Date: 2012-05-13
From: Catawba, VA Hwy 311

To: I-81 at Hwy 779
Miles today: 21.0

Mother's Day 2012- heard from 4 or our 5 kids and some of our other kids who call us Dad and Mom. We drove to the start spot and SOS was on the trail by 8:00. He hiked another long day and only saw a very few hikers. They are thinning out now as lots get off the trail by this time. I called and talked to my 93 year old Mom. She is still beautiful and in good health. I love to hear her laugh. She was a great Mom and I learned many things from her. She sounded good and so pleased that my sister from Florida was staying with her for a few days! She was going to church and out to dinner with some of her kids. I had a relaxing day in my room and talked to several people that I hadn't talked to in awhile since I have cell phone reception for a change. I don't really miss it when I don't have it but is nice to catch up with friends and family when I do. I spent a little time thinking about motherhood and what it means to me. Mother love is a very powerful emotion and I have it in abundance. From the time I was a little child, I knew that I wanted to be a Mom some day (I always said that I wanted 12 kids)...and here I am blessed with 5 wonderful kids. They didn't all come to me in the usual way but I make no distinction between who grew in my tummy and who grew in my heart. They are all my kids...all beautiful/handsome, smart, caring, thoughtful, talented, and no, I am not anything but factual when I talk about them! I drove to the pick up spot...mostly on I-81 and couldn't help but think how my thinking has changed during this adventure. At first, I didn't like the mountain roads and welcomed the bigger highways...now I long to be on the mountain roads instead of in the traffic, noise, and chaos of the interstates. Because I wasn't on any roads with interesting names today, I will pick the winner from names that didn't make the cut in the past. Today's winner is: STONEWALL LEE ROAD.   This leads one to wonder if someone flunked civil war history or if they ran out of road signs and had to double up! SOS's Mother's Day present to me was that he went off to do the laundry by himself after insisting that I just stay put! What a present!! What a guy!!SOS here:Today is Mother¢s Day and Trail Mama and I are both blessed to have wonderful mothers. I called my mother on the trail today and wished her a happy Mother¢s Day.Some adjectives I use to describe my Mother are selfless, caring, creative, loving, intelligent, and understanding.When I was much younger, I remember my Mother going years without buying a new dress to see that her families¢ needs were taken care of first. My Mother was valedictorian of her class and could have gone to college ¢ she gave this up to marry my father and raise a family. My Mother, when I would forget her birthday and finally would remember I forgot, would say, ¢isn¢t that nice you made my birthday last longer.¢ I am always impressed with her creativeness ¢ I can remember being proud of projects she would do for the PTA ¢ like the colorful sign (black and orange) she made for the annual Halloween Festival Rome City School. I remember how loving she was with me when that hamster I bought her for Christmas met an untimely end even before he got home to be given to her. My Mother was always there to be part of what ever activity I or my siblings were involved in ¢ no matter how insignificant a roll we played. Thanks Mom! You received no rewards for your part you played in my life but you do have my love.God is an awesome God. God¢s earth can be incredible. Today¢s hike had some of the most awesome sights one will experience on the Appalachian Trail. MacAfee Knob is probably the second most photographed spot on the AT ¢ next to Katahdin. The sad part today was that I was there by myself and no one was around to take my picture standing on the overhang. (The Knob juts out over the valley.) Some people even tangle their feet over the edge ¢ I am not that bold. Several miles further North is Tinker Cliffs ¢ WOW. Cliffs is the correct word, because at the edge of the cliff is a drop off of hundreds and hundreds of feet to the valley floor. The AT follows very and I mean very close to the edge. I hugged the mountain side and stayed as far away from the edge as I could stay. The views at both MacAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs were spectacular.I experienced a new first today on the AT ¢ I saw my first rattle snake that was sunning on the trail. I would repeat that experience later in the day. I was not rattled by the rattle snakes ¢ this reaction surprised me. If Trail Mama would have been with me she would have been pleased ¢ she likes snakes.I wonder what tomorrow will bring.Trail Mama here again: I can answer that last statement...it will bring daughter, Megan, from Michigan. She is coming to hike a few days with us which means I can hike some also since we will have two cars! She is a devoted Mom to 5 kids. The oldest is 9...he must know her well because the last thing he said to her was...don't come home early, Mom!