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Staunton, VA to the Outer Banks |
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| The next morning, we were up
bright (sort of) and early. Marc was so eager to see his
beloved Atlantic Ocean that he condescended to eat
McDonald's take-out for breakfast. At the gas station,
they gave us directions to reach I-64 without having to
renew acquaintances with 250 although the latter was
probabaly safe by now. Some cautious driving was called
for on the secondary roads where the possibility of
black ice existed, but soon we were on I-64, zipping
east towards Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk and - the
Atlantic. The Interstate seemed to be giving the tires a
good grip but...
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Soon, the
sun rose on what was a glorious day - until radio
brought the news that NASA had lost contact with the
Shuttle during re-entry. This calamity put a damper on
our spirits until we got our first glimpse of the
Atlantic in the part of Norfolk called Ocean View
(appropriately enough!) Right after crossing the
causeway, we turned off towards a marina that boasted
a nice-looking hotel where we hoped to celebrate
reaching the Atlantic with a few sniffs of salty air,
a beer and a pee. Alas, the hotel bar was not open.
The young lady at reception pointed us to a near-by
sports bar, The Thirsty Camel but seemed
disinclined to let us use the "facilities" at her fine
establishment.
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So Marc had to leave his mark in
a different place - admiring the Atlantic all the
while.
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| Beautiful smell of salt air or no, it wasn't exactly toasty on this windy day. Marc was taking forever with the camera and it was mere good fortune that the lobster never noticed Al and failed to grab him. Shortly thereafter, we followed the young lady's directions and found ourselves at the Camel which was understandably subdued, with their TV's re-running the fateful last moments of the Shuttle to a stunned clientele. |
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We stopped
at a gas station where Al foraged for supplies while
Marc snagged larger scale road maps of the area. Next
stop: the Outer Banks - which both Marc and Al had
heard lots about and were very eager to experience!
Looking at the map above, it should have been easy to
take 168 to the North Carolina border and then
continue on 158 to the Outer Banks. Nonetheless, we
managed to get lost a few times and did two complete
circuits of the sights of downtown Norfolk plus its
less salubrious districts before we got straightened
away. There were a couple of anxious moments in mall
country on the southern outskirts of Norfolk where Hwy
168 twice crossed Hwy 168 within half a mile. The good
news was that you were sure the take the
right-numbered road but in which of its four
directions??? Still, Marc navigated us through
unerringly, and we were soon in the flat North
Carolina seashore country. While Marc was busy
consulting the Guide to North Carolina's Outer Banks
to try to find a hotel that was not so budget and had
an ocean view, Al happily drove on with an occasional
glimpse of the ocean on our left. The temperature was
now into the 40's F so that the fact that our heater
was working only intermittently seemed a minor
concern. We would have it looked at in Florida.
Something in the back of my mind was setting off
warning bells but I couldn't put my finger on it. So I
decided to stop worrying and enjoyed the view!
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with cottages such as these. It seems that others like the Outer Banks, also. .. |
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But with Uncle Al's CAA and geezer discount plus off-season rates we got a sea view room for a mere $49. .. |
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