Somewhere around day 2

Hello everyone! My word, I am having an amazing time! Yesterday I finished up my drive to Williamsburg, PA. Thank goodness for the trustee TomTom, which I have named Sandra Dee, as it saved me a few times from being lost beyond all belief. I missed a turn on the Rt 83 and ended up in downtown Baltimore. Let me tell you, my brief drive thru of the city was impressive to say the least. The buildings were all very industrial age design ( I believe it’s that era- I am definitely not an expert!) and I think I said “Wow” about 50 times before I jumped back on the highway.

I did pop into a coffee shop somewhere in VA where I was able to post my previous blog. Man, people are so friendly down here! Everywhere I go I end up in a 10 minute conversation with strangers. It’s incredibly refreshing. Of course not all conversations are nail biting (such as a friendly man who rambled on about gold leaf books that he buys) but I did meet an incredible promising connection today which I will explain in a bit.

Once I rolled into Williamburg I found my hotel without a hitch (thanks Sandra Dee!!) and immediately asked the concierge where was the nearest karaoke bar. I was itching to get up and sing with some total strangers! He kinda laughed and informed me Williamsburg is consisted of two groups of people. 1- Elderly 2- College kids to young to go out. He promised he would research for me though as I was very insistent that I was all about the karaoke. I grabbed my things and headed up to my new home and was thrilled to learn Geoff (from the front desk) found me a spot. Ironically enough it’s called The Spot. Conveniently located just around the corner, they had karaoke every Sunday night. Oh the good fortune!! So I took a little rest before my big VA debut then took off to The Spot.

I loved this place. It was everything I was hoping for. A complete whole in the wall joint where everyone knows one another and loves doing karaoke for the sheer fun of it. At first I was greeted a bit indifferently. I had taken a picture of the sign when I was outside, so that made some people very weary of me. Once someone had the courage to ask me what the deal was, I told them I was on a road trip and was just taking pics of where I go. After that, I had about 15 new friends. Geoff, from the front desk, was right. This town is consisted of mainly all old people, but there were a few people my age so it was a fun mix. My first song (yes I did more than one!) was Julie Robert’s Break Down Here. Not to toot my own horn, but I must have done ok as everyone was pushing me to get back up. From there I sang Build Me Up Buttercup, Time After Time, Summer Lovin and Picture. The last two songs were duets I was asked to do with two fellas I had met. Neither of the duets were very good, but it sure was funny!!

After becoming BFF’s with a few people at the joint, I was advised to check out Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. A very colorful character named Chris, told me all about how there is an island I can check out in Jamestown that was recently discovered to have the keys to unlocking a lot of Jamestown’s roots. It’s really quite amazing. Being in a place where history first began. I only have a few hours, but I am going to try to see as much as I can today!

After I checked out of the hotel I popped into a local coffee spot to grab some tea and do some research on how to get to these certain spots. I, again, met a handful of people that instantly wanted to help me see the sights they know so well. One man inparticular, Sandy, conversed with me for a while. Turns out we both have a heart for Africa, he has done years of work traveling the continent while working with UNICEF. He now has a talk show (which he invited me on!)  which focuses on different African cuisine. He hosts different African country representatives to come talk about their country and share a particular regional dish. I can’t even tell you how cool this connection is for me. I explained to him my dream of opening a little haven for the street kids of Rwanda and he was just as excited. We promise to stay in touch and he is definitely one of those people that is good to have on file. I can’t even imagine the knowledge he has on running non-profits and for him to offer help in wisdom and potentially financial aspects is beyond exciting. This trip is better than I could ever have imagined.

So for now, I am signing off. I have some sights to see and some history to catch up on!

p.s. I seriously promise I will be posting pics soon