morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-10
From: Bear MT. Bridge

To: Dennytown road
Miles today: 14.5

We saw lots of hikers at the start point today so Trail Mama finally got some action after a lot of slow days. First came Jaybird, then Swamprat, then F100 and Steady, then Shenanigans (see picture in photos)and Secrets...they all were happy with the gatorade and treats and I was happy to have something for them. I told Swamprat that I had a message from a friend of his who wrote in the journal but couldn't remember the name. (When I got back to the room, I looked it up and emailed Kenny (the friend I couldn't remember) who then emailed a very nice message back..THANKS!) After talking to this group for awhile after SOS hiked on into the woods, I started back down the mountain. I decided to look for a library and found a nice one in Cold Springs. It was an "old fashioned" library with lots of activity going on...the sign of a good library for me. When trying to get back on the road I needed to be on, Edith Chloe took me into a part of the town which I didn't know was there and it was very nice with lots of little shops and restaurants. I went in several of the stores and just looked around. On the way back to the room, I stopped at a grocery and picked up some food for dinner and more gatorade since I passed it all out this morning. Back at the room, I looked at the books I got at the library book sale (I will soon have to have a book sale myself!), rested and then went to get SOS at Bear Mountain Bridge. He hiked thru the zoo again...and found the gate locked at the other end so had to climb over the picket fence to get out. I hiked to meet him and we walked back together to the car. Back at the room, I fixed dinner in the microwave in another room. We had fish filets, baked potatoes, and peas. We picked up Tim and Nancy who are staying in another hotel nearby and all went to the ice cream shop across the street from West Point. On to the grocery so they could resupply...see Tim buying fruit in photos. He bought watermelon which SOS loves so they invited us to share it back at their hotel...so we had a watermelon party in the breakfast area. After talking until 10, we came back to our room for a good night's sleep. 36 years ago tonight we went to a play in Fort Wayne and made muffins in the night before our wedding the next day...good memories...Road Name of the Day: OLD WEST POINT ROAD...in honor of all our Army friends and family...THANKS for serving our country!!
Date: 2012-07-15
From: Kent, CT

To: Hoyt Road
Miles today: 11.5

Up and off in fairly good time today. SOS drove to the start spot and there was Shanti and Hillbilly. We hadn't seen either of them in a while. Shanti was hiking on but Hillbilly wanted a ride in to town...so, of course, Trail Mama took him where he wanted to go and he offered to mail my postcard for me...a win for both of us! On the drive back, at exactly 8:56, I came to a little UM church with services at 9:00. So I stopped to worship with 6 other people and the new pastor who is a certified Lay Speaker. This little band of believers have no piano/organ player so rely on taped music. The sanctuary had what I think of as New England style pews which are divided into sections. Someone has decorated the altar with lots of flowers. Everyone was friendly so it was a good experience and I was glad that I had stopped (at the only UM church I had seen in days...and at just the right time it appeared....um...:-) Back at the room, I paid for another night. While in the office, the owners little daughter, who turned 2 yesteray, watched me shyly. When I waved at her, she waved back and kept on waving. Later when I was in my room with the door open, she appeared with her Mom who was cleaning other rooms. She pressed her nose against the screen window and waved at me. Her Mom made her move but soon she was back and back and back! See her cute little self in photos. I decided to go to the grocery and explore the area a little. I stopped at a nice gift store/drugstore and bought some postcards and then on to the grocery. "Home" to put things away and finish my David Baldacci...(the bad guys did it...) SOS called to say that he was not going as far as he had thought because of the rain that had started and the lightning so we changed the pick up time and place. He was supposed to call but when he didn't at the appointed time, I left anyway and got there as he was walking down the road trying to get a signal to tell me to come. He was glad that I had come anyway!...
Date: 2012-07-19
From: MA 41

