Day 7: Stranded in Blacksburg, VA (0 Miles)

And on the seventh day... Blake was stranded.

I was awoken this morning with Hudson's cat sporadically assaulting my tent. I was a bit groggy waking up, in spite of getting to bed at a decent time. I hung out with Hudson for a bit last night and he gave me a little tour of his stomping grounds. It's a college town, a little college known as Virginia Tech. Maybe you've heard of it? Sadly, it became widely known after the school shooting of 2007, a time in which Hudson describes as “a really, really horrible time.” Anyways, I didn't want to burden my new friend on his day off from the bike shop, so I packed up my tent early and headed down to a local cafe to wait around for my check-in time at a cheap motel. Another town, another Red Carpet Inn.

I'm not too worried about my budget, despite this accident costing me well over a hundred bucks to fix and the extra cost of eating, sleeping in a bed, etc. I feel like I've set enough aside to account for these mishaps. Conversely, I am starting to worry about my time frame. I would have liked to be closer to Kentucky by now, but I'm at least 3 days out. I'm hopeful that my pacing will pick up once I get out of the Appalachians. From reading the elevation charts, it appears that the most difficult climbs still lay in front of me. One particular climb out of “Hayter's Gap” has me climbing 1,500 feet in under 5 miles. Yikes!

I also met a lovely girl at the cafe named “Matty” and she helped me with directions to the motel. We talked for a bit and she wished me well on my journey. Matty, if you're somehow reading this.. you're very kind and beautiful. I wouldn't say that to your face, but my internet honesty/machismo is second to none!

I checked into the motel some time around noon and took a pleasant shower. I then walked around for a few hours. I spent some time at the dollar store, where I picked up some shoe laces, fingernail clippers, and more granola bars. I then walked over to a sporting goods store and spent more money than I should have on some other camping “essentials.” Following that, I spent a few hours in a Barnes & Noble-esque store, judging books by their covers and sipping on a frozen treat. I found many modern classics as you can see below...

I then started an epic search for post-cards... which proved to be more difficult than I had imagined. I searched grocery stores and pharmacy stores alike. Finally, I was tipped off by a kind lady that the Virginia Tech bookstore might carry some. I then took a nice 3 mile walk to the store... and it was nice to utilize other muscles for a change. Uncle Jamie gave me a ring and it was nice to talk with him. After the postage cards were purchased, I headed back to the room to watch the Michael Jackson music video marathon on BET and to sort out my gear. As I was putting in the new/proper coffee filter in the lightweight mug May lent to me, I found it was destroyed in the accident yesterday. I'll have to run back to the sporting goods store before dinner... maybe I'll call for a hooptie ride?