Date: 2003-04-15
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: any bed available with pillows...
Miles today: 0.0

We are in Hiawassee, GA! A zero day. It is warm out and sunny. It is very nice to take a short break from hiking. Craig and I look pretty goofy in our dollar store clothing that we purchased last night. Craig looks like an NBA superstar in his low-riding red basketball shorts and Spaulding T-shirt. He's got on white socks with black flipflops. I have the regulation grey Hanes T-shirt and awful cotton black shorts that are pretty roomy and make me look like I'm expecting. But it feels great to NOT be wearing hiker clothes.We got to Dick's Creek Gap after 5pm yesterday and it was weird to be standing on the side of the road hoping to get a ride to town (11 miles from trail). Craig bought this great bandana back at Neel's Gap that reads "hiker to town" on one side and "hiker to trail" on the other. We used it to advertise our needs as we stood on the roadside. The third car that passed stopped for us! This hitchhiking stuff is easy! The guy who stopped, Hoyt, was a lovely older gentleman in an old pickup truck. We offered to sit in the pickup part with our packs, but he said no - that it was too cold out, that we should sit up front with him. It was so HOT out (to us!) but hey - if he wanted to deal with our stench, fine. He had an ashtray full of old butts and coffee cups littering the windshield. Also some facemasks on the windshield - i never did ask if they were work-related. He was really nice and chatted with us on the ride to town in his deep southern accent. Asked us about allergies, bugs, weather. He updated us on the war - telling us that the POWs had been found. He also told us some story from the past in which he referred to the "war between the states..." Pretty cool! They don't call it the Civil War in the south. He drove us right up to Mull's Motel in town and wished us a happy hike. We are lucky that everyone in GA has been so nice! The road leading to Hiawassee is gorgeous - the land looks a lot like Vermont I think. We are surrounded by rolling hills and mountains with little homes nestled in the crooks. There are rivers and ponds all around. The homes are cute with gardens and flowers. Last night we showered and walked to McDonald's for a fastfood feast of burgers and nuggets with all the dipping sauces. I had been craving chicken nuggets for days. We then vowed to eat better today. We also got some local brews, Dogwood Pale Ale (brewed in Atlanta, GA) at the supermarket. We had a few beers in our motel room, read about the war in the USA Today we bought, and fell asleep in a comfy bed. Ah - pillows!!!We got up at 10am today and walked to Ingles (the local supermarket) to get coffee. Craig lucked out by finding a cup of ice to make iced coffee. The southerners don't seem to get the concept of iced coffee... everyone here drinks iced tea. On our drive down we had to search everywhere to find iced coffee below the Mason/Dixon line. (We lucked out in Clemson, SC -- figures a college campus would have iced coffee.) I got a Naked juice smoothie and Craig got a fresh peach to eat! (when in GA... eat a peach!) We walked up Main Street to find the library. We passed an autobody shop that has a huge sign on the front window that reads: "Jesus is Lord. Have a happy day!" Hey, atleast we are no longer in a dry county. Religion is serious here. You cannot purchase beer, wine, or alcohol here from any store on Sundays. Good to know.We are at the County library using the computers to get our online journals updated and send out email. It is great to reconnect! We are going to get kicked off the computers soon.Then we will walk to the laudromat to wash our stinky clothes. We have them with us right now in the library (gross!) in plastic shopping bags. Even after long showers we still smell. Even with deoderant on that we purchased. That smell is hard to get rid of! I feel like I have to apologize to everyone for smelling. We will resupply our food needs for the trail at the supermarket later on. We are thinking about going to an all-you-can-eat buffet at the local steakhouse for dinner. Then it is back to Dick's Creek Gap tomorrow AM - hopefully early. We have to hitch back out to the trail. It will be interesting to see who picks us up! We are about 8.5 miles from the North Carolina border. How exciting! My knees and feet are sore today, but I think this break will help them to rejuvenate. Craig has a few blisters that are healing. I talked to my Mom last night and got updated on all the family news. Craig is going to call his family today. It is great to check in. Thank you to everyone who has signed the guest book and sent emails. We miss you! Craig and I are having a lot of fun together. We get really silly and keep each other laughing with jokes and happenings. We are definitely learning that hiking has its own pace. Time is different on the trail. Mishaps occur regularly. We lose things, we have off days, we get cranky. But we have each other to rely on and hang out with. I am so glad to be hiking with Craig. He is a fabulous partner! (and he filters water!) Our next stop to resupply is Franklin, NC in 4-5 days. We had been carrying 8 days worth of food to start (way too heavy!) so we are looking forward to carrying less this time around.We are still over a week and a half away from Fontana Dam, NC.... so if you wanted to send us mail or goodies you still can...Erin Harris and Craig BibeauGeneral DeliveryFontana Dam, NC 28733 *hold for AT thru-hiker Thank you for the kind thoughts! Sorry too that it takes us so long to update you on our trevails, we will try to find a computer when we get to towns. And maybe future trail journals will be shorter, we are lucky to have a 2-hour time slot on these computers! Craig and I still don't have trail names... we are tossing around a few ideas, and hopefully when we next write we might have them! Take care and be well!-Craig and Erin -Erin and Craig