Date: 2014-07-16
From: Elm Street

To: Norwich Inn - Norwich, VT
Miles today: 2.5

Guess what day it is...guess what day it is?! If you said Hump Day(!), you are correct. Today is also the day I entered the 13th state of the trail - closing in on the Whites!A very good sleep in the Thayer Residence - I woke up at seven to see what the weather was doing and since it was still raining I went back to sleep! Woke up an hour later and got my laundry folded and the bag mostly packed but spent time laying on the air mattress doing some work on the Kindle and sitting the rain out - a lazy Wednesday morning! Toni had already left for work so Sharp Knife, Hiccup, and I were the only ones chilling at the house.Eventually I knew I must move on to explore Hanover and Dartmouth College so I got my rain gear on and walked towards town around 10:45. The rain gear was unnecessary since it stopped raining once I was outside. The walk down Elm Street to the main road through Norwich was trail magic alley - watermelon and drinks and cookies in coolers along the road!A very nice walk into Norwich and then NH - halfway over the bridge was the the border line! A great moment and I only wish Big Dawg was here to celebrate it with me. Still a great accomplishment! From the bridge I followed the trail until I turned off to go to the campus building that housed the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC). Hikers can leave their packs there for free and also utilize the computers upstairs to do work. Instead of going to the library I decided to work there and I got it done quickly on the fast computer!After getting the work done it was time to explore the campus and get lunch - the sun was shining and everything! A great little college town with everything hikers need along the trail through town and all in a centralized location. I decided to eat at Ramunto's Brick Oven Pizza for lunch and enjoyed a free slice of cheese pizza - so good I went back and paid for another slice! While eating lunch Chocolate and Cheese walked by so I called out to them and said hi - they had taken another zero day since they spent the first rest day packing food boxes for the remainder of their trip - not really a rest day! I promised to meet up with them later and went back to lunch.Went on a hunt for postcards after lunch and found Pilot, Navigator, and Phys Ed in town - chatted with them before they went off to get lunch and I went to catch a bus back to Norwich to check into the hotel. The bus system around Hanover is great and I was able to get to the Inn and back to town really quickly!Norwich Inn seems like a very nice place - the hotel and room was in great shape and the owner seemed very friendly! Also you get a free beer as a hiker so it cannot be too bad...right? The room was well-furnished and I dropped my pack off before returning to Hanover for more exploring.Since the sun was shining and the day nice it was a perfect day to explore - and play Ultimate Frisbee! Or at least so I thought - turns out the group I was tossing the Frisbee around with wasn't actually going to play and left the field - a big letdown I really wanted to play!A good trip around the campus (lots of nice buildings and monuments) and then I met the Swiss for dinner at Murphy's - a great restaurant in town! Good food, good friends, and a good day - cannot complain about that!Since the bus stopped running at six I walked back to the Inn and called my momma to talk to her - she was very happy I called! Settled in at the hotel and enjoyed the free beer in the alehouse and settled in for the night. Fully into NH tomorrow!