the drive

this morning i left Roanoke and hit 81 south for the 2 hour drive to Abingdon where i would meet Brittany to caravan to Big Stone. I was making excellent time, 15 miles from the exit for Abingdon, when i came over a hill and was suddenly aware of the ominous dark gray sky ahead of me. here it comes. I was reminded of my recent trip to the river with my friend Genevieve as we sat out on a rock under the threat of rain. After an hour or so of only clouds, I looked up river and said, here it comes. Gen said, What? The rain? Can you see it?? Just then big pellets started to drop and we jumped up to take cover. Again today, i felt like i could see the rain before it hit, and boy did it hit. I made it to exit 19, but could barely see the sign pointing towards Abingdon. I drove 5 minutes towards town when Brittany said she had made it and stopped almost immediately off the highway at the Dunk 'n Deli. i turned around to meet her and upon walking in greeted her with, Are they deep frying the entire building?? We compared notes on the routes to Big Stone: 11, 19, 58, 23, 610, looked more like my next lottery pick.

We set off through the small town of Abingdon, which appeared cute and historic but it was all a little blurred by the heavy rain. We traversed along curvy roads, around mountains, down through narrow valleys. After about an hour, we passed by Norton, "the next town over" from Big Stone Gap, and according to Brittany, the smallest city in Virginia. From the highway, it appeared like it could have a cute "downtown" with brick buildings lining the main drag. After Norton, we climbed another pass that was shrouded in dense fog. I could see the guard rail to my left but nothing of what I was sure was a beautiful scene below. In fact, the above photo was taken from a scenic view point that I had no idea existed because I could not see it through the fog. Finally, we turned off the highway and found East Stone Gap. I'm not exactly sure why this locale deserves its own name and sign because aside from a church, there is nothing there. After heading the wrong direction out into the country for several minutes, we turned around much to our dismay, leaving behind cute homes in a beautiful valley. We drove back in the direction of town and in the passing of each run down mobile home, prayed that that one was not ours. Finally, we arrived at our blue double-wide destination. To be honest, its not much to look at from the outside. But it is clean and plenty big on the inside. But more on the abode later.

As i mentioned last post, i was on a mission to watch the US/England World Cup game. I had called ahead to a Mexican restaurant in Norton to ask if they had TVs and if they were showing the World Cup. The man answered, Diga. Sounds promising. After not understanding my question in English, he handed the phone off. Of course they had TVs, and of course they were showing the world cup. We arrived at Mi Finca to find that it not only had TVs but a patio and a recently acquired liquor license. We sat down in front of one of the HD TVs airing the already in-play game in Spanish. At the table next door, sat four Mexican men, all hoping for an English victory. After the game, I struck up a conversation with one of them and he inquired about why we were here and where we learned Spanish. Not the first afternoon in Wise County that I was expecting. More to come...