Date: 2007-05-20
From: Damascus, VA

To: Charlottesville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Today was the day of the "big split-up" for Persistent and I. She had a pouty look on her face all morning, and I just kept exclaiming, "Man, this sucks!!" We both knew it was what needed to happen though.I ate breakfast with her and Fuzzy Monkey and then we all sat there and waited for their cab to show up. Around 9:00 a.m. it arrived, I gave Persistent and Fuzzy Monkey big hugs and watched them crawl in and drive away. I went back to our room, finished packing my stuff up, and waited on the curb for Scribe's parents to come by and pick me up.It felt weird. Really weird to know my friends were back at it, sweating, exerting, treating water, getting dirty, wondering when they'd reach the top of the next big climb, and know all the time I was clean, and would soon be thrown back into "civilization" for at least a week. Talk about culture shock.So at 10:30 sharp, Scott and Eileen (Scribe's parents) pull up, load me up, and we're off. They are really wonderful people who are so supportive of not only Scribe, but Gadget as well. They are down to earth, giving, and just plain old fashioned good people. THANKS SO MUCH SCOTT AND EILEEN!!! The 3.5 hour drive went by pretty quickly actually. I caught up on the last 2 days of journaling and around 1:30 p.m., they stopped for gas and dropped me off at exit 221 on I-81 at a Waffle House, so I could wait for my friend, Cindy to retrieve me.Ok, so I realize I'm in "the south" and I realize that interstate-side coffee places and restaurants are not the best places to see an accurate representation of the local people, but wow, this place had me rolling. First, I walk into the Waffle House, and I swear the entire place stopped for a few seconds while everyone stared at me. It was obvious they thought I was a homeless person! LOL You know how homeless people always seem to have a mysterious plastic shopping bag with "stuff" in it? Well, I not only had my pack and hiking poles, but I had my plastic bag with all kinds of crap in it too! LOL Add to this the fact that locals in this region don't generally have nose rings or cartlidge piercings in their ears, and I might as well have had a sign around my neck that said, "I'm Not From Here!" LOL I sat down and ordered some food (which I inhaled in about 10 seconds) and then I did one of the most white trash things I've done in a long time. I dug into my mysterious plastic bag and pulled out some cookies that Persistent's mom sent to her (and that Persistent shared with me), Peppridge Farms, which we all know are SO good. I was still so hungry, I proceeded to eat the rest of the package while sitting in the Waffle House, while I eaves dropped on the conversations going on around me. One tattooed motorcycle guy and his girlfriend were arguing about the fact he didn't want to pay some $35.00 bill that she owed. Another lady, who was sitting by herself, had this look of total stress on her face and she quietly covered her mouth as she spoke on her cell phone. A man was sitting by himself, chain smoking, drinking coffee, and reading the bible, while ocassionaly talking to himself. Another family of 3 walked in, and the dad had the most hilarious redneck shirt on that I've seen since living in Oklahoma. Let's just say it was a play on the "Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil" expression, only you'd need to insert the word SH*T for evil. So it had 4 boxes with pictures in them and each box said, "Hear no sh*t, see no sh*t, speak no sh*t, TAKE no sh*t." Oh god, I was literally sitting there by myself just laughing at how I NEVER thought I'd be sitting in a Waffle House located on a major interstate, feeling totally out of place, and getting the opportunity to see a cross-section of our country's citizens, quite like this! And the fact I was sitting all by myself, with my pack in the booth seat across from me, laughing at my situation, only added to what I'm sure they all perceived as MY weirdness. LOL The one thing I could feel about the energy of this place was an awful lot of anger. I'm not sure why, but so many of the patrons seemed so unhappy, stressed out, and angry. I wondered why, but doubt I'll ever understand it.So Cindy showed up, whom I've not seen in about 2 years. She had rushed there to get me after she watched her friend Karen, cross the graduation stage to receive her Ph.D., then she had to rush back and meet up with 7 people for dinner! What a friend huh? She dropped me off at home, I felt bad, because I sort of crashed the family event, but these people were so gracious and allowed me to just be part of the party. They all went to a fancy dinner, and I enjoyed a long hot shower, (I even shaved my legs for the first time since I started this hike! LOL), and I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was not hiking today, tomorrow, or probably the next 5 days. BOO HOO!!!I have a choice though. I can choose to focus on how sad it is I'm not hiking, OR, I can focus on the fact that I was able to find a ride, able to stay with my best friend from college, and I am able to be in the most accomodating environment, in which I will get the help I need to get this shot, and have a safe, clean place to recover. I am so lucky really, and I will be back on the trail in better health than before I left.So first thing on tomorrow's agenda is trying to get an appointment. The sooner I get the shot, the sooner I get recovered, the sooner I get back on the trail. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my time with my friends and their adorable new dog Chance. I do wonder if Persistent had a good hike today. I hope so.~Certain