Today was “town motivation” driven. We weren’t necessarily in a hurry but we were driven to action. We waited until a few people left before we got up just so there would be room to spread out. We did manage to get ready in less than our usual hour and a half but that was due in large part to the continued presence of the cottonmouth by the privy— I’ve been known to hold out for up to 5 days to avoid digging a hole; a half day to town isn’t even a challenge for me. I let Bunny decide for herself and she also chose town.
It was only a short 5 mile hike to town with more down than up, but it was raining. Not a downpour to cause us to break out the umbrellas, just a drizzle where our hats would provide enough protection. As long as my glasses stay dry, I’m fine.
We didn’t even bother with any overlooks. We passed the Lowe family (Bobby, is your family from VA?) cemetery and Mayo homestead. We tried to guess if this was the creator of mayonnaise or the founder of the Mayo Clinic. Bunny chooses to believe inventor of hamburger sauce, I, the supposed pessimist, choose to believe a connection to a life saving doctor.
We were to the highway where the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive meet by 11:30. We couldn’t quite determine where the visitor center was so we just opted to call Stanimal to pick us up. Now it started to rain enough that I broke out my umbrella. We had 20 minutes to kill before being picked up and there was a mobile popcorn trailer just begging for us to have some. We obliged. I got cheddar and Bunny got caramel. I tried to convince her to share and mix but she wouldn’t oblige. She grudgingly let me have 5 kernels to mix in mine. Her touching generosity brought a tear to my eye.
We saw a van pull of with a familiar face driving. It took us a few minutes to place it and then remembered No Worries. We hadn’t seen her since the Fontana Hilton when she fell off the platform with an armload of beer. She tried to convince me that she hadn’t been drunk at the time, but then I reminded her that she had followed me into the men’s shower to use the electrical outlets before the fall. She reluctantly admitted she MAY have been a little tipsy. Then she had to go and recall our first meeting at the NOC when I had definitely been feeling no pain and ate half of her dessert. Bunny took her side remembering this fictional event.
Stanimals in Waynesboro is completely different from our experience in Glasgow. This is a new setup and very hiker accommodating and friendly. Stanimal, personally, spends most of the day here interacting with the hikers. He has a policy of not turning hikers away and has a capacity of 25. Tonight, there were 27. Two unlucky hikers got couches (not us, not my problem).
There were several people we knew already here (not counting Lady Bug and Stickers), Geo, Summit, Rocket Man, Rick James, Sebastian, Murphy, and Pilgrim, which left us plenty of new people to meet yet still feel comfortable being among old friends. Unlike usual, we chose to shower and start laundry before we went out for ice cream and burgers. Sebastian was going to cook a large supper for everyone but Bunny couldn’t wait. I thought the food might take the edge off of my hiker hunger so I obliged the extra meal.
EFG
Cheddar and caramel popcorn: the perfect combination!