We hung around the motel room for a while this morning then had a great breakfast buffet at Bennett’s. So much fruit! (And french toast, bacon, eggs, sausage, etc.) We said goodbye to Pacemaker and Runner Up and then went to run some errands. I picked up a drinking tube at the outfitter to help me stay hydrated better on the trail. It attaches to either of my 1 liter bottles or the clean bag of my filter which can act as a 4 liter hydration bladder. Right now I have to stop and take my pack off to get to my water bottles so I don’t drink as often as I should. This will let me drink while hiking.

We were trying to find some new camp/town shoes for Stretch since her current ones were giving her blisters, which took about 5 stores to find. And then my camp shoes started giving me blisters. D’oh! I’m not replacing them, they just rub weird on my ankles without socks so I will wear them with socks. They also weren’t meant for walking a couple miles around town in.

We got up to the central trolley stop to get to an actual grocery store as opposed to the very expensive, touristy general stores downtown. I will admit now after walking farther into town that it is very tacky here. It’s like a carnival. But I still like it! After waiting 45 minutes for the trolley, we made it to the local grocery store for a resupply. I calculated it and I’m usually getting just under 3000 calories a day on the trail, so I still need to work on finder higher calorie items at the store. Suggestions? Must be lightweight!

When we hopped on the trolley back, we ran into some hikers we know just getting to the store. Then walking back from the trolley, we discovered it was free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s! They were also collecting money to benefit Appalachian Bear Rescue. The lady from the organization didn’t get my joke that bears are a thru hiker’s natural enemy. Don’t worry, I gave money.

Back to the motel for laundry finally and we discovered Violet in the room next to us! And then Sparky on the other side! We eventually went out to dinner with Sparky and Cabo and Saint Nick at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. It was trivia night and we won second place. $25! Dad, you will be proud to know that I knew the answer to what musician had albums named Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland. Jimi Hendrix! No one else knew, despite that someone on another team said it wasn’t fair we had a couple of old guys on our team. And this after Sparky said I was too young to know who Gregg Allman was. We walked around after dinner trying to find music but were not successful and came back for bed. Big plans for tomorrow!

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