Pre Hike 9 Here We Go

Today. This day. I believe it's 21 May 2016. It's a blustery windy day. Cold and ominous. OK, it's actually 1000000 degrees, and even your glasses sweat, but hey cold and ominous sounds better. It will, however, storm again today. Something I miss about FL. The storms. Sitting on my parent's carport watching the trees and little south FL animals fight the sideways onslaught. The storms here are something you talk about for many days before and several weeks after. I refuse to use the word 'epic'...but if I DID, I would use it to describe the storm I am currently witnessing.

More to follow, time to drive to VA. So, now, two days later, I sit in paradise. Winchester, VA. Libby’s house; once the house of my amazing, late Great Uncle John, and sacred place to my father. Aunt Libby, full of grace as always, has allowed me to use her home as a sort of basecamp during the Virginia portion of my hike. If you’ve never been to Winchester, VA...it’s riddled with U.S. history. It bestows upon you a since of patriotism just being here. Beautiful rolling hills meandering into farms servicing the local area for more than a hundred years. Local diners serving you beer from the local brewery, desserts from the local bakery, and food from the local dairy. It’s the kind of place you visit when you want to feel American. And it’s so damn green it hurts to look at sometimes. I absolutely love it. Oh, and did I mention the hummingbirds I’m currently watching from the front porch?

It’s quite literally a perfect moment in time. It reminds me of another perfect moment in time. It JUST happened to be after a long night of debauchery, karaoke, dancing with April and Veronica and long talks on the beach in the middle of the night. Anyway, sitting on Gulfport Beach, FL at 8:00am (there may or may not have been a bloody mary involved) with my dear friend Veronica, there was a cool breeze and a peacefulness in the air as we watched the waves lap lazily against the shore. We simply existed there for a single perfect moment. One that could have slipped by had we let it. I mean, we certainly had things to do that day. She had to work from home and I had to…well, prepare for this hike of course. We recognized it. We took note of it. We languished in it and looked at the ocean, felt really really tiny in the world, then went about our day a little more thankful. I know, I know…get to the hike already. But part of reading this blog is dealing with my musings. OR merely skimming through them to look at the pictures. I think the pictures alone shall be worth tuning into the blog once in a while. That is, if you enjoy nature, dirty hikers, trail towns and local breweries.

So, the hike! Mom and I made it to Libby’s last night (amazingly…somehow) after some pre-tee celebrity worthy rounds of car karaoke, 117 hours of rain (yes, I’m exaggerating), one quite horrifying night in a “hotel”, and some award winning BBQ. What did the vegetarian eat at the award winning BBQ you ask? Why, shredded mushroom BBQ of course. Although being glare starred by the locals was a bit unnerving…they eventually let me relish in my vegetarian glory while they ate their five star shredded pork. Or am I confusing that trip with Oklahoma Joes? I may have just eaten Taco Bell.

We all picked Viki up at Dulles.  Then headed to some local grub hub and showed her around a bit.  We visited a brewery called Belly Love.  Yep, that's right folks...Belly L-o-v-e.  Of course I loved it.  Of course I bought a shirt.  Then onto Dirt Farm Brewery.  Oh, you want to visit this place.  Pictures below pretty much tell you all you need to know about this little wealthy peeps retreat turned brewery in the clouds.  I thought for one loooong moment that I may not ever leave.

Dirt Farm Brewery

Who can sleep the night before they start a potentially life-changing, soul searching, badass journey for three months?  This girl.  Nite!  Tomorrow is the big day.  And this is where we'll be setting off: