Day #56 - Family Reunion

Miles: 10 to Pearisburg, VA
May 16

Where to begin? I got to see my parents today! After 10 miles of walking on relatively dry trails (some parts were still streams) and seeing some pretty nice view, we made it to Cross Avenue in Pearisburg where Mom and Dad were waiting. Wing It saw them first and let me get in front for the hike down to the road. I introduced Wing It and Bluebird to Mom and Dad, then we piled into their rental car for the drive to meet Bluebird's parents. We met them at the Dairy Queen in town, then drove to Nagel's Grill where we had a lovely lunch. My parents got their first glimpse of the infamous hiker hobble. When a thru-hiker sits down for an extended period of time (during a lunch break, for example), their legs stiffen up to the point where they can't really walk. You kind of hobble around like an extremely old person that just got off a horse. It's not comfortable, but it's part of my life now.

The drive in to Damascus took about two hours. We checked into the Old Mill Inn, the nicest spot in town. Our rooms are awesome! I expected to fill mine with more hikers, but it's only me and Wing It. Not sure where all of my other friends ended up, but that means more room for us! Wing It is staying on the pull out couch and I get an entire queen bed to myself! Dad went down to the front desk to get my bounce box for me. Guess who put on makeup for the first time in 60ish days?! Woohoo! Mom brought my town clothes so I got to wear real clothes including jeans and a real bra. Such luxuries! I shower, blow dried, and even straightened my hair. It looks so weird to me. Normally it's pulled back under my buff or just an air-dried, half-wavy, half-straight mess. I also opened a card signed by my relatives and a picture Joshua scribbled for me. That was great!

I discovered that my missing Mountain Hardwear delivery ended up at the outfitter, so we walked over there (Damascus is small so it was a VERY short walk) and picked up my new shorts! Love them! They have biker shorts built in so I don't have to worry about them riding up too high when I sit down. They are very comfortable. I highly recommend them! Bluebird has them too. Dad really wanted to buy me something at the outfitter, but I didn't really need anything. Or so I thought. When we left the store, none other than Gene Espy, the 2nd man to ever thru-hike the AT, was standing at the door selling and signing books! I had to have one, so Dad got one for me. I had a great time talking to Gene. He flipped through the book and explained many of the photos to us. Since you couldn't take selfies back then, he propped his hiking pole at the Katahdin sign and took a photo of that. I jokingly told him I thought the pole might have been him given how much weight he must have lost on the trail. He laughed at that. He was a really nice guy. I'm so glad to have that book. I can't wait to read it when I get back home.

I introduced Mom and Dad to my hiker friends as we passed them in town. I didn't recognize as many people as I expected to, but there were a handful of familiar faces around. I had my photo taken for some sort of thru-hiker yearbook. Not really sure what that is, but I look forward to seeing it. We walked down to tent city, where most hikers stay, and saw some cops searching a car for drugs. I've heard they really crack down during Trail Days. Apparently so.

Mom, Dad and I ate dinner at the restaurant in the Old Mill. We ordered a bottle of wine. The waitress twisted the corkscrew in, but she didn't pull it out because she said she wasn't good at it. She gave it to Dad to finish. Very strange. My steak (yes, I like steaks now) was way overcooked so I sent it back. It was still a great meal though with great company! I'm glad my parents get to meet my friends and see a glimpse of what life is like out here.

Best Thing: Seeing Mom and Dad and meeting Gene Espy.
Looking Forward To: Everything about tomorrow!