Our day did not start out well.  You may recall that when we tried to park in our campsite last night, there was a truck parked there and Mark had to honk for a while to get the owner to come out and move it.  This morning as we were packing up, a woman with a clipboard came by and told us that the next camper for our space was there.  We were supposed to have a checkout time of 11:00.  It was only 10:30.

The man who was waiting on our spot first parked right in front of us, not only blocking us but also the exit everyone else wanted to take.  We told him he needed to move so he pulled up, but he was still plugging up the exit.  We could see people turning around and heading for the entrance.

Not only that, but we had come in late last night and I went to the office to try to get a receipt for our stay.  There was a man in the office working on fixing the computers and he said the park hosts wouldn’t be back till tomorrow.  When we finally got out of there, Mark and I agreed that is one campground we will never stay at again!

Mark was in a bad mood as we started the day, so he asked me to pick a CD to play.  I found one of his all-time favorites: Cristofori’s Dream by David Lanz.  It is one of the most beautiful piano pieces I’ve ever heard.  When Mark listens to it, he can’t help but conduct it in his mind.

Mark conducting the music with his right hand while he drives.

They say that music soothes the savage beast, and after listening to a couple CD’s Mark was in a much mellower mood.  The landscape also seems to be leveling out, which makes the driving easier for him.  The day actually turned out well.

A whole field of Virginia cotton

Welcome to North Carolina. Excuse the bugs on the windshield!

I didn’t take many pictures because I have been reading to Mark.  We are currently reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.  In case there is someone out there who hasn’t heard of it, it’s about a spinster and her sister and father who ran a clock and watch business in Holland.  They were a devout Christian family, and when the Nazis took over Holland in WWII, they began helping Jews, including hiding them in their home.  They were finally caught by the Nazis and taken to prison (at this point in the book).  I’m not going to reveal anything beyond this point so as not to spoil it for Mark.  It’s a good book.  If you haven’t read it, I recommend it.

We arrived at our KOA campground around 3:45, and it was 60º out.  We got everything set up and then went for some dinner and grocery shopping.

We are so happy to be here instead of where we were last night!