Norfolk, VA

The drive from Tampa to Richmond was quite beautiful.  I always fall in love with North Carolina, every time I pass through it.  It's just gorgeous.  There were lovely daffodils between N and S on 95.  And the air, oh the air, to drive with my windows down and breath in the freshness was just superb.  I couldn't get enough.  I stopped in Lumberton, NC for the night and when I stepped out of the car I almost fell over with love for our Earth (okay, maybe it was because I had been sitting for the last 10 hours...).  The air had a coolness to it and the humidity was NOTHING compared to Florida.  It was a wonderfully delicious feeling.  So happy to be driving north.
The drive did seem unbelievably long.  We had to cross from Western Florida to Eastern Florida through great rain storms and 100 degree heat.  I thought I would never get out of there!  Finally crossing into Georgia I felt a huge sense of relief.  Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are such short little states on the East side.  The drive went much faster once I realized I'd driven through 4 states in one day.  The only issue I had on this drive was the food.  There was simply nothing to eat!  McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Pizza, those were my options.  I planned on stopping at a wholefoods in Jacksonville, but I never came across it.  So I had an apple and a banana.  I finally forced myself to go to subway since I was behind the wheel of a vehicle driving 75 mph, I needed some sort of fuel to keep me awake and functioning.  When I pulled off the highway and looked at the vegetables that were offered I felt sick.  I just can't believe people live off this food on a regular basis.  I have been learning so much about food lately, and find I'm having a hell of a time getting my hands on something I am willing to eat these days.  Yuck!
When I arrived in Virginia, everyone was out shopping and driving at 2pm.  Don't people work here?!  It took me 25 minutes to drive 1 mile once I got off the highway.  We were located near the airport, so all there was there were shopping centers.  Ugh.  Lexi and I hopped in the car seeking out good food.  The closest whole foods was 142 miles from here, so that was crossed off the list.  And the only organic store I knew around there was pretty teeny tiny.  So, we opted for a mainstream grocery store.  Oh My God!  We drove by 3 stores before we decided one was worth stopping and looking in.  When we got into the store the produce section smelled rotten and the one little aisle of organic was far more expensive than whole foods and mostly offered natural chips.  Hahaha!  When I asked if there was any organic produce I was brought to a plastic carton of cherry tomatoes and told that was it!  We put our baskets down and fled!
We were both so hungry, so we decided to drive to Panera bread (at least they have antibiotic-free chicken).  When we pulled in there was a market next to it that we headed to after we filled our bellies.  I was literally loopy from having not eaten something decent since the morning before I left Florida.  We certainly were laughing a lot.  Once we'd eaten, we headed into the grocery market.  This place was a little better, they had the wild harvest line, which Shaws carries in MA.  I really wanted some cheese, so we headed over to the special cheese section.  We spent 20 minutes in hysterics looking at the prices of these tiny blocks of cheese and the mold that was growing on the cheaper blocks.  So embarrassing.  What do people eat down here?  I ended up leaving with organic lettuce, wild harvest bread, some absurdly priced cheese, eggs, broccoli and a 6-pack of Sam Adams Coastal Wheat.  Sounds great for 6 nights!  Hahaha.
Lex and I spent the next day at Virginia Beach.  We really enjoyed looking at the water, but it wasn't safe to go in, big storms a brewin'.  And, gosh, these beaches are nothing compared to the Cape.  They are all so built up with hotels and condos and restaurants.  There is barely any beach at all.  Still, the more time I spend away from my home, the more I fall in love with it!
As for the event, whoo!  The people who came to our event and worked for us were all just so uneducated and unaware of what we're here promoting.  I have some pretty hysterical stories.  One of which a woman grabbed one of our q-tips (for trying Burt's Bees), swished it in her mouth, put it in her ears to clean them and then said, "Ah, that feels better."  OMG!  People were very friendly, but, wow, I would never want to live down here.  The thought process here is super slow, the food options zero and the unemployment rate has sky rocketed.  Eeek!  Could not wait to get out of here either!