Date: 2009-04-27
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I was not able to sleep at all. The bunks were too hard, and the room too hot (oh, did I fail to mention that Spike was tenting right outside? I had expected him to be well beyond Damascus at that point!) I knew that Jeremiah Johnson was excited about hitting up the coffee shop... and so was I! I found him and Hellbender, who wanted to go to Cowboy's for their advertised blueberry pancakes. I figured I could go to Mojoe's the next day. When I found out that Cowboy's was attached to the Exxon station, I got a little worried... It was definitely not a healthy meal, but I enjoyed the company. Jeremiah Johnson and I headed over to Mojoe's, where we knew they had the Internet. Unfortunately, there was only one computer. I decided to try to get a room at the Hiker's Inn (I really wanted a shower, a soft bed, and laundry). Suzanne was not around, so I dropped off my pack and decided to drop by 'The Lazy Fox' to see if I could find Papa Doc, and then head over to Mt. Rodgers Outfitters to see about getting a ride into Abingdon for my eye appointment. Papa Doc was just driving in to the B&B! He was busy shuttling hikers around to do their chores (Papa Doc is doing a 450 mile section hike and parked his car in Damascus. Unfortunately, some of the hikers were taking advantage of his good heart). He graciously offered to drive me to my appointment when he saw me and we agreed to meet at 1:00. Then he changed his mind and said we should meet at noon for lunch before my appointment and that I could bring any friends that I wanted. Papa Doc is definitely one of the nicest people on the planet! I stopped in at the outfitters to pick up my maildrop and buy a couple of postcards. I wanted someone there to check on the wear of my shoes to make sure I did not need to buy new ones yet. The man who helped me said the soles were fine and that I could buy a packet of wax for 50 cents that would help prevent the leather from cracking. I returned to the Hiker's Inn to find Suzanne, who only had bunks available. There were only 4 of them in the room, they looked comfortable, and I could take a nice shower and get my clothes washed. Good enough for me! 'O.G.' was packing up in the bunkroom and lamenting about the fact that all of the stores along the way only sold the small size of Body Glide. I told him I had the larger size, but wished I had the smaller size as I had yet to use it. It was just dead weight I was lugging around. So we made a trade and were both happier! I took a nice shower, called Erik in Suzanne's sunroom, and wished I had time to stay in there and take a nap! But I had an appointment to get to. I met up with Papa Doc and he told me about the Virginia Creeper Trail while we drove out to Abingdon. We found the doctor's office and I went in to ask for a recommendation on a lunch place. "Do you like Chinese?""Ummm...not really...""Do you like Wendy's?""No.""Cracker Barrel?""I was hoping for a nice local place..."After much thought, a light went on in her head. "Ellis' Pharmacy" (about a block away)! I was a bit confused about the pharmacy part, but we went to check it out, and it turned out to be the perfect place! I ordered the chicken salad with grapes and walnuts on pita and got my lemonade! Then we ordered milkshakes for dessert! I asked for a combined peanut butter and chocolate one, and boy was it delicious!! It was made with good quality ice cream and I drank that thing down like it was nobody's business! Then I went in for my appointment. The receptionist was not receptive to filing the appointment as a medical claim ( I no longer had vision insurance), and then I found out that they did not accept my national medical insurer at all... I could pay $65 for someone to tell me to keep putting the drops in, or just skip the appointment. I decided to skip it (contingent upon Papa Doc agreeing). He did, so we blew that joint! At least we had a nice lunch. Thanks, Papa Doc!!   We agreed to meet at 5 for a pizza dinner, which he had already arranged with a couple of other hikers. I returned to the bunkroom to find that Spoons and Patch, who I had met at Kincora, and Braid were my bunkmates! Nice! I walked over to the "friendliest library on the trail" to see if I could use a computer. "Weren't you already here?", growled the librarian with an angry expression. "For 15 minutes!" I said. She begrudingly set me up at a computer, where I started another entry.   Braid said he would join us for dinner (JJ had plans elsewhere), and we piled into Papa Doc's car and headed over to Pizza Plus, where we shared a deluxe pizza, and one topped with chicken. I felt like ordering a soda for some reason. Knowing they don't have Coke in the south, I ordered a Pepsi. Upon drinking it, I was reminded that I hate Pepsi! We made a stop at the grocery store for those who needed it, and then headed to the ice cream shop, where I enjoyed a cup of mint chocolate chip and Moose Tracks! It was delicious! Since Papa Doc paid for our pizza, Braid treated us to ice cream! Thank you, gentlemen!      Papa Doc dropped us back at the Hiker's Inn after we said goodbye. We sat on the porch and Braid said he would take a note from me and get his journal to write in. A quiet man walked up the porch steps, sat down beside Braid, and started chatting with him. Then he said, "Wendy, how is your hike going?" I was a little startled, as I did not know how he knew my name! Then I put together the fact that he was from Ontario, knew my name, and that 'Sandalwood' had been signing in the registries around the area... This was the Sandalwood who had signed my guestbook before I started my hike and who had said that he might see me. It turns out that he is a big 'Dancing with the Stars' fan and would not miss the show for the world. So I was invited into Suzanne's living room to watch the show with him. I think he was happy for the company. This was the first time this season that I got to watch most of the show, and I really enjoyed it. I was struck by the opposite nature of hiking the AT compared with the glitz and glamour of the world of ballroom dance. One was a world of nature, simplicity, and practicality, while the other was all about ostentationess, costumes, make-up , and fantasy. Yet both were about expressing life and the human spirit, and half of me lives in each world.