April 14
Woke up today in a little nowhere town. Went looking for a free shower, found one at the Y. After 10 minutes of hot water and soap, came out of there more than clean. Flip-flops, paved roads, shades, and sunshine. No grass is greener than Virginia’s in spring.

Found Cosmo at Weasie’s Breakfast Diner already five pancakes deep. Slid in the booth, got a coffee, and sipped slowly while I read the menu front and back, rehearsing my order to the “t.”
On the trail one delays hunger. You exist with degrees of hunger. Satiation is impossible when you have 8 Clif bars for 4 days of snacks.

But here, just feet from a hot griddle and a near endless supply of pancake batter, impossible was nothing. I looked at the all-you-can-eat pancake course and imagined 6 pancakes disappearing and magically reappearing again and again, forming a line of pancakes that stretched all the miles I’d hiked to get here, pancakes to the moon and back.
When the waitress came back I ordered the all-you-can-eat pancake course.
And you probably won’t believe this but I did it. I ate ALL the pancakes.
That’s pretty much how the rest of the day went. On April 14, I spent under $50, and got a shower, an all-you-can-eat pancake meal, laundry services, a number of local shuttles around town. a movie ticket, a large coke, and a legal 3 hour fiesta at Ming’s (endless) Chinese Buffet, a restaurant renowned for producing huge amounts of Oriental dishes in assembly line fashion.
Out on the trail I never would have thought it possible, but at the end of the day it seemed I had eaten enough to feel…full.

Motto of the day: impossible is nothing.

The Nomad