I was awake at around 0545, feeling strangely cold. The thermostat in the room said 70 degrees but, later, I figured out that the window was open! Temps had fallen to around 35 degrees, so perhaps I should be glad to have a preview of my hiking conditions... I cleaned up and organized in my room until around 0715 and then checked out of the hotel. I drove a short distance down VA-28 to the Westfields and got a table at Eggspectations. Erin arrived just after 0800 and we ate a nice breakfast together (with some good conversation). We finished eating at around 0930 and I said goodbye to Erin. I then texted Brenna to tell her that that I was on my way. The weather wasn't great and I got turned around a little bit (because of construction) while trying to get back on VA-28... Eventually, I was headed west on I-66. During the drive, I listened to Moth Radio Hour podcasts. When I reached I-81, the traffic got much worse and it took a lot longer to reach Harrisonburg than I'd hoped. I reached Brenna's apartment at 1115 and found her doing some Spring cleaning. She tole me she wasn't ready to leave her place yet so I needed to find some things to do (and stay out of the way). While waiting for her, I cleaned up the Chrysler (in case we were able to donate or sell it soon) and then made room in my rental car for Brenna. We left her place at around 1200 and drove into the downtown area so we could get jumper cables - we needed them because the Chrysler battery was dead (Brenna needed to get them from one of her friends). On the way, it started to snow! Once we had the cables, the weather cleared up a bit. We got on I-81 and headed south to the town of Weyers Cave. Our first stop (1130) was the Valley Pike Farm Market, where we enjoyed some beer and wine tasting. Brenna got lunch too. While we were there, it started to snow really hard - there was actual accumulation on the ground! We hunkered down until it stopped (1230) and then drove east on VA-256. We looked for the entrance to Grand Caverns in the town of Grottoes and finally located it. Once there, we got park information but decided not to go in the cave. Instead, we walked a couple of circuits of the fitness trail (along the South River) and had a nice talk. We then doubled back to I-81 and drove north to Mount Crawford (arrived at 1530). Brenna wanted to show me the new venue for Smiley's ice cream and I was not disappointed! In their new digs, I enjoyed some delicious scoops (Brenna got a milkshake). Meanwhile, we talked to Mollie on the phone for a little while (1600) before she had to go to work (I made plans to see her the next day). Brenna and I then used VA-42 to drive all the way back to Harrisonburg. Just after crossing the city line, Brenna suggested that we check out her new apartment complex on the southeast side of town. We located it pretty easily and I was impressed by how nice it was. We then drove back to Brenna's (old) apartment and were able to successfully jump start the Chrysler. I then took it on a test drive around the neighborhood (it worked OK). We spent a few hours relaxing in Brenna's room (lots more talking) before heading out to dinner at Golden China Buffet (1900). Even though it was apparently very popular, we were able to get seats and had a nice meal. After getting back to Brenna's, I took a walk in the neighborhood. It was quite cold but the snow had melted, fortunately. For the rest of the night, we hung out in Brenna's room and posted on social media. I noticed that Erin had made a big deal online about the time I'd spent with her and I already missed her. I went to bed at around 2200 - what a busy day!
