Finding Corolla

I was up at 630am quietly slipping into the bathroom with my backpack that held my over night kit along with running clothes. I let Mindy know I was heading off on a run and locked the room door behind me. I noticed a complimentary breakfast buffet as I exited the hotel. Awesome! I planned to take advantage of that later. I stretched just outside the hotel lobby. I ran through a small neighborhood which was bounded by a Wal-Mart. I ran a couple loops probably logging about 3 miles in total. I was gone for about 30 minutes.

In the lobby I prepped two cups of coffee and woofed down some then returned to the room. Mindy asked that I draw the shades closed so to block the rising sun from waking the kids. After savoring my coffee I headed for a shower. By the time I was out, Mindy was ready to get up. I turned on the TV. The news was all about the storms that slammed an area from Indiana to the Virginia coast on Friday night. The kids were up by the time Mindy was out of the shower. Before we knew about the breakfast buffet, we talked about having breakfast at the IHOP next door to the hotel. Mindy gave the kids the option, eat from the buffet and be on the road sooner, or eat at IHOP. Mixed responses. Go figure. She chose for them – the breakfast buffet.

The buffet was better than expected: fresh pancakes, sausage patties, fluffy scrambled eggs, muffins, juice, etc. We were done eating and ready to hit the road by 9am. It was a warm sunny morning and everybody was in far better spirits than they were the night before during the harrowing storms. We weren’t exactly sure where we were, but knew it was somewhere close to Richmond VA. Turns out, we were in Oliville, VA. According to the GPS we were about 205 miles (3 hours and 31 minutes) from our destination.

As we neared the coast of Virginia along I-64east traffic was tight, but it loosened up a little once we lost those headed to VA Beach. We crossed over a couple large bays before entering N.C. Mindy pointed out the Outer Banks far across the sound. Soon we were within 60 miles of our destination. Unfortunately, the last 50-60 miles took 3 hours or better to navigate due to heavy traffic. Originally figuring to get there between 1230-1pm, we didn’t’ actually get there until sometime near 3pm. Crossing over the sound and then heading north on route 12 in the Outer Banks was a snails crawl for miles and miles.

As we passed through Duck a case of the sleepies had befallen me. Mindy graciously offered to drive the last few miles and let me take a quick nap. I slept for no more than 5-10 minutes but it did me a world of good. We remained in communication with the McVey’s all day. Because it took us so long to make it to Corolla, they went ahead and checked out of their temporary digs and were headed to the house. We planned to simply met them there. And actually, we were at the house ahead of them.

We opted to back track to the liquor store and donut shop we passed a mile or tow back up the road. I headed on for liquor (rum and vodka) while Mindy and the kids went to Duck donuts. We met the McVey’s at Brigadune house near 330p. Connie was off to the rental office to get the door keys while the rest of us waited. The kids were already in the pool. Connie was back from checking in near 4pm. By then we had already unloaded the SUVs but with our gear in piles near the home’s entrance. Excitedly, we toured the house then began the arduous task of carrying everything in. Mindy & Connie worked out the sleeping arrangements for everyone. Mindy & I were given the lone bedroom on the 2nd floor just off the kitchen. In all, it’s a three story home with four bedrooms and a large loft.

Dinner plan were coordinated. We’d be having homemade pizza with Bobilli crust. Mindy and Connie took a run to the grocery while Darwin and I put the rest of the food away, started pizzas and cracked open a growler of Centennial. The girls were gone for about an hour. We made 6 pizzas: three pepperoni, one cheese, two pepperoni, sausage, red onion, and mushroom. It turned out that 6 pizzas was a bit too much. We had about 2.5 leftover. Better too much than not enough.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach with flashlights. All the kids were excited. After Mindy broke out the glow sticks. Scattering everywhere were sand crabs. It was fun. We stayed up no later than about 1030pm. Mindy & I both wanted/needed a good night’s sleep.