Date: 2012-04-13
From: Spivey Gap

To: Nolichucky - Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

What a day!! No computer access so couldn't write yesterday but it will remain a memorable day. After breakfast and dropping Rog up the mountain one more time...to Spivey Gap this time, I drove back 17 miles on the winding roads to the interstate and then back to Erwin to check out of the hotel. My brakes were grinding very loud so I called our wonderful mechanic in FW..Dan Yeoman and talked to him. He advised me to get them fixed as soon as possible. By now it was 11:30 on Friday afternoon so I went to the visitor's center to get advice on a place to fix brakes. She immediately recommended GARLAND'S TIRE which was close by. When I got there and told them my sad story, they said..sorry but we are overbooked for today. I don't give up easily so I just kept talking and finally the man said.."I will talk to the owner"...so he did and the owner said...maybe when the mechanic comes back we will see. "DO you want to go somewhere and come back later?" I said No, I will just sit here and wait...so I did and then he said he could fix them after 3pm and it would take 2 hours. I was supposed to pick up SOS at 4 but I said, "Okay". Long story short, they not only fixed my brakes and tires but had me ready to go by 2:15!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that is service!!!When I went to pick up SOS, 4 kids needed a ride so we delivered them and then 2 more needed a ride to the grocery and drugstore so we delivered them and then called Mango. Mango is a 2006 thru hiker who emailed us and offered a bed and meal for the night at his cabin at Roan Mountain. Jim (Mango) and Jane Moody are fellow United Methodists and had read our journal and wanted to be trail angels! We drove up the mountain and Mango met us part way as the road gets smaller and smaller and they live on the other side of a security gate at Ripshin Lake. Their neighbor, Tom, was visiting so we all had a great spaghetti dinner and talked and talked. As my granddaughter, Megan, said once..the beds were warm and comfortable! Great hosts, great food, great views of the beautiful lake, great memories!SOS here. Met Sit a Bit from Kennebunkport, Maine. I thought he was misnamed before the day was over, since - yes I could hike faster than him uphill, but he was an eat my dust kind of guy on the downhills. When he passed me the second time today, it would be the last time. I will be surprised, if I will see him again as I hike the AT.I ask Sit a Bit, what I ask every hiker from Kennebunkport, Maine, "Do you know the Bushes? His response was everybody from Kennebunkport, Maine knows the Bushes. (It is hard for me to grasp that former Presidents can be like the neighbor next door.) He told me that "Former President George H. W. Bush is now quite frail and needs a wheel chair to get around." He told me "Former President Geoge W. Bush loves to mountain bike and can be seen riding his bike on trails near Kennebunkport." I think it would be great a privilege to share a meal and talk to any former President and be able to see what they were like on a personal level. I would especially enjoy talking to George H. W. Bush because he is part of the Great Generation. What a memory that would be.Great day for hiking the AT - no rain!