Inn At Long Trail 1707.3 (zero miles, 681.9 total miles)
After another wonderful night of sleep in a real bed, I made my way down to the kitchen where we slowly congregated for a drive to breakfast. I went in the truck with Plat, QT, Halfway, and Workboots.
We got to the restaurant only to find out that it was closed for the holiday. We found another breakfast place, but that one was closed as well. Plat and her mom, Nance, started calling around while we walked to a coffee shop nearby.
By that point everyone had arrived. In the shop, we found out there was room for us at the Friendly Toast, about 20 minutes away. After getting our coffee, we got back on the road.
The Friendly Toast was in a plaza with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, my favorite grocery store. I had never heard of the restaurant, but Piñata said it was really good and it had a cool vibe.
There was a turf area outside, and while we waited for our tables, we played cornhole and tossed a football around. Inside, the decor was very retro with a lot of flair. We spread out over three tables, and it was very fun.
After breakfast, we scattered a little bit. Everyone had various chores and errands to run. Tater and I played Piñata and Charlie in a game of cornhole, then we headed over to Trader Joe’s, where I had my most efficient resupply so far.
We drove back with Yati and Charlie, and I reluctantly started the process of breaking down and repackaging the food I’d just bought. I always get overwhelmed with all that, and stressed I either don’t have enough food, or I have too much.
I made a sandwich and had a sprite for lunch, and called The Shoe Box in Amherst to see if they had Speedgoats in a half size smaller than what I was wearing. Almost everyone had replaced their shoes at Plat’s. I wasn’t due for another 100 miles probably, but wanted to try a size 8 to see if that fit better.
Tater was nice enough to drive me to the store, and I tried on a pair of size 8, but they were definitely too small. I saw they had an 8.5 and, though the color was much less nice than my current pair, they were 10% off, so I bought those. Typical Amelia zero day activity: buy new shoes.
These ones were actually going to replace my current shoes after they died of natural causes (or as natural as hiking 15-20 miles a day is), so that felt better. I’m still not positive Hokas are my end all be all trail shoe, but they are working for now, so I’m going to stick with them.
After the shoe store, we stopped at Walgreens for hand sanitizer and a new toothbrush kit, then went back to the house. Everyone else was in and out, going to stores, and working on their own chores.
After I resprayed a bunch of my gear with permethrin, I sat down with Plat, Dan, Shrek, and Tater to watch an episode of Ozark. It was the second half of the last season, which I’d watched right before the trail. It was perfect for the rainy day it had turned into outside.
A little before 8:00, we all sat down for a fantastic dinner of pasta with vodka sauce that is Plat’s speciality, garlic bread, and salad. It was such a great feeling being with everyone, and I couldn’t believe I had found this amazing group of people I now considered family. I was so happy.
We had homemade chocolate chip cookies, courtesy of Nance, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. After a couple more chores, a group of us got comfy in the living room to watch the movie Midsommar.
I’d been meaning to watch it since before it came out, as I’d really enjoyed Hereditary. However, I didn’t want to watch it alone, so when it came up in conversation earlier in the day, I jumped at the chance to watch it with a group.
Dan treated us to the rental on Prime, and I sat with Shrek, Workboots, Tater, Neon, Pinata, and Charlie to watch it. QT joined us for a very short time, too. It was deliciously disturbing, with vivid imagery, but also a ton of fun because we were all together cracking jokes. At one point, I was crying from laughing so hard.
It was a long movie, and I got into bed around 11:30, and drifted off around midnight. I’d had a perfect few days with some of my favorite people in the world, and Plat’s parents had spoiled us and made us feel at home the whole time. It was an experience I’ll never forget, and memories I will cherish forever.