Date: 2007-04-13
From: Alpine Court Motel

To: Cloud 9 Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

4/13 Friday $51Finally around 11pm the drunk guy with the good dog, Snaps, quieted down. I was one of three hikers to come out at Dick¢s Creek Gap with a hurt knee! It was just a lot of steep downhill. The drunk guy is big-time limping. PaperMate is only grimacing at times. I think my knee is in better shape than either of them. I thought I might like to leave Saturday morning, but it¢s supposed to rain and I have a bunch of TV dinners, Diet Coke and apples to eat up. So I will leave Sunday morning. Friday morning when we woke up, it was freezing. We found out the two little lightweight fan-looking things were heaters. I got a to-go bag together and waited around the house for the first ride into town. I thought I would skip breakfast and eat at Dairy Queen, then the steakhouse buffet. As I was listening to Azar's problems with his boss, Laura came in and said she would take us all out for pizza for dinner. So I went to the bunkhouse and ate a box of chicken nuggets. Then I read for a while and took a nap. I staggered out of the bunkhouse around noon with my go-bag. I watched people fishing for a while, then sat down on the step and looked bored. Laura came up to me and asked me to do her a favor and drive a carload of hikers into town. I noticed a pattern as more hikers came in and put their clothes in the washer. That¢s when the ride to town is offered, as was in my case and I went in my rain gear, sans undergarments. JayBird was IN the shower; another guy was wearing a red plaid flannel nightgown and brown 1970 swim trunks.Anyways, we were supposed to be back in about an hour, and I told everyone that as I was pulling out of the drive. I said ¢Okay, it¢s my first time driving, and if we¢re not back in an hour, Laura will call the cops.¢ I drove to DQ/Subway/Chinese buffet. Me, JayBird, and Lavern went to DQ; the other four went to the buffet. I got a peanut buster parfait and some mayo packets for PaperMate. Then I went to Subway and got a BMT to bring to Potion. We waited in the buffet parking lot quite a while, then went to the grocery store. JayBird took an incredibly long time because he was trying to use the wrong PIN number for his debit card. We got back about 45 minutes late, and I told Laura now I know why she doesn¢t like to take hikers to town (and wait around for them).Baldo had arrived when we got back. He looks so thin. He said he has been hiking at night to make up for his 5 days off and had to re-learn how to walk. He also said his dog is going wild on him and doesn¢t come when called.I don¢t know why I said I would go out for pizza later; actually I said to pencil me in, only if there is room, because I¢m not the sociable type. Anyways, the pizza was good although it wasn¢t the deep dish I was expecting. I also tried a Guinness for the first time. I think it is quite a bit better than what passes for beer in this country. I don¢t know which was the culprit, but I got unbelievable gas pains while still at the restaurant. I was afraid to go into the bunkhouse for fear of embarrassing myself if I should happen to doze off.Thankful for: A cozy crowd.