To: US44 -Salisbury
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

NOTE THE MILAGE: WE ARE NOW OVER 1500 MILES!! HOORAY!!We were both too tired last night to write so this will be an abbreviated version of yesterday written this morning which is actually the 20th. SOS did a long day hiking south. The one advantage is that he sees lots of our hiker friends. He saw Boots and Melody, Spot and Tex, Comanche and Manfred, Shanti and Mr. Fabulous, Overdrive and Peach, Catnap and Voice of Reason. I spent the day walking around town and visiting interesting looking shops...and there are lots of them here. I was stopped on the street by a reporter for the local paper. She asked me a question which I answered and then took my picture to go with it. On my way out of town to pick up SOS, I saw a hiker that I knew who was trying to hitch a ride. It was Trekking Pole so I pulled over to pick him up. He didn't know it was me so was surprised to open the door and see who was driving! We both laughed at the places we keep seeing each other. When I got him to his spot, there was Spot and Tex enjoyed some trail magic that someone had left. On to get SOS on a really bad pick up spot...no place to pull over and a tiny sign marking the spot. I found it because a section hiker, looking lost, stopped me and asked if I knew where the trail went. Together we found what each of us was looking for. He had come out of the spot where SOS would be coming and I drove along until I found where he needed to go...once again a win/win! As I said there was no pull off spot on this number 2 road (remember the ratings:-)but there was a cemetery close by...so I pulled into there, did a circle so I was facing the spot SOS would come out and worked on my knitting...it was very quiet and peaceful...:-) Since it was later than usual, I knew SOS would be hungry so I had stopped at McDonald's to get him 2 hamburgers and a, you guessed it, strawberry shake! He devoured them while I drove us back to our room. The usual evening activities..figure out where to go tomorrow, start packing up, and get some rest for a very long day tomorrow. We checked the GPS and found that we are 711 miles from home. We will start for home tomorrow after SOS is done hiking.
Date: 2012-07-21
From: New York State 

To: Fort Wayne, IN
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up somewhere in New York State and packed up for the rest of our long trip back to Fort Wayne. Drove all day with a few stops for gas, food and getting the kinks out.We got to Fort Wayne about 6pm. We had rented a book on CD at Cracker Barrel which helps pass the miles. It is UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand...excellent so far...a true story of one man's journey through life...from being a track star with Olympic dreams to being a soldier captured by the Japanese during WWII...it is an amazing story of one man's survival in the worse of events...and that is just the first 5 CD's out of 11!! Back at home, we unpacked the car so that we could repack with the many things it takes for Grandma Camp. We also plan to reorganize even further the things in the car. It is getting harder and harder as we go north to find places to stay that are close to the trail...so there may be more nights in the car and we want to make that easier by not having so much to move to the front of the car if we need to sleep in the back. I finished up a knitted present for a friend in the neighborhood on the drive back so we walked down the street to her house. On the way we passed our son's house and his whole family was out so visited with the 3 grandkids there and got to see their newly acquired bicycle riding skills..Nora can ride without training wheels and Eli tears around on his trike! Tessa tried to stay out of their way and got a turn once in a while! We found our friend Rebecca at another friend's house so got to see 3 neighborhood friends at once. We visited and caught up on news and then returned home to do laundry, sort things and get some sleep.Road Name of the day: WEST WOODLAND AVE. That is our home street so we were glad to be there after a 733+ mile trip home.
Date: 2012-07-22
From: Fort Wayne, IN

