When I got to Stratton I had a plan to meet my Mom on the main street. We didn’t really have a meeting place because neither of us have been to Stratton. I got a ride in with a couple in a pick-up truck but they made me ride in the back, I guess they could tell I looked sweaty and smelly…

Once in town I got a ice cold Arizona Iced Tea and was looking for a shady spot to wait for my Mom. I was passing by a motel and I saw a tone of crazy hikers and they all called me over and we all had a good laugh about some trail stuff. About 45 minutes later I saw my Mom drive by and I chased after her and knocked on the window of her car, and 25 seconds later my ribs were being crushed by the tightest Mom hug I’ve ever been the recipient of. It was good to see her.

We drove to the next town and settled into our Bed and Breakfast, I showered (of course), changed into some clothes she brought for me and we went out for Thai food. I got some broccoli and chicken thing and ate A LOT of broccoli. I haven’t been eating much healthy food the last week or so, just really crappy light weight food like ramen and pop tarts.

In the morning we did my laundry and walked around the town looking for lighter hiking shoes, but I didn’t find anything. We must have looked at 8 stores, but my darn feet are so big I couldn’t find anything. I settled on thinner, shorter socks and new insoles. We also went food shopping and Mom loaded me up on some tasty healthier foods that I am really looking forward to eating. The grocery bill this week was a lot bigger than last week. I didn’t find anything in the hiker box in this town.

Despite my sore, stiff legs and the 188 miles I’ve hiked in the last few weeks, we decided  to go for a hike. We ended up on an easy trail through a wooded area lined with wild strawberries. It was really nice until we suddenly entered this really buggy section and before I knew it Mom took off running to get away from the bugs. I ended up chasing her and swatting mosquitoes as I went. We sloshed through a swampy section and made it back to the car just before it rained. At the grocery store we bought salads and ice cream and went back to the B&B and ate on the porch just as it started to rain, ice cream first of course.

After lunch and the rain had stopped, we drove to the next town where they were having the Maine Moose Lottery, which apparently is a big deal. There were crowds of people there all waiting to see if they’re name would get drawn so they could hunt a moose this year. We didn’t really know what to think of it all since neither of us hunt.

On the drive there we saw a field of Lupines, which are tall purple wild flowers. We pulled over to frolic in the field of flowers an take some pictures. Mom got some good ones of me and someone else pulled over to take a picture of the flowers too, and we got her to take a few pictures of us.

We had a great visit and Mom tried to fatten me up as much as she could in 3 days. I’m sure I’ll have another teary hike up my mountain tomorrow when she drops me off. I’m going to miss her!

I have only 93 miles left in Maine and will be in New Hampshire before I know it.