One of our major goals on this leg of the journey was to get to Home Place Restaurant before they close. This restaurant is an institution for thru-hikers and the community alike. It's open Thursday through Sunday and we were doing everything we could to get there before 6:00 pm closing time on Sunday. We planned the entire stretch from Pearisburg with this notion in mind.
The restaurant is special because it's an all you can eat place with either "two meats" for $13.00 or "three meats" for $14.00...with all the fixens'.
We powered through the week making really good time - good enough to consider staying at a recently reopened hiker hostel we had heard about from Don Raines and the Captain. We decided to check it out, thinking that since it just reopened last week it should be fairly decent.
In the category of "cleanliness" I would say it was above average, but in the category of "hostel-like" it was a bit odd. Joe's property is very nice and the setting was pleasant, but the "hostel" is a very large garage with three double doors. Entering the hostel-garage you can see that it's set up more for cars and a tool shop than it is for a hostel. True, there is a hot shower and a plumbed toilet in the corner; however the "bunkhouse" is made up of a couple of stained Red Cross cots and patio chairs set up on the concrete floor for one to layout a sleeping bag next to the shop vac, etc.
We went to sleep with the ducks squacking, worked our way through the evening listening to the cats mousing in the attic of the garage and was awakened at about 5:00 am by a whimpy rooster who wanted to be the first to wake everyone up even though he couldn't get his act together for a good healthly rooster screech (even though he tried for at least an hour).
Mind you, I am not complaining - and it was pay by donation - but it was one of those experiences on the trail to remember. Can't say that I have stayed in a garage before!
The stay did get us to the Home Place one day early and Joe was kind enough to drive us the two miles to get there. There were what seemed like hundereds of people spread out on the porches, the gazebo and lawn waiting to eat but we bumped into Shorts, who already had his name on the list, and we were seating within 15 minutes and pigging out on the "three meats" special for $14.00 plus tip. We had ham, fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, corn, apple sauce, coleslaw and peach cobbler - multiple helpings of all...oh yeah, a big pitcher of sweet tea and lemonade. All pretty tasty and great calories!
Chet's One Step at a Time up in Lincoln NH is in a garage. It is one of the most fun donation places on the trail though. By the end of the trail we were all joking about the excitment with which hikers describe the amazing person they met that let them sleep in a barn, back yard, old camper, etc... for free!
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