No Place Like Home

Only a few things would make me come off the trail, and one of them arrived on May 13th at 9:52 A.M.  Little Sam, our first grandchild, arrived and I just couldn't wait to get home to see him.  I got a text around 9:15 that Kate was going to have a c-section that morning.  My original plan was to hike for a few more days and Jan would pick me up next Tuesday.  I began to think that I wanted to be part of those "goings on" more than I wanted to be walking on the trail.  Plus I heard the weather forecast for the next couple days, and it was going to be raining all weekend.

So....with that in mind, I got my things together and headed towards the highway.  I had to wait 10 minutes and then got my first ride as a hitchhiker.  That ride took me about 6 miles.  My next ride came along a little quicker and a flower delivery guy gave me a ride to I-81 in Blacksburg, VA.  While waiting for my next ride I got a call from home for an update and told them that I was on my way home.  Just as the call ended, a young Virginia Tech student stopped and gave me a ride.  He had just finished classes and was on his way to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to start working for the summer.  He was going to be driving around the DC beltway which was exactly where I wanted to go.  Almost 300 miles later...I was dropped off within 3 blocks of Kate & Kurt's house.  Jan had brought some clean clothes and I made my way to their house to get cleaned up.  Brian took me over to the hospital less than an hour later and I met my new little grandson!
It was a great reunion with my family and seeing little Sam for the first time!

My plan is to get some rest and relaxation, eat some home-cooking, get resupplied, and get back on the road to Pearisburg, VA on Tuesday.

On Thursday, I arrived in Pearisburg, VA where I got a motel room. It wasn't exactly an Embassy Suites, but I was able to get a shower, do some laundry, and get ready to meet Rick and Peg.  We had a delicious Mexican dinner and then they drove me to WalMart to get some things.  It was great visiting with them plus the chocolate chip cookies that Peggy baked and had bagged for the hikers were a big treat.  Just a little "trail magic" in Pearisburg.  Thanks very much to them!

"There's no place like home."
-Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz