I woke up at 0700 this morning, still feeling tired. That sealed the deal for me on whether or not I should drive up to Bradford (VT) to join the latest iteration of the Dayhike & Dine series. They'd been planning (coincidentally) to climb Mount Willard (in the White Mountains) during one of my days of visiting but I'd never committed. Still, I had hoped to see all those folks. With the decision made, though, I lounged around in bed for about an hour (reading and doing Duolingo exercises) before going to breakfast in the Lobby of the Quality Inn (Lebanon). Unlike the previous day, it was very crowded and I had to listen to folks from Massachusetts (almost all cars in the parking lot had that plate) complaining about food, accommodations, prices, etc. SMH.... After that (0815), I returned to my room and did some more reading & puzzles, caught up on communications with friends and relatives and did a few work tasks (travel prep and claims). I also purchased several items online from Walmart and made plans to pick them up later. For lunch, I ate leftovers (from Pellegrino's). Suddenly, I realized that most of the day was over - and I'd not even been outside! Almost frantically, I left the hotel (1500) and drove to my storage unit. When I arrived, my odometer said that I'd reached 16K miles since I'd begun my Nomad Life on August 1 - wow! Because I hadn't been able to access the unit for many months, I ended up spending nearly 90 minutes swapping items, adding things to the storage unit and reorganizing my car. By the end of these efforts, I realized I barely had enough time for any outdoor activities. Luckily, I was less than a mile from the Northern Rail Trail and, after parking at the lot near Forward's Garage, I was able to get 2.2 miles of skiing (between 1630 and 1730) between that location and the Bank Street Extension. It wasn't as formal as I'd hoped, but I also got about an hour of bird watching (again in support of the New Hampshire Audubon Annual Backyard Winter Bird Survey. Even better, I ended up talking with a lady on the trail about our results (she was doing it too). Unfortunately, I saw fewer species than I had during the previous day. But I hadn't forgotten and looked forward to entering my results online, just as I'd done for most of the years I lived in New Hampshire. Before I was done, I watched kids playing hockey, dodged snowmobiles and marveled at the (stupid? insensitive? careless?) people who had damaged the nearby Packard Covered Bridge. It's terrible that it can't seem to avoid getting hit by tall vehicles! When I finished, I noticed that the temps, which had earlier risen to about 30 F, had started to fall quickly with the setting sun. Realizing that my trip to Cape Cod was not going to happen as I'd expected, I'd earlier coordinated doing some laundry with a friend. So, at 1745, I visited Jim & Cathy's home in Lebanon. They were, of course, very gracious and friendly and I ended up visiting with them while the clothing was washing. At one point, I took a break so I could drive to West Lebanon to pick up my Walmart order (hiking boots, underwear, jeans). Just after that (1845), I ate dinner inside the Burger King on NH-12A. At 1900, I drove back to Jim & Cathy's, turned over laundry to dryer and then hurried back to hotel so I could get the large pile of scrap paper I wanted to burn. This resulted in some adventures with their wood stove - I always forget how to work these but, in my defense, they are all different... Along the way, I spent time watching the Winter Olympics with Cathy. Once my laundry was completed, I reluctantly said goodbye and departed from their home (2045). It was clear that they were sending their well-wishes and prayers along with me - great friends! Despite further attempts that I'd made to connect with Sarah H earlier in the evening, I never was able to make it work. Back at my hotel (2100), I watched movies. Sadly, I forgot about getting the rest of my steps so only end up achieving about 85% of my goal. That's twice in one weekend - dang... I went to bed at 2300 after another day filled with some great love and happiness. I'm really looking forward to returning to Hanover/Lebanon again soon!
