Date: 2017-06-01
From: VA 624, Newport Road/Four Pines Hostel 

To: Carnegie Hotel, Johnson City, Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

6/1VA 624, Newport Road/Four Pines Hostel to the Carnegie Hotel, Johnson City, Tennessee0 milesTotal miles:  702.4Today, I got off the trail for the weekend to attend the annual East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad Historical Society Convention in Johnson City, Tennessee.  I believe I have mentioned before that I have a large model railroad in my basement based on the ET&WNC, also known as the ET and as the Tweetsie Railroad.  I woke up at my regular time but was in no real hurry.  I had arranged for a shuttle to the grocery store for 10:00, where my friend, Patricia, planned on meeting me so we could drive to Johnson City for the convention.  The rain had stopped during the night, and my tent was completely dry when I took it down.  I got a chance to visit briefly with Bob, the owner of the hostel (along with his wife, Donna) although he wasn't interested in having his picture taken.  Soway and E-Brake are part of the hostel family as well.  They met while hiking the PCT.  Like I said earlier, there is a laid back, welcoming openness about Four Pines that really just needs to be experienced. I had a long talk with E-Brake this morning about children with special needs and how best to help meet their needs and the needs of their families.  She is truly a thoughtful, insightful, and caring woman.  I packed up my stuff and said goodbye to Cumen, whom I tented next to last night.  Cumen came to Four Pines several days ago with a badly infected toe and is staying there until it heals.  Soway then shuttled me to the grocery store after dropping off two hikers and E-Brake, who was going for another run. I purchased a tub of ice cream, a bottle of orange juice, a can of V-8 Juice, and a bottle of Gatorade, as I waited for Patricia. Patricia is a special kind of Trail Angel.  I did not see how I could possibly attend the ET convention this year since I was on the trail. I told Patricia I was going to miss the convention, and she said I wasn't.  She volunteered to pick me up wherever I was and to take me back after the convention. This involves several hours of extra driving on her part. We had a great three-hour drive to Johnson City and caught up with each other.  We got to the Carnegie Hotel, checked in, and then went to lunch at Smokey Bones.  We had a wonderful server named Caira, who was very excited when she learned I was thru hiking. She loves hiking and the outdoors and hopes to do long distance hiking one day.  She actually caused me to break a promise I made to myself a decade ago.  When I became an administrator and became inundated with paperwork, I swore that when I thru hiked, the only paperwork I would have anything to do with would involve bodily functions. I'll blow my nose and wipe my tookus, and that was it.  All receipts would be refused or immediately thrown away.  Caira wrote such a sweet note on my receipt that I will keep it with my trail  mementos. After we ordered, I got a call from my friend Sharon from Missouri. She has been a dear friend for many years.  Her late husband, John, was instrumental in the formation of the historical society and, along with my friend Chris, published "The Blue Ridge Sidewinder," the society's magazine, for twenty years.  They also published a book of that name.  Sharon will be giving the keynote address tomorrow.  She met us at the restaurant,  and I then received a huge surprise.  My wife, Sandy, had come with her.  I was completely speechless with surprise.  We then went back to the hotel until dinner,  which was at an excellent Mexican restaurant. We were joined by Chris, Denise, Curtis, Cindy, Fred, and Joel, all members of the historical society. Everyone was a little amazed by how much I was eating.  Hiker Hunger lives on!  After we ate, Sandy, Patricia, and I went to Kroger so I could resupply.  It was then back to the hotel.  It is a little strange being off the trail after so long, but I am really excited about the upcoming convention and with being with my railroad friends and, of course, with Sandy.