To: Fort Wayne, IN
Miles today: 0.0

Busy day at home unpacked the entire car to get ready for repacking for Grandma Camp. Sort...organize...repack...repeat...:-)Off to Good Shepherd Church. Becky Bradley pulled in just as we did so we got to show her how well her present to us Shep, (our guide sheep who rides on the dash)is doing and to show off his vest and AT patch. Shep went to church with us. A wonderful thing for us was to NOT be able to find a seat in a crowded sanctuary on a summer Sunday! We sat clear in the back against the wall. This bodes well for the future! Lunch with friends Dave and Ann at Klemm's on State...lots of talking later we headed back to the house to continue prep for camp. SOS decided to go to Rome City and visit his Mom. I stayed home to continue working on organizing. Friend Margo came to spend some time with me. Later that evening after SOS returned home, we were in the living room when we heard a loud crashing sound. Looking out the window, we discovered that our neighbor's very very old huge tree had lost a very big branch that was now blocking the entire street in front of our house. The up side to this was that ALL the neighbors congregated and we got to see them all at one time and catch up a little with their lives. The city was called and soon someone came with bright orange barriers to warn people of the problem. So hot in this house!! We blew up our mattress and slept in the one air conditioned room (we haven't bothered to put in the other ac units since we will not be here for the entire summer. To sleep to rest up for 17 excited little people tomorrow...GRANDMA CAMP TIME IS HERE!!!!!
Date: 2012-07-26
From: Wickliffe, OH

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

All up and off from our hotel outside Cleveland. Travelled all day while listening to the rest of the book by Laura Hillenbrand. Rained some..severe storms south of us...we didn't get them, thank goodness. We stopped back at the hotel SOS and I left on Friday but they were full...because of the storm the lady said. We found a room in Lenox...the Knights Inn which was way less than wonderful and had no internet service. We ate at a Cracker Barrel after returning our book and getting our refund. Back to the room...one for the women and one for the men. Off to sleep so the guys can get an early start.
Date: 2012-07-27
From: MA 23

To: Tyringham Main Road
Miles today: 12.1

Up and off to McDonald's for breakfast since the cornflakes just weren't going to cut it with any of us. Took the guys to their start spot and went to the post office in Great Barrington to mail postcards. SOS called to remind us to get the room for 2 more nights...thus began the nightmare! When I called the man to tell him, he informed me that the room price would go from $59.00 to $169.00!! I said, "are you serious?????" He was! So Juanita and I went back and cleaned out both rooms, turned in our keys and left. But...now we still needed a room for the next two nights...so the search was on. We checked the motel next door...he "only" charged $159 so on we went to the Day's Inn where we had a coupon. NO ONE would take the coupons and the Day's Inn was $209.00 a night...what to do??? This young lady told us that the reason was we were in Tanglewood territory. We next tried the America's Best Inn in Lee, MA. A VERY nice young man helped us out...the room for the night...after I told him our sad story...was $85 a night he said...but when we both went in to get a room he charged us $75...quite a drop from $209.00! The rooms were very nice and we had a home for the night!!! After all this stress, Juanita and I decided to treat ourselves so we went to the Cake Walk...a nice coffee shop where we had drinks and chocolate chip scones...yummy! We visited the library...(a 7 for lack of organization) and some of the shops. Back to the motel to take our things in and relax a little before picking up the guys. When we went to get them, we found 5 hungry, tired hikers besides SOS and Pitchit. We gave them water, gatorade, candy bars and fruit...they were grateful. Father Man then gave Juanita her trail name...which we both LOVE! It is ATM which stands for Assistant Trail Mama!! (She says, however, that SHE doesn't give out money!) We stopped to take some pictures and then brought the guys back to shower and get ready for dinner. We ate at the Arizona Pizza Restaurant where we got to sit outside on the porch. On to ice cream at a local spot and then back to watch the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Road Name of the Day: BREAKNECK ROAD - ATM and I found this at the same time and liked it so it was official! SOS said...that should be my road...I said No..yours would be BROKENECK RD.
Date: 2012-07-28
From: County Road

