Date: 2023-05-02
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Today was fun!This morning, we got a free ride from Miss Janet with Trip Wire and LILO to a wonderful breakfast diner, Clarence¢s Drive-In. As we were waiting for a table, we talked to a couple about our journey so far on the trail, and what we¢ve seen and enjoyed. Comfort joined us right before we were seated. We had quite the meal! Biscuits and gravy, home fries, pancakes, French toast, bacon, eggs, and orange juice! We had a wonderful breakfast hanging out together and swapping trail stories. Just as we were about to get our checks, the waitress let us know that the couple we talked with before we were seated paid for all of our meals!! Talk about generosity! It warmed my (chili pepper¢s) heart, and I felt like I did not deserve that. God has been pouring many blessings on Nicholas and I this entire trip. After breakfast, Miss Janet dropped us off at the outfitter. While everyone was looking around, I went a few doors down for a hot chai latte. It was nice to sit there and just enjoy my drink in the sunshine. It felt so serene. I could have sat there for hours. Not long later, Comfort, Moose Jaw (Nicholas), LILO, and Trip Wire joined me and we all drank our drinks and talked about gear. That¢s something we talk about often¢¦. Gear. ¢What brand? How much does it weigh? How much did it cost? Where did you get it? Do you like it? I have such and such and this is what I think.¢ The list goes on¢¦. We even joked that every time hikers get together they talk about gear. I always find people saying how they got their gear on sale. I love bargain shopping as well!!Next up, resupply. We went to Food City. It¢s nice to actually buy food from a grocery store and not a gas station or outfitter. You get burnt out real quick eating the same food all of the time. I may have over-purchased some food items, but I¢m not mad about it. I¢m not sure I¢m feeding Moose Jaw enough. From the grocery, we took an Uber to Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel to pack our things and shower and start laundry. I could not wait to get clean clothes!! Mud has been caked to my hiking pants for the past 4 days. It¢s not fun to put wet, dirty, cold pants on every morning. Resupply days and zero days are always busy, because we always have a ton of chores to do: plan next resupply, grocery list, groceries, shower, laundry, post journal entries and photos, repack gear, etc¢¦. All the while trying to get to and from trail. It¢s odd how tedious things are on trail. For a real rest day, one should plan back to back zeroes. One day for chores. One day to relax!! Comfort, Moose Jaw, and I got Domino¢s Pizza for dinner and it was magical!! The gentleman was so happy to receive a tip that he gave us a free 2 liter soda, tons of sauces, and extra wings. We devoured!!! Lego Man joined us later after he got back from being in town. He polished off most of the food for us! It was a wonderful relaxing dinner. Lego Man and Comfort are laid back and good company, like most of the hikers here!We received messages from Captain and the Australian family. We were so happy to hear from them!! Unfortunately, Tara got the Noro virus. We heard it was going around. We are being extra careful about hygiene. I pray that we do not get Noro.Squirrel is hiking in late today. She had apparently taken some rest days, and ended up behind us. We are letting her sleep on our sofa tonight and we laid food out for her. Hope she gets in safely!!Today was joyous!