Date: 2016-07-25
From: South Pomfret, VT / Lebanon, NH

To: Lebanon, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Jul 25, 2016 - On zero day, I managed to sleep in until the insane time of 7 am - I already missed the sunrise and the sounds of the birds in the dark hotel room. I stole out of the room quietly so my Mom could continue sleeping and helped myself to coffee and an enormously large breakfast in the hotel lobby. I relaxed in the room for a few hours on a full stomach until around noon. By that time, I was already growing restless just sitting around. The four of us hopped in the car and went to the supermarket to resupply. My Mom and I pigged out on a plate full of the mozzarella sticks and chicken wings from the hot food trays.Next up was a trip to Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth University. We will actually be passing through Hanover tomorrow as the trail runs directly through the town / campus. Mom went off to shop while Peach, Great P and myself stopped at Molly's restaurant (a whopping 50 yards from the car) to grab some beers (or margaritas if you're Great P). My Mom finally arrived and everybody ordered lunch except me - I had about 12 mozzarella sticks in me. We started talking to the bartender - in two weeks, she was moving to Oregon into a $700,000 house she's never seen before with a boyfriend who works as a movie director in Jamaica. She's a bartender and a karaoke DJ that's called DJ Hot Wheels. Oh and she's already been divorced at the age of 25. I mean you can't make this shit up - I could practically see my Mom's mind blowing up as this lady tells us all this. After Molly's, we drove down to West Hartford, NH to check out the Harpoon Brewery to continue this Brew Blazing adventure. A scoop of ice cream at the nearby shop was $4 so I walked directly to the brewery to drink some beer and collect another sticker. My Mom talked to us about life and Peach pushed all of her buttons as it is ridiculously easy to do. Our final stop for the day was the Seven Barrel Brewery in Lebanon, NH - yet ANOTHER brewery checked off our list and ANOTHER sticker collected. Peach actually ate a quick dinner and then hitched the 2 miles back to the hotel while my Mom was shopping. Mom joined Great P and I shortly after running her errands. We ordered some dinner, sipped some beers (or ciders if you're Great P and cosmopolitans if you're my Mom - I don't think she's ever ordered one she doesn't think is too strong) and actually hung around for trivia. The trivia here was pretty standard, I suppose - 6 rounds of 10 questions with cards that allow a team to double down on a round and to earn the points for a specific question for free. However, the method in which the prizes were awarded was just bizarre. To make a long story short, we came in last place and walked away with 3 of the 6 candy prizes, which were awarded after each round. The winners of each round had the choice of selecting the topic of the next round or a box of candy. Last place for each round received the remaining option. So, basically, people chose questions over candy...it's bizarre I know.After trivia, we drove back to the hotel and got another good night's sleep. I needed it sorely especially since I felt a cold coming on. I think it's pretty ironic that I get a cold on my day of rest, but I guess I'll have to deal with it. It will not be fun mouth breathing up the White Mountains, which I will be hiking later this week.