Date: 2017-10-07
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Miles today: 0.0

10/7Providence, RI I woke up around five o'clock after an interesting and somewhat disconcerting dream of hiking down a long, narrow pathway in the dark toward a sliver of light. It took a few minutes for the confusion to subside and for me to realize where I was. I often have vivid dreams and usually enjoy them. Years ago, during a stressful time at work soon after I became a building administrator, I started having reoccuring dreams that always included the Gilligan and Skipper. I would be in some quandary, and Gilligan and the Skipper would try to help but only succeeded in making things worse. I had numerous such dreams over a period of several months. It was near Christmas time, and I was staying the night with my mom in St. Louis, when I had yet another of these dreams, which did not make for restful sleep. I was about ready to drive home to Rolla, and I told Mom that I was going to take a short power nap before leaving. It was then that my Spirit Otter and Spirit Weasel came to help. They walked into my dream, told me that they knew I was under a lot of stress, and asked if they could help. I told them that if they could find a way to do it without hurting their feelings, since they really were trying to help, I would so much appreciate if they could find a way to get Gilligan and Skipper out of my dreams. They told me they would see what they could do. That has been several years ago, and neither Gilligan nor Skipper have ever been in a dream of mine since. Neither have Spirit Otter or Spirit Weasel, but I trust they are in the background in case I ever need their help again. Somehow, I find this very comforting. I packed up most of my backpacking gear into my pack and put it in the stow bag so I can get it all home on the airplane. The bottoms of my water bottle pouches are pretty much shredded, and both the stay adjustment straps on the bottom are gone. Field repairs got me through, although I had to start putting my big water bottle in my mesh pouch on the last day. I think I'll contact ZPacks about returning it for repair. Considering what that pack went through, particularly in the Whites and Southern Maine, I feel it did a fine job for me. I then came downstairs and simply sat on Sue and Kim's large, screened porch and watched the world go by for awhile. Saturday is Farmers' Market Day at the park across the street, and I watched as people set up for it. Sue prepared a huge breakfast. After eating, we headed for the Farmers' Market. There were many vendors selling everything from locally grown produce to craft items. We had a great time walking around with Maizy and Maggie, the two dogs that Sue and Kim are dog sitting. I stopped by Yacht Club Soda's tent. Yacht Club Soda has been in business for over 100 years and are famous for their unique flavors. I purchased a grapefruit soda and an orange cream soda that tasted exactly like a liquid dreamsicle. They were both delicious. We then walked down to Beau's Bench that Sue and Kim had installed on Blackstone Boulevard in Beau's memory. Beau's Bench was featured in the movie, "Irrational Man." Joaquin Phoenix is seen sitting on the bench, although you can't see the plaque. After resting and talking for a bit, we headed back to the Farmers' Market. We passed by a duo playing Irish Pub Rock. They were playing Whiskey in the Jar, one of my favorite Dubliners songs, as the wee ones danced. We listened for awhile before returning to the house. The humans held up well, but Maizy and Maggie were pretty much done in and chilled out on the porch. Sisters, the two dogs are basically joined at the hip and do not like to be separated. We ate a light lunch and visited on the porch for the rest of the afternoon. It was wonderful sitting on the porch watching the world go by. Sue and Kim provide a kind of Trail Magic by providing a jar of dog treats by their house for all comers. It was great fun chatting with the puppies and their humans who stopped by for a doggie treat. It's good to know that Trail Magic can happen anywhere. We had a quiet dinner, and then surprised Sue with a birthday cake and visited until time for bed. Sandy and I will be leaving for home tomorrow. We'll spend the rest of tomorrow into the next day with Becky in Columbia. She'll drive us home on Monday, and I will be back to where I started from on April 5th. To quote Jerry Garcia from Gravity's favorite band, The Grateful Dead, "Lately, it occurs to me . . . What a long, strange trip it's been."