Nomad Life - Day 201

Another day in Harrisonburg with Brenna!  I was up at 0630 (alarm required) and started teleworking immediately. Brenna came out of her room at 0715 and we talked for a bit while she got ready.  For breakfast, I ate snacks and leftovers - I then said goodbye to Brenna when she departed for work (0815).  For the rest of the morning, I teleworked and then ate leftovers for lunch.  Along the way, I did another load of dishes for Brenna and folded some more clothes.  At 1345, I left Brenna's apartment to do some errands.  Outside, it was pleasant (50s) and sunny.  First (1400), I topped at Home Depot to get items (trash bags, fabric softeners).  Next (1410), I dropped off items (including Brenna's wiped iPhone) for recycling at Staples.  On the way back to Brenna's, I took a call from Viking (Ezra) and ended up creating a new itinerary for Egypt and Jordan in late 2028 through early 2029 - we'll have to see if anyone wants to go with me!  I arrived back to Brenna's before 1430 and resumed teleworking.  During one brief break, I set up a shade (curtain) for Brenna's back door.  When Brenna got home (1645), I stopped teleworking and thought we'd be departing for Edinburg (where Jesse lived).  However, she told me she didn't feel well and went into her room to rest.  During this unexpected break, I thought about going for a walk but wasn't sure how much time I had.  My hesitation ended up being a mistake because there was never another opportunity (and I never got anywhere near my 10K step goal).  At 1745, Brenna told me she finally felt well enough to depart for Jesse's home.  Prior to that, though, she insisted on stopping at McDonalds (so she could get a soft drink).  Once we finally got out of Harrisonburg (US-33), we used I-81 and, eventually, US-11 to reach Edinburg.  As usual, there was lots of scary traffic for Brenna to contend with - this was probably even more exacerbated because I was her passenger...  When we arrived at Jesse's 1815), we discovered that he wasn't home and I thought about taking a walk nearby with the remaining sunlight.  However, he drove up just as I was lacing up my hiking boots.  For the next 30 minutes, we toured Jesse's home - he (and Brenna) had made lots of changes since I visited the last time.  Along the way, I helped Jesse move some furniture (yard, patio, side tables, etc.) he'd picked up from Facebook Marketplace - he knew just where to put these items and it improved the home even more.  During this work, we got into an interesting conversation about a wall hanging related to the local area.  At a local yard sale, he'd found a map which had a small note about "George Washington surveying the Fairfax Line".  This led to me looking up (on Wikipedia) information about the Fairfax Line and the discovery of the Fairfax Stone (located in West Virginia).  This inspired me to go looking for more slices of Americana on my Nomad Life.  Brenna talked again about how she didn't feel well but, with hydration, she eventually felt well enough to depart for dinner.  At 1915, we rode with Jesse to a much anticipated restaurant (Brenna and Jesse had told me it was "the best") - it was called Pizza Bella and it was located in a strip mall in Edinburg.  Despite this inauspicious start, the the food ended up living up to the hype.  We ordered a large garden salad, 10 boneless wings (teriyaki), a gyro (with fries) and a "meat lovers" pizza.  Initially, I thought this was too much food.  However, we somehow ate all of it.  Along the way, we had more great conversation, mostly about the future, and I told some funny stories related to my work.  When it was time to go, there were no leftovers!  Afterwards (2130), we headed back to Jesse's home; Brenna wanted to stay longer but Jesse admitted that he was tired and had been planning to go to his parents' home for the night.  Reluctantly, Brenna steered us back towards Harrisonburg (2145).  Like we'd seen on the way north on I-81, the traffic was just as frustrating and scary.  Happily, Brenna made the roughly 30 minute drive without incident.  After we returned home (2230), we said goodnight and I spent time reading and doing Duolingo exercises.  I finally went to bed at 2330.  Very glad to visit with Jesse at his home and adopted town!