Jameson Inn Martinsville

... about 10 miles from us but couldn’t limp on any further with an air leak he had lost all suspension and would soon loose brakes! We drove over to meet up with him – he had already spoken to a repair service garage nearby and they had arranged to come out and have a look first thing in the morning and the hotel had given him the ok to overnight in their car park – you see it’s a good job I didn’t pay ...

... time he turned the left blinker on to change lanes.  Now he can change lanes silently.  He also can follow me more closely. We stopped in Charlottesville to visit the famous Crutchfield store where I have bought electronic stuff through the mail for the last 25 years.  In the parking lot we met nancy and her Dad   - who was a biker who Nancy said stopped biking when he wiped out hitting a chicken in the road... Crutchfield had a cable to hook our mp3 player ...

... outside. The hoedown was packed to overflowing with musicians and dancers. There are chairs to sit upon, small tables if you are eating, and standing room. We did not attempt to dance. The next morning we headed towards the Carter Fold in Hiltons. This is another stop on the Crooked Road.

After a hair wash over a bowl with a kettle of hot water (no showers in Parkway campgrounds) we were on the road for just after 9am, after politely declining the invitation to join other campers in an open-air church service in the campground. The early start was soon rewarded when we pulled into an overlook and were presented with an amazing panoramic view of the valley below, the rolling hills shrouded in low level cloud, their peaks just poking through ...

My parents and I took another small escapade up to the northern part of North Carolina to a state park called Hanging Rock. It was such a blast. I got to try out some of my new gear and the hike was a decent one for being a state park. I was pretty impressed and I think everyone there was as well ...

... make ourselves at home. While we were waiting there one of the guys came in to chat - saying "What part of Texas are y'all from?" I had to let him down by telling him we only bought the truck in Texas, we were actually New Zealanders! (our truck has Texas number plates). We weren't there long before we kept travelling to the small 'mom & pop' campground in Axton, VA that we were spending the night at. The lady there was quite taken with Fred's "accent"!

... than we have to. We will be spending the next few nights at the Radisson in High Point, NC. It is a very nice hotel, but it is right downtown, so we have to park our truck and trailer down the street and walk a couple blocks to the hotel; but we made it safely and are enjoying the hotel, so all is good!

I'm sitting in my breathing room. I'm breathing. Kate is on her way across southern India. We'll meet in Bangkok at midnight 28 November. But there is much I don't know. For instance, How will we get to Cambodia for Christmas? Will I be able to buy a ticket to Manila in January? Where will we be in February? How far into Indonesia will we make it, if at all? Then I remember that I won't have to figure out ...

... Which does not mean that it is not worth a loo-oo-ong detour. We had arranged that we sleep there so that we see the rainbow. But I was not good with the lunar or the proper astronomic calendar and then, all that we have seen that day and night was sufficient for three midnight rainbows. (to continue)

... the Biltmore Estate; and we also drove to Boone, NC to visit Grandfather Mountain's Mile High Swinging Bridge. Neither would have been anywhere near as fun as they were if I'd had to visit them alone. Being with Maria and her children really made visiting these sites memorable. The Hiatt's hospitality really does fall into the Southern Hospitality one hears about, but can't believe still exists. Well, it does!