May 9 mile 371

Happy Mothers' Day
Too cold for May for a Georgia boy. 38 degrees! In the tent! And still windy!
Got up at 6:30 and decided it was too windy and cold to cook breakfast here. So we packed up and headed out to find a spot out of the wind. Spent the day hiking about 15 miles to Erwin, TN. a town pretty much on the AT and well known to thru hikers. A very cool weather day. Got to Erwin at about 5 PM. and the last few miles coming down a ridge area gave nice views of the Nolichucky River that flows by the town. Came down with a plan to stay at a famous ( to hikers) hostel known as Uncle Johnnys right next to the trail and river. A very rustic, but summer camp sort of environment. Wouldn't bring my Sweety here. Decided to get a "cabin" - basically a room with double bunk beds and no bath. But the room had a microwave and refrigerator and a TV that could only play VHS cassettes. You see that alot on the trail at the hostels, but I don't have much interest in watching 20 year old movies after hiking 15 miles. Wanted the usual after we checked in- hot shower, do laundry, and get a meal at a restaurant. The hostel had an old van to shuttle us to some places to eat, but the best choice was Pizza Hut. I always want a steak when I get to town for the protein, but no luck here. But they did have a great salad bar.
I wrote earlier about all the drunks we were stuck with while traveling in the Smokies. Of course that crowd is long gone now, two weeks ahead of us. But here at Uncle Johnnys there was a whole new crowd of drunks. A huge group of young hikers were there for the night- went on a beer run and had a big campfire- right outside our cabin!! And drank and carried on until 2 AM!
We' re getting tired of these hiking/partying people. Guess we'll have to try to outrun this crowd too.
One apologized this morning for making so much noise, and I agreed with him that they were loud. I wasn't very forgiving. I just want to keep on
moving. Called my Sweety and my Mother. Wished my Mother a Happy Mothers Day. Really miss my Sweety.