Busch Gardens Trip - Day 2

The long drive last night, followed by the later bedtime, created a scenario where I wasn't awake until nearly 0700 this morning.  This might have been OK, normally, but then I had problems accessing the internet through the hotel WiFi.  Eventually, I made a connection to the network and was able to log a few hours of work in my room at the Econo Lodge at Clark's Summit.  At one point, I visited the lobby for the advertised Continental Breakfast - all I found was coffee and two Twinkies.  Not wanting to have to leave the hotel for food, I ate these snacks in my room.  This turned out to be a mistake...  At 0915, I finished my first meeting of the day and had enough time to check out of the hotel and drive a short distance to a lower priced gas station (Conoco in Chinchilla at 0925).  I then tried to access my next work meeting from my phone but encountered a problem with the Teams link - this meant that I had to use my phone to access the internet on my work computer.  Once I sorted out the mess, I was able to listen in on a work call between 1000 and 1200.  Meanwhile, I headed south on I-81.  Like yesterday, it was very hot outside (high 90s) - fortunately, the air conditioning continued working well.  With very little traffic and only minimal slow downs for construction, I did really well on the drive towards Harrisonburg.  Passing through Harrisonburg just after noon, I had a break from work for a little while before my next meeting began.  I was able to listen to some more audiobooks and that helped me with the drive.  During this window, my stomach started really hurting - I think the breakfast did not agree with me...  Somehow, I continued south, without stopping, and crossed through Maryland and West Virginia before finally arriving in Virginia.  My back also hurt a good amount from the uncomfortable seat.  Overall, I was not enjoying the way I felt.  At about 1400, I joined my next work meeting and, about 20 minutes later, rolled into Harrisonburg.  I was at Brenna's shortly after that and she helped me carry things into her apartment.  My meeting ended at 1500 but I spent the two hours teleworking (despite the continued discomfort).  Brenna tried to make me feel better by making me a snack (beans and rice) - it seemed to work.  Meanwhile, it rained (hard) outside and I was glad I wasn't still driving on the highway... Next (1700), we drove to the nearby Harrisonburg Mall and spent about 30 minutes walking around inside the building with pleasant temperatures.  During this time, I was also able to make a reservation at a hotel in Virginia Beach (part of a deal I made with Brenna and Erin to ensure we could all stay together on Friday night).  We returned to Brenna's at around 1745 and Jesse (Brenna's boyfriend) arrived shortly afterwards.  It was my first time meeting him and I found him to be very nice.  After some initial chit-chat, Jesse drove us to a restaurant that Brenna had raved about, Babylon Cuisine, that served delicious Middle Eastern food (arrived at 1820).  We got a family platter and tried all kinds of kabab, shawarma and other meats and veggies.  Our visit was fun and interesting and, even though we departed from the restaurant feeling quite full, we headed over to Grammie's Ice Cream stand (Bridgewater).  Each of us got some tasty desserts (1940) and ended up sitting outside for almost 90 minutes.  We had some more great conversation and even were joined by some lightning bugs.  At 2100, we departed for Brenna's apartment, arriving about 15 minutes later.  Since I hadn't yet gotten all of the steps I wanted for the day, I spent the next 45 minutes walking in the parking lot.  The weather was still hot and humid and I worked up a sweat.  By 2200, I had reached my goal and met up with Brenna and Jesse again.  Saying goodbye and good night shortly afterwards, I checked my work computer once more (wrapping up my teleworking for good) and then settled down to sleep a short time later (2315).  I think I was asleep less than 15 minutes later.  It was definitely a good day of working, driving and visiting!