An end of an era

That's right folks...we've got a few more days in VA before we breeze through West Virginia, Maryland, and enter Pennsylvania. So far all is well, and we just finished Shenandoah national park. We've seen tons of deer and even had a few bear encounters in the last few days, making our stay in the park a wild one. Andrew jumped ship in Waynesboro after about 170 miles of rugged trail, but he was fortunate enough to witness an acurate cross-section of daily life on the trail. While he was with us Jess nearly stepped on a huge copperhead, and I was the victim of the first recorded animal attack of the season. Yes there have been wild boar, bears, and even the elusive mountain lion in our vicinity, but I was nearly mauled by the lowly grouse. I was hiking near the Blue Ridge parkway when an extremely pissed off momma grouse flared her feathers and charged me. So far, so good. After a brief charge, the winged beast took flight and attempted to remove my eyeballs. After screaming like a girl and executing a combination spin move/commando roll, I evaded the monster while Jess nearly soiled herself laughing. Anyway, we survived the incident to hike another day. Tonight we are posted up at the ritzy Pioneer roach motel in Front Royal, and we will be hitting the dusty trail bright and maybe even early. We will dearly miss Speedbump and the lack of open container laws within the Shenandoahs. We can't wait to see the Hancocks in PA, and we love and miss you all. Next time you hear from us, we'll be in Yankeeland and past the halfway point of our journey!