Hello friends!

Time for a long overdue update on the Bigby situation here. Here's how it went down:

On the day before my birthday (Friday the 6th) we hooked up with the Rosesniffers, a pair of incredible trail angels who took us into their home and provided us with kind hospitality and terrific food, as well as promising to help us fineagle our way into Gettysburg the next day for my b-day. As if that weren't enough, they surprised me with a birthday cake just before the big bonfire.

Despite the awesome day, I was starting to feel a little lousy. Luna's talk of Lyme disease worried me, since my flu like symptoms seemed to fit the description of the nasty bug. I napped in my hammock and chugged orange juice and seemed to be doing alright. That night, I tried to sleep it off, and was fast asleep when I was hilariously awakened at midnight (the stroke of my 21st) by my buddies, who shook me awake to celebrate the moment.

The next day, after a delicious Rosesniffer breakfast, we shuttled our way into Gettysburg. We managed to work out a convenient downtown hotel room to jam our 10 person party into, and started to enjoy the town. I was feeling so/so, but started to decline as we drove around the battlefield in Tater's parents' car, checking out the sights. At dinner, where we were lucky enough to have the Rosesniffers and their friends Sue and Nick drop by and join us, I was feeling pretty good, especially after chugging four ibuprofen. After dinner, Nick took us out to the town for the celebratory bar crawl through Gettysburg. Fortunately I was feeling up to it, and had an awesome time with all my friends.

The next day, my symptoms set on with a vengeance. I felt completely miserable, and was lucky enough to have Tater's folks take me to Gettysburg Hospital to get checked out. Not only did they drive me, but they took the time to wait for me to get diagnosed, and take me to get my Rx filled when the doctor said it was probably Lyme or Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

I spent the next 48 hours practically immobile and completely sick at the hotel in Gettysburg, barely moving from my bed and wondering what the next play was. Luck struck again in the form of Tater's parents' generosity: they were driving right by my hometown of Glastonbury on their way back to Maine and volunteered to shuttle me home to recover. It seemed like the best idea, so I headed back.

Now, after a week of R&R and much needed catching up with my friends, it's back to the trail! I am skipping up to stay with my friends, and will update as soon as possible.

All the buddies I saw in Glastonbury: you really recharged my batteries, and are making it hard for me to leave. It was great seeing you and I miss you already! But, trailward bound!