Early a.m. at mile 22.9, one of very few spots to see the runners. Lloyd, fresh as a daisy, planted some kisses and moved on...
...and so did we, to an apple harvest festival at a nearby orchard. How beautiful it was there! Fingers of mist reached down over the peaks surrounding the little green valley and gave the whole place a feeling of Brigadoon. I love to think about the fact that the Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. They feel it, too--soft, green...I'm at a loss. But amazing.
Folks gathered around the apple slingshot, a rudimentary contraption wherein one tries to shoot tiny apples into blue barrels in the cow pasture. The cows gathered to investigate, and most people seemed to be taking aim at them more than the barrels. The cows were not injured, I should add.
The slingshot, the cows, the barrels, and a budding marksman.
Goofing off inside the barn.
What a beautiful place to go rambling and exploring.
Also not pictured: our next stop, Oktoberfest at Wintergreen Ski Resort, where we stayed our 2 nights. We showed up just in time to see the old guys in lederhosen perform 2 more songs on their brass instruments, which was thrilling. Also ate more: goulash, large pretzel with mustard, root beer, and brown bread. Lloyd may have an iron stomach, but mine was feeling more like an unsteady washing machine by then. But, if you haven't learned by my age, you just can't complain too much.
Back to the same aid station at which we'd seen Lloyd in the morning, only now he had run 58.8 total miles. Past the gloaming of the day and well beyond Junie's bedtime, she stayed wired and happy as long as I supplied her with her drug of choice, the opportunity to play in the front seat of the car. Isn't that a happy face?
Lloyd posted about the rest back in September, so follow the link at the top if you're interested in reliving it. It still amazes and inspires me. And makes me feel exhausted.
