Surprise trip to North Carolina

Last week I found out my Uncle Billy and Aunt Nelda would be visiting my parents in North Carolina this week. Because they live in California and I don't fly, I don't get to see Billy and Nelda much. And this weekend is Father's Day. What more excuse did I need to jump in a car and drive 13 and 1/2 hours and 800 miles?

They didn't know I was coming. I think I surprised them, but you can look at the photos and decide for yourself (sorry they're a little blurry, I took them just I was jumping out of the car and I think my body was still vibrating from the ride).

Kevin Costner and Modern West

Kevin Costner has a band.

If you saw the movie Swing Vote, you saw and heard them singing "Backyard." I saw them play last night in Foxboro, Mass. at the Showcase Live near Patriot Place.

The band was kicking off a tour that was supposed to start in New Jersey. But Kevin finished up shooting a movie in Boston and his two daughters Annie (who works with Sheila) and Lily were in town, so he asked the band to start the tour early in Foxboro.

Lily joined Kevin on stage for the first time to sing a song. She was great. Here's a picture.

Annie arranged for free tickets for me and Sheila and several other friends from Providence. We got to go in the VIP entrance. I, of course, felt like we were doing something wrong the whole time.

I really liked the music. Sheila bought me the CD after the show. Some fun country stuff. The band was great to watch, mostly because they were clearly having a good time.

Did you guys see that?

Well, I didn't finish the full 44 miles, but a group of us did make it 35 miles. Can't feel bad about that.

We started out the hike at 3:30 AM at the Delaware Water Gap. It was cold and raining and for the first several miles we were walking uphill, over ankle-breaking rocks, the only light provided by headlamps and flashlights. The people in front and above us were only silhouettes. The people below and behind us just points of light.

We got to the first ridge just as it was getting light and the rain was letting up. It felt like the temperature dropped 20 degrees. A couple of hours later we stopped for food on this ridge.














These guys were relentless. Except for breaks at the crossroads where we met up with the support vans and got water, we rarely stopped.

We did stop for a few seconds an another ridge about halfway through our longest stretch. That's where we took this picture of me powering up for the rest of the trip by eating some of Sheila's vegan cookies. In my near-delirium of fatigue I dropped my Mets hat on the trail, so I had to use a bandanna. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to fold it and tie it around my head. I didn't want to ask for help, because it seemed like something any idiot should know how to do. I'll try and blame the fatigue.

The day got increasingly hard. We made the Route 206 crossing (29 miles in) by 1:30, earning the right to keep going and try to finish the whole 44 miles before dark, but just a few miles into the final 15 mile stretch, we were flagging (me probably most of all). This is where I started hallucinating.

"Did you see that?" I asked my fellow hikers after I was sure I saw a deer walking right next to us for a couple of seconds. "See what?" they said. "Ummmm . . . nothing," I said. "I guess I just lost my chance to persuade you that I'm OK to drive us home after the hike."

We ended up calling for the support van at a parking lot at mile 35, about 13 hours after we started hiking. That's where we took the picture below. Please, if you ever see me looking the way I look in this picture, take me to the hospital. I'm probably having a stroke.

A long day's hike

OK, I'm going to try and sleep most of the day today, because at 8:00 PM tonight I leave for Hibernia, N.J. I'm driving with some friends from work. We'll get there at about 1:00 AM, have breakfast and then be dropped on the Appalachian Trail at about 2:30 AM.

Then we'll walk from around the Delaware Water Gap to around High Point, N.J., a distance of about 44 miles. You can click on the map below to see the trail or you can read about this trip here. One of the people in our group has completed this hike before. It took her about 15 hours. I see no reason to believe that I can do more than 20-25 miles of the trip. After that I'll wait in the vans that will be meeting us at all the road crossings until every one else finishes.

Mostly I'm looking forward to eating at the diner at 1:00 AM. That sounds like fun.

Success!

Mmmmmm, sconces . . .

The light in the bathroom hasn't been working for about two years. The rotary switch at the bottom stripped. We paid $45 and waited a couple of weeks the last time this happened. But I've got all this time now.
















So I took it apart, figured that it was beyond repair and then started searching for a replacement part that I could get at Home Depot, the local hardware store, etc. That's how I learned that lights like this are called "wall sconces." Yes, I did not know that before. Anyway, I found an online store that sells what looks like the little black part below. I ordered two. I'll let you know what happens.

Day 3

A 50-mile hike that's really only 44 miles. Count me in!