Date: 2010-05-14
From: Damascus (Maggie Valley, NC)

To: Damascus (Abingdon)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Excellent night's sleep in our cabin...Sheri even let me have the bed and she took the futon. Woke up early and was actually able to go back to sleep...that rarely happens for me...awesome. Went back over to the Fella's RV for breakfast...my mouth was already watering thinking of Jerry's biscuits and gravy...soooo good. Also had eggs, bacon, link sausage, patty sausage, and more biscuits for butter and jam. Man, was I stuffed! After breakfast, we showered, packed up, and hit the road around 11 or 12 for our drive to Damascus. Jerry and Pat: Thanks for the hospitality, the great food, and, as always, the good company! Nice drive to Damascus in Sheri's convertible...only way to travel on a nice day. Guess what? Even stopped by Erwin, TN as it was directly on our way to Damascus. I never thought I would go back there, but we wanted a little snack food instead of lunch after our big breakfast and we were passing by it. I knew the exit and exactly where the store was, so it made sense to do it...never say never. We wanted to get to Damascus because there was a doctor giving free consultations as part of Trail Days. I knew I wouldn't be able to get a cortizone shot from him, but maybe I could get a recommendation from him for a doctor in Abingdon. Unfortunately, the doctor and PA were from Alabama and didn't have any contacts in Abingdon...shut out again. While I was waiting though, they also had a spot set up for feet washing and then massages...wow, did that feel good! Just volunteers doing it, but my goodness did they do a great job! Also had a spot set up for body mass index testing...down 16 lbs from my starting weight with about 11% body fat. Thought about going into Abingdon to the hospital to see about the shot, but I just didn't think it was going to be worth the time...Abingdon is not that big, so I think I'm just going to have to wait for a much larger town. Ran into a few of my early hiking buddies while waiting for the doc: Conan, Backwards, Daytripper (now Spanx), and Thunder. They all looked good and it was great to catch up with them...they are about a week or so ahead of me now. Also, ran into John and Just Lisa who are back on the trail after going home for John's dad's funeral...good to see them back. Sheri and I then headed down to Quincy's to grab a drink and give Sheri the tour of the town...all 5 blocks of it. Stopped by the PO and picked up another care package...this time from my mom, sister, and sister-in-law (Kelly). Lots of great tasting goodies in it...thanks, girls! After a drink or two, decided we wanted to go check into the hotel, shower, and then come back for the evening. I kept having issues with the travel time between Damascus and Abingdon where our hotel was. There is 10 miles between them and I kept thinking we can't just be running back and forth between them...it's like a half day hike between them for goodness sakes. Ah, that's where this fancy contraption called the car really helps out... Got back to Damascus and ended up having dinner at Quincy's with Stir Fry and his wife who was in town to pick him up. Earthling and Logos showed up, so we then joined them at the pool table. We ended up playing various teams of doubles against these two brothers who were probably 10 and 12 years old...there dad was a bartender there and it looks like they had spent many a night shooting pool...they kept kicking our butts! We finally won a game and called it quits. The band was also starting up, so we decided we were staying at Quincy's for the night. Bismark, Red Stick, and Nature's Own showed up later as well. The band was great and the people watching even better...Sheri and I had a good time. The other big thing to do in Damascus during Trail Days is to go down to Tent City where a lot of the hikers set up their tents and party. I did want to go check it out while it was in full swing, but I knew it would probably only be fun for me for about an hour and mainly just to say I saw it...probably too rowdy for me now...how things change! We'll go check out tent city tomorrow in the light of day just to see what it's all about. Didn't get over-served tonight, so should get a good night's sleep tonight and be ready for the big parade tomorrow. Cheers.