Date: 2017-06-02
From: Rock and Sole Hostel

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

We began the day with an incredible breakfast at the Rock N Sole Hostel. Ms. Jody was an incredible hostess and a wonderful cook. After a delicious omelet, English muffins with strawberry jam, fresh orange juice, and great coffee, her husband, Craig, gave us a ride back to Port Clinton.Port Clinton has a pavilion and tent camping area for thru-hikers and as we were passing it, we saw our young friend, known as "Ramsey Bolton", getting out of his tent. We asked to be dropped off there and spent a few minutes visiting with him. Ramsey still needed to resupply and wasn't planning on leaving town until later in the day, so after catching up, we headed out to the trail. Hopefully, he will catch us in the next few days.We had heard great things about the local barber shop being friendly to hikers and having an AT Passport Stamp. Hikers have a souvenir book that can be stamped at various locations along the trail. Most hikers don't do it, but I enjoy it and have mine stamped whenever the opportunity arises. Inside, we met the owner Frank and his father. Frank is 69 and his father is 90, both have been cutting hair most of their lives and are still working today. Both, stopped cutting hair long enough to serve our nation. Frank was in the Marines during the Vietnam War and his father in the Navy in WWII. I thanked both for their service and decided to get my beard trimmed while I was there. Just how often can you get an old-fashioned shave and a haircut from a WWII veteran? Frank's dad served in the Pacific and was involved in a battle in June of 1944 known as "Operation Hailstorm" where the US attacked "Truk Atoll", the Japanese' Pearl Harbor, and sank more than 100 ships. He was amazed to learn I had once lived on Truk Atoll, and had scuba dove on many of the same ships he helped to place at the bottom of the ocean. He was tickled when I told him how great a job they did destroying those warships, especially when I described the size and number of holes they had placed in them. What an honor it was to meet these two men and it was definitely one of the highpoints of my hike so far. In between cutting hair, Frank will also give you a free estimate on the value of any gold and silver jewelry or coins you have...just to make sure you get a fair deal when you sell it elsewhere. He also gives "5-minute" guitar lessons at no charge and you can come in any time for another lesson. He's a member of a band who "jam" right there in the barber shop most weekends.After visiting for way too long, Beaker and I headed on out of town for the second time, only to realize about a half mile down the trail that Beaker had left his hat in the barber shop.  I watched the packs while he ran back and got it.We took a leisurely lunch at the first shelter we came to and another at a great view point in the middle of the afternoon. With all our stops, we only managed about 15 miles today but I wouldn't change any of it. It was a great day.Tonight, we are safe, warm, and dry in a shelter. They are calling for rain in the early hours of the morning but, with a little luck, it will have passed by the time we start out tomorrow. Right now, we're panning about a 17.5-mile day but who knows what tomorrow may bring. Goodnight from the Appalachian Trail.