Harrisonburg, VA (USA)

I teleworked in the morning and then drove over to Nicky’s (1000) so I could escort Brenna and the Chrysler back to JMU. I'd thought that Mollie was going to want to come but she changed her mind. Instead, just Brenna and I headed towards Harrisonburg... It was raining and Brenna’s headlight was burned out (planned to fix when we got to JMU). Erin called to tell me she was going to be busy (class and internship interview prep) when I reached town but we had a nice talk (30+ minutes) about interview tips and I gave her a pep talk. Brenna and I stopped for gas in Front Royal at 1125 and then got back on the highway. After a few miles, Brenna called me again - it turned out that her windshield wiper motor had quit and she couldn’t see out of the window. I pulled over with her end tried all kinds of things but couldn’t fix it. By then, it wasn’t raining too hard so I recommended we get off the interstate and use US-11. On the way to the next exit, we got separated temporarily but were able to meet up again in Strasbourg. For the rest of the trip, we took our time, stopping a few times to dry the window and take breaks. Brenna called me a few more times and told me she was really glad I’d come with her (I was too). The detour, while safer and less stressful, added almost 1.5 hours more to the trip. However, we made it safely to Harrisonburg by 1330. We went straight to Brenna’s apartment and I tried to tag up with Erin for lunch (no luck because timing was bad). I was able to fix Brenna’s printer (it had been broken for more than a semester and I found a pair of tweezers in it). I also figured out that Brenna hadn’t been running the Antivirus software that I’d gotten for her but I fixed that, removing some malware and disabling several annoying startup programs. Brenna gave me several grocery receipts and I gave her a letter I’d gotten from her IVCF Advisor. After visiting with some of her roommates (and one of Erin’s) we drove (in my car) to Popeyes’s and ate a very late lunch (1445). After the meal (and some great conversation), we went to Walmart (1545) and I bought groceries for her (because she didn’t have much food In her apartment). I also bought cough medicine, shampoo and a wireless mouse to make working on her computer easier. We headed back to her apartment and I made sure she took the medicine and set up her new mouse. After an amazing day, we said goodbye (1615) and I got back on the road. I called Mollie and she said she had a nice time with Rano and was getting ready to go to Steve’s house. Erin texted me after her internship interview had ended, saying that she got the internship with a local congresswoman. She followed up the text news with a call and we talked for a while about how exciting it all was. I ended up talking to Mollie a few more times as I was driving. In addition, my friend Tyler called to ask for some career advice. Meanwhile, I stopped for a gas fill-up at Shell in Abingdon (1945) and switched to I-26 to get to Elizabethton, arriving at around 2030. For lodging, I started at Travelers Inn but found out it was double the price for the Bristol Race Weekend (grrr). I called one of the nearby hostels (full) and then drove over to Johnson City to see about lodging. After stopping at the Hampton Inn and learning it would cost over $350 for me to stay overnight, I briefly thought about camping or sleeping in the Walmart parking lot. Eventually, I decided it would be better if I headed back to Elizabethton and checked into my normal place. After checking in (2130), I met a fly fisherman named Allen (from Winston-Salem) who'd had the same frustrations. While talking, we discovered we had a lot in common and would be around for the same amount of time. We therefore made plans to meet up to watch the Final Four game the following day. I was so exhausted by the time I reached the room that it barely registered that I'd missed a day of hiking. It was a good day, though! Went to bed immediately with visions of the trail in my head...