Date: 2007-07-07
From: Fishkill NY (Holiday Inn)

To: mosinee wisconsin
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up this morning with the intentions that I would indeed walk at least to Vermont. After breakfast my hike ends almost as quickly as it started. Things are moving fast kids so follow the bouncing ball and try to keep up. Blazer is off the trail for at least a week, as hip is no better. He will rest between his son¢s and sister¢s place in Boston. If after a weeks rest he is indeed better, he¢ll be dropped off further up the trail. Then will come back and finish mass/ct. One should always consider opportunities as they present themselves. It¢s all in the choices we make. I knew no matter what I chose, I would soon regret it. Welcome to my world. Where are monkey and cocoa with their coin flip, when I need them? I would like to tell you a lot of thought went into my decision, but I try not to think on my vacations. I have been pondering this for some time for a variety of reasons. First and for most, blazer invited me on his hike. Just like a Vampire a noworries must be invited into your home or on your trip. I think most of the similarities end there. Although, I do enjoy hanging upside-down and enough garlic will probably keep me away. Secondly, I had an email when I was in Glasgow VA asking if I¢d be interested in the Colorado Trail august/September. I was just starting the AT, so I filed it under maybe. Enter the third reason, I really only budgeted my AT hike until August. Blazer even without this injury would take at least till mid-September to finish. I could speed up, but I came to hike with blazer. Some of you more observant types may say, but you will be hiking in September in Colorado. This is true, but I am living there afterwards so it is easier. Blazer is being picked up by his son and I have decided to be dropped off at the airport in Hartford CT. Where I will rent a car and drive home. So why drive? I can hear my brother yelling right now ¢a car are you nuts?¢ I like to hop in turn up the radio, roll down the window and cruise. You think they yell when you have your radio loud in an airplane, try rolling down a window. We have breakfast with and you won¢t believe this, other thru-hikers. Toto, Symbol, and my god I forgot her name. Blazer forgot to, sorry. We are 15 miles off the AT and there are hikers. Toto fell and hurt his ribs. He is taking a few zero days. The rest of the morning is spent shopping for real clothes and waiting. Blazers son picks us up and drops me in Hartford along the way. I get my car eventually. Is a Toyota corolla a midsize car? I can¢t believe that this car doesn¢t have a cd player. It looks like it does, has a space for a cd, even an eject button. I then drive erratically and make several U-turns, but in the end I have my white chocolate mocha. So at 4pm I¢m headed across the country. It¢s a beautiful evening and I make good time. I cruise through mass, ct, and NY. Looking back on it I probably should have stopped in buffalo for the night. My sights are on Erie Pa if only because I lived there for quite a bit. Erie has more hotel rooms than people and for the life of me I can¢t really say why. This doesn¢t change the fact they were completely sold out. Erie is famous lately for the pizza bomber who robbed a bank then blew up. They have beaches, minor league hockey, and way too much shopping. I walk into my third hotel and ask what I already know. Do you have any rooms? The reply from the overly perky staff was nope¢¦none of us do hee-hee¢¦ I am really developing a strong dislike towards this town. It¢s a good thing I left as Art Bell had breaking news ¢When they had the aliens at Roswell, they telepathically communicated with everyone in the room¢. I really should turn around and go back to the woods.   In fact there wasn¢t a room from buffalo to Toledo OH, a very long way. At 4am I find the last room a suite at a Hampton inn in Freemont OH. Six hours later with coffee in hand the drive fly¢s by. It grinds to a halt when I reach Chicago. Two baseball games, the 4th of July weekend, and taste of Chicago. Add to that just about all the road is under construction. 20 miles in two hours still fast than I can hike. Mom and Dad came and picked me up in Milwaukee as I will stay with them for a week.