Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Home Again


Smooth and uneventful trip home. She made all her connections between Bangor and Cincinnati without a hitch and had a 5 hour layover in New York City which she spent on Times Square.
She looks strong and healthy and her haircut fits her well. She says I didn't recognize her but that's not true. She got a very warm welcome from Katie-dog, a cat-like welcome from Caroline, Emmy and Harry Potter and a very wary response from the four young cats - probably didn't care for the smell. She was fragrant. Her boots are full of holes, her pants are both holey and stitched up all over the place (she calls them franken-pants) and I think her feet look sort of rotten. The skin is peeling, she has holes in the bottoms where blisters had been and she is missing the toenails on both little toes. The shower happened almost immediately and the feet still smelled bad after the shower. She followed up with a long bubble bath a couple of hours after the shower and I didn't notice the foot smell after that. She's no longer wearing hiker clothes. Trail stories continue to trickle out. I'm sure she will post some. Hungry for fresh produce, she ate potatoes, beets, peas, green beans and strawberries. She sat in a chair at a table with dishes, lay on the couch, and was in bed by 9:00, late for the schedule she is accustomed to. Most nights, they hit bed when the sun went down, of late by 7:30. Tonight she is wearing cuddly PJ's instead of dirty trail clothes. She has pillows and blankets and clean sheets. Tonight she has cats in the bed with her. If she could go back in time, knowing what she knows now about what this experience would be like, she would choose to do it again. She will not rule out hopping back on the trail another time. She is glad to be home. She has no regrets. I have to keep looking at her. It's been a long time. ~Amy

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