617 miles via US 64, I-85, I-285 (north of Atlanta) and I-75 with a fuel stop near Rocky Mount NC, an attempt to visit the Family Dollar corporate office in Charlotte NC (more on that below) and some zig-zagging on local roads in NC. Cumulative route miles: 1213. Cumulative auto miles: 1263. I will never be able to replicate that zig-zagging, courtesy of Google Maps, which must have cut off some miles because we logged just 617 miles versus the 644 shown on the Hop 2 map.

Both the weather and the traffic were pretty bad. The rain started and continued on-and-off for the first half of the trip. At times, east of Charlotte, the rain was very heavy. We tried to stop for boiled peanuts but it was too early. We stopped for gas just west of Rocky Mount, then tried to stop at the Family Dollar in Charlotte to give them a piece of our mind (see below) but they were closed as it was Juneteenth. We encountered several accident slowdowns on I-85 north of Atlanta. We were at an exit when we encountered a slowdown which Google Maps said would delay us 25 minutes. We saw many cars taking that exit and, assuming they knew something, followed them. It was about a 3-mile detour but it got us past the accident and probably saved us at least 15 minutes. Thanks, locals!

The attempted Family Dollar visit was due to a kerfuffle Marlene had at the Family Dollar store near our hotel. She popped in for coffee filters (we had just purchased a used Mr Coffee at a thrift store) and saw a sign on the door advertising a “flash sale” of Lays potato chips – “buy 2, get 2 free”. The regular price for these was “$3.50 or 2 for $6”. Buy two, get two free – should be 4 for $6, right? But they rang up as 2 at $3.50 each. The manager said that “special deals can’t be combined.” Marlene contended that the 2-for-$6 was not a special deal – it was the everyday price. The manager handled it poorly. Instead of simply giving Marlene the $1 in dispute she called her “stupid.” As the Family Dollar corporate office was basically on the way we tried to stop to complain both about the signage and the manager’s abusive behavior. We didn’t get that satisfaction but, believe me, they will hear about it.

Our home for two nights in Manteo was the Heart of Manteo Motor Lodge. I booked this hotel because it was on Roanoke Island, just a bit inland from the outer banks islands where hotels were much more expensive. This hotel was reasonably priced. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The room was recently renovated, with a full refrigerator and a kitchenette. A large TV with many channels, Comfortable bed. Clean throughout. And an electronic door lock. Very nice for the price. I would stay here again.

We did a bit of sightseeing and shopping on our full day in the Outer Banks. We went first to the Outer Banks Fishing Pier in Nags Head where we simply walked the pier and took some photos. Then we drove north to Jockey’s Ridge State Park where we walked to the end of the newly-constructed elevated walkway, then walked a bit on the dunes. We did NOT slide down the dunes on boogie boards which is what some of the other visitors were doing there. Nor did we take hang glider lessons. The sand was hot but Becky ran through some of the sand and seemed to enjoy the freedom. A very nice state park.

Then we visited the nearby thrift store where Marlene found a pair of red shoes that she simply had to have and the aforementioned Mr Coffee. The coffeemaker was a great purchase because the in-room coffee was atrocious and our attempt to brew our own coffee (by throwing coffee grounds into boiling water and trying to filter into cups) was a miserable failure too. But with the coffee maker we were able to brew good coffee both that night and the next morning before we left.