Date: 2003-05-24
From: US250/Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I must say, Waynesboro has been a great city for me as a hiker. The people have been nothing but friendly. Rides have come easily. People have stopped and offered directions without us even waving them down to ask. The town has a list of about a dozen people who volunteer to shuttle hikers. Awesome!I used some of my McDonalds Gift Certificates today for lunch. Mmm mmm good! Hotdog and I went to the Post Office, then to Weasies for breakfast. Weasies offers all-you-can-eat pancakes for $3.99. They also keep a record of number of pancakes eaten, and the women's record was recently broken, and now lies at 19! I didn't have any desire to attempt the record, but did have some pancakes, along with eggs, bacon, and toast. And orange juice, can't forget the OJ. The pancakes were some of the best I've ever had!We then hitched to the outfitter. I bought two new pairs of socks. My other ones were getting thinner, but worse, had duct tape remains stuck to the inside, which was forming sticky duct tape remains clusters that felt like little pebbles under my feet and toes. Maybe the new socks will help prevent any further blisters or rubbing by my new shoes. Wearing them around town today, my feet felt pretty good. Add a 35# pack and climb some mountains, and it could be a different story though. We hitched back to the hotel after the outfitter, and did some tinkering with stuff. Food stuff, hygiene stuff, just pack stuff. After an hour or two of that we went to McDonalds for a late lunch, then headed to Kroger for resupply. It's always a good idea to eat before going shopping. With the food in my maildrop, and the availability of resupply within 3 hiking days, I bought a whopping $5.97 of groceries. I'm still probably carrying too much, but will eat it anyway. I always seem to.I got to watch several movies this afternoon and evening, although I did some more tinkering with my pack-stuffs during commercials. I saw most of Rocky V, all of one of my all-time favorites, The Wedding Singer, and all of Murder at 1600. Yeah, I'd seen them all before, but liked watching anyway.Tomorrow morning, I'll be back on the trail before 10am and crossing Skyline Drive for the first (of a zillion times) within a half mile. I'm looking forward to Shenandoah National Park. I hope the weather cooperates and gives me some good views from the overlooks. I like sitting at the overlooks on a nice day. It's very relaxing, and one of the reasons I'm out here hiking. But, if the weather isn't kind to me, I'll keep on hiking. That's okay too. The recent "bad" weather (rain) has given me some beautiful waterfalls, cascades, streams, creeks, etc. Don't get me wrong, I like sunshine and dry weather, but am thankful for the abundance of water to drink. And, after a good rain, I can smell the fresh water. That is very nice too. If my pack and clothes smelled like that after they got wet, I'd REALLY like rain, but it is quite the contrary!This has been an awesome experience so far, and I am so thankful that I've experienced it. I am looking forward to the halfway point, and then continuing on. I don't have a clue what I will do after this, but I believe my options are limitless. I now know that I don't need a lot to live on, and I'd rather be happy in what I do to support myself than to be unhappy and earning more. I hope I never forget that, as it's taken me 850 miles to learn! And I have nearly twice that left to remind me... just in case.