Exmore, VA

Don't worry if you haven't heard of Exmore. I hadn't either. But I'll get to that in a minute.

I went through 4 different states today. I think that's a record. I started in Jersey of course. I'm feeling MUCH better today, though I think that's mostly because tylenol sinus works really well for me. Pretty much on the dot every 4 hours I'd start feeling crappy again and be so glad it was pill time! I'm still planning to go to the doctor tomorrow.

Since I woke up with a bit of a heavy head it took me a while to get on the road, but once I did I was feeling really good. It was a beautiful drive along the coast with lots of giant bridges that made me feel like I was driving out to sea. I finally stopped and walked on a boardwalk as well. I've driven by a lot of them but figured I should check one out while I'm out here. I expected it to be pretty well deserted because it was midday on a monday, off-season when most everything was closed and the weather wasn't that great. Surprisingly, there were still quite a few people there, which makes me think I really wouldn't like boardwalks in the summer. The board walk was pretty cool though. It was super wide with different lanes for walkers, runners, and bikes. Of course the word bike is used loosely here. I saw very few of what I would consider bikes, but lots of these 4-person pedal cart things, and some crazy scooter bike things. And of course some hybrids. Had I thought of it I would've brought my bike but it was a nice walk. It looked like the boardwalk went on for a long ways past where I went. Beach on one side, amusement parks, mini golf, water parks, etc. on the other. Or casinos, depending on where you are.

After a bit more sloooooow driving down the coast, I made it to Cape May, the tip of NJ, and to the ferry. I had thought I would have to park, buy a ticket, and hang out for a bit. Instead I timed things pretty well because I bought a ticket in the tollbooth thing on the way in, got in line, and was driving on to the ferry within just a few minutes. That was all well and good except that I REALLY had to pee, and I had planned to get something to eat because I hadn't eaten much all day. I've been forgetting to eat a lot lately...though it doesn't seem to stop me from gaining weight. I know I'm getting fat lately from not doing anything. Anyway, I finally got on and settled and made it to the bathroom. The winds were really high so the boat was rocking like CRAZY! It was actually pretty comical. I was trying to walk around and kept getting flung from side to side.

There was actually an arcade on the boat so I stopped to play a game of pacman. That was interesting. I was gripping one side of the machine to keep from falling over when the boat tipped back, and sometimes it would make me move in a direction I didn't want to because i'd fall into the joystick. Yeah not my best game.

I was getting pretty hungry, but I wasn't sure if eating would be good or make things worse on the lurching boat. I settled on a small bag of popcorn and then found a bench to lay down on. That was the best part of the ride....it was pretty empty so there was lots of space. I didn't quite sleep but it felt soooooo good to lay down and rest for a bit. I'm having cramps now too, so I really needed to lay down.

When I got off the ferry I was in Deleware, a state i've never been to. My time spent there was quick. Just a short drive. The map made it look like i'd be right on the beach but it was mostly just a big, flat field with lots of tall grass. I knew the ocean was just past the tall grass, but I couldn't see it. My main impression from Deleware is that it's incredibly flat and not very interesting. But I did stop and get Taco Bell, so I have now set foot in Deleware.

From there I moved on to Maryland, another new state to me. I only hit the very southeast corner of Maryland, but unfortunately it took a long time. Almost as soon as I'd crossed the border I was in Ocean City at 147th street. To continue on I would need to make it all the way to 1st. There was a not in the city route, but I didn't find that until it was too late. The traffic wasn't bad, but it was a typical city street with lots of stoplights so it took forever. It's funny, it felt like I was in a really big city, but outside of that one street there was nothing else. It was just the line of crap along the beach that had just been getting progressively longer and longer.

Once I finally made it out of the city, the rest of MD went by quickly. This time, I stopped for gas and DQ, so again, I've set foot in a new state. Unfortunately, by this point the day had really gotten away from me. Driving down the Jersey coast had taken forever, getting through Ocean City had taken even longer, the ferry ride was longer than I'd expected, and I still had a lot more of VA than I realized before getting to the big bridge to mainland VA. It was starting to get dark (it's getting dark really early these days!) and I figured it'd defeat the purpose to do the bridge when I couldn't see much of anything.

I found a campground in my book and started heading for it while I scanned the radio for a weather report. I never did find a report, but at that moment I started seeing insane lightning from the direction of the campground. That was reason enough for me to not camp (I had actually been looking forward to camping but I'm still sick and having cramps, so I let myself be a bit whiney about the weather). Sure enough, as soon as I got my room, it started pouring rain. I saw on tv that there's a severe thunderstorm watch for tonight. Of course now it's stopped raining, but it's probably for the best that I'm not camping. I could use another good nights sleep.

So that's how I've found Exmore. As far as I can tell the town consists of a hotel, a gas station, and a dollar store. Fun stuff. It's strange being in VA. On the MD/VA border there was a gas station with a giant confederate flag for a sign that said "Dixieland", and under that "the South starts here." And that's really how it feels. At least this area. Things changed FAST! And then I proceeded to get all philosophical about how state lines are just arbitrary lines in the sand but so much can change around them and is defined by them. But I'll spare you all of that...excitement...