Nomad Life - Day 44

Despite all the celebrating yesterday, I got another good night of sleep and was up at around 0530.  I spent the morning packing up my car, getting breakfast in the lobby at the Navy Lodge and doing some bird watching.  For the latter activity, I used the Merlin app (listens to bird calls and identifies the species) and got some amazing results - will have to use that a bit more!  At about 0800, I was ready to depart JEB Little Creek - Fort Story and checked out of my room.  From the base, I drove south on Independence Boulevard until I was able to get on Virginia Beach Boulevard.  I stopped for some gas at the BJ's Wholesale Club (0830) and then made my way to Erin's home.  I'd made arrangements to meet up with my daughters (Brenna and Mollie) and their boyfriends and spent time visiting with Erin and Kiki until everyone arrived (0915).  After that, we all got into Jesse's car and he drove us to Naval Base Norfolk so I could give a tour of the waterfront and Naval Air Station.  We had trouble getting into the gate (lots of construction and closed entry points) but were eventually able to begin another trip down memory lane (I'd given a similar tour to Erin and Austin back in June 2022).  Everyone was impressed by the aircraft (helicopters and E-2 Hawkeyes) and even more excited to see the aircraft carriers ("Truman" and "G. H. W. Bush") at the pier.  We also ended up seeing lots of Arleigh Burke destroyers, including DDG-55 ("Stout"), which I'd spent time near during a deployment with my Battle Group - that was interesting.  Another highlight was seeing several tugboats that all had the last name of Moran (we noticed several of our distant relatives' names).  Throughout the tour, the weather was wonderful (70s, sunny, light sea breeze).  One of the big highlights, though, was seeing the "Comfort" (hospital ship) in port - everyone liked that.  Tour completed (1100), I took my daughters, Jesse and Alex to the Navy Exchange Complex and they went (mostly) window shopping while I got some lunch at the Burger King in the Food Court (1125).  A bit later (1145), I met up with everyone and paid for some items (clothes and dishes) that my daughters wanted.  Next, we returned to Erin's home (arrived at 1215) and I got to say my goodbyes to everyone (including Austin).  It felt strange to be leaving Virginia Beach because I knew it would be a long time before I was back and could spend time with my daughters again.  Phase 2 (leaving the East Coast) of my Nomad Life begins!  My route towards the West Coast began on I-264 and then I-64, all the way to I-664.  After that, I mostly stayed on US-58 for the rest of the day (with minor exceptions, described below).  Traffic got lighter and lighter as I headed west and the road was almost always a four lane with limited stops or crossing streets.  I finished one of my audiobooks and then listened to a lot of music while I continued towards South Boston, an area that I've wanted to visit since I first heard about decades ago.  I knew I was starting to enter the "Deep South" as I passed a monstrously large Confederate Battle Flag... As I approached the town of Clarksville, I noticed a sign for Occoneechee State Park and, since I've long been working on the Virginia State Parks Challenge, decided to stop for a break (1510).  The nice lady at the gate told me about some walking/birding trails and that there was another State Park only about 30 minutes away.  Using my binoculars and the Merlin App, I found several new bird species during my walk along the Tutelo Birding Trail.  The walk I did (roughly a mile) was relaxing and pleasant after being in the car for several hours.  By 1600, I decided to head over to the other State Park (Staunton River) and used a series of back roads (including US-15 (strange to see it so far south in the state of Virginia) to reach it.  I arrived at about 1645 and, after stopping in to see the park ranger at the Visitor Center, I spent the next hour walking on the River Bank Trail - it followed the water's edge on the peninsula near the confluence of the Dan River and the Roanoke River.  I later learned that this body of water was the John H. Kerr Reservoir (I think it was formerly known as Buggs Island Lake).  The conditions for hiking and birding were perfect and I found so many new species!  I also startled some deer that were peacefully grazing along the trail. Wrapping up my visit at 1800, I made my way to South Boston (ended up arriving on US-360).  After so much fanfare, I was not very impressed by what I found.  About the only thing that might have made me stay a bit longer (rather than just pass through) was the speedway on the northeast side of town.  With limited sunlight remaining, though, I crisscrossed several of the town's main streets before giving up and heading south (on US-501) towards US-58.  It occurred to me that my goal of seeing as many of the 50 states as possible during 2025 and 2026 would be well served if I drove 10 miles south to the border of North Carolina so I headed in that direction.  Bonus: there was a reservoir in that area that seemed like a good place for some more birding.  I got to my target destination at 1845 and found a historical marker for "Cornwallis passed this way before the battle of Guilford Courthouse".  Using Mayo Lake Road, I drove east until I could set up in a quiet spot for bird watching/listening.  Unfortunately, I only encountered two birds and decided I'd wasted enough time.  For the same reason, I ended up skipping dinner.  Google Maps took me (via US-501 and some back roads) to US-58 and I then dedicated all my (waning) energy in driving as far west as I could.  The highway was still four lanes but, in two places, the road narrowed to two.  Our family once drove a U-Haul truck via this route (see JUL 2008) and I remembered the switchbacks and narrow passes over the mountains.  Since then, it seems that the Virginia DOT has done a tremendous amount of road work and there appeared to be more coming - maybe there will be a four lane all the way from Virginia Beach to Galax someday!  Reaching I-77, I drove north towards Wytheville, remembering all the times I'd seen good weekend rates at hotels in that town when I'd been hiking the AT.  Sure enough, I was able to make a reservation (2140) at a Ramada Inn on I-77 on the north side of town and arrived there about 20 minutes later.  The staff at the hotel and nearly everyone I encountered before bed had the rich, deep southern accent that I'd almost forgotten while living in New Hampshire.  I was in my room by 2215 and, after getting unpacked, started trying to settle down for some sleep.  Unfortunately, my neighbors across the entire backside of the hotel were extremely rude - loud music, shouting, etc. until after midnight.  As a result, I definitely wasn't able to sleep when I wanted.  Thankfully, I was immediately "out" as soon as things quieted down.  What an amazing last six weeks, filled with visits with family and friends and highlighted by lots of familiar stops!  Things will change after today, though...