Date: 2017-03-27
To: Headed Down to Georgia 
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday was an emotional day for my family. My mom, dubbed "the quartermaster" by my dad, is staying back at home in NH to take care of the house, our 3 dogs, Ollie, Tess, and Zealand, and our 2 cats, Cooper and Phil. As my mom and I hugged and said goodbye I began to tear up. It was more difficult than I thought it would be to say bye to someone you wouldn't be seeing for the next 4 months or so. Then came the part I knew was going to suck. Saying goodbye to Zealand. I brought her out to our deck, played one last game of tug-of-war (of course I had to let her win), threw her a couple snowballs, and gave her a big hug. The waterworks really started at this point. Somewhat embarrassed, I stayed out on the deck with Z until I was able to pull myself together and dry my eyes. Words can't even begin to describe how much I'm going to miss that dog. She has brought me so much joy in the short amount of time that I have had her. My dad and I then put on our packs, took some pictures and headed out the door. Needless to say, it was hard for my mom to watch us take those final steps out our front door and into the rental car that we had all gone to pick up in Concord. She is strong and I know that after a few days, if not already, she will be fine. Aside from taking care of the house, my mom has the important duty of shipping my mail drops as well as my dads, which we are very appreciative of her willingness to do. We hope you are doing well mom! We love you! Remember, it's not goodbye, it's see you later. As I write this, my dad and I are headed down to Georgia. We ended up leaving yesterday, a day earlier than expected, due to the likelihood of getting some freezing rain in New Hampshire today. We left at around 2pm yesterday in order to get ahead of the storm. From NH we headed a short way over to our neighboring state of Vermont where we drove through a small section of The Green Mountains, or "hills" as my dad referred to them. From VT we headed down into New York and then into Pennsylvania where we drove through the Delaware Water Gap and contemplated spending the night in the car but ultimately ended up driving a bit further until we found a questionable Inn that turned out to be 3.6 miles from the AT. After entering our room, we promptly checked our beds for any signs of creepy crawlies such as bed bugs, something I have yet to have experience and I'd like it to remain so. No signs of anything but I ended up choosing to take out my sleeping bag from my pack and sleeping in that rather than under the covers and blanket of the bed. About 2 hours after falling asleep, I woke up sweating, I climbed out of my sleeping bag and draped it over me as a blanket. Turns out a sleeping bag rated for 15 degrees isn't such a great sleeping option in a room that is 70 degrees. It was at this point that I realized I would've rather already been out on the AT and sleeping in the woods. This morning my dad and I were both up a little before 7. We took some quick showers, got ready and were out door before 8. We headed a short distance down the road where we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. We both got a coffee and a breakfast sandwich to take on the road. I don't know what it is about the Dunkin Donuts' in PA but they can't even get the simplest of orders correct. First, they forgot to make us our coffees, then they made me the wrong coffee. The last time we were in PA, we had gone to the exact same Dunkin's and the crew there couldn't speak a word of English and our orders were all wrong. But, no need to bicker about the lack of quality in customer service. After our stop we were back on the road to begin our 650 mile drive for the day to Asheville, NC where we will be spending the night tonight. My dad and I are now on the edge of the state line separating Pennsylvania and Maryland. It has been a nice drive this morning, we've been listening to a live Grateful Dead show from 1972 in Veneta Oregon that I have downloaded on my phone, and it appears we have found Spring. It's currently 52 degrees, the grass is green, and buds are appearing on bushes and trees. I'm looking forward to the rest of our drive and working our way south. Right now, I am as far south as I have ever been and I'm excited to get to North Carolina.