To: Tyringham Main Road
Miles today: 14.1

Up in the rain and off to McDonald's for breakfast. We took the guys to their start spot and off they went in the rain. ATM and I drove to Stockbridge to look around. It was not raining at first when we were there. We visited a church which had beautiful stained glass windows. It also had a sign honoring Daniel French. (He was a local sculptor who made the sitting Lincoln for the memorial in Washington D.C. and many other famous pieces.) We walked down an alley to an antique store. The minute we got inside it started to pour down rain. We had already decided this wasn't a place for us when we checked the price tag on a pillow and it was $250) So we decided to dash across the alley to a restaurant. What a pleasant surprise to discover that it was ALICE'S RESTAURANT!!! (If you don't know what that means, ask someone who is 60+) There were pictures on the wall of Alice with Arlo Guthrie, Alice's 1930 apron, and a guitar. We had a great lunch while it continued to pour down rain. We stalled as long as we could and then decided to make a run for the car with was 3 blocks down the street...with our rain jackets inside! We got there but were wet all the way through. Back to our room for dry clothes. Since we do not have internet service in our room, we went to McDonald's to work on the journal. Then it was time to get the guys. We knew they would be wet and cold so we bought them hot chocolate and got blankets out to wrap them in. They welcomed the hot drinks and back we went to the rooms to dry them off. Their boots were soaked so Dave came up with the idea to stick hair dryers in them. We had 4 between us so one for each boot. We went to dinner at a chinese place, went for ice cream (of course) and then back to the room to watch some of the Olympics and to sleep. Road Name of the Day: WISHING WAY ATM found this one and we both liked it so this is it!
Date: 2012-07-29
From: County Road

To: Gulf Road - Dalton, MA
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Up and off to McDonald's again for breakfast. We took the guys to their spot and then decided to go to the Norman Rockwell Museum. What a wonderful place! We went to the visitors center where we watched a film about his life in a room with all his Saturday Evening Post magazine covers framed alike. He sold his first one to them at age 22 for $75.00. He had already been the illustrator for Boy's Life and other Boy Scout publications since he was 17! We went to his studio which was moved from Stockbridge where he lived in his later life. He was a very neat and orderly man according to the guide and his studio looked like it..It had a hooked rug runner that was about 20 feet or so long...beautiful colors (see photo). We visited some different shops in Stockbridge and then went to the Red Lion Inn. We visited the gift shop and sat and listened to a man play the piano while we rested. We looked all around the ground floor and found many interesting things to see. They have an old fashioned elevator with fancy grillwork walls that is operated by pressing a button for the operator to come and run it for you. There were also two tiny phone booth rooms with Norman Rockwell wallpaper. It was past lunch time so decided to look for something to eat. We came to Once Upon A Table in an alley and had great unusual sandwiches...another great food choice for us! Off to get the guys who decided that they "smelled" okay to go to dinner just like they were. Dave, who had performed Alice's Restaurant with friends when he was young, was very excited about eating at Alice's so that is where we went. There are only 7 tables inside so it is a little close in there. The guys decided that eating with their arms down was a good idea...and it was! ATM and I took them to the church we had visited so they could see the beautiful windows. We also showed them the monument to the Civil War heros from the town. Back to the room for the evening.
Date: 2012-08-01
From: County Road

To: Road 9 - Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

Judy fixed us a great breakfast before we left to take SOS to his start spot. On the way there, we passed David Tatro...our "savior" from yesterday. We stopped and talked to him...he got his pickles made and also froze some green beans. On we went and got SOS on his way. ATM and I went back to a country store that we had been to before and bought some more postcards. We drove to North Adams and stopped at the Eclipse Mall which is an old mill that has been reclaimed as a residence and work place for artists. We met Ralph Brill who lives there and has a studio. As we talked to him, he asked why we were in the area. When we told him about SOS doing a thru hike of the AT, he got very excited and went to get us some info about a project he is working on...the International AT which will continue on into Canada, Greenland, Iceland, on to Spain and will end in Morroco! It will be over 20,000 miles long! Some of this trail is already done...it sounds very exciting but I hope SOS doesn't want to do this one :-) Next stop was the Clarksburg Library where we worked on the computer and read. Of course, they were having a book sale and ATM and I both bought books. On the librarian's recommendation, we ate lunch at The Hub. We sat outside and had good food choices! We walked down the street and wandered into Jarvis Rockwells's gallery. He is 83 and the oldest son of Norman Rockwell. His art is very differnt from his father's. (see one of his works in photos) Next door was another gallery with interesting work also. After 7 or so wrong turns and a very confused Edith Chloe, we got out of town and went to pick up SOS. Long Stride and Silver Lady were resting at the pick up spot...Long Stride came over to the car and said...you must be Trail Mama! ATM gave them food and drinks. Soon SOS came and what a mess he was! He had fallen shortly before and was still bloody...his nose, leg, and shirt were a mess. A Long Trail hiker named John came off the trail with SOS and needed a ride to the trail head in North Adams. Almost immediately after dropping his off, it started to pour down rain. We were glad it hadn't rained on SOS but felt bad for John. Back at Tom and Judy's, SOS got as cleaned up as he could. When Tom & Judy got home from playing golf, Tom took Rog to the regional EMS to get checked over and to have his wounds cleaned up and bandaged. When they got back, we all watched the Olympics and talked until we all decided to head to bed.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: Bennington, VT

