Date: 2009-04-03
To: Getting to Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After a fantastic break from the trail in D.C. with Hailey and otter, I boarded my 2 am bus back to Asheville, NC. Wow--a 14 hour bus ride overnight is a special thing. I tried to sleep from DC to Richmond, but my seatmate enjoyed his room. Then I had a 3 hour layover in Richmond, where they like to plan CNN as loud as possible in the terminal. I retreated to an open "cafe" and read for an hour or so before trying to catch some sleep in a corner of the terminal. I finally boarded my bus at 7 am, and it was packed. One gentleman tried to keep another from taking the last open seat next to him. After some shouting, pushing, and cursing the bus driver got involved, although the combatants said they were having an "adult conversation." By the end of the journey with them, however, (I was a row behind) they were the best of friends, sharing snacks and drinks. One of the men even shared some of his anchovies (he had 3 cans that he bought at a gas station rest stop)--lucky for the rest of us on the bus.In Raleigh we picked up some new passengers including one girl who told everyone in her vicinity about her rough life. She was about 22 and shared with us all the details of her tragic, and somewhat convoluted life. She also repeatedly mentioned that she had not eaten in 4 days and had slept in the basement of a railroad station the night before (neither of these claims made sense after some explanation). I stayed out of it from the very beginning, but everyone around me was more than happy to hear her out. Those folks started handing her food (doritos, krispy kreme donut holes, and cheetos) which she piled on her lap and helped herself to, while proclaiming her thanks and thanking god. Then the old lady next to me gave her $5 and another gave her a homemade pot scrubber. Why? Who knows. The whole episode was really bizarre. Anyway, I get on my last bus in Winston-Salem, hoping to get to Asheville in 2 hours, and more importantly, without any bizarre incidents. The bus driver gives this long spiel about not smoking, not yelling, or playing music too loud, but adds a number of unintelligable anecdotes along the way, dragging out the speech for an additional 5 minutes more than necessary. About 15 minutes later, he pulls the bus over onto the side of the highway and proceeds to walk down the aisle, looking each passenger up and down. As he approaches the back of the bus, he sets his gaze upon me and another gentleman and accuses him of smoking on the bus--"you've been burning on my bus since Durham!" The man denies it, rightfully so, and the driver starts preaching to everyone how it is our fault that we allow people to get away with smoking on the bus, even though no one was. When one man expressed some frusteration with the delay, the driver threatened to throw him off the bus! I finally get to Ashevulle, and catch an hour long shuttle to Hot Springs. I found Jam and Unplugged at the Iron Horse Inn and relaxed their for a bit, hearing stories about fellow hikers and the awful weather in the Smokies. We got dinner with Chuckles and Knuckles who were in town as well at the Smokie Mt. Diner and retired to the inn to listen to some live music and drink a few beers. There were about 12 other hikers at the bar/in town and we say on a some couches and chairs on the balcony swapping stories. I met MD3 (3 girls from Maryland), leafy, crispy, and others.After a little bit, I went to bed, waking up once to a train passing through the town, which seemed to roll directly through our room.Hot Springs is a neat little town, with one bar, one diner, one gas station, one dollar store, and one ambulance. The town is known for its remedial hot springs (duh) and rafting, and looks like it gets quite a few tourists.