Virginia and North Carolina

I spent several hours driving to Virginia and then on to North Carolina on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I first went to Virginia Beach and it has really changed since my last visit. They have just competed a new Hilton Beachfront Hotel and a new Convention Center. I stayed at the Hilton, but to be honest, I really didn't get to enjoy the huge flat screen tv and the brand new room. I go in late and checked out at 7:00AM. The beach was beautiful, as usual, but the visit was so short that I didn't get to appreciate the experience. I saw several old friends and appeared on the program with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Tim is a former city council member from Richmond, Virginia and seems like a very compentent governor. Virginia is unusual in that the governor is restricted to serving only one term. This is very unusual in the United States. It really makes you focus on getting things done in a relatively short time.

I left Virginia around noon on Monday and headed for Greensboro, North Carolina for the North Carolina League Conference. I attended the Annual Banquet on Monday evening and got to see a former National League of Cities President, Ferd Harriston of Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Ferd has the distinction of being the NLC President from the smallest city. I believe that I am from the third smallest city, with Clarence Anthony from South Bay, Florida being second. Us little towns have to stick together!!! Ferd is in his eighties and is showing his age a little. He is still a pretty sharp dresser and still has a lot of friends at the North Carolina League. I was a little amazed that I knew as many people in North Carolina as I did.

One odd thing when I visit North Carolina is that people always give you a doubletake when I say my name is Jim Hunt. Jim Hunt was a popular Governor and United States Senator from North Carolina.

I stopped in Winston-Salem on my way home to participate in a ceremony for the Inclusive Communities Program. It was a really nice event, with many members of the community participating in the event. They renovated the City Hall in Winston-Salem about four years ago and it is a very impressive building. I really think that the Inclusive Communities program is going to do great things in Winston-Salem.

On the way out of town, I passed RJ Reynolds Co. Tobacco is still really big in North Carolina and you can actually smell the tobacco in the air.

After a safe drive home, I looked at my odometer and I had gone over 1000 miles in just three days.