To: Route 9
Miles today: 20.6

ATM and I drove SOS to his start spot and then went back to the hotel to check out. We drove to the Bennington Monument where we got tickets to go up the 400+ steps except we went in the elevator. The views were great from the top viewing windows. We bought a 76 flag for our porch that SOS saw the day before. We looked around in a little shop and then tried to find the covered bridge trail but didn't find it. What we did find was the Big Moose Deli which was recommended to us by our friend, Margo, who had called from Ft. Wayne a little earlier. The deli was delightful, huge, had tons of stuff, fake animals everywhere including the roof, and great food. We had pulled pork sandwiches and bought one more for SOS to have later today...also a piece of pecan pie for him...his favorite! President Chester A. Arthur lived here once upon a time...see photo. We drove to West Dover where we checked into our new home for 2 days. It is run by a couple from England and is European in style. ATM and I settled into the lounge area on the comfy furniture to read and work on our projects. It was quiet and peaceful so we stayed put until time to pick up SOS. Back at our room, we all ate our leftovers from lunch and watched some of the Olympics. Road Name of the Day: UPPER PODUNK ROAD - no explanation needed...it made us laugh!
Date: 2012-08-04
From: USFS 721

To: HWY 11 and 30 -Manchester Center
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: clear sky

SOS AND TRAIL MAMA ARE 3/4'S DONE!!We drove SOS to his spot and then hurried back to the hotel so that we wouldn't miss breakfast...which SOS did miss because it didn't start serving until 7:30 and he was gone before then. Breakfast was very good and served in the dining room which has wonderful wooden furniture that has been here since the building opened. The chairs have a letter K cut into the backs. After resting a bit, we went to West Dover where the big event of the day was to be the Blueberry Festival Parade. Before the parade we tried to go the library but it wasn't open...it was supposed to be but wasn't. We found a great parking space and got out our folding chairs and put them under a tree in the shade. Then we walked over to the craft tents to look around. There were lots of wonderful handmade things. I bought a handmade apron with blueberry muffins all over it as a memory of this event and because I have an apron collection hanging in my kitchen. When I cook or bake with my grandchildren, they all get to chose which apron they want to wear...so now there will be a new choice! Back at our seats, we ate blueberries that we had purchased and waited for the parade. It finally came and was a mix of firetrucks, Mr. Blueberry, floats and bands. When it was over, we bought huge $3.00 hamburgers for lunch and ate them in the car because it was getting hot by now and there was no seating in the shade. Back to read in the lounge and finish projects. Off to get SOS near Manchester Center. When we got there, there was Gribley and Daystar!! I was so glad to see them! ATM and I gave them drink and food. Before SOS came, two new SOBO's came by...Spartan and Dream Catcher. We talked to them for awhile and they gave us the names of places to stay going north and we gave them places to stay going south. SOS came and we started for our room. We came upon a little roadside stand and decided to stop for dinner. SOS had his daily strawberry shake and we all had sandwiches. On to our room ... passing lots of Hurricane Irene damage which is still visible in many spots. We made one more stop at a country store to get milk to have with our blueberry cobbler. Back at the room, we watched the Olympics in the lounge where SOS promptly fell asleep.We couldn't find a road name we liked so none today.