34th day - March 16, 2022

The great hotel also has something to offer in the morning. Breakfast is served on the second floor. Actually, it's the first floor, but since the ground floor is the first, it's the second. Completely crazy. There are two waffle irons and scrambled eggs and biscuits & gravy. Not as good as in a restaurant, but much better than in most other establishments. And you have a view of the fireplace from the gallery.

I slept pretty long today and didn't wake up until 7:30 am. That's pretty late for me, but it doesn't matter today. Because I will be spending the whole day on the Blue Ridge Parkway. According to the internet, all sections are open and I have time to dawdle.

As I said yesterday, the drive is meditative. No overtaking cars, no trucks, no speeders or other idiots. Just cozy driving with fantastic views. And there's even less traffic today. At one point, I wait for a car to take a picture. It takes over 10 minutes until one comes. At the outlooks, there are also at most two cars, usually I'm alone.

And so I spend more than 6 hours driving, stopping, and enjoying. A truly wonderful day that is only clouded by the pretty bad weather. It's not raining continuously, but on and off. But that can't worsen my mood. In return, I have the road almost exclusively for myself and cross the state border into Virginia. The landscape changes little, only livestock farming becomes a bit more prominent.

When I arrive in Roanoke, the bustle of this big city pulls me back into reality. There are motels on the Parkway, but you can't book them online. And my phone doesn't work here. The Econo Lodge, my accommodation, looks terrible from the outside, but the room is large and clean and meets my expectations.

At the reception, there's a friendly Nepalese man who has lived in London for a long time. We talk for a while about this great city, and he says he actually wanted to visit Germany, but never managed to. He likes it much better in Europe, but of course, his family is here, so he moved to the USA. While we're talking, the general manager of the motel comes in. He warns me not to park directly in front of the room but in the designated parking spaces. I tell him that I've already seen that and it's clear where you can park. He shakes his head. I wouldn't believe how stupid the people who come here are. I laugh. I can imagine it very well. He points to a sign on the floor in the reception area that says the floor is wet. And he asks me why that sign is there. I reply that the floor was probably mopped. He says no, the floor is never wet. It's only mopped when no more guests come in. He has to put up the sign because it's raining outside and people are making the floor wet. I ask him if he's serious. He looks at me shaking his head. Yes, he has to inform people that when it rains, the floor can be wet. Because they walk in here with wet shoes. Some people just don't understand that. And that's why he has to remind them. Then we both laugh. He tells me that the stupidity of people knows no bounds and is getting worse and worse.

The curious conversation ended with him recommending a Vietnamese restaurant around the corner. There, I order a spring roll, a pho, and a Vietnamese sandwich online. When I pick it up there after a short time, only 5 minutes away from here, it's already ready, and a about 1.50 meters tall man hands me a bag, thanks me ten times, and wishes me all the best. Everything is delicious, and thankfully, the stupidity of people has stopped at this little Vietnamese place. Anyone who prepares such great food can't be entirely stupid.