Brother, mother found! Since my last update, I traveled first to Rutherfordton, North Carolina to visit with my old navy buddy Mike B., and his wife Cathy. On Saturday morning I left them and headed for Virginia Beach, where I was planning to meet my brother Scott. After some debate about where to meet up, we finally settled on the parking lot of the Walmart on Nimmo Drive. That worked – we met, he jumped in my truck, and we decided to go eat at a seafood restaurant that was highly rated on Yelp: Blue Seafood. We had a terrific meal there, with a crab soup appetizer and swordfish with brie sauce (a special) for the entree. That was a real treat for both of us!
This morning I got up early and headed down to the farm where Scott has been living. We had a really nice breakfast at Eddy's Cafe, where Scott startled the waitress by ordering steak and eggs – but with six eggs! We'd been searching for some place that was open at 5:45 am, and were failing. Scott had been to Eddy's before, and liked it, but he didn't have the hours posted on the door. So we called them – and a friendly voice told us they'd be open at 6 am. Good enough! So we drove over, and went over to wait by the door for a few minutes – and the door was open. With big smiles, the owner invited us in, told us he'd made a mistake, as he'd forgotten that it was Sunday and they didn't open until 7! But, he said, he'd be happy to serve us anyway – so long as we didn't mind that he was the cook, waiter, cashier, busboy, and dishwasher all rolled into one! He made us a fresh pot of (very good) coffee, then went into the back. A short time later a waitress came in to work, and then the experience got a little more normal. Still, we two were the only ones there the entire time, and we had two people taking care of us. The food was great, there was much friendly banter and laughing, and the experience was memorable in a good way.
Then our day got started in earnest. We had much to do: we had to clean out two of Scott's vehicles, pack up all his possessions into my truck and his trailer (which I am towing with my truck). Then we had to sell his three vehicles, clean up a bunch of stuff, and drive from Virginia Beach to Charlottesville. It was a long, long day :) I was concerned about the trailer being in ragged condition, or not handling well behind my pickup – but I needn't have been. The trailer was in great shape, and with a little air in the tires it was ready to rock and roll. The truck handled it with ease. Really the only major difference between with and without the trailer is that with the trailer stopping is more difficult (more brake force required). That makes total sense given the weight that's on it.
Now we're in Charlottesville, at my mom's house, and I'm about to go get a very welcome night's sleep...
