten off the interstate onto 31 south and then followed 125 to 17. I passed old motels, long out of business, old houses, long unoccupied, and fields of white cotton glistening in the afternoon sun. Again I found myself on the Albemarle Tour Highway but was trying to get to Washington before the sun set. Little town after little town, some already getting ready for Friday night on the town; some old, some looking economically deprived. Just as the sun set I arrived in Washington where I was greeted with a real meal: chicken, corn, and twice baked potatoes.









On Saturday I awoke early and had coffee on the front porch. I then heard fire truck sirens forever and hopped on my bike to go check on the Beaufort County Firemen's Association's fifth annual Fire Prevention Celebration. I watched for awhile and then rode my bike along the river and back down East Main to the park. After resting in the warm morning sun I peddled back to Kay's and John's. We three went to the firemen's fun to watch Jane participate in two of the events - the water hose bowling and the bucket brigade. We sat on bleachers with our backs to the river soaking up the seventy degree sunshine.


Then it was back to the house to drop off the eager black lab, Ruby, and our afternoon entertainment began with a forty minute drive to New Bern. They were having the annual Mum Fest and the streets were lined with arts & crafts, food, and fun. The highlight must have been when John stopped and bought what looked like Halloween teeth but much more real and indeed not attractive. Then Kay had a back massage and soon thereafter spotted her new wind chimes made from an inverted flower pot with spoons and a fork hanging below. Soon it was meal time again.


On Sunday I again arose about 7 and had my coffee on the porch. Itwas hard to believe the highs were in the mid seventies after a couple of chilly days further north. We spent the afternoon fishing at Goose Creek.


Monday morning Kay and John left for work and I shortly thereafter left for Arkansas. It was hard to leave their gracious hospitality with an 80 degree day forecast but all good things must come to an end.


In Raleigh I chose the inner beltline and breezed right on over to 40 west, a piece of cake in the daytime. I kept noticing how close I was to Caswell County and when I came to 86 north off I went through New Hope, 1756 and into Hillsborough. What a fine time to learn a little about the American Revolution and enjoy history. The town was laid out in 1754 and was a focal point of activity throughout the Revolutionary War.
I then went on towards Caswell County. I passed through Prospect Hill and arrived at Yanceyville, the county seat. The area has many old log houses which I find charming. I stopped at the library and made copies of some information I found concerning Henry Dixon's family in the area. The sun was shining and I was having fun but had made quite a detour and finally got back on 40 west and traveled through the Piedmont area of North Carolina.

It was boring interstate travel that took me to Asheville, but about 45 miles east of Asheville the scenery changed. I was looking at the Pisgah National Forest. At times the peaks hid in the cumulous clouds and Asheville seemed the place to spend the night.

I popped the top and placed the box of yard sale items, the 2 buoys, the tennis shoes, the down coat, the computer satchel, and the herb sign neatly on the upstairs portion where they spent the night. Five minutes or less later I had all the curtains hung and drawn, the electricity plugged in, the ice chest, chair, grill, and now antique post placed on the picnic table. I decided to set the Adirondacks fir tree out for a little cool mountain air and watered it. I had no information to read and no plans to make for the next day as I would get on interstate 40 and drive west till I reached Memphis. When its over, its over and its time to just head home.