Update 12                                                               

Well I finally emerged from the T-Mobile black hole I had been in for days while on Sinking Creek Mtn. Was able to SMS and then call Renee around 1:30 on Sunday.

    I asked her if sticking to our schedule of returning home on July 8th would still be best for me so as to get a lot of time with my granddaughters, or if we needed to change things. Renee recounted what the calendar looked like for this week and it was clear that I should move up my departure date from the AT so as to visit with Leslie and the kids. 

 

    So I told her to come on to VA and pick me at MM 1514.1 Sinking Creek on VA Rd 42. I told her

once I got to the junction if I had network I would call a shuttle driver listed in the AT Guide, a fellow based out of Pearisburg, and have him take me to that town.

 

    Once I arrived there, I had no network so had to figure things out. I started walking West but when I turned around and looked over my shoulder, I saw a church steeple. Always run to the cross! So I turned around hoping for a parsonage and a phone. When I got there, I realized there was no parsonage. So I stood out front of the church hoping for a lift but no one stopped. But after a while a nice lady turned in and parked in the adjacent cemetery. She allowed me to use her phone and the shuttle driver said he would be after me in an hour.

 

   Once we arrived at the McDonalds in Pearisburg, we tried calling Renee but quickly realized she had no coverage. Well to make a long story short, she had misunderstood where to meet me and had traveled directly to Pearisburg and was hunting for me in town. At a hostel they allowed her to use their internet and thus received an SMS I or my mom had sent to her # informing her where I was. Whew! I had been worried she might be looking for me out in the country at my specified spot but in the providence of God her misunderstanding of where to meet me worked out for the better.

 

    So I will be in the home town this week visiting and I cannot wait to hold my precious granddaughters! Oh yeah, and of course hug Leslie!

Uncle