Date: 2017-03-23
From: Franklin, NC

To: Franklin Budget Inn, Comfort Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

From Fatboy:The white van from the First Baptist Church arrived at our lodging at 0715 and delivered us to the church. We were met with the unmistakable smell of frying bacon when we entered the church. A very friendly group of people met us and directed us through a serving line where we were provided with plates of pancakes and bacon. They also served fresh fruit, fruit juice, coffee, muffins, and homemade apple and pumpkin butter. We were seated at round tables and offered as much food as we could eat. I estimate there were 50 hikers. Each table had envelopes with stationery provided and our pictures were taken as we ate. The lady who seemed to be the organizer told us that this church had been doing this for ten years and there were large banners which were covered with signatures and drawings in crayon for each year hanging on the walls. We were asked to sign the banners and keep them informed of our progress on our hike. Our photos were printed and we were offered the opportunity to address a note to a friend and include our photos and they would provide the postage and take care of mailing our notes. The associate pastor gave a very brief testimony and then sat with our table for his breakfast. I was so moved by the kindness of these people that I had tears in my eyes. They asked that we join them again tomorrow and for as long as we stayed in Franklin. I have never known a town with such a friendly atmosphere. The van delivered us back to our lodging and Ginger and I packed up to check out and move to a Choice Hotel because we get credit toward rewards of free lodging. We walked across town and stopped at a little coffee shop where three seniors were working on puzzles or computers. The lady serving our coffee was delightful and gave us homemade brownies and candy to go with our coffee. More super friendly folks. We shopped at the dollar store for food and other resupply items then began our trek to our next lodging. I completely underestimated how far we had to travel and we seemed to walk for an hour along limited access highways before we checked in to our new room. I was exhausted and my foot pain had returned. We did meet with Papa Smurf again and it was good to see him. We also met with this interesting shuttle driver who is 90 and a WWII vet. He was a great old guy and entertained us with stories of his wife and children. He shuttles hikers around Franklin for free and uses any donations to buy hikers lunches. This town is crazy hiker friendly. We rested in our room for a while, bathed, etc., until time for dinner. We called for a shuttle to take us for sushi and met the lovely Beverly. She says she's a courtesy driver and refuses any payment for her services. She recommended a great Asian buffet which served sushi and made sure we had discount coupons for our dinners. This buffet was next to Wal-Mart and we were able to buy Ginger's favorite protein bars there. We called Beverly and she picked us up and returned us to our hotel. Ginger bought her flowers in Wal-Mart and she seemed very pleased with the token of appreciation.   We plan to return to the trail in the morning but I can't imagine we'll ever find a community as welcoming and kind as Franklin has been. I'm amazed to the point of being at a loss for words.