The fog hovered thickly over the Neuse River in New Bern, NC as Jae and I arose and prepped for our next day of travel. We'd take Highway 17 north through Vanceboro, Chocowinity and Windsor before stopping in Elizabeth City for a quick bite to eat. With the rain clinging stubbornly to our daily forecast, we had to bypass a number of roadside cemeteries due to low visibility and also not knowing the condition of the soft shoulders on our route.

Jae had wanted to see Virginia Beach, Virginia - which might've stemmed from the original plan of having her come with me in September to the Virginia Beach Dulcimer Festival for her birthday (she ended up having to travel for work to Phoenix.) We rolled in to the mostly deserted strip of boardwalk and marveled at the shuttered look of the town.

After walking around for a little while, we found a KOA and camped for the night with F/A-18 Hornet Super Jets making ear-searing touch and go runs over our heads.

Besides daily admin, I've also begun the process of shopping for a new RV. We talked about it at length and realized that, with another vehicle at home that needs repairing (my little blue convertible, Buster), it wouldn't be cost-effective, or space-effective, to have four vehicles around the house. It makes more sense to have one RV and our respective vehicles for non-camping-related travel. Since there are a number of interested buyers for Rita, I'm floating out there that I'm considering selling her for an "as-is" price instead of trying to fix her up for presentation. I'm going to miss my Rita - but hopefully will sell her to someone I know, so there will be visitation rights.

Lots of stuff on my mind today. It's the end of our first of three weeks on the road and I'm not used to actually taking time off from the planning, creating, pushing forward with my music. 2016 is already shaping up to be a huge year with a lot more travel on the horizon. Taking this journey in the larger RV is serving a number of purposes, most importantly giving me and Jae some long-deserved time together after this year's lengthy tour; we're really enjoying each day in its purely simply way. Our drive about is also getting me used to the idea of a larger RV and how that might work in the face of travel, accessibility and overnight parking.

This trip is also allowing me to chill out and reflect on the past year and what it means. If I were at home right now, I'd probably be diving right back into the production pool. From where I sit, the reflection is crystal-clear and coming through in stunning HD.

Dreams are more colorful, too.

Driveabout: Day 7