12 down, 2 to go. (You stay classy Vermont)

Day 101 - 7/30/10
Woke around 6:45 and headed over to the convenience store a little
after 7 for breakfast. Fynias, Rainer, iTrod, and I all ordered the
"Full Belly Breakfast". Two eggs, two pieces of meat (your choice),
bread, hash browns, and two pancakes. Doesn't sound like all that
much, but the pancakes are what did me in. I couldn't even finish one
they were so huge, and ended up giving the other to Dewlap. I'm glad I
didn't try to tackle the whole breakfast because I would have been
sick, and what I ate of it fueled me all the way to Hanover.

When I left I hiked with Fynias to the first shelter. Another 3-4
miles where I was able to have some conversation while I hiked. Been
enjoying that lately. We made it to Happy Hill shelter around 10:30.
After breaking for 15 minutes we left and met up with Rainer and
Dewlap on the trail very quickly, so our group grew to 4. I led the
way and we trudged onward to town and NH. The hiking went by very fast
because we were such a large group, and before I knew it we were
crossing the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. We had a short 5
minute photo session at the border, so it was probably close to 1pm
when we actually strolled through the town part of Hanover. It was
somewhat of a bizarre experience because it's parents weekend at
Dartmouth, so the town was buzzing with activity everywhere.
Overwhelming in some ways.

First we went to the P.O. so the three of them could pick up their
maildrops, then we went to this pizza place that gives a free slice to
thru hikers. I ended up also getting some garlic knots and a Long
Trail draft beer. The knots were unbelievably good, drenched in
garlic, butter, Parmesan, olive oil, and herbs. After that gorgeous
meal Rainer, Dewlap, and I topped off the pizza with some Ben &
Jerry's ice cream. I actually had a milkshake. While there I called my
Mom who was on her way, just updating her on where to meet. We decided
on the library, so after the ice cream I headed on down there. I took
out a laptop, messing around until Mom and Christie showed up. As I'm
doing so I looked up from the computer and there they were in the
lobby area, looking around for me. I was shocked, I didn't think
they'd be able to find the library without a second phonecall. I ran
over to them, gave some hugs, then introduced them to Rainer & Dewlap.

After that we headed out so that I could shower asap at the White
River Junction Holiday Inn where my Mom got a room. Christie was
making many comments about my stink, so it was necessary to get that
over and done with right away. While I did my Mom threw my laundry in
the washer, and after that was done we headed out for some dinner at a
nice Italian restaurant in Lebanon, NH. Three Tomatoes I think the
name was. We got there probably around 6:30 and got seated right away.
The food was fantastic, great quality and sizes. I had chicken breast
with pesto, and then linguini with sweet & spicy sausage. It was a
nice dinner together, and we left there completely stuffed and
satisfied.

When we got back to the hotel I got a surprise phonecall from Far Far,
my grandfather, wishing me a happy birthday. It was great to hear from
him, and it's always nice to get a birthday greeting. After talking
with him we had some cake that my Mom made. It was awesome chocolate
cake with vanilla frosting and whipped cream middle. All homemade. My
favorite. Then I opened some cards, as well as a gift bag from Dad
full of trail goodies. I was overwhelmed with it all, and can't thank
everyone enough, but I will try, and hopefully when I'm done the trail
I can do a more adequate job. So thank you Mom, Dad, Mor Mor & Far
Far, Christie, Mary, and everyone else for making this a great b-day,
even though it is a day early it's still just as fantastic.

I'm very tired now, it felt like I did so much today, so I'll call it
a night. A late one for me, heading to bed now at 11:15. Hopefully I
can do a few more fun things with Mom and Christie before I head back
out.

Total miles: 1737.3