MST Trek Day 66

Woke up after a night in the Kinston campground.  Jerry came a little before 6:30 and brought me a large cup of coffee and a Hardees bacon, egg & cheese biscuit and some hash browns.  Much appreciated!  Last night was interesting, to say the least.  I got attacked by sand fleas-- I wish I had a flea pellet or some Frontline.  They didn't seem to bother Tennille at all.  It made for a really long night.  The morning was pretty hot and humid, but we had intermittent sprinkes that helped a bit.  There is absolutely no shade anywhere along this trail towards the beach.  They have cut down all the trees.  On our second break in the morning (for Tenille to cool down), I was attacked by an angry mob of fire ants. I should have known better, having lived in South Carolina, but I will be checking the ground before I sit from here to the end.  After turning onto old route 70, we went into the quailt little town of Dover.  The restaurant where I was hoping to eat was not open yet, so I went down the street to the grocery store.  Upon entering, I was screamed at by the foreign sounding owner of the establishment.  He told me to get out of the store with my dog and to leave her outside.  After explaining to him that I did not have to do that because she was a Guide Dog, he said he didn't care about my Federal law and demanded that we leave.  This went back and forth until he came around the counter.  At that point, I decided that it wasn't worth my time and we left.  I now know how Rosa Parks felt, trying to get a seat on a bus.  After that, we hiked to Cove City, where the second restaurant on our list had gone out of business a year and a half ago.  Doom on me for not taking food and assuming the restaurants in the guide book would be open.  We hiked further, and as we were leaving Cove City, we got rained on by a brief, but torrential downpour.  We made it 19 miles, and were picked up by our new trail angel, Roy, and were very happy to have eaten pizza and to be inside because it is expected to be storming throughout the night.  As an added bonus, I go to wash clothes, and am now as clean as a thru hiker can be!  Tomorrow I will be meeting Jef Judin from Thorlo in New Bern.  I am really excited that Thorlo is having him follow us for the rest of the way so we can capture the final days of this trek on film.