Date: 2006-06-06
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning I was well rested after a good nights sleep at Grace Lutheran Church. Donkey and I made a wise decision yesterday to abandon the campground spot that the YMCA has for hikers and stay here. The only draw back is everyone has to be in by 9:00pm for the night and out by check out time at 9:00am. Even if you plan to take a zero day in town everyone must check out and store your gear for the day. This is partly due to church functions going on throughout the day that need the area, but mostly due to the staffing assignments. Members of the church volunteer to run the hostel and like to have a representative on site when ever hikers are there to keep things orderly. It works out really well and we were all very appreciative of their time. After checking out for the morning, we stored our gear there at the church and headed out for some breakfast. While walking down the sidewalk my good luck here in Waynesboro strikes once again as a bird craps on my shoulder. Now this isn¢t a big enough deal to keep us from going on to breakfast but it definitely wasn¢t the best way to start the day off. I have now gone days up to a week at a time without showering or washing cloths and since I got a chance to do both last night a stinking bird craps on me. What is the world coming too?Jane, Baro, Donkey, and I made it down to Weasie¢s Kitchen for a huge breakfast. Now this isn¢t the classiest of places to eat but the old ladies in the kitchen sure know how to cook. They serve up an all you can eat pancake plate that is famous among the hikers. Wingfoot quoted that the women¢s record is 19 and the men¢s 24. Rumor is that the pancakes get a little larger each time as you near the record. Donkey and I had served ourselves breakfast once already this morning back at the church, so we settled for a traditional plate breakfast while Jangles sunk her teeth into the pancakes. She soon found out that 19 pancakes was a lot and that she wouldn¢t break any records here today at Weasie¢s. Just before finishing up Silverfoot joined us for a few good laughs.Donkey and I was now off to Rockfish Gap Outfitters while Jangles and Baro finalized things for the trail. Since they had gotten in town a little before us they decided to go ahead and return to the trail today and start the section into Shenandoah National Park. Donkey and I plan to leave early in the morning and catch them within a day or two on up the trail. During our trip to the outfitter my luck played out again as our driver that we hitched a ride from was so excited about giving us a lift that he ran a red light and nearly killed us. This town is extremely friendly but be careful whom you ride with. On down at the outfitter, I really needed a pair of socks so I picked out a new pair of smart wools and Donkey really needed some new treads so he bought a new pair of shoes. It doesn¢t sound too exciting to get a new pair of socks at Christmas time let along to have to buy a new pair in the middle of the summer, but when the ones you have are completely covered in holes and have an unbelievable funky smell its awesome to get new ones¢¦ After our shopping spree we returned to Hwy 250 just in front of the outfitters to hitch a ride back into town. This time a car pulls over and Zoomer is in the back with Chardonnay. They had seen us from a distance and managed to talk the driver into picking up two additional bodies for the ride into town. We got a lift all the way to the YMCA and helped the girls unload their gear. They decided to check in at the Y, take showers, and store their gear while Donkey and I visited the library next door to do some journaling. We agreed to meet up in about 30 minutes and head up to Wal-Mart on the other end of town. Little did we know that it was about 4-miles up the road and it was getting pretty hot outside by now. We ended up walking about a mile when a guy that we had talked to earlier at the Y stopped to give us a ride. We jumped in the back of his truck and we were off once again on another successful hitch. He dropped us off in the Wal-Mart parking lot and we noticed a Rudy Tuesdays just across the way. By now it had been a couple hours since Donkey and I had eaten and Chardonnay and Zoomer were fresh off the trail so they were definitely hungry. We went in and escaped the heat at a little both in the corner. I believe we were set over there due to our distinct odor because it was well away from any others that were dinning. I don¢t really remember much about lunch other than leaving with side-stitches from laughing at Chardonnay. She went on to tell us about an ex-boyfriend that she pushed into a lake one November night. Now remember she is from New Hampshire so it gets rather cold there by the eleventh month of the year. When the poor guy fell into the lake he hit his knees on the side of the dock and landed in the water. He came up screaming bloody murder because of his knees and the red that was covering them. She settled him down as soon realized that the red was paint from the freshly covered dock earlier that day. Even though he wasn¢t bleeding to death he was still freezing and knee was killing him. I guess that explains why he is now only an ex. We finished lunch and decided to skip the Wal-mart seen attempting to get back to town. We stood on the side of Hwy 340 for nearly 45 minutes trying to get a ride when finally it happens. A guy pulls up in a F-350 with a huge tool bed on the back full of tools and equipment. Chardonnay, Zoomer, and I jumped in the back while Donkey hoped in the front to direct him. We proceeded to go down Main Street posing for pictures in the back of this truck all the while feeling like we were Michael J Fox in the Movie Teen Wolf. He let us out at the music shop downtown where Zoomer and Donkey decided that they wanted to go in a play a little concert. Chardonnay and I really don¢t have a lot of musical talent so we just enjoyed while the other two picked and sang. The only thing left to do today before heading out of town tomorrow was to resupply. Since it was now getting close to check in time at the hostel we decided to make our way over to the grocery store for the needed supplies and something to snack on for dinner while back at the hostel. We bought what we needed and returned to watch ¢South Bounder¢ the movie before packing and retiring for the night. One again a sound sleep in a warm church hostel. Thanks Today will defiantly be one to remember. Tonight at Grace Lutheran Church Hostel: Zoomer, Chardonnay, Pepperoni, Jambalaya, Bama, Hot Springs, Donkey, and I.