May 25, 1997 (Day 67 – milepoint 682.9 – Catawba General Store)

Still adjusting to the heat and humidity and half-wishing for colder temps again.

Trail Magic half way into the day: Pockets, Papason, Daddy Longlegs (26, Manhattan), and I came to a road crossing (VA 624) where a church group from Cary, NC was getting ready to go to the Homeplace Restaurant for lunch, which is where we planned to end our day. They offered to take our packs for us so we could bareback the remaining 6 miles. We accepted and we flew over that mountain into the next valley. Less than two hours later, we arrived as they were finishing their lunch. They walked out of the restaurant with that “I should have stopped after the second helping” look on their faces. A little conversation, a warm thanks, and they were gone.

The Homeplace: an enormous white house on a gigantic farm in a beautiful valley. Most of the folks inside were dressed well after a morning at church. We searched our packs for the most presentable clothing combinations we could muster, and the host sat us in the middle of the restaurant. The owners feel that “hikers, however dirty they may be, add to the atmosphere.” All you can eat country style cookin’: Fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, pinto beans, cole slaw, biscuits, and cherry cobbler.

Sometimes you eat so much that the pleasure leaves you and you can’t imagine ever feeling hunger again…

Aquaholic

May 25, 2009

“In love, as in gluttony, pleasure is a matter of the utmost precision.” –Italo Calvino