I’ve been reading “The Late Show” lately (already 3/4 completed) and the main character takes a pop-up tent to the beach, where she sets up temporary camp, paddle boards and then sleeps some with her dog, Lola. Don’t know why, but I decided to search for a “cheap pop-up tent” online and the cheapest I found was only $15 from Five BEL°W, and the only location that had the tent was the Cary location. I decided yesterday morning to drive up to Cary and see if I could buy one of these cheap tents. *As if I actually ever would go to the beach, or somewhere else, to set up this tent. And, I haven’t checked out the quality yet, but what could I expect for only $15 plus tax?

* I ended up donating the pop-up tent to the Main Library in Laurinburg, and checked back some time later and they did use it at least once for an overnight teddy bear event.

But, the trip was very enjoyable. I stop by the new Harnett County Library on my way. They usually have a few books, for sale, and I check them out. Then there is a short-cut that takes me away from Fuquay Varina on my way to Apex (I don’t go through Holly Springs, but veer off, West.) This time, I turned onto US 1 just before entering Apex. *There was a guy that was going to cut in, at the last, just ahead of me. But, I wasn’t in the mood, and he came close to hitting me, but finally slammed on his brakes and came in behind me. We later exchanged symbolic gestures in appreciation of each other. If you know the area, he was just some mook looking to cut-in at the last moment, and he had no more right to cut in front of me, by that time, than get in “with the rest” that were behind me.

I first turned off of US 1 to visit “Mr. Mike’s Used Books.” I’ve been there several times, and have even bought at least one of the Connelly novels there. They had a bunch of the Connelly novels, but nothing new for me. *I’m just looking for hardback copies for a few of the early Bosch novels that I only have in paperback versions.

After the bookstore, I checked my route to Five BEL°W and headed up to it. It had been a few years, but I began to recognize the area which I had driven around pretty extensively back during my working years.

I found Five BEL°W easily but did need to rely on my phone navigation because this shopping area has many convoluted streets that wind around. I guess I would call it “snaking my way” through.

I had never been in a Five BEL°W before but there is one located near the Sprouts in Fayetteville that I visit often. At the other end of the strip mall. I didn’t even know what they actually sold, and had never had a reason to find out. But the cheap pop-up tent had gotten me here.

I walked in the front of the store and saw a few customers and staff milling about. It actually looked a little like a Dollar Tree, but less organized. But later would find out that they were remodeling the whole back section to become a Ten BEL°W section. I didn’t see what I was looking for so I found a staff girl and asked. She wasn’t sure, but directed me back to the store manager.

The store manager was talking to another female staffer as they were walking out from the back area. There were several workers moving stuff about. I asked the man if he was the manager and he acknowledged that he was. I then asked about a cheap pop-up tent for $15. He said, “Yes, I think we have two. What color would you like.” I asked what colors he had and he said pink and green. I asked what shade of green and he said it was lime green (I think.). I said, “I’ll take the green.” He disappeared in the back of the store and shortly came back out with a round, flat, tent in a lime green carrying case.

I don’t recall why exactly but in a very brief exchange, we talked about goat cheeses, raspberry jam, and Trader Joe’s. He was a good guy. The young male store clerk took my tent and I guess scanned it and I asked if I could use my credit card. He replied in the affirmative. I stuck my card in and got my receipt for $16. A dollar tax, exactly.

It was a hot day and I walked out to my car and put the tent in the back seat. I took a picture of the tent on the seat, and also a picture of the store front of Five BEL°W. I then drove over to park under some shade provided by a tree (several shade trees, but not a great number of them). There was a truck parked in a slightly better location, but I had some shade and I reached for my novel, “The Late Show,” and I found my place and continued reading. *The truck eventually left and another car had come up on the other side of me to park.

It had begun to dawn on me that I had actually eaten at a restaurant in this area. More than one, but one was a “Jason’s deli.” The other I will have to track down, but I think it had the name “Tomato” in it’s title. I had been there several times as they had a good salad, soup and dessert bar. As I drove through this shopping area, I began to recall having become familiar with it several years ago. I scoped out the phone navigation and figured out how simple it was to find Tryon Road.

As I came up to Wake Med (on my right) I decided to get off Tryon Road and head to my left. I knew the Harris Teeter was then on my right. I went past that turn and was thinking I could find the LaQuinta Inn, but never saw a sign. I’m thinking it might have been the first street just past the Harris Teeter (which was beside a WalMart). So, I keep going and it is obvious that this is a nice neighborhood, on both sides of the street. I eventually come to a light and turn right. It’s been a while, but I am flying “by the seat of my pants” and after mistakenly turning into a nice “senior residential living facility” and coming back out, I turn down a street that will take me back close to the Amphitheater. I recognize where I am and turn to go past the Ampitheater.

I had attended a training session at a motel, near where Tryon Road and US 1 cross, and during another training session, I had stayed at a LaQuinta Inn. This training was near the Koka Booth Amphitheater (in fact the large parking lot blended together for all of these). The multi-story training facility had changed names, I think. I then came back and found the LaQuinta Inn and as I rode around the building I found that it was being remodeled and apparently there were no current customers. *I wondered if they still had the yellow acrylic table that I had really liked. I’ve looked several times online but have never found anything that looks quite like it. It was about three inches thick see-through yellow acrylic with a metal stand. Something that maybe two people could sit at. I seem to recall sitting at the table one morning, and the condensation was on the window nearby. It may have been in a Continental Breakfast nook.

After coming out of the LaQuinta, I headed past “Lucky 32” a high-end restaurant, and fought the urge to stop and go into the Harris Teeter nearby. I’ve been in this Harris Teeter, at least once, and they have an enormous selection that most Harris Teeter locations do not carry. That’s because Cary, NC is an elite neighborhood (most of it). I think I may have bought some fresh, special mushrooms there, and I think they also carried the Tiger Sauce.

Oh, now I recall that after heading down Tryon Road, back toward downtown Raleigh, I realized where I was and turned on to Avent Ferry Road. It had been a long time, but I used to love going past a lake. Yup, still there and with a long narrow pedestrian bridge that connects a parking area from the main lake-beach facility.

I then went to the State Farmer’s Market. Bought some peppers from Moore’s. They are just beginning to start but will have tons of both hot and mild peppers by the end of summer.

After the Farmer’s Market I headed down US 40 and finally stopped off of Hwy 42 at the Smithfield’s Chicken -n- Barbecue to have an Arnold Palmer (with sweet tea) and an order of French Fries. The drink and fries cost a little over $5. *They have created an intricate traffic interaction here, but it works.

I had actually begun to think about stopping at the Hwy 55 in Dunn for an order of onion rings, but finally decided against it. *Had googled for directions to Tucker Lake and found that coming from above I 95 was the easier route. That is where a 12 year old boy drowned recently.

When I got home, I came in and got the Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate out of the fridge and cut off a 2 oz. slice. This was too much, but I eventually ate it all with some Black Sesame Rice crackers.

My meal schedule had been thrown off severely. I decided to not have calf liver for dinner but chose to make a chicken salad with some of the Harris Teeter Roasted Chicken I had bought a few days earlier. I had bought the roasted chicken from Publix for quite a while but then began to sense that the chicken meat tasted “mealy.” I tried Harris Teeter and the chicken tasted better, and I think they have kept the price down too. *I added some of the California Sun Dried Tomatoes to the salad and they have a distinct flavor.

I am a slow reader, but I only have about another 70 pages left in “The Late Show.” The hardcover copies feel better in the hand, and the print is larger which makes for easier reading, I think. I have plodded through several paperback copies but they are not as pleasurable, and the light gray paper of one paperback was horrible for reading.