Date: 2014-04-29
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: zero days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Hello again!Tuesday and Wednesday were supposed to be severe weather days on the trail so we had decided to stay in Hot Springs in an effort to avoid tornadoes, thunderstorms, and more rain. We actually were going to stay outside of town at a shelter three miles away on Monday night, (but showers , food, and laundry pulled us in). We would then hike a "Nero" (close to a zero) on Tuesday and take a zero on Wednesday because the weather was supposed to be the worst then. However, as we all know, the weather doesn't always do what the weathermen say it will. When we got to town on Monday night, RH got us a room for the three nights so we could still follow our plan. We figured two days of rest couldn't hurt and we would be more comfortable in a dry room than getting soaked or worse on the trail. Then it didn't really rain. Or do much actually. At least not in Hot Springs where we were. Now we are feeling quite guilty for not hiking! But we don't know what weather the trail had, so hopefully we made the right choice by staying. Most of the time the mountains have a weather system of their own and what it's doing in town is not what it's doing in the trail. While we were here, we had a great time though! The highlights (besides getting clean) were: getting to see my Dad and our dog, Duke; seeing Matt; catching up with other hikers who had the same plan as us; eating some wonderful food; and getting to relax and recoup from the last few weeks of hiking! Not to mention, we got to FaceTime with our families, which is priceless! My Dad lives in South Carolina. He braved the mountainous terrain to bring Duke to see us! It was awesome getting to hang out with both of them! We miss Duke terribly. He seems very content not to be hiking this trail though. Ultimately, we made the right choice not bringing him along. It didn't make it any easier to say goodbye again though. But he and my Dad are taking great care of each other and we know Duke is happy. We had a second visitor too! Matt, a close family friend, lives in Ashville and drove out after to work to visit us! We had a nice time catching up over some local beer and dinner! Matt even gave us some "trail magic" by buying our beer! It was so nice getting to see him. Being in town for two days allowed us to see some of the hikers we hadn't seen since before the Smoky's. We got to go to the Hot Springs Spa with Carmen Sandiego where we all soaked in the mineral infused waters from the hot springs! It was nice to float around and feel the funk of eight days without a shower melt away! We had dinner with Bamboo at the diner, which was delicious! And we caught up with tons of other people while hanging out at the Hikers Ministry cabin with Queen Diva, who makes a mean chocolate chip cookie!   That's also where I got to use a computer to update trail journals after my debacle on my phone!We had to try some of the local restaurants of course! Our favorite place ended up being the Smoky Mountain diner! They had huge portions of wonderful food! We tried the burgers, fried pickles, sweet tea, and most of the breakfast items! They're sweet tea is the best and we left full every time. The Spring Creek Tavern had delicious hand made pizza crust and lots of local beers on tap! And the Iron Horse Station had the best Snickers cheesecake ever! I was in haven!We did have wifi, so we got the opportunity to FaceTime with my mom, Jon's family, and our friend Andres (who introduced Jon and I)! It's the best feeling to get to see our loved ones! Thank god for technology! We miss everyone tons but the support you all show is helping us to stay out here and stayed focused. Hopefully, we can catch up with more of you in the next town, which will be Erwin TN in about five days. We head back out to the trail tomorrow morning with fresh laundry, good rest, full bellies, and nice weather! Kent got some new thicker socks and heel cups for his shoes, so he should have a spring in his step! I'm hoping they help with his foot pain and what I think may be a heel spur. My chaffing and rashes are going away and the cuts on my toes are healing! I still think I've got a broken bone in my foot, but I don't think much can be done for it anyways (except for maybe to stop walking), so I'll continue to suck it up! Our thoughts go out to Murray, who had to get off the trail because of his knee. We hope whatever is wrong is fixable and he can get back out ASAP. We miss he and Osiris and hope for the best. I'll post again as soon as I can.