Norfolk Trip

Today was Wednesday. I drove Nuria to the Immigration office in Norfolk, Virginia. The round trip took about 4-1/2 hours. That included 10 minutes at the Immigration office and about 30 minutes at the Virginia Diner on the way back home. 

The first half of the trip to Norfolk was relaxing, to the point of boredom. There was little traffic on the four lane highway as we drove through farm country. Southeast Virginia grows a lot of peanuts and tobacco.  Virginia’s agricultural production is one of the most diverse in the nation. Many Virginia commodities and products rank in the top 10 among all U.S. states. In 2021, Virginia ranked third nationally for the production of tobacco, fourth in seafood, sixth for apples, pumpkins and turkeys, eighth for peanuts, and ninth for broilers.

Then we got to Norfolk. Crazy traffic. High speed traffic. A maze of roads and exit signs. Highway construction was everywhere. I used Waze to navigate through Norfolk and I can tell you honestly, I would have been in trouble without Waze. I tried to navigate by the large green overhead highway signs, but soon gave up and followed "the Waze voice" coming from my phone. Without that Google app, I think I would have gotten severely lost.

The appointment took less than ten minutes. They fingerprinted two fingers (she had been fingerprinted before, so this was for verification of identity). They took her photo (glasses off, please). She submitted a form containing personal information (name, date of birth, height, weight, eye color, hair color, etc.) It took maybe eight minutes, and then we took a restroom break and left for the trip home.

We had to navigate through crazy traffic again until we got out of the city. Then the trip became an easy, boring drive again. I'm glad the trip is behind us, but we may have to do it again. The immigration office will let us know. 

I wasn't sure my 28 year old Jeep Grand Cherokee would make the trip without problems, but we had no problems. The Jeep drove fine. I kept the cruise control on while going there and back, and the a/c kept us comfortable on the trip home when the temperature was warmer. The Jeep has a Jeep suspension, of course, so we felt every bump in the highway, but that was okay. I just wanted to get there and back without problems, and the old Jeep delivered on that. 

Next appointment: the dentist, this Friday, day after tomorrow. This is my fourth dentist appointment since March. I've got another dentist appointment in late April and again in May. I took a three year hiatus from dental visits during Covid, and now I'm paying in spades. Sometimes a dental visit is relatively painless. Sometimes your body struggles to stay in the chair as the pain becomes almost unbearable—even with the novacaine. It's a roll of the dice when you see the dentist.

I hope you're all having good times. Until next time, be well.