Day 42: Recovering 

Summary
June 6th

Zero in Cold Springs/Fishkill 

Tolmann’s daily mileage 0

Tolmann’s total mileage 419.4

Made the call: zeroing today. First, it’s going to rain today, and second, I did some research; there are all kinds of shops and restaurants just 3+ miles north on RT 9, including Walmart for resupply, Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and Starbucks for coffee and wifi. There’s even a Regal Cinema!

Oh, and I did some research about these strange town/place names: Fishkill, Wallkill; apparently kil means “stream” or “creek” in Dutch. Fishkill comes from vis (fish) and kil (stream). Who knew?

The first obstacle to overcome was how to get there; I went to the motel office to see if I could yogi (as in Yogi Bear; the art of getting someone to give you something without outright asking for it) a ride. The motel owner was a hardened character; he immediately handed me a business card for a taxi service. He said it would be about $11. 

I called and they sent someone right away. And it was $25. <sigh> These zeros hit the bank account hard!

But there I was, eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel, which was delicious and exactly what the doctor ordered. 

Resupply next: check!

Coffee and wifi: check!

How about lunch at Panera Bread? Check! Except there were no seats available at that point, very busy! Then a gentleman offered to share his table with me; score!!! We had a great conversation, too! This thru-hiker aura must be following me around!!

Then, the pièce de résistance, I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, vol 2. Which was a little overwhelming, sensorily! But fun! And probably the cheapest thing I did all day, at $7.

And in keeping with the food theme, I grabbed a Meat Loaf Bowl from Boston Market to eat back at my room. Which required getting a taxi. Which was unavailable, at this point. 

Time to walk the 3+ miles back to the motel. Not in keeping with the intended spirit of restfulness, but what’s 3 miles to this potential thru-hiker?

It wasn’t too bad, at that. 

So, I didn’t lay in bed all day with feet bare and elevated. But the choice was between eating out of my food bag and laying low, or going into town. Except for the walk back, I kept off my feet, and was 90% comfortable. 

When I got back to my room, I needed to eat my lukewarm meat loaf, then get my food bag settled. I also watched The Black Cat with Bela Legosi and Boris Karloff. 

And my mood has swung back towards the positive end of the spectrum. The Guardians of the Galaxy saved the day. Again. 

All in all, I’d say the zero was the right call.