Stick and I then walked down to Diane’s Twist, one of the few businesses in Cheshire. It was an ice cream shop with a limited food menu, but we were able to purchase from Diane tasty meatball sandwiches and milkshakes.
While we waited for our food, she told us she was a parishioner at St. Mary's, but she hadn’t heard that hikers were no longer allowed to sleep inside.
Diane didn’t have any indoor seating in her shop, so we sat outside at a picnic table. As we were finishing our milkshakes, a light rain began to fall. Between the rain, cold temperature, and milkshakes, Stick and I both began to shiver.
I was shivering so much my hand was shaking as I sipped the last of my milkshake, and I didn’t warm up until we began walking to another of the town’s few businesses, a Dollar General store.
On the way, we ran into Sunny Hedgehog. As I’ve mentioned before, his English is limited. He said the store was closed at 5 p.m., but I think something must have been lost in translation. We found the store was still open and were able to purchase everything we need for the next couple days until we reach Bennington.
Back at my tent on the church lawn, I texted with Felix, who met me on the trail in New York. He has been working on a plan to hike with me, and said he thought meeting in a few days at Manchester Center, Vt. would work. I’m looking forward to that.