Truckin!

So... thrift shops...

These thrift and goodwill shops were the vintage collector/resellars dream... Old adidas hoodies and such for 2 dollars, a few treasures at every shop... But for lack of funds and cargo space we were limited to a pair of deck shoes (that might not be what they're actually called) and some wool socks.

As soon as we left this adorable little community, we were in farm and watershed land for miles and miles... We soon realized that we had gone wrong too many times, the wrong turn, taking too long to camp and waking up late as result, and stopping at those thrift shops all had taken too much of a toll and we were in serious doubt as to whether we'd make it to Athens on time... This, combined with our predicament on getting home is what led to our charting a course for Greenville, on order to pick up a budget rental truck!
On Truckin:
Now, you, dear reader must understand that this was near tantamount to a failed mission for us, but with only a few hundred dollars left, including kurt's alleged $30, it was actually going to be cheaper to drive back in a 2 day sprint, than to stay on the road the 16+ more days necessary to bike back... Not only do our appetites require more than that amount would get us while riding, but just to get back and start working again (kurt in particular needed to get some shifts in before October rent was due) was a need... We had dome the math, and even in the current gas market (this was right after the Texas refinery fire... Only the week before we had been passing gas stations either completely out of gas) and with the low mileage afforded us by a large moving truck, we figured we could just make it..
...we were worried about what kurt would think, as we were out of touch with him for a few days, but figured that we kind of had no choice... So neither did he!

We ultimately made this decision at a crossroads where we could venture 25 miles to Greenville, where we could pick up such a rental car, or continue 160 miles to Athens (my numbers may be off)... We made a reservation with budget for the next day, and headed out on the road to Greenville...

That night, we got a bunch of junk food and a can of greens for dinner, and found a very peculiar place to eat and camp... From the road it looked like a church with a small graveyard and a largish field, with a perimeter of trees, but upon investigation, we found there to also be a playground and a large hangar/auditorium building, which emitted some strange dance music and rock sounds a few times... With the church there, we guessed there was a Christian youth group listening to Christian rock music, and of course a Christian dj in between sets.
In the playground was a play structure modelled after a house, with a roof, and as it had started raining, we decided to take our dinner in there... Though upon climbing the kid size ladder and looking around, we found the interior decorators choice of decorating materiels somewhat creepy... All around us were fake flowers, little flags and a couple little stuffed animals, which I immediately presumed had been stolen from the adjacent graveyard! Dianne wasn't so sure, but I know graveyard décor when I see it, and this was it!
After creepy dinner, we nestled into the (also creepy) forested perimeter to sleep.
The next morning, I was very pleased to get an early start!

Our ride to the greenvile budget rental place was largely uneventful... We got the truck (though the smallest one was broken, so we had to get the next size up, unfortunately) and were away!

Weird being in a truck after 2 months of (mostly) not having been... Suddenly what would have been a 14 hour ride became a 1 hour ride, and after eeking out a wifi connection immediately into Athens, we got directions to the show and were there in minutes! What an amazing contraption, this "truck"!

on to meet kurt...