Saturday, April 25, 2015
Last night just as we were leaving the laundromat, Jeff Gosnell (the gentleman that greeted us when we arrived in Clinton) just happened to drive up and offer us a ride back to our tent. When we arrived back at the tent, he presented us with wine, dehydrated soup, and t-shirts from TJHaase, a local winery. He also pulled a chair and beer from his car, sat down with us while I prepared chili and rice pudding for dinner. He asked us questions to aid him in writing an article for The Daily Clintonian. What an interesting man and local historian. Jeff has led an interesting life and has a lot of depth and knowledge on topics such as literature, history, and cars. Great guy to spend the evening with but, regretfully, sprinkles, with a threat, of rain caused us to cut the night short.
We awoke well rested, (even me), as last night was warmer even though it rained off and on all the night.
At 7:20AM, a visitor, (We have had more of a social life on this trip than we do at home!) Mark Davis, appeared at our tent asking if he could take us to breakfast. We said, “Yes.” (That’s what we say on this trip.) So we quickly got ready and emerged from our tent to a dreary day. (So glad this was our “Sunday”.) He took us to Benjamin’s, where his friend and hiking buddy Mike Fisher (Mike is a popular name in Clinton) joined us for breakfast. Mark, Mike, and their wives are like-minded people with us, which is evident in the fact that we sat at Benjamin’s for three hours sharing stories and bucket lists.
Mark invited us stay with him and his wife Kathi for the night. Mark took us back to his house – first thing we did was shower. (A positive thing for all involved.) After our showers, Mark and John went to get the tent and boats in Marks’s trailer. Mark’s trailer is 15 feet long – John’s boat is 17 feet long. But, with some creativity and maneuvering it worked. Where there is a will, there is a way. Upon their return, we spent the rest of the afternoon talking until their friends Bob and Janie Pound arrived. Then it was time to travel to Marshal, Indiana to meet Mike and Amy Fisher at Under the Arch for dinner. What a wonderful time making new friends!
After saying our goodbyes to the Pounds and Fishers, Mark, Kathi, John, and I philosophized until after midnight. What a nice evening.
Tomorrow, we will leave Clinton and many new friends.
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