17 November 2024
There were no vivid dreams last night. Maybe I worked out all my frustrations the night before.
I called the Doubletree Hilton in Jacksonville and questioned the two charges: extra valet and breakfast. She removed the valet charge but I must have been mistaken about the free meal. It wasn’t that costly and it was a good breakfast. Better than today’s at Home2 Suites in Augusta. They at least had my Raisin Bran.
Is it me or is all hotel coffee horrible? I’ve had experiences with all the room coffee devices and all the coffee in the breakfast area and it just tastes bad. It’s like the Hilton chain decided to make the coffee taste horrible so people would be more eager to leave and get a decent cup somewhere else.
Late yesterday afternoon I walked over to a franchise I’ve never heard of, Chicken Salad Chick. Seems redundant to me. Instead of chicken (the place smelled) I chose a pimento cheese sandwich which was OK except for the stale bread. It was quite a come down from Ruth’s Chris Steak House but was certainly a little cheaper.
When I got back to the room, I forgot that it was Saturday and college football. I watched LSU get beaten by Florida and watched a little of the Tennessee/Georgia game before I started reading on my iPad. In both games, they showed the student sections and I’ve never seen so many students crammed into so little space. When I used to attend the Ole Miss football games as a student, you had a little room to breathe between your seat mates. I guess they are cramming more into smaller spaces. Gotta pay for those sky boxes some way.
It was 46°F outside this morning. It’ll be interesting to see the temps in the mountains of Smithgall Woods State Park. Of course, I missed the beginning of the cool spell in Fort Lauderdale (68°F last night).
I was on the road at 9 this morning. Breakfast at this hotel wasn’t anything to write about. I had some problems with my GPS routing me around highway 78 because it was not up to date and didn’t show the new road. After one detour I figured out to stay on 78 until I needed to head north to Helen.
I pulled into Helen around noon and had a quick lunch. I did the tourist walk.
After the tourist walk, I headed to Smithgall Woods State Park and checked in. I paid the remaining balance (we split the cost and I’ve already been reimbursed). They had not finished with the cabin so I decided to walk the Laurel Ridge trail again. It’s 1.6 but with my meanderings, it ended up being 1.8.
It was a 300 foot climb in elevation and the day was perfect for the hike – cool, low humidity, sunny. At the top, you get a great view of Mount Yonah.
There were several people on the trail (who passed me) and when I got to the overlook, I sat on the bench provided and rested. Soon, another hiker approached. He sat down next to me and introduced himself as Nathan. I’d estimate his age around 18 or 19. He wanted to know about some hikes in the area and I steered him to Dukes Creek Falls, Anna Ruby Falls, and, of course, Mt. Yonah. I figured he was young enough he could run up the mountain.
I finally got permission to go to the cabin at 3:30. Jimmie and Stephen arrived around 4:30 and we immediately went to eat dinner. None of us like to drive after dark. We ate at a familiar restaurant to us and Jimmie and I had the same as last time: country fried steak.
I wanted to start a fire in the fireplace but there was no kindling. The office said they would send someone over with it. When we got back from dinner, I tried to get it going but there was a strong downdraft coming through the chimney. I decided to close the damper just to get the fire started and it went well. However, when I opened the damper, the downdraft filled the cabin with smoke and the smoke detector went off. We opened up the doors to get the smoke out and then let the fire die out. There’s still a stiff breeze coming out of the fireplace and the damper doesn’t seem to want to close again. Oh well. Good thing we have auxiliary heat.
I think we’re all exhausted from the drive and me from the hike. I’m thrilled that I had the stamina to make the hike even though I had to take several rest stops. I’m not sure my stamina is back but my hard headedness made me push through. It’s great to be out in the woods again. I’ve missed it.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures!
