It has been a couple of days. I am currently in Hamptonville, NC. I am 310 miles from Virginia Beach.
When I was in Johnson City, several people warned me about walking over the smokies. The concern is that I would be walking during darkness (it was a 39 mile walk), there were a lot of roadway without any shoulder and it is a tourist area with a lot of intoxicated drivers. I fortunately met Alex who gave me a ride over the hill.
The next day I walked to Wilkesboro, 32 mile walk. Today I walked to Hamptonville, 26 mile walk. Both days were very therapeutic. The roads were either large four lane with fast traffic or backroads with minimal traffic. As a result I had a lot of time to think, plan and pray.
It is interesting to see so many churches that have cemeteries adjacent to them.
When I got to Boone, NC I called seven hotels but they were all sold out. I later discovered that this was the weekend that all the trees were supposed to turn colors. Due to the heat, they have not changed yet. I had to upgrade my choices and go to a very nice hotel. I lucked out as when I showed up and they found out what I was doing, they upgraded me and gave me a jacuzzi suite. I immediately went to Dollar General and bought a bag of Epsom salts. I stayed in the jacuzzi for about two hours and watched the baseball game.
Tomorrow I am on my way toward Winston-Salem, NC.