Waynesboro. Party time. Excellent.

Day 51 - 6/4/10
It rained last night so I woke up with a wet tent, on the outside though. Inside was perfectly dry. I wiped 'er down good before I packed up, with the intention of setting it up and drying it out when I got into town. After a quick breakfast, clifbar and two scoops of Nutella, I was off and running, very excited about the prospect of finally getting to Waynesboro.

After an uneventful 5 miles, with more uphill then I had expected (sometimes it seems like the guidebook profile is so misleading), I made it to Rockfish Gap. I hitched into town with two other hikers, Lint and another guy I forget his name, then got dropped off at Weasie's, an all you can eat pancake place. Don't you just love that name? I had two pancakes, bacon, eggs, coffee, and Dr. Pepper. Soda for breakfast! The food was great, and just enough to feel satisfied.

Next up I went to the YMCA, signed in, and got a shower and place to tent out. It's free, but a donation is recommended, so I gave $5. I think that's fair for the accommodations. The shower felt great, and was very very necessary. I hadn't had one since Daleville, which I'm sure the ladies there at the Y could attest to. I was pretty grossed out myself, and it was me that smelled. Being nice and clean was awesome, and now I didn't feel as bad about going out in public, so I went to the library that is right next door. After getting my phone battery charged up a bit (it had died last night), I called my Uncle to talk about the bug issue. I'm going to pick up the meds, but hold off on taking them. See if any symptoms develop. If they do I will start taking it, and if not that's even better!

When I was done talking with him I went back to the library and did some internetting, then decided it was finally time to hit up Ming's. The breakfast I had eaten had worn off, and I was hungry again. When I got there, oh man. They had everything. Sushi, seafood, Chinese, American (pizza, mac n' cheese, etc.), just loaded. It's kind of funny, they stick all the hikers in this backroom away from the rest of the customers, I guess cause we smell so bad, so I was seated back there with several others. Lint was already there, onto his 4th plate or something. He's a cool dude, and has hiked the triple crown so many times. This is his 7th AT thru-hike, and he's got to be younger than 32. I ate with him and a few others, Orbit (girl) and another guy I forget his name. I meet so many people you just end up forgetting a lot of the names. Anyway the food was great, and I'm happy to say that I ate enough where I was full, but not so much that I felt sick, like when I threw up the cereal. Played it just right.

I went back to the YMCA, and there were a couple other hikers that had shown up since I'd been gone. I talked with them and decided to call up one of the trail angels in town to see if we could get a ride to the outfitters. I got a hold of Norman Anderson, a very nice older man who picked us up in 10 minutes and drove us to the store. I got my new insoles (breaking them in right now!), and some extra fuel for my stove. The other 2 guys picked up their mail drops. Then Norm drove us to CVS so I could get the meds, but the dang place didn't have it in their system. I used to work for CVS so I feel a bit bad about saying this, but their pharmacy system sucks. Every time Jen gets a prescription they always mess it up or never have it processed, and it's just plain annoying. They need to work on that.

Norm drove us back to the Y, and I hung there for a few. I called my Uncle back about the screw-up, and he called again to get it fixed. In the meantime I had laundry to do, so I went downtown to get that taken care of. While there I drank two Pibbs, which really hit the spot. Soda is easily the thing I most crave when I'm in town, which is funny because I hardly drink it at home. Must be all the sugar. On the way back I stopped at CVS and this time they had my prescription ready. It wasn't too much $, 27 something, and that's without insurance. I'm glad I now have it at least. Then I stopped at Kroger's, the grocery store in town, and picked up a small resupply plus a couple extras, Sam's Summer (my first of the year), bananas (a rare treat to have fresh fruit), and canned peaches, which are for breakfast tomorrow. I'd never carry them on the trail, too heavy.

It's about 8:30 now, and I finally have accomplished everything I had intended to in town. It's crazy how many errands you have when you get to town, time just flies by. That's why zeroes are always a good idea when you're in one. But I won't be doing that, gotta get back on the trail in the AM because less than 100 miles up I'll be meeting my Mom's friend Evelyn and I might do a double zero there. I haven't had one since Damascus, so I think I'm due. Anyway, that's all from me here. Tomorrow it's back to the trail.

Total miles: 853.1