Miles: 2107 to 2107
Mileage: 0
Day: 100
I am so happy to be sitting. I limp with every step, favoring my left hip. The pain isn’t excruciating, but the muscles supporting my hip joint are weak and tired and look like a weeble.
Our rented condo has two floors. Annette and Terry slept upstairs; Richard and I downstairs. The weather is drizzly and gray. Rainy day zeroes are the best. If the weather is nice on a zero, it feels wasted in a way. Who wants to hike in the rain, anyway? Best to sit inside and feel grateful for being dry and warm.
I put my clean body into my clean clothes and we slowly start packing up. We only have the condo for one night, so before we head back up to the lodge to enjoy their famous buffet, we gather our things back into the RV.
On the way up to the lodge, we stop by a drive-in campsite and reserve a spot for the evening. The plan is for Richard and I to set up our tent while Annette and Terry sleep in the RV. It’s already mid-morning and none of us have eaten breakfast. We stop and buy $10 worth of cherries from a man standing in the rain. The cherries are a little bruised but so sweet.
Up at the lodge, we’re early for the lunch buffet and late for breakfast. To kill time, we wander around. The lodge is one of the “Historic Hotels of America” and a “National Historic Landmark.” It was hand built in 1938 and had a hilly history of year-round skiing, gambling, prostitution and eventual success.
We spent most of our time in the main lobby, which has a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace as the center focal point. A fire was kept roaring all day, motivated by the gloomy weather, regardless of the fact that it was July.
The lunch buffet was delicious, as advertised. My favorite part was the hot chocolate with a shot of espresso.
After lunch, we sat by the fire and chatted and dozed. We eventually strolled back to the RV and to the campsite. Annette napped while Terry, Richard and I played Scrabble.
Because the weather stayed drizzly, we all shared the RV. Packing up a wet tent is unpleasant.
