There’s nothing quite like a good night’s sleep in a big comfy bed after sleeping on the ground in a tent for several days. Okay, well, maybe a hot shower… that’s pretty amazing too. As usual, Mulligan and I shared a room. He typically stays up later in the evenings and thus gets up later in the mornings. I’m the early to bed, early to rise guy. So I quietly plowed through some work items while I had the chance. I received text messages from both the Colonel and Saunter inviting me to join them for breakfast downstairs in the hotel lobby.

I ventured downstairs and grabbed a seat with Saunter and the Colonel. Foundation joined us a few minutes later. We had two objectives: 1) eat, 2) discuss plans for the weekend. The hotel breakfast was pretty good. The usual: sausage, bacon, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, honey buns, and coffee. I had two helpings of everything. My plan for the weekend was actually to go home and surprise my mom on Mother’s Day. It was about a 5.5 hour drive from where we were in VA to my parents’ house in GA. I figured ~5 hrs there on Saturday, and ~5 hrs back on Sunday, shouldn’t be too bad, right? To surprise my mom on Mother’s day? 🙂

A bad storm was setting in so the rest of the guys planned on taking back-to-back zero days as well. This worked out well as we’d be able to reconnect Monday at the same place on the trail and continue hiking together. Mulligan got word from his old crew that they were coming back to the trail after a short break off to go visit Virginia Beach and some other places. So we hoped to meet up with them in the upcoming days. We researched other hotels close by and found one that was better and for less. So a reservation was made there for two nights.

Our plan was set and we were in motion. The Colonel dropped the guys off at the other hotel and took me to get transportation for the weekend. I was on the road and headed back to GA by noon. We picked a good day to zero. The weather was really bad. The rain was pouring down. It was so bad several cars spun off the road causing accidents. Other cars were stopped under bridges to get out of the rain. It was essentially flooding so people were pulling over with their blinkers on to let the storm pass. I was so glad we weren’t out in the wilderness hiking in this mess.

It took me an extra hour to get there due to the weather. I stopped and picked up a card and some flowers and headed over to my parents’ house. I walked in with card and flowers in hand and walked up to the living room where my mom was sitting. She turned around and saw me! She was certainly surprised. “What are you doing here!? You Stinker!!!” My Dad came downstairs after a few minutes and joined us. We sat up for hours catching up on my adventure and what they had been up to since I hit the trail months ago. Before we knew it, it was late. We were all exhausted. I crashed in my bed and was fell fast asleep.

I awoke the next morning well rested. I spent the day with my parents until my brother joined us. We went to “Dunch” for Mother’s Day. I filled my brother in on my adventure and we caught up on what he’s been up to as well. I had a strange feeling. I felt out of place. It had nothing to do with my family. But everything to do with the restaurant, the large number of people there, people zipping by our table, the lights, the noise, it was a little overwhelming. It’s not the first time I’ve felt this way since spending so much time out in the woods. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last either.

We finished our meals and headed back to my parents’ house so my Mom could open her cards and gifts for Mother’s Day. After that, I tackled some issues with my Dad’s laptop, and then packed my things to head back to the trail. I bid them all farewell and got back on the road again. My ~5 hr. drive back turned into ~7 hrs. due to construction on the highway. It seems like it took me forever to get back. What was supposed to be 10 hrs. of driving in 2 days ended up being 14 hrs. I’m not sure if it was the number of hours, the bad weather, the construction, me not used to driving, or all of the above. I was really beat though. Sometimes my “average joe” body can’t keep up with my “I can do anything” superhero mentality. This was one of those times. But I did it. Mission accomplished. The smile and surprised look on my mom’s face was well worth it! 🙂   (5/11 & 5/12)