On the way to Virginia Beach.

Andrea with her Brandy Alexander

We spent a night in a Hampton Inn and out side our room was this image. I felt so at home.

Driving out of the Autumn Storm.

Yesterday was a full day of torrential rain. Cloud bursts; sheets of rain, buckets and pitchforks all beat the hell out of us. We have had a lot of rain on this trip but not like Cape Cod to Lebanon, Pa. About 20 miles from our campsite we could see out from under the storm that had followed us for 8 hours. Really scary driving. Andrea drove most of it and did a great job. At lunch we stumbled upon the Eveready Diner. For months Andrea has been talking about the absence or BRANDY Alexander’s

on bar menus. On the first page of the Eveready Diner’s menu was a page of 1940 – 1960 Fru Fru drinks. The first one on the list was Brandy Alexander. Brandy, dark crème de cocoa and then you can go in a couple of directions but the best is to blend with ice cream. We normally don’t drink at lunch but today was a rainy day exception and it was a good thing to do. Lily went with the Root Beer Float.

Evan though the driving was scary the gesture of nature was dramatic and inspiring. The fall colors waved encouragement as we pushed on through the storm.

In the midst of this I received word that Andrea’s cat Zoe was not doing to well. The cat is nearing 25 years of age. It lives at the studio in my office space and sounds like Tom Waits with bronchitis. She weighs about 8 pounds and is way off white. She has a coat similar to motel sheets that have been washed too many times with out bleach.

She is missing a front tooth, which allows her to drool on you as you pet her.

BUT we love her. You put 25 years in with your pet and that is a real investment in your family. This news created a little shift in me about our trip. This was the first moment I thought about returning. There has been a tremor in the groove.

We headed for what may be the Beverley Hill Billies RV camp in Kitty Hawk NC. It is on the beach and the place looks to have a funky charm that my family prefers to the polish of resorts. As I have mentioned before NICE is not really nice.

It’s sunny and warm we will get some propane and head for the Outer Banks of north Carolina.

Other drinks from the same period as the Brandy Alexander. Grass Hopper. Pink Squirrel, Separator, Singapore Sling, Rusty Nail, Between The Sheets, Whiskey Sour, Fuzzy Navel and all of the things that came in a Coconut shell with umbrellas.