Days 46-52

A week off the trail.

Day 46

We were up at 6am, we decided we would meet up with some other hikers who also stayed at the campground last night who happened to be getting a shuttle from the state park to the Amtrak station in Harpers Ferry, so that they could get where they were going for the 4th.

They said there would probably be room in the shuttle for Cathrine and I too and were happy for the far to be split among more people.

At 7am I walked to the park office and told a park ranger about Cathrine's condition and he was happy to pick her up from the campground and drive her back to the office. So I hopped in his truck and we drove the mile and half to go pick up Cathrine. She was happy to see us and trotted on over to the truck.

The shuttle came at about 8:30 and the driver said he would be happy to take Cathrine and I right to Chris and Mallory's house in Charles Town so we wouldnt have to bother them with picking us up in Harpers Ferry. It was very nice and we got to suprise Mallory by just showing up on the doorstep. 

We ate until we couldnt eat anymore and fell asleep for a good 3 hour nap. We hung out with Chris, Mallory, Reagan, and Gavin for the rest of the evening. We plan to stay for 4 or 5 days, or maybe until Cathrine's knee heals, hopefully they dont get too tired of us hanging around.

We went to urgent care, the doctor took some X-rays and said her knee didnt have any broken parts in it, but said the cut is probably infected so he pescribed some antibiotics. She is in alot of pain, I hope it heals back quick. Thankfully there was nothing more serious.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Smith Mountain Lake for the 4th when Chris gets off work. His parents have a house out there and we will stay until the 5th.

Day 47

Today we woke up to breakfast in bed that Mallory and Reagan prepared for us. It was shortly past 10am and they had already had a  productive morning. After we ate, we got ready we went and checked out an art store where Mallory sells a ton of her projects. It was cool to see her cretions. We went and got groceris for the lake, met up with Chris after he got off work and hit the road for a 3.5 hour drive to Smith Mountain Lake.

We got to the lake house at about 7pm and quickly settled in and got to bed early.

Day 48

We woke up early , I made Cathrine and I eggs we made ur way down to the boathouse by 10am. Reagan and I were in the water by 10:15, we were probably the most excited to swim. We hung out all day by the lake, we took the boat out for a little bit and I got to get some wakeboarding in.

A few of Chris' relatives also came up to tspend the 4th at the lake so we had a fullhouse. It was alot of fun.

When evening came we drove up in Chris' truck to a nearby field and Chris set off a bunch of his fireworks they picked up in South Carolina a few weeks earlier. We watched them from his truck, this 4th of July was a success.

Day 49

We spent the first half of thhe afternoon in the water, once again Reagan and I were the first ones in. A neighbor that everyone seemed to know let me ride his jet ski around the lake, I had Cathrine jump on the back. That was a blast I had never driven one of those things. 

We left the lake by 1:30 to head back towards Charles Town.

When we got ack to the house Derrick texted me and let me know he was in Harpers Ferry and wanted to stay at Chris and Mallory's. So Chris and I went and picked him up. 

Shortly after picking Derrick up, Mallory had put some picnic supplies together and we all went and watched the 5th of July fireworks at a local park. They were some of the best fireworks I have ever seen, A very good show. Once again we all piled up in the back of Chris' truck. Reagan had so much fun. Tomorrow we're going to try and make it to church.

Day 50

Last night Chris and Mallory got an email about a showing for their house that is on the market. So this morning we all woke up early and did a deep clean on the house to get it ready.

After cleaning, we drove to church where we stayed for the first hour. The house showing went on while we were at church.

When we got back from chrch Cathrine and Mallory's brother Kyle and his wife Monica and their kids Tristin, Hayden, Collin, and Tessa made it to the house. They drove over an hour to come visit with all of us and "make sure we're still alive". We all had alot of fun, we've been non-stop spoiled with family visits. It was good to see them all for a few hours.

After they left we cleaned the house a second time after the rampage that the girls left beind. By the time we were done cleaning we heard a knock at the door. It was the missionaries from church to visit with Chris and Mallory. They stayed a while and talked with us all. We were in bed shortly there after. It was a long, exhausting day.

Day 51

This morning we drove Derrick back to Harpers Ferry so he could get back on the trail. Afterwards Cathrine and I went by Martins to get some food for when we get back on the rail in 2 days (July 9th)

Tomorrow is my birthday so Cathrine, Mallory, Reagan, Gavin, and I are going to load up and drive to Washington DC to spend the day sightseeing. The people who came to check out the house yesterday wanted a ssecond viewing tomorrow so theyre coming by in the afternoon so we did another quick cleaning on the house.

Day 52

We were out of the house and on the road by 7:30 for DC. I drove Mallory's car with the whoe gang loaded  up.

We checked put the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, The Museum of Natural History, then headed back to the car so we could cool down some from the hot weather and drive to Chipotle to have luch. We saw Kyle, Cathrine's brother driving down the road on our way to our car, he happened to have a meeting in DC.

After lunch we went and checked out the Holocaust Museum. The security guards at teh entrance were rude and then told me I couldnt bring my pocket knife in and they would take it. So I told them I would take it off the property and went outside and hid it under a trashcan. DC is probably not the place to look sketchy and hide things in random places. Soeone must have been watching me because when I came back for my knife, it was gone.

When we got back to the house, Cathrine and I made dinner for everyone- Salmon, mashed potatoes, and greenbeans, then we ate the birthday cake Cathrine made for me. Then I opened presents that the family had got for me. It was a good birthday.