What a week it has been. After my 37 mile day I took a long break. One of my best friends was getting married and I needed to fly to Michigan for his wedding. Since I got to Lake Tahoe a little earlier than I expected, I decided to treat myself and stay at the Hard Rock Casino.
I did a little bit of gambling and a LOT of eating. It feels like I ate at every restaurant in South Lake. Then, I caught a bus to Reno to catch a flight to Michigan. The flight came with a 12 hour layover where I got to hang out with friends in Seattle. I also tried to eat my way across the city and finally replace my seat pad at REI.
I arrived in Detroit at 5 am and my dad picked me up. We had breakfast before I took a nap. It had been over 24 hours since I really slept. I woke up from the nap and headed to the rehearsal dinner. Since I was hiking, the only clothes I had to wear were my hiking clothes. Heim said it would be fine.
That day Meghan spent the day driving to Michigan from New York. It took her all day but it was amazing to see her. I was out with my friend Fred when she finally made it to town. Then we went back to my dad’s house and went got some rest before the wedding.
We couldn’t sleep in much, since I had to go pick up my tuxedo. We had some lunch at one of my favorite fast food restaurants (Culver’s) and headed home to get ready. Fred picked us up and took us to the church.
The wedding was long, as all catholic weddings are, and we were ready for the party bus. We got on and drove around to a few places to take pictures. When we made it to the reception, I realized it was in the same room as my prom. We had a blast at the reception and danced the night away. It was great seeing old friends and telling them about the trail. Everyone always has so many questions.
Due to some confusion with rides, our luggage was left in Fred’s car at the church. Luckily, the wedding favors included a toothbrush (Heim’s a dentist) so we shuttled to the hotel and at least we could brush our teeth.
In the morning my dad picked us up, we got our stuff from Fred’s car and it was time to go to the airport. Saying goodbye to Meghan was just as hard as it was on day 1, but it’ll only be about 6 weeks before I next see her when she comes to Washington for a short backpacking trip. Hopefully I make it up there.
When I got back to Reno I got a ride to WalMart where I resupplied. Then I went to Steak N Shake for dinner. Meghan and I were planning on getting that before she dropped me off, but traffic made it so we didn’t have time. At least I got my Frisco Melt. I got a ride back to the airport to catch a bus to South Lake Tahoe.
I checked back in to the Hard Rock and went to bed. I’m going to sleep in, get some room service for breakfast then hitch back to the trail.