Date: 2017-03-28
To: Finally in Georgia 
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday was a long day in the car but it was nice to close in on Georgia. After crossing through Pennsylvania and Maryland we hit West Virgina for a short while and then headed in to Virginia. It felt like it took forever to get through...We caught a taste of the "Virginia Blues." After Virginia we went through Tennessee for a few miles and then it was on to North Carolina where we had a hotel room reserved for the night. It was mostly an uneventful day but it was nice to take in some scenery of places that I have never been to before. For most of the trip down we were in close vicinity of the AT and were able to catch a glimpse at some of the mountains that we will be traversing over the next several months. I've gotta say, my favorite state so far has been North Carolina. It seems to be similar to New Hampshire in terms of terrain and it is definitely the only place we crossed through that I would ever consider living in. After getting in to NC we headed to Asheville and checked in to our room at the Best Western. After what we had stayed in the night before, this placed seemed like paradise. 2 large beds with 4 pillows each and comfortable bedding. I didn't even feel the need to check for bugs this time around. After hanging in the room for a bit we decided it was time for dinner. We found ourselves at Applebee's for some fresh cooked meals and a beer which was quite a treat after living on fast food and convenient store subs up until that point. After dinner it was back to the room and off to bed for an early rise in the morning. I woke up at around 6:30 and hopped in the shower after checking my phone for a few minutes. Dad had already showered and appeared to be ready to go. We sat around in the room till about 8:30 and then hit the road. Before long we were driving through the Great Smokey Mountains. It was easy to see where they got their name from. Mist and fog engulfed the mountain tops and hovered just above the road. It was a cool sight to see and I'm really looking forward to walking through some misty mountains. It's a feeling you can't get anywhere else when you're walking through a forest that is blanketed with fog so thick you can't see 20ft in front of you. It's eerie and creepy but so cool at the same time. After driving through the Smokies we entered in to Franklin which is a planned stop for both my dad and I to resupply on food once on the trail. From Franklin it was down in to Georgia where we drove to Gainesville and then to our final destination of Oakwood. We arrived at the hotel, another Best Western, which is even better than the one from last night and they let us check in to the room about 4 hours earlier than we were supposed to. My dad then ran over to Enterprise and returned the rental car. After hanging out in the room for a bit we walked a short ways over to a post office to send some stuff from the journey back home. Having not eaten yet, we went down to Hardee's, what I assume to be a southern fast food chain, and got some delicious chicken, fries and poppers. It was fantastic and the workers there were very kind. I guess southern hospitality holds some truth. Coming from New Hampshire, a place that's as cold as the people who live in it, it's nice and warming to see people who have genuine smiles on their faces, who greet you, ask how you are doing and care about the response that is given back to them, and say hello or wave at random. After lunch, we took a quick jaunt to the Aldi's across the street from the hotel. That was an adventure in and of itself. To get there we had to cross 6 lanes of highway and apparently the cross walks in Georgia don't work all that well. On our way back, we had the "ok to cross" signal and as we headed across the street a green light appeared on the stoplight above us and traffic began barreling towards us. We picked up our pace and we're able to make it across unscathed.Now, I am sitting and relaxing in the room just waiting to get started on this epic adventure. Our shuttle man called not long ago and asked if he could change our pick-up time from 9am to 7:30am. Abso-friggin-lutely. Let's get this show on the road. Tomorrow I will be hitting the approach trail while my dad heads to Springer. I'll be meeting him at the top and then we will continue on to Long Creek Falls for the night. *Line of travel in photo is not 100% accurate