GA.... At long last

Wow. After 3 long days of travel we have finally arrived in Gainesville, GA. Fridays ice-capades through downtown Boston (totally wrong route, thanks to Dierdra, our GPS) proved to be most eventful. Three hours of bumper-to-bumper amongst what I can only imagine are THE most aggressive people in the country, combined with Rob's first ever fender bender left us irritated and eager for ANYTHING but Mass plates. 

After the weather cleared, a short skip down route 1 brought us into Pawtucket, Rhode Island where we stopped to pay a visit to Melissa Coutu and Jackie Disilva (Kyle's mother and fiancé). Mrs. Coutu treated us to lunch and we were back on the never-ending blacktop. Our next stop was just outside D.C. where our friend Madey Jay offered up the first act of hospitality in the form of a stiff drink and place to hit the sack. 

Saturday was a breath of fresh air, literally.

The new England temperatures lifted and we enjoyed a sunny cruise down 95 to the musical stylings of the one and only Meatloaf (regrettably, rob has not stopped singing Meatloaf songs). That evening we arrived at my father's home in Wilmington, North Carolina where we had a great meal and a home-base to properly pack our bump box. Rob caught up with some Marine Corps friends (Cpl. Jake Kennedy and Cpl. David Soliani) who all decided to take a dip in the less-than-comfortable waters of Wrightsville Beach. 

We woke this morning to the smell of my fathers signature tar blackened coffee, re-assembled our packs, grabbed an unbelievable breakfast sandwich and hit the road for a third straight day. Lucky for us the drive was a little shorter today, Wilmington to Gainesville is approximately 7 hours and my father's Nascar driving style helped shave a few more precious minutes off the journey. Time to grab a bite to eat, hit the sheets and it's off to Amicalola State Park first thing tomorrow morning. Excitement is at an all time high and we are anxious as all hell to get our hands on the AT registry, scribble something sarcastic and get to trekkin' !!!

"It's never too late to abandon society... and live the dream"

-Dick Proenneke, author of Into The Wilderness