'My Auntie Mabel told me I'd make a great soldier, though I don't know how 30 years working in a biscuit factory had qualified her to make that judgement.....' Eddie Nugent
Ah, looks like I just missed him! He went through DC a few days ago, heading south it looks like. He should have better weather now, no rain, no humidity and the tempeatures are around 26C, dropping to 17C tonight. A nice change from the humid 35C earlier in the week.
Hopefully he'll keep his blog updated when he gets the chance..if he doesn't get too distracted
Seems odd, not too long ago we were standing next to each other, having a chat, waiting to clock out after a hard shift....
Derek
'My Auntie Mabel told me I'd make a great soldier, though I don't know how 30 years working in a biscuit factory had qualified her to make that judgement.....' Eddie Nugent
'My Auntie Mabel told me I'd make a great soldier, though I don't know how 30 years working in a biscuit factory had qualified her to make that judgement.....' Eddie Nugent
Well, he is definitely going South through Virginia! Maybe he IS cycling around the US as opposed to across to the West Coast, as most of us probably assumed. The 'Surry' and 'Isle of Wight' in his blog are both counties in South Eastern Virginia. There are so many place name here that the Colonists brought over from the UK. My guess is he was probably on Route 460 which passes through some very small towns on the way to the Norfolk area. Very flat countryside, and deserted since most trafic to that area takes Interstate 64, which is acrsoss the peninsula, or maybe he is on Route 60 which is paralell to I-64. That would take him through Williamburg and near Jamestown. Had he gone West from DC he would have had to cross a few mountains ranges.
John Walton's, fictional alma mater he mentions, is named after the University of Richmond, which is on Boatwright Drive in Richmond. I went to VCU in Richmond, a cross town rival (at least in basketball). The further South he goes, the hotter the days will be. Our respite is almost over, high 96F (36C) by Thursday.
nigelb wrote:The further South he goes, the hotter the days will be.
My thoughts exactly. I'm hoping he'll be travelling along the northern tier of states where he'll be more comfortable. If our paths cross he'll definitely be welcome to a shower and meal at my humble abode. I can also tell him which areas around here have dogs which love to chase cyclists.
yes, very interesting indeed. His comments on the North Carolina accents are right on. If you visit the Outer Banks and towns like Manteo, you can still hear Elizabethan English - Elizabeth the Frst! The Lost Colony site is here and they have an outdoor play during the summer about that. I don't know if Andy Griffith is well known in the UK but he lives in Manteo. He began his career acting in "The Lost Colony'. Edward teach, aka Blackbeard used to hang out in this area and there is a restaurant named after his ship 'Queen Anne's Revenge' between Manteo and the fishing village of Wanchese. Good seafood!
Mosquitoes here are rampant since the entire area is full of swampy land and brackish water. If your on the beach and the wind is from the sound side, you can expect horribly huge flies as well. On the barrier Island, there is a town named Nagg's head - named because the locals used to tie lanterns to mule's heads to try to lure ships to be shipwrecked near shore for looting. I wonder where they got that idea? Cornwall? Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, needs no explanation: it is also located here. My daughter's first flight in an aeroplane was was from the Flight Flight airport (KFFA) located here. From the air you can see many shipwrecks off shore - this area is also part of the "Bermuda Triangle" The town I live in now is named after Commander William Lewis Herndon, who was captain of the SS Central America, also known as the Ship of Gold. It sank of the Carolina coast in 1857 and was carrying 30,000 pounds of gold.
