Day 3 - Mineral, VA

Surprise, surprise, when I got up and stepped out the door this morning. It had rained during night-time and so the air was perfectly cool. Plus, an overcasted sky which didn't let the sun burn down on me. It was early at the morning and I was riding away from the Richmond metropolitan area, therefore I was pretty much alone on the road. The landscape rapidly changed as I did the first miles. The coastal area between Richmond and Yorktown is subject to floodings throughout the year, that's why it's called the "Tidewaters". Felt like riding through a huge swamp, pretty much the cliché of some southern Mississippi farmland, with all those mansions set back from the road at the end of large fields.
However, it's different now. The hills are steeper, the soil seems to be dryer and the farms tend to raise horses. Somehow like in Southern Germany. The biggest change though is the people! They walk around in dirty clothes with holes, they jump on the back of a pick-up truck if there isn't enough space in the cabin and most important: I don't understand them! "t"s and endings are generally dropped, "bad weather" is more like " be weha"(German pronunciation).
In other words: It's a totally different world.
Not like that's new for me, California is rural for the most part, too. I just didn't expect it that early on the trip.
In the meantime clouds have vanished and the sky is all blue again.

Decided to split the 140km day, since I've left early it's just one more hour to the town of Mineral (about 450 ppl). I can camp behind the firehouse and use their kitchen, there's gonna be a canned "Hearty Meal" for dinner.

I'm writing from a gas station about 45 minutes away from Mineral. Don't know if they got any WiFi there and don't wanna arrive too early and hang around for hours...

Update: arrived at the fire station. They showed me the showers, restrooms and told me I could sleep inside in case of rain. Well it started to rain soon and although it has stopped, the sky is still dark. "Make yourself at home" - I'm not gonna turn that down! So today just my sleeping pad on the floor of their meeting room and I'm all set.

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