3-8-06
Start: Smithburg, WV
Destination: North Bend State Park, WV
Miles: 26.6
Weather: Warm, cloudy, sprinkles
We walked through maybe five or six tunnels today. It's amazing and scary to see the weight of a mountain on top of each one and we're walking underneath it all. And these aren't lit or anything. You can tell in some of them how they were literally dug out with picks and axes a long time ago. When we would be approaching each entrance into a tunnel, we would feel a sudden temperature drop. I'd guess it's easily 10 degrees colder inside - similar to a cave. And pitch-black dark! Hey Laird -- your little flashlight came in handy today! We'd say, "Oh, a tunnel! Get out the Laird Light!"
At one point, mom made a joking comment about the creases, nooks, and crannies in the walls -- "maybe this is where the wombats live... sticking their heads out of all the holes waiting to just fly right out..." Cousin Kandi - we thought about you today!! :)
We clipped right along today. We made good mileage in good time. We woke up to a great breakfast that Sharon and Paul had prepared for us, and they also packed us a lunch. So when we stopped for our lunch break, we had huge turkey sandwiches, a banana, brownies and trail mix. We can't believe how good a fresh sandwich can taste on a good hiking day! When we got to Pennsboro, we stopped in a little cafe where we got some coffee to push us our last 10 miles, and I made a few media phone calls.
At the end of our day, Sharon and Paul picked us up and brought us to their local cafe where we stuffed ourselves -- and we even shared a blackberry cobbler and ice cream dessert. It was so good! Sharon and Paul really seem to know everyone in the community. She's a school teacher, and he's a mailman, and all the towns in their county are very small. So while we were in the restaurant, we were able to tell our story to all the people Sharon introduced us to. It was wonderful - I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I can't believe how nice people are - we were even asked for our autographs! That was fun! :)
OH! I must tell the funniest story! Poor mom, always gettin' picked on...
First, back up a couple of weeks. Mom and I were in Maryland somewhere, and we came across one of them port-a-privy things. I went in first and realized I could maybe see better with my sunglasses off. Then mom went in, and it wasn't long before she started grumbling something about not being able to find the toilet paper. I asked her what the problem was, and she shouted back angrily, "I can't see a single thing in here, it's so dark!" Very calmly I said back, "do you still have your sunglasses on?" Sure enough! We got hysterical!
So you're gonna see this one coming...
We approched a tunnel today, and as I've been saying, they are very dark inside. We've been using the Laird light but when I stepped into this tunnel, I noticed it was a short one, and I could make out the walking surface pretty easily without a light, so I continued on. Mom was right behind me, and this is what I hear: "Don't get too far ahead. This stupid light must be going dead. Robin, you're going too fast." Meanwhile, I'm just quietly walking. She then says in a very frustrated tone, "I can't see a flipping thing in this tunnel it's so dark!"
"Mom, do you still have your sunglasses on?" I thought for sure she'd taken them off. But the two seconds of silence was all we needed before we stood laughing with our legs crossed. She did it again! I guess it's good that her sunglasses are so comfortable that she forgets she's wearing them. So then she says laughing, "Oh, now I can see the Laird light!" That one was too funny for either of us to handle.
It was a good day... and no wiener dogs!
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