Day 15 we met a guy just before we left the Wal Mart parking lot that we spent the night in. He didn't say his name, but he was camping out in a van similar to my last Dodge van. He was probably in his 40s and had a very hyper dog with him. As he talked to us, this dog kept digging holes in the mulch islands of the parking lot, and peed just about everywhere; including his owner's leg. The guy was just traveling on his way to Tampa saying that he cuts trees down for a few hundred bucks, spends some of it, and then travels to the next town. Seems pretty cool. He originally approached us to see if we knew of a place to shower. He should have looked us up and down first, because you could probably smell us from a distance. It's been about a week since I showered, and just under for Kim. Between the two of us, I guess grime likes company just like misery. We don't really seem to notice it. I'm sure strangers

The drive from Pennsylvania to Virginia was cold, but not nearly as bad as from Rochester to Reynoldsville. Going from the teens to the mid 30s feels so good after spending hours in a cold bus. The further south we traveled, and closer we reached our destination (Herndon, VA), the better our moods became. Pennsylvania had nothing but snow covered ground. Once we reached Virginia, rolling grass lands brightened our mood and made us temporarily forget about our dropping body temperatures.

As we drove south, we randomly discovered that we were in new states. Both Maryland and Virginia lacked welcome signs. I was a little surprised by this. It's as if the state is saying, 'c'mon now. Just drive on through. We don't want you here.' Well, maybe that's extreme. One thing we learned in Maryland: We were not the coolest vehicle on the road. This was clear to us as an early 90s 4Runner blew by us sporting spinners on a rusted frame turning in different directions. Sweet.

Our stays overnight have both spoiled us and the pets. After getting a home cooked meal from my Aunt Nancy, the following morning we ventured to a dog park to let Westy loose a bit. A completely fenced in area let us take off her leash with the hopes of wearing her out so she'd sleep the rest of the day. That plan didn't work out entirely perfect.

My cousin Keith has a lab that's at least twice the size of Westy. Needless to say, there was a lot of barking. I'm sure he loved seeing us drive his dog crazy, and break all of his possessions (more info on that yet to come). Kim found some random things pretty close in the area, so we had to go and check some of it out.

Westy was still hyper as we ventured over to the Wolf Trap National Park Of The Performing Arts. We didn't get to see any shows, but the whole set up of this place was awesome. Giant buildings made entirely of wood, theatres in the middle of the woods, and lots of paths and bridges to cross made us feel like we were getting closer to adventures to come. Once we left the park, it was off to see some people I hadn't talked to in a long time.

Later in the afternoon we met up with our friend, Mat. He gave us a brief tour of the area, it was great to see him since Kim had never met him, and I hadn't seen him in years. After we ran into Mat, it as off to see Simon. We were spoiled once again as we spent the night with our friend.

Another home cooked meal and an extremely comfortable futon only gives us false impressions of the road lying ahead of us. Lasagna made from scratch with fresh vegetables isn't going to compare to meals we plan to have like rice, soup, or PB & J. We're thankful, but also aware of how much our trip has yet to change. 

Today we plan to drive as far south as we can. Weather channel on Simon's outrageously large TV (65 inches) tells us that it's 51 in Charlotte. That sounds like Hawaii t-shirt and Margaritaville weather to me!