Days 102-103: A Double Zero

How Did You Know?

Day 102 was Northstar’s birthday. I knew exactly what she wanted: clean sheets, air conditioning, and no one slamming the van door at 6:00 am on his way out. On deck for the day: napping, no chores, and delivery food. A true zero. That went so well that…

…we did it again.

Deja Vu

Day 103 was double zero. I don’t think we’ve done a double zero yet, unless you count when Northstar had Norovirus and my brother died. I don’t think that counts. Or our family leave trips to San Diego and Indianapolis. Well, maybe those count, but I really needed this one. The rocks, heat, humidity, and bugs have sucked the lifeblood out of me.

On Zero.2 Northstar slept in and I nursed my sore feet. Then we tackled the normal zero-day chores – laundry, shopping, etc. I tried unsuccessfully to find a place to cut my hair. When I showed up at the place I picked I discovered it also offered tanning. Not a good sign. Even worse was the sign out front saying they needed a stylist. I decided to let my freedom flag fly. And I don’t wonder why.

Gus flunked out of grooming class too. At least I didn’t try to bite my groomer. We think another dog bit him at the dog park and his leg is sore, so he didn’t like it when the groomer poked him. He’ll get a vet visit next week.

Plus, we began the fight with Progressive over getting a claims adjuster to come out and look at the van. This time, I think our representative figured out that telling us to stay in one place for a week doesn’t work with an AT thru hike. We had a polite but firm discussion about customer service and what separates good businesses from bad ones. She called back 30 minutes later to say she’d figured out a solution. We’ll see if they deliver.

Then it was out for Northstar’s birthday dinner. She wanted steak, so we tried the Outback up the street. The steak was delicious, but something we ate kept us both up most of the night. But that’s a story for another day.

Daily Stats:

• Start: Unmarked Trail/US 6 (Mile 1401.3)
• End: Unmarked Trail/US 6 (Mile 1401.3)
• Weather: Hot, humid, rain showers. Nice to watch from inside.
• Earworm: Not a zero day problem
• Meditation: Pr 18:22
• Plant of the Day: Fresh mowed grass
• Best Thing: Air conditioning
• Worst Thing (besides the humidity): Television