River Road 1477 (zero miles, 451.6 total miles)
This is going to be a short post, since a zero at home is a little bit different than a zero on the trail, but I still wanted to document what it looks like.
I didn’t sleep enough last night, which seems to be the norm for me since I’ve been on the trail. I did manage to sleep in till around 10am, though. Malia was working from home, so Tater and I went out for breakfast.
We found a spot called Dave’s Restaurant in Granby, near where Paul’s house is. It was a small diner I’d never been to before. They have limited hours through the week, and we arrived 40 minutes before closing.
There was a laid back vibe there, and a really friendly staff. We each got a big platter of food, and I was very sad I couldn’t finish the entire order of eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, and French toast. I took it home for later, though.
We stopped at Paul’s to get the Hokas I needed to return to REI and a few other things I’d left with him. He gave me a new battery block and three boxes of Propel packets, which was very nice of him.
He was also working from home, so we chatted for a few minutes, then Tater and I got back on the road to head to REI in Hartford. On the way there, we saw an adorable little Honda van someone was selling in their front yard.
We stopped and checked it out, and met a friendly man named Jasper who showed us around the van. It was straight from Japan, and all the writing on it was in Japanese, and the steering wheel and all three pedals were on the right side of the van.
It was cute, and I could totally picture Baked Potato rolling around in it doing trail magic, but that’s a tricky vehicle to have service wise, plus we aren’t even sure if it has a VIN. It was fun to look at, though.
At REI, I got the Hokas returned and we managed to escape without spending any money. Back home it was time for naps, then all the normal chores that have to be done on zero days or in town. Dishes, laundry (very needed), etc.
Since I was home, there were other things I could do as well, like switch out some gear and back flush my Sawyer Squeeze. Malia gave me a bunch of food to take for resupply, and Tater and I hit Walmart as well for a few more items. My food bad is sadly very heavy again.
I was thoroughly enjoying getting to drive my car everywhere again, so when we all went to dinner with Malia’s friend, Jordan, as well, I drove us to Lucky Taco in Vernon.
We had some good Mexican food, stopped for ice cream at Kloter Farms, and got back home around 8:30. From there, I showered and finallygot to play a very small amount of Borderlands 2, which I’d really been looking forward to.
I would have loved a second day at home, but I had coordinated everything to meet back up with the Cult when I returned. A zero at home is a very bittersweet experience, because it is so nice and comfy, and makes it hard to leave, even though I know how much I love the trail and want to be there.
I was very glad that Baked Potato had taken my advice to have a zero day of his own as well. Trail angels need trail magic, too, and I think it was really good for him. Back at it again tomorrow for both of us.