In Chesapeake Virginia

I arrived in the Norfolk area yesterday morning. I will be staying at my buddy, Blee's house while I'm here. The ride and journey from Houston was interesting, to say the least. I'm sitting in his office on NAS Norfolk right now listening to the sounds I had forgotten. The sights connected to memories that have become "Rememories", as Toni Morrison wrote. The things that take us back to a different time in our lives by hearing or seeing some connective moment.The sailors in here all getting ready for another workday. The sounds of helicopters starting up. The sight of a class of young Rescue Swimmers running as one, chanting their jodies (songs to run by) to stay together and on pace.  Another day our freedom is being protected by my brothers and sisters in arms. Sights and sounds that I didn't know I missed until I was in among the group. Ooraah! I guess I'll never really disconnect my heart or my soul from this world.
But the trip, the trip...I stopped in Meridian Ms at a KOA I had reserved a tent spot at. When I got there, they had lost my reservation, my attempt three days earlier to upgrade to a cabin with AC had confused the idiots so much they just cancelled me. So, I finally got checked in by a very angry inbreeder who wanted me to feel guilty about their mistake. Nope, not this time. Just get me to my space so I can cool off, physically and emotionally. The AC barely works, the WiFi is useless. I can't even check e-mail on my computer. If I had, I'm sure this blog would have been a lot angrier. Now I'm just laughing.
Relaxing (??) in my 80 deg cabin I can finally start to unwind. 9:30 at night I lose my lights, but I've got a lamp with me. No sweat (figuratively), I'll make this work! 9:35, the AC dies and the office is closed (of course). I have to move my sleeping bag onto the porch and not sleep in the 94 lovely degrees. I left at 3am to find nowhere to even drop the key off. What a comedy of errors! KOA has yet to hear the end of this. I left a comment that ran out of space before I was even close to finish ranting. DARN is not the word I want to use here, but public consumption requires my civility. HA!
I had tried for two days to cancel my next stop at another successively poor quality kampground to no avail. Sent a e-mail to the place on the last day, and they charged me $50 to cancel. DARN, again!! Another lesson learned. I'm cancelling all KOA reservations from here forward. Sons of ... well you know.
One good note to announce, that gear I bought works wonderfully. I stayed on the bike for 680 miles in another record heat day. Stayed cool enough to remember what I was doing and where I was going. Something I could not have said earlier in this journey. Heck, I could gone another two hours, but that would have put me only two more hours from Billy's place; too close to quit and too far to keep going So, I stayed at an Econo Lodge in Durham NC. Cheaper, by half, what the KOA was charging. Owned and operated by a very service oriented Hindi family. Hardworking families from the Indian sub continent seem to have taken over the small to medium hotel/motel biz in America and I'm glad for it. Thanx, folks, for making my stay enjoyable and for helping me to laugh at all this.
But don't think I'm not enjoying my trip. I am completely enjoying every moment. Wallowing in my self pity when I can. Smiling and laughing when I have to. I can finally report a non record heat day on this trip since leaving San Diego. However, a big angry storm just passed through knocking down trees and killing power for hundreds of thousands.So the balance remains.
So, how shall I close today? An uplifting thought about overcoming hurdles or making lemonade out of lemons. Nope, not this time. Inbreeders, those proudly professing their ignorance. Those idiots who dare us to challenge their fixed opinions as facts. These people make up the myriad of the human experience and I will remember, maybe not fondly, they have made this trip what I need it to be. EXPERIENCE of all kinds makes us better and stronger. This is what I'm out here for...REDSENDS...
P.S. more pictures to come within the next day or so.