Day 50 - Pearisburg

Slept pretty well last night on this very soft bed. Blowin' Sunshine and Shiggy shared the other bed.
 
Murph called at 7:20 a.m. to tell us that they were all staying another night. It was absolutely pouring out. The suspension bridge we crossed a couple days ago was under water, and someone coming south couldn’t cross one of the streams on the trail and had to go way out of his way to get around it. That was about all we needed to hear to make up our minds.
 
Murph decided to share our room, which is cool. And BS and Shiggy are still here, too. There was some guilt about taking a second zero day, especially when the sun came out late morning. But we had already booked the room for another night, so what can you do?
 
We hit the Italian pizzeria all-you-can-eat buffet when it opened at 11. Much better than the Chinese place. Dave didn't feel like doing much of anything afterward, but I needed to get out. So I walked to the library, then to Walmart. I bought my own pot, so now I’m almost fully independent. 

We sent back our Whisperlite stove and are going with one of those homemade soda can jobs that burns denatured alcohol. It’s all about pack weight (reducing it).
 
Some people went out to play pool at the local pub, but I hung in the room. Watched the end of There’s Something about Mary and went to bed. Slept OK (too hot). This marks the first time that we've spent three nights in the same place.

Day 49 - Pearisburg

Had to get the rest of our chores done so we could leave late afternoon. Got a box from Mom and Dad containing film, newspaper articles from the Metro West Daily News, and a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies (they didn’t travel well but were tasty nonetheless). Also got a few letters. Nice to get mail!

Then it was off to the drug store and supermarket to resupply. There are way too many kinds of food in the supermarket. Everywhere you look, there’s something good to eat! I have been thinking, though, that when we get home I really want to start cooking healthy meals – lots of fruits and veggies, brown rice, couscous, etc. We’ll see if I’m able to stick to it.

Check-out time at the motel was 1, and it was clear we weren’t going to have our act together by then. So we reluctantly decided to stay another night (the rain helped seal the deal). We knew everyone else was planning to take a zero day, but they were all at the hostel a couple of miles away, so we hadn’t talked to them.

Town errands take up so much time that a day off doesn’t feel like a day off. Bought sandwich ingredients so we could make our own lunch – and a box of Krispy Kreme donuts for dessert. I’m not sure if they’re better than Dunkin Donuts, but they sure are good.

No idea what we did the rest of the day, but it went by pretty quick. Blowin’ Sunshine stopped by and asked if we knew anywhere he and his dog Shiggy could crash. We invited them in with us.

Murph, Shiggy, and Blowin' Sunshine

Day 48 - Woodshole Hostel to Pearisburg

Happy to get up at 6:30 because town was near! After breakfast, Tillie took a picture of the whole gang (16 of us, I think).

Then the rains came again. It rained continuously and hard during the night. I was awake for a lot of it, so I know it’s true. Heard that the mountains got three inches. Anyway, it’s very hard to leave someplace dry to go someplace wet. But we made the move at about 8:30.

Beano gets his feet wet.

I slipped and fell on a wet rock and nearly had one of my crying episodes til Bean and Phil came walking over. That ended it quick. Overtired and wet and cranky, I guess.

I’ve been having this mental image of myself at work with my Platypus strapped to my chair, sipping water and Crystal Light out of the bite valve. Also, I wonder if I will continue to remove all packaging from my food when I get home from the grocery store. It’s become so automatic now. Chuck the cardboard, empty bags into Ziploc baggies, repeat. Because we do all this prep work, our trash after being out in the woods for three or four days can fit in one hand – not a trash bag or garbage can. Makes you think a little.

When we got to Pearisburg, Dave and I were standing outside the local Pizza Hut when Charlie waved us in. Stray Cat, Ebb, and Honkey were already there. It was a beautiful thing to behold the lunch buffet. And I was so wet and dirty and smelly I can’t believe I was in a public restaurant. I went to town - it was so good.

Then we checked into our motel room. Nothing fancy, but what can you expect for $36. It did the trick for me. Helped Dave shave his head, then he went out to do laundry and I had some quality time with those tweezers of mine. Took a shower and then sprawled out on the bed to watch Oprah. Heaven!

We all met at the Chinese restaurant across the street for the dinner buffet. It was a disappointment, but of course I ate my fill. Chilled out on the bed in front of the TV for a while. Had some trouble sleeping – I think the bed was too soft! Up at 9.