Dorothy and Ed arrived promptly at 10:00. We gave them the grand tour of The Beauty and The Beast. We had a nice visit over coffee. Dorothy and I looked through my postcard traders notebook that I keep. It's funny how many of the same traders we correspond with. After 11:00 hunger drew us down the Mountain. Ed drove in their car. We took pictures before we left. I couldn't get my timer to work so I could get in a shot with all four of us. I'll have to look at my manual later. We had lunch at Mullins, a long-time Huntsville joint, just off Pratt on Andrew Jackson way. It was the meatloaf special for three of us and Dorothy had Pot Roast in a bowl! The Sweet Potato Souffle was great. The Waldorf Salad was made with a whipped cream dressing. Ed twisted my arm for pie. I got lemon so Bob would help me eat it.
We shared lots of stories, tall tales and laughter. We stopped at Propst Drug Store, an old timey place on Pratt, with a Post Office inside. Dorothy said she used to get postcards there. They had a wire rack of them in the back. I bought stamps, Kleenex and paper napkins that I needed. Bob, Dorothy and I checked our blood pressure and pulse and we all felt marvelous!
Back on top of Monte Sano we go, stopping at the new Lodge in the park to check it out. Ed and Dorothy ran into a former policeman they knew from Huntsville coming out of the lodge. The Monte Sano Lodge is an 8,000 sq. ft. facility with two meeting halls and a common area. They offer a catering kitchen for large events with a beautiful bluff side terrace for out of doors functions. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939, the Lodge catered to those who cherished the oudoors, until its destruction by fire in 1948. For over half a century the once majestic lodge lay in ruins atop Monte Sano. In 2002, the State of Alabama began reconstruction of the lodge. The project not only restored the beauty of the facility but also modernized it. I took a picture of Dorothy coming through the Viduta Room. Bob and I have been laughing at the Viduta street sign we see on the way up Monte Sano. There was a lone female Park employee in a back room of the lodge. She said she lived in Arab and commuted to Monte Sano each day.
We all went back to the campground. Now that I had plenty of brainfood in me, I recalled how to use the timer on the camera. So I got a picture of all four of us after all. The next time I have Internet access I will mail pictures to Dorothy and Ed. We said goodbye with regrets. But we were very pleased to have spent more time together today. It was an odd sensation of meeting 'new old friends.'
The day was sunny and warm so Bob and I put hiking togs on and tackled McKay Hollow Trail. We saw the waterfall behind the Lodge that the lady who worked there told us about just a bit ago. Ed was right; this is really quite a trail! It goes straight down and is very rocky for over an hour. My right knee was aching in spite of the Ace bandage I put on before we left. I seem to have messed up my knee hitting a fabulous 5-wood off the fairway yesterday. All was well until the rain started as we ascended out of the Hollow. It was great timing however to find a shelter right there. We shared it with a lone hiker about our age. He recently moved to Huntsville after losing his factory job in Chattanooga, TN. He is slowly working on all of the trails in the area.
We took respite from the rain for 15 or 20 minutes and then sucked it up and headed back on Fire Tower Trail. It was much easier going but we got soaked in the rain. We walked by a newly arrived Class A on the way back to our campsite. They looked dry and cozy inside of their little home on wheels. I was jealous and glad to be home in a few hundred yards. We made it home by 6:00 after three hours and four and a half miles. (Now I don't have to feel bad about that pie Ed made me eat!) Hot showers and a snack were heaven. We read the paper that we bought outside of Mullins this afternoon.