Date: 2016-01-13
From: Hampton, Tennessee 

To: Florida 
Miles today: 0.0

Where to begin? Firstly, I am overwhelmed and filled with gratitude by all the well wishes and continued support and encouragement from everyone. I did not expect to have so many uplifting comments when I announced I was leaving the trail and heading to Florida for warmer weather.  It was a very emotional decision for me and one that still occupies too much of my mind. In all honesty, I was a nervous wreck everytime I received an email notification after my last post and hesitated to open them in fear that I was going to be ridiculed for not completing my thru-hike attempt. Instead, the emails I received brought comfort, relief and more tears. Thank you so much.Secondly, even though I expected some degree of culture shock when I got off the trail, I was not mentally prepared for what awaited me upon returning to "normal life." Of course, "normal " is relative, and my definition of "normal " is different now. For the first few weeks I felt like I had landed on another planet. A very busy planet with excessive noises and smells and too many people going in every different direction in fast cars, all in their own little worlds disconnected from each other. I was happy and thankful to reunite with family and friends, but it was overstimulating nonetheless and best experienced in small doses. After getting off the trail in Hampton, Tennessee I spent four nights in two different hostels waiting for resupply boxes and gear replacements. This gave me a chance to decompress before making the transition home; besides I love hanging out in these small mountain towns. Hampton is another quaint, teeny tiny town. I went to the only diner in town four times during my two night stay at the Bramaer Castle and had the same meal every time because it was so good. Fried okra, fried squash and BBQ pork with garlic bread.  Yum! After one such meal I went back to the Castle and hunkered down in my bunk with the space heater pulled up next to me and my sleeping bag pulled over my head in an effort keep warm when I heard someone walk in and call me by name. I pulled my bag off my head and was face to face with trail legend Bob Peoples. He was hand delivering a resupply box for me that a friend had mailed to his hostel several miles away. Somehow he knew I was here. Trail mail and trail magic continues. Bob owns Kincora Hostel and is idolized by AT hikers for his abundant generosity and years of endless trail maintenance. I say idolized because all the graffiti on the shelter walls upon entering Tennessee indicated that he must be a greater than life figure. Among all his accomplishments he must also be a mind reader because when I expressed my delight and surprise at meeting him, he could tell I was expecting a larger, more imposing figure. He was much smaller and less intimidating than I envisioned. I asked him if he knew that someone wrote on a shelter wall "Bob Peoples does not need to flush a toilet. He scares the s*** out of it."  Bob Peoples was a joy to meet and very kind and humble. He asked about my hike and I was embarrassed to tell him I was getting off the trail after 1500 miles because I couldn't handle the cold, but he assured me I was making the right decision. He was very convincing, but I was still wavering. Then all I had to do was walk outside and realize it was the best decision for me.My next destination was Mountain Harbour B & B in Roan, TN, 18 miles away where I had some gear drops waiting. I walked to the highway for my last hitchhiking attempt and was picked up by a lovely older couple on their way home from church who were completely enthralled by my hiking experience. I calculated that they went 30 miles round trip out of their way to deliver me to the hostel. Wow! I even got a great big goodbye hug. The trail was still providing for me. I spent two relaxing nights at the hostel and had some great conversations with Doug, the caretaker. He set up a perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree which made me marvel again at where the time has gone. Doug kept the wood stove burning so it was mighty toasty, just what I needed. Breakfast at Mountain Harbour is legendary along the trail which is why I had chosen it, but as I was the only guest they were not offering it. That was a bummer! My last morning I had some more awesome trail magic when someone who had been reading my journal drove me to the train station in Charlotte, NC. Barbara drove three hours to pick me up and then drove back to Charlotte. We enjoyed each others company and shared hiking stories and lunch before saying good bye. Thank you Barbara! I am still amazed and filled with gratitude for your kindness! My train ride to Orlando took a very long 20 hours, and I had such a hard time sitting still. I missed the mountains already, and going home was bittersweet.  It was fitting that my friend Ann and John picked me up and drove me to my family's on the east coast where I had kept my car. Ann had driven me to the Orlando airport almost 7 months earlier to start my journey.  Thank you Ann and John!This past weekend Bon Bon had a hiker trash reunion at her house with some of the hikers she hiked with on her thru-hike. She invited me since I live nearby and we all crashed at her place and ate very well and traded stories. It was a great time and I enjoyed meeting Bon Bon, D.No, C.Shell, Tedzilla, Katwalk, Just Dave, Truck and Overload. Truck and Overload had been reading our TJ's and were incredibly supportive. So great to finally meet them face to face. We went for a walk at Alafia State Park the next morning and then went to Bon Bon's super cool art and ice cream store.  How can you not love a place called Art Monkey? We all got creative and painted mugs with AT designs on them and signed each others. Mine will surely make me smile, and I know where my mind will wander while sipping hot tea from it. Thank you Bon Bon! Oh, and the ice cream was fabulous too.I started working this week. More culture shock, but all is good. I have enjoyed myself on many warm, sunny walks on sandy beaches, but am constantly day dreaming about my hike and returning to the mountains.More posts to come soon as I sort through my plans to return to the trail and share my thoughts on gear and other musings. Wishing everyone Happy Trails and a Happy New Year!