Date: 2013-05-05
From: Va. 311, Catawba, Va.

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

When I arrived at Four Pines Hostel, owner/proprietor, Joe Mitchell, was standing in the yard chatting with his girlfriend and sipping on a Coors Lite. I could tell right off that Joe was one of our southern "good ole boys". He is a big man, 6'5' or so and he has a slow easy way about him. His hostel is set up in a huge garage with indoor plumbing and two refrigerators. There are a few beds, several sofas, beach lounge chairs and a recliner permanently fixed in the up position. Joe was getting ready to make a run to the store in his two seat Chevy pickup. There were already five or six hikers there and I knew most of them including Ambassador, L'il Injun, Augusta and several others. I asked Joe if I had time to take a shower and catch the store run too. He said sure. So, that's what I did. Later on in the afternoon, Joe told us he would drop us off at The Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba if we wanted to go. The reputation of The Homeplace had grown to legendary proportions on the trail. Supposedly, the food was superb, the prices were ridiculously cheap and it was AYCE, all you can eat. So, of course, we said, YES!As promised, Joe delivered us to The Homeplace Restaurant just before 6:00. Lots of folks were lounging on the huge front porch and many more were milling about in the yard. They do not take reservations. You just sign up when you arrive and they call your name when your turn comes. Well, I went to sign up our group of five. I asked the host how long the wait would be and he said two hours. The local high school was having their prom and Virginia Tech had graduation on this Saturday. Needless to say, the place was totally slammed. At first, none of us wanted to wait two hours, especially me. But, after reconsideration, we agreed to the wait. And, we were glad we did. The Homeplace definitely lived up to it's hype! The food was wonderful and, once it started coming, we were smothered with fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, prime rib, fresh corn, green beans, ham, cole slaw and huge, melt in your mouth, biscuits like mamma used to make followed by gallons of sweet tea. Our table grew strangely quiet as we shoveled in the delightful fare. Our waitress did not allow us to run out of anything. Every time I looked up from my plate, another dish of food was coming. Then,the crowning jewel for desert was blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Wow, it was indeed a meal fit for royalty.Sunday morning dawned sunny, blue and beautiful. I asked Joe about slack packing opportunities. Because of little road access to the AT in this area, I had little to choose from. He could drop me at Va. Hwy. 311, which was only 5.9 miles from Four pines. Or, he could drop me in Daleville which was 20 miles further. I chose to do the 5.9 mile hike which is a "nearo". In trail terminology, taking a day off is a zero which means "0" miles are logged that day. A nearo is a short hike for the day or almost a zero. Joe dropped me at the trailhead on Va. 311 and I began my hike back to Four Pines. Since it was a beautiful, spring Sunday morning, there were lots of day hikers out. It was a short, sweet hike back to Four Pines. I crossed several beautiful pastures brimming with wild flowers and there was very little stress and strain as I arrived back at the hostel in about two hours. Joe and I had already planned for him to take me to Daleville when I arrived back at Four Pines. By noon, Joe dropped me at the Daleville Howard Johnson's, located approximately 150 feet from the trailhead. The remainder of my Sunday was spent calling a few family members and friends, watching a NASCAR race on tv and relaxing.Sandman69 signing out for now.