Date: 2004-06-21
From: Waynesborough

To: Waynesborough
Miles today: 0.0

We always think when we have a zero day that it will be relaxing. It never is. One of the problems is we do not have automobiles yet we are doing our chores in a town designed for automobiles. Almost every task takes a couple of hours.We slept late this morning. Getting up at 6:45 AM instead of 6:00 AM was a real treat. After breakfast we went to the Office of Tourism to pick up our mail drops. All of Rainbow¢s stuff was there, but I only found one of the 5 packages that I expected. The one packaged was my lighter weight sleeping bag. My food, camera compact flash card, maps, and father's day gift from Darcy, my older daughter, did not arrive. This was a problem because now I had even more chores to do. At the post office I asked if they had any packages for me. They found the envelope with my maps for Shenandoah National Park but nothing else. I explained that I was expecting more packages. The lady behind the desk told me that if they had been addressed to the Office of Tourism that is where they would be delivered. I showed her the envelope she just handed me with Office of Tourism as the address and pointed out that it was still in the post office and not where it was suppose to be. She said she could not explain this.After bringing our packages back to the motel room, we talked with Pokey. We were trying to persuade Pokey and his mom, Mama Pokey, to rent a car and share the expense with us so we could all slack pack the Shenandoahs. But Mama Pokey would really like to hike the park like a real backpacker. I told you she is wonderful. They decided to head out by noon today so they could get a head start on us while we zeroed and waited for Burnie.We did some shopping in CVS including saving the photos on our memory cards to CD. I picked up some anti fungal cream, some batteries and a pair of ladies body shaper tights to use for preventing hiker rash between my legs. It's not quite what my friend Chief GAME 2003 recommended, Walmart Tights. But it might work in a pinch.After lunch at Pizza Hut¢s all you can eat buffet, we headed to Radio Shack to buy a replacement for my missing Compact Flash memory cards. Then we headed to the Post Office again to mail some packages home, including my winter sleeping bag, the photo CD's and the memory cards that were full. I sent them in separate packages hoping to outwit possible loss.We then walked another mile to the YMCA to leave a note for Burnie. Next we did some grocery shopping. This was easier because we discovered that there are numerous tourist stops along Skyline Drive that we crossed often and could pick up food and supplies along the way. We headed back to the motel again to repack and organize our food and packs. Some of the hikers at the motel chose to aqua blaze the Shenandoahs by canoeing the Shenandoah River for 111 miles rather than hike in the mountains. It will be a great change of pace but it is not the AT.We went for a swim in the pool then back to the room to change and plan our next section. Burnie showed up tired but ready to go to dinner. Yup, we found another all you can eat steak house just a short distance from the motel. We tried to persuade Burnie to stay in the room with us instead of camping at YMCA but she only agreed to have a shower in our room. Then I walked her back to the YMCA and her tent. We will be leaving town around 11 tomorrow morning after Burnie does her town chores. I'm glad she is back with us and hope Pokey can rejoin us soon. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman