A week ago Buddy and I went to Damascus, VA, for him to run another ultra marathon. While he was running, I went walking on the AT, the Creeper Trail, and around Beartree Lake. We stayed at the cutest place, Hikers Inn. The owners turned their garage into a bunk room and a queen room, and there was a shared bath for all. What a deal for hikers...$25.00 a nite. We stayed in the house in a kingsize bed and AC for $75.00 a night. What a great deal. We loved the owners and will return there next year. Our world really does consist of - to a large extent - Bud's and my going to his 1/2, full, and ultra marathon races. This is one of my favorite spots to go.
Here is a collection of photos from that day.
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Crossing the Finish Line - Ultra Marathon - Damascus Virginia
Today is Bud’s 64th birthday, and he has been running since he was a teenager. Now he has only one year until he can get his Medicare! WooHoo! He has hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and is also a biker. It took him a total of 10 years to hike the entire trail doing it on his vacations in the summers, and he and I are both very proud to say he did NOT skip out on one single mile of it. We have been married 37 years, and if you all did not already know, I am 13 years older...77. So, not only is he an athlete who refuses to give up even with a painful hip requiring lots of physical therapy and exercises at home, he is a saint for putting up with me all these years. My youngest was only 6 and the other two were teenagers when we married, and he was been a wonderfully kind and loving step-father to the three of them. No one gave it a chance to last. Well, we showed them! I call him the "Ever Ready Bunny" because he never stops.
If ou click on the picture, you will see the sign - Hikers Inn.
Our comfy room was the one upstairs in the front right corner.
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These two pictures are of another B and B across the street from Hikers Inn. Damascus, Va, is a precious little town filled with the nicest and most accommodating folk in the world. The AT runs right down that main street so there are LOTS of B and B's geared to hikers and other that want to bike the Creeper Trail.
We ate in a little restaurant, and I got there biggest kick out of the "sign” on the aprons worn by the people working there...
Today's Menu ~ Take It or Leave It
The footpath through the woods around the lake is 1 mile.
I chose not to sit on this bench. I was deathly afraid of Poison Ivy.
The walk around the lake was a mushroom hunters heaven on earth. The red one is my favorite. I felt like a gnome was going to come hopping out at any moment. I have no clue what their names are, and if any of them are poisonous. If any of you know and can identify them, I would love to have the information. I didn't touch any of them or the Poison Ivy which was happily growing everywhere I walked.
I think this is a MAGICAL mushroom.
These were the only two flowers blooming.
This is where is local fishermen hung out.
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