Date: 2012-05-26
From: Loft Mountain Store

To: Skyline Drive at 92.4
Miles today: 13.9

Trail Mama: All 4 to breakfast at 7:30...but by the time we got the guys to the trail and they got started it was 11:00!! Very slow start today! Anne and I drove them to their start. Saw Krispy Kreme, Brownie, and Diesel, (Diesel's a dog) at Loft Mt. store...also saw All Smiles. They are all doing well except Diesel who has lost a lot of weight and needs to gain some back. He was still friendly and licked my hand. We then had a very long drive back to Staunton. On the way we stopped at Stuart's Draft (a town) and resupplied again at the Dollar General...buying lots of gatorade now and natural fruits in a pouch...both things are very popular. While there a church in the strip mall was grilling hotdogs and passing them out for free. We decided to have one with some lemonade. This church is doing lots of outreach and the donations that we left were going to a trailer park ministry that they had just started besides feeding anyone who passed by EVERY Saturday. Their mission statement says that they want to welcome everyone and have intelligent joyful worship...sounds like they are on the right track. On to Staunton where we visited some of the places that I had been such as the glass blowing place and the fiber arts store. There was an art fair at the local park which was very nice. We visited all the booths and talked to several of the artists. Our next stop was the library which is housed in a former 3 story brick school. It rated a 8.5 on my scale...actually a very nice place inside. Next we picked up SOS's perscription at CVS and drove back to our room. There is a Subway across the street so we walked over and got salads and then ate at the picnic table under a tree at our hotel. Anne came to my room where we both read a while and then Anne worked on her knitting. Our guys finally got here about 9:30. According to them, they had a great hiking day...and SOS made be part of a documentary that was being filmed out on the trail. He was interviewed while Dave sat and waited and waited. Time for some rest after a busy day. The Road Name of the Day: SERENITY LANE .... for my friend...she will know why.Lots of people signed the guest book yesterday...THANKS...we LOVE to get messages from home....it means a lot to know people are still following along!SOS here:It was a slow start to the day - even before we sarted All Smiles told us we would get trail magic about three miles down the trail.Because were hiking against the grain - North to South, we saw many of my fellow thru hiker friends. I was especially happy to see Dos and Connect Four - they also told us about the the trail magic and that the person giving out the trail magic was interviewing thru hikers about their hikes.Dos was especially shocked to see me, because I was in such pain from my shin splint the last time she saw me at the Dutch Haus Hostel. She fussed over me at the Dutch Haus Hostel and made sure I iced down my swollen right leg. The pain from the shin split is nearly gone. I am improving each day.I told Connect Four that my son Jeff was going to buy a connect four game an win in a rematch with her. She said she would send me her address and seemed confident he would not beat her.We also saw GQ and Maxis on the trail - they told us they had been invited to a bachelor party further down the trail. Pitchit and I had met the bachelor earlier who was running down the trail in Shiny Gold running trunks and a pink running shirt - who knows why.When we got to the trail magic the person doing the documentary had quit doing interviews, because he was running out of space. There was already three young thru hikers there. When I said my trail name, they immediately responded with the same comment, "You're Trail Mama's husband." She obviously was on their good list for the trail magic she had given them. Her kindness is becoming lore on the AT.When I told them my story and why I was hiking the trail - the person doing the documentary ask if he could interview me. I said of course.In my interview, I said, "I am blessed to be hiking the trail, because I had a C-7 spinal cord injury and that a C-7 spinal cord injury, normally results in death or being a quadrepelgic." I told him, "Only about three percent of the time does a person suffer a C-7 spinal cord injury and end up like myself with the ability to walk and have no after effects."Trail Mama and I will continue the hike and bar an injury will complete it. We will not lose focus, that the hike is to "make room for the next generation" of Christians in the UMC. We will "make room for the next generation by making fellow United Methodist aware of their UMC Camps and encourage them to make those camps' facilities second to none. The UMC camps will become a place where our youth will learn about their faith and accept Jesus Chist as their Lord and Savior. Please join us in making a pledge to those UMC camps at www.rightfuture.org.