Weather, like one’s health, is often taken for granted until it’s not going your way. The 320-mile drive to Baltimore was marked by rain which, if the newscasters are accurate, should continue until Saturday morning. When we leave.

We spent yesterday in Wytheville, VA, after leaving Asheville. During our last walk in the Asheville motel parking lot, I noticed a maid looking at Loren with a smile on her face.

“Want to meet her?” I asked.

Not that she had much choice. Loren was already on her way for an introduction, pulling me along for the ride.

“You’ve got a pretty dog,” she said, leaning down and letting Loren kiss her.

“She’s not my dog,” I replied. “Her name’s Loren and she lives at a no-kill rescue in California. We’re just traveling across country together to promote animal adoption and pit bull awareness.”

The maid’s name was Amy and she was interested in adopting Loren. When she asked how much the fee was, I said $150 and she said that was a lot.

“There are plenty of dogs like Loren at local shelters looking for a family,” I said. “They usually only charge $30 to $50 and they’re fixed and everything.”

Amy shook her head. “That’s true,” she said. “This one just seems like a real sweetheart.” She had OZZY tattooed on her left hand and more tattoos up her forearm and on her neck. My inner hesher grinned in recognition. Back in the day, I admired that look, I just never had the balls to get inked.

As we walked away, Amy called after us.

“That’s a real awesome thing you’re doing,” she said.

I got tears in my eyes. “Well, she’s an awesome dog,” I stammered.

The trip to Wytheville was uneventful, 188 miles of farmlands, brick buildings, and white church steeples, rolling hills with farmhouses nestled within. It was beautiful, but as my boyfriend said the other night, “There’s a price to pay for all that green.” The price is lots of rain, kind of odd for June, at least in Southern California. I just assumed every day on this trip would be sunny, but brought along a few hoodies just in case.

For dinner, I hit Main Street and found Dukes BBQ - “Best BBQ in Wytheville.” It was pretty darn good…and cheap! Only $3.99 for a pulled pork sandwich, which in my opinion, was better than the brick pit - same tender, melt in your mouth, except this was smothered in a tangy sauce.


Dukes BBQ

Doing my usual food photography attracted a weird reaction from the two couples eating across from me.

“You wanna take our picture?” One woman asked me sarcastically, followed by a high-pitched cackle. She had a really bad perm and I imagine, wasn't too popular in high school.

“Um, no…I just like taking food pictures,” I responded calmly, proud of myself for not adding “It’s none of your f’ing business.”

They all stared at me as if I were an alien life form and I continued snapping. Whatever. A few minutes later, a pastor came to join them for dinner and once again I was struck by the hypocrisy of churchgoers who don't exactly act Christian.


Speaking of...one of Wytheville's many churches

I should sic Loren on them, I thought, and looked out to see her faithfully waiting for me in the truck, sitting in the passenger seat, her little red and white head staring intently into the window.

Getting up early with Loren is a challenge. The girl loves to sleep in, preferring to snuggle and get pet for a half hour before we do the potty thing. We left for Baltimore at 10:15, an hour later than I intended.

"Just hit snooze one more time..."

More green, brick, and farmhouses awaited us as we passed through the rest of Virginia. We stopped in Harrisburg to get gas and I let Loren out for a break. As we headed out for the grass, a woman with bleached blonde hair spotted Loren and made a scared noise, followed by an “Ooh…” which sounded more like boo.

“She’s friendly,” I said.

The lady kept moving and made another “ooh…” which really pissed me off.

“God, she’s just a dog!” I said and hurried along, as mad as a mother with a handicapped child that draws unwanted attention. It incenses me that people think they know Loren with one look. “Oooh, Pit Bull, Bad.” It’s so ignorant. Especially since Loren's demeanor is so gentle.

We didn’t get to Baltimore until after 5 p.m. We checked in but our room wasn’t quite ready, so we sat in the truck and checked email as the rain pounded against our windshield. I looked at the back seat and patted Loren’s booty.

“You’re a good friend for putting up with this,” I told her.

"Are we there yet?"

We went closer to downtown so I could get to a meeting, not just to stay sober but for my sanity. I needed human contact. Of course, I forgot to write down the exact address, so I got lost and blew a half hour. Along the way, we got to view some very cool Baltimore architecture - rows of town homes, with absolutely no space between them, and incredible churches that must date back hundreds of years.

Scenes of Baltimore

It felt good to connect at the meeting, even though Loren set off the alarm twice.

I felt I owed Miss Thang my company after her patience today, so I picked up takeout at the Chicken N Trout. How could you not be intrigued by that name? I got an order of wings, mac n’ cheese, and collard greens. The woman ahead of me had a plastic Wal-Mart bag around her coiffure.

Tasty takeout...

The food was pretty good, if not a little fattening. Hey, I had Grape Nuts and a peach for breakfast! Tomorrow, I will eat a salad…and some crab cakes…what else is there to do but eat if it rains all day?

  
"Goodnight!"