We’ve all left something to be here. Tumbleweed is missing the birth of two grandchildren. Today Will and Lindsey would be coming home for spring break and Easter. I didn’t get to talk to them yesterday. I called twice and left messages. Finally got to talk to Mom and Richard last night. Got to know Jiff a little better. She’s 33 (told ya I’m bad with ages) and a very nice, intelligent young woman. I’ve enjoyed her company. We felt like queens in the penthouse room last night. A bed with sheets and pillows!! Taking a break at Plumorchard Gap. There’s supposed to be a super nice shelter, but I’ve found a big tree to lean against and am too lazy to go down there. Tumbleweed was here when I got here and said the guys are down there. I’m savoring every moment! Seems like I’m writing a lot, but I want to remember it all.

First, Lennie (Gary’s wife) fixed pancakes, sausage, biscuits, blueberry syrup and coffee for all of us this morning. Homestyle around a table with benches. Gary said the blessing and I was nearly in tears when he finished. Mary is an atheist and said he even got to her. Just good, sincere, genuine people. They used to charge $17 a night; this year they are only asking for donations. Gary gave us a lesson in Hitchhiking 101 last night. Jiff and I got scolded for walking. He told us to stand still. If I die right now, send donations to the Blueberry Patch!! They were just the most wonderful people. Gary told us when it rains, just to remember it’s not raining only on us. It was raining this morning, but I told Jiff at least it’s not cold and it’s not thundering and lightening. We can ease into this whole rain thing!

Got to talk to Will and Lindsey this morning before Gary drove us all back to the trail. Those pancakes were so good! I hiked a bit with Lady Hawk this morning. It was a slow start for me. The rain was actually nice. I’ve been more wet from sweating the last few days than from the rain this morning. And it’s like overnight everything got green and even some of the leaves on the trees have opened. Yea! Shade!!

Okay, a few new people have come along the last couple of days. Dinner was a blast last night. Hiawassee is a very hiker friendly town. The waitress didn’t seem to get bent out of shape as more of us kept coming in and we kept moving tables together. Ed from Maine decided to take today off to let his ankle rest. Manchester is the free spirit. He won’t tell me exactly how old he is, but with the pierced eyebrow, semi-spiked hair, gorgeous eyes, and that British accent and wit, he just grows on you. If his mother could see him now! Musician, skateboarder, hiker. Fun.

Canine was a little tough to get comfortable with at first. I think because he just seemed to pop out of nowhere one day. You really do kinda get to know who’s out there. When I walked into Blueberry Patch, Brown Tiger said, "Oh, you’re PeeWee … I’ve heard about you." Anyway Canine is from Ohio and seems to be sort of a loner, Rambo, military sort of guy. Just marches to a different beat. There are as many ways and philosophies to hike here as there are hikers. I don’t think any are right or wrong. Canine has a light pack, a tarp, an umbrella, carries canned food which he cooks on a fire (no stove), peanut butter, and oranges. He hikes in tennis shoes and alternates with water-type shoes. But he always has energy and seems to be a nice guy. We decided this morning that Mary’s trail name should be "4 Pots Light" because she used to drink four POTS of coffee a day. Big Bird is from Ohio and has hiked 1500 or 1600 miles of the AT already. But he’s started over because he wanted to complete a through hike. Cool. He’s made a lot of his own gear too.

Time out. I’m sharing my most deepest personal thoughts, my weakest moments, my stupid attacks and my grandest triumphs with you. Should I be charging for this?? Just kidding. Today’s story of the day is better than the teeter-tottering over the tree in the trail trying not to roll off. Today’s theme is sports bras and Twinkies. I wasn’t hungry earlier and just took a couple of bites of chicken salad and went on. Still working on the food thing. Anyway, my energy was fading so I stopped to eat a Twinkie. I wanted to eat it today because they get so mushy. Well, too late; it was already mushy. So here’s a grown woman in the middle of nowhere on the side of the trail licking every last bit of Twinkie off the wrapper. Tasted so good at the moment. Well, you know how sports bras sort of give you that cleavage, even if you really don’t have any? I look down and there are Twinkie crumbs and filling all over the front of my shirt and down my shirt into the bra. So now I’m bending over brushing off the shirt and dumping crumbs out of the bra. Happen to notice several trees nearby with the bark torn off the bottom and it dawns on me that probably means bears. Here we’ve all been so careful storing and cooking our food and not taking any food into our tents or shelters, and I’ve just smeared Twinkie all over myself. So now I picture the hungry bear not going for my food bag, but straight for my chest. Can’t you just picture that?

WhoooHoooo! I’ve crossed my first state line today. I’m camping just over the George/North Carolina border! It’s cooled off a lot and is a little chilly. Poor Eggman’s feet are in really bad shape. He pulled a piece of 2nd skin off and his skin came off with it. He’s going to have to be really careful so it doesn’t get infected. Great mellow happy day today. Lots of those nasty little "g" words ("gaps"), but didn’t seem as much elevation gain and loss as the last few days. All in all, a much easier day.

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