Date: 2011-06-18
From: I70/US40

To: MD 491
Miles today: 12.6

I got up and had breakfast. I talked with Ed and Judi a little more then packed up and Ed took me back to the trail head where I got off. I saw "Thimble" for the first time in many weeks. We waved quickly and continued on our respective ways. She was getting off the trail probably to do resupply. Anyways, I kept going following a group of kids who were participating in a program called the Young Marines. I hate to be critical but they seemed a little on the poorly equipped side. I guess with kids that young, there's reluctance in investing in a lot of gear until one knows that that is what they want to do. When I got around the corner, I changed into my hiking clothes and headed for the first shelter for water. By the time I got there, these kids had pretty well taken over the camping areas around the shelter. I got my water and headed down the trail. Today, the plan was to head to the MD 491 road crossing and get picked up by Jack's dad to have dinner with them. I told them that I would be there around mid to late afternoon which, given my tendency to enjoy the day as I hiked, gave me plenty of time. So the first point where I sat and took my time was the popular Annapolis Rocks. There were a lot of people on the trail going to see the view from that rock outcropping. I plopped down on the edge of outcropping with my feet dangling over the edge not feeling any sense of danger. I guess my rock climbing experience had taken away much of the fear of heights that I may have had if there was any fear to begin with. I'm usually not aware of this until others are there with me who stay way back from the edge where I would be sitting. After eating my usual midmorning snack, I headed back down the trail toward the road crossing. It was another one of those uneventful days of hiking. I talked to a lot of people around the rock outcropping but once I was north of that, there were fewer and fewer people until I found myself hiking alone. This was ok because it gives me a chance to sort through things in my mind. I stopped at the next shelter for lunch but not water. It was better to wait until a spring further down the trail. While I was there, I called Jack's dad, Rick, to let him know when I expected to be at the road crossing. I then took off for that road crossing. I got there earlier than expected so I took the time to call a coworker to see how things were going. Good news was that product development was still on track and they had no major issues. As I get further north, it will be harder for me to help them out. As I finished my call, Rick drove up with Jack and his sister in the van. I hopped in and we headed to the house that they were staying in. It was close to the trail as they said. It was a five minute drive to the house. They showed me where to take a shower which I promptly did. I haven't taken back to back showers while hiking. Boy was I getting spoiled! We had a great dinner out on the back porch. We talked about many things and just had a wonderful evening. They couldn't let me stay because the contract they had does not allow for other guests. They were basically house sitting which I'm not sure of all the details but people simply allow others to stay at their house. Ed and Judi said that if I couldn't stay there, they would be more than happy to have me for another night. Given it was too late to get back on the trail, I called Ed and arranged to meet him at a gas station at the edge of town. Rick drove me there and after saying goodby, I hopped into Ed's car and we headed to his house. We stayed up talking for a while then it was off to bed.