Day 35: The Day I Got Shot

May 25: I woke up and soon headed off to the nearby Walmart, where I was promptly shot with, yes, a COVID vaccine. My day had finally arrived! Originally I had wanted to take only one zero day in town, but this was the earliest I could schedule an appointment, and my vaccine was scheduled for 9:00am--typically plenty of time to still leave later in the day--but just in case I felt any side effects, I felt it was better to hang around town for an extra day. Which wasn't a huge problem for me. The Motel 6 prices were reasonable, I had my laptop and plenty of work I could do.

So, I headed a few blocks away to the Walmart's pharmacy section where I filled out the necessary paperwork and soon got jabbed with a needle. I got the J&J vaccine primarily because I didn't know where I would be in a month or how easily it would be to get a second shot at the right time, and even if I could, it might be inconvenient. Nope, I wanted the one-shot vaccine, and then I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore for the rest of the trail.

Afterward, I met up with Evenstar and we walked into town. She needed to go to the post office, while I needed to go to the library to print maps for the next section of trail. We split up to do our respective tasks, but Evenstar surprised me by arriving at the library at the same time I did. She had found a trail angel to give her a ride around town, and rather than go directly back to the hotel, she had him drop her off at the library.

I got my maps printed, then Evenstar wanted to check out a store that sold musical instruments in the hope of playing a violin for a bit. The store had been closed when we went by yesterday, but they were supposed to be open now and they were.

On our way there, I heard someone call out my name. "Green Tortuga!" I looked back and saw a figure I recognized--the bicyclist who was thru-riding the Continental Divide with his wife. I was surprised to see him again. On a bike, I figured they be far ahead of me! But, as it turned out, they weren't actually doing the entire thing in one, non-stop trip. They would bike for a couple of weeks, then go back home for a couple of weeks. Then back on the trail for a couple of weeks, then back home. Which is how we both ended up in the same town at the same time again. The last time I had seen him was a few days before Pie Town.

Anyhow, we parted ways again--not sure if we'd run into each other again even further up the trail or not. =)

The music store mostly sold guitars, but they did have a couple of violins and the employee let Evenstar play it for a bit. Later, Evenstar told me that instrument was "cheap and crappy"--but I couldn't tell the difference. She sounded pretty good to me! 

Evenstar gives a short performance on the
borrowed violin. I think she has some talent! =)

The trail angel had given Evenstar his number and rather than walking the mile back to the hotel, she called him up and we got a ride back.

We went back to our own rooms for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't feeling any side effects from the vaccine--not yet, at least--and did some work online.

Later in the evening, Evenstar and I met up again to get sandwiches at Subway for dinner. We invited Pez, but he was deep into gaming with his German friends and said that he needed to start saving money and preferred to eat his Walmart food. I was a little disappointed. As far as eating out goes, Subway wasn't a bank breaker.

After dinner, Evenstar headed back to her room, and I headed out to the Walmart to do my real grocery shopping. Assuming I still felt fine in the morning and there weren't any side effects from the vaccine, I planned to hit the trail again! And I'd need food for the next week or so on the trail.

Fingers crossed!

The main street to the library was all torn up!