Tent or Hotel, What Will It Be...

I woke up today after an average nights sleep. I made camp last night at around 4:30 and as soon as I lied down on my mattress to read a book I was out like a light. I slept deeply until around 10pm and then I was up and could not sleep again. I drifted on and off to about 8am this morning then said bugger it and got up to get organized. The lack of sleep I received last night was not to bother me today as today I was expecting visitors. A lady by the name of Chris, who has been following my blog, recently got in touch with me to tell me that she and her two daughters were heading down to Memphis and would like to meet up and take me out to lunch. Of course I said that would be great, some company and a good meal is like gold to me these days. They found me around lunchtime so I squeezed into the car with the family (the poor things, I probably smelled quite avg) and we made for a near by restaurant. It was nice to forget about the road ahead of me for a little bit and just sit back and chat with some good people while enjoying good food. Thanks so much to you Chris and your lovely family, it was a pleasure to spend time with you.

As Chris and her family dropped me off where they had picked me up from they handed me two goodie bags full of tasty snacks and a heap of other usefull little items for the trek. So with my pack a little heavier and me a lot happier, I put my head down and continued on south. The sun began to set around 5:30pm and I thought about calling it a night as I had come to a truck stop, but I was feeling good and strong after a good days walking and meeting such nice people had given me a shot of enegy. I could see a group of lights roughly 10 or so kms further down, so I decided that whatever it was down there, that it would be my resting spot for the night. I am glad now that I pushed on to those lights. On arrival I saw that it was a subway restaurant and a hotel. After grabbing a footlong sub and virtually inhaling it, I entered the hotel and said gday to the manager named Darrell. I explained what I was doing and asked if he minded if I could put my tent out the back for the night. Darrell told me it was no problem at all. I pushed my luck and asked if I could use the hotels internet also and was told no worries with that either. While using the internet in the reception area, Darrell and I got chatting. Darrell is a really good guy who has seen the world and has some great stories to tell. After sharing stories and having a laugh I was ready to call it a night. Darrell told me that if no one turned up to take the last room for the night, I need not worry about pitching that tent, he would gladly hand me the key at no charge. What a guy hey? So now I am waiting to 10:00 to see if anyone turns up or if I get a room for the night. If not it has been a good night hanging out in the reception having a yarn to Darrell in the warmth of the hotel. Ill let you guys know how it goes in the next post, wish me luck, I would love a bed and a shower right about now...