Dinner last night was amazing but I don't even want to think about food. Why oh why did I eat that Ben & Jerry's ice cream this afternoon? I'm lactose intolerant and therefore miserable right now. All the mistakes!
Otherwise, today was a great zero! I woke up around 7:45 to make sure I was ready for breakfast at 8:30. I have a really hard time sleeping in even when I try. I normally wake up at 6 and just doze until I can't lay there anymore. Elmer and his helper Jess made scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, granola, and some of the best cantaloupe I've ever had. Breakfast conversation was about the Camino de Santiago. I think I'd like to hike that when I'm older. One of the women at the table had hiked it. Twist (Kim) has hiked it too.
Also talked to a woman named Jersey Girl. She's a retired nurse and attempted a thru-hike in 2009. She's since had both hips replaced and she's now trying to finish up the sections she's missed.
The weather was beautiful today so I sat outside the outfitter for a while bumming off their free WiFi. ATT is so unreliable out here. I rarely get signal. I also mailed a few postcards then caught up with my group as they finished breakfast at the diner.
Three men in suits pulled up and insisted on praying over us as they went inside. They must have come straight from an Easter service. The guy that said the prayer must have been a pastor. He had a big personality.
After that I went back to the room to try to catch a nap. A guy named Cape barged into my room not long after that. When he heard a female voice he refused to walk further and just hid behind the door. I felt so bad. He clearly felt horrible and confused about barging into a girl's room. I guess Elmer got confused and told him my room was available. Oops! Elmer apologized later and Cape took the room next door.
I spent the rest of the day moseying around town. We got free pulled pork sandwiches at the Hiker Resource Center. They were excellent!
After lunch, Longhorn, Wing It, and I went to the Hot Springs. They were not at all what I expected. They were just jacuzzi tubs on private little patios and were supposedly filled with water from the hot springs. Besides the view of the river, it pretty much just felt like sitting in someone's backyard jacuzzi. We had a good time though and shared some Yuenlings. When our hour was up someone knocked on the fence and the tub immediately started draining. That's one way to get people out!
We headed over to the "Hot Springs Shelter" (the trailer behind the restaurant) and some of my group celebrated 4/20. Happy Easter! Then it was back to my hostel for another luxurious hot shower and delicious dinner at Elmer's. Mighty Blue joined us! His blog is www.myappalachiantrial.com. I ate so much and hiked so little today that I nearly threw up at the table. Seriously. I was miserable. I didn't realize how quickly my hiker appetite would subside when I took a day off. Luckily Mighty Blue kept the crowd entertained so I had a little more time to digest. It's back to the trail tomorrow! Can't wait to be making progress toward Katahdin again.
You can see the "shelter" behind the restaurant in this pic:
Best Thing: Visiting the Hot Springs. Why not?
Looking Forward To: Exercise! I feel so gross right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment