August 9, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Bob's
Miles: 0

Adrian: A double zero! Boom! It will take eight 25-mile days to make up this time off. Guess what? Who cares, not I. This was worth it.

Yesterday, after a nice evening watching the opening ceremonies from China we slept well. In the morning we cooked blueberry pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, orange juice, and French bread.

We went into town for various reasons and spent about 3 hours there. After coming home I helped Bob fix some irrigation pipe in the pasture.

The gentleman who was with Bob, named Bob, visited this evening with his wife, Linda, and brought some home made lasagna. A great evening with great people. We rounded it out with some Olympics, watching Phelps capture a gold in the 400m medley.

Ashford is a great town. One of the best on the trail.

Kirsten: Last night as we sipped wine and stuffed our faces as politely as possible, Bob threw out an idea and then watched it bounce around our heads. "So, you know we have some hammocks here. Maybe you all should consider resting here another. You're more than welcome to stay."

And there it was sitting out in the open. No one said anything and dinner along with chit chat conversation resumed. Of course everyone thought about it and by morning most decisions were made. I needed another day of rest. I wasn't sure if Adrian felt the same way. So I waited. And waited. Our backpacks were sitting ready to go by the door. As our leisurely breakfast continued and I didn't notice any anxious fidgeting I knew we would stay after all.

Bob has been an amazing host. He should probably be sainted for his patience and generosity. I mean he invited five stinky hikers into his home. These are folks who typically eat on the ground, lick their cook pots clean and dig catholes to go to the bathroom. Bob, I don't know what was going through your head when you welcomed us into home. Whatever it was, thank you.