Morning noises in Fresno were far different than the usual noises in the wilderness. I knew I should sleep but my foot kept waking me and I knew the sooner I got the antibiotic prescription filled the better. I wasn't sure if the motel had a continental breakfast so I hobbled down and found sparse remains from the early morning feeding frenzy.
It wasn't too early to start lobbying for a ride back to VVR. So I began with Darlene, the morning front desk clerk. She listened intently as I described my situation, and seemed to have genuine interest in helping me. I expressed my disgust with the cab company and asked her for help in locating the nearest pharmacy that I could walk to. Darlene roped in another guest who had been staying with her daughters at the motel since September...I was curious but didn't really want to know why someone would stay in a motel that long. A discussion ensued between Darlene and the guest as to the location of the closest pharmacy. Darlene was convinced that it was a RiteAid about a mile away, the guest argued that there was no RiteAid at the intersection Darlene was describing and said that the nearest pharmacy would be a Walgreens about 2.5 miles away.
I left the motel on my quest for the pharmacy knowing that Darlene was working on finding someone who would be willing to take cash payment plus gas money to get me back to the trail. The walk down Shaw Avenue was painful as well as HOT! I hobbled slowly down the sidewalk. The crossing of the entrance ramps to Interstate 168 were especially challenging with the holiday traffic streaming by. When I made it to the busy intersection where Darlene said the RiteAid would be...it wasn't there. Damn! I had to walk another mile and a half! Slowly I toiled down the hot sidewalk, wondering why I couldn't make myself call another cab company to get me to the pharmacy. Eventually I saw it...Walgreens...on the other side of the 6 lane avenue. I crossed the road, stumbled to the entrance, and felt immediate relief AND pride that I had walked to the pharmacy on my own two feet.
The pharmacist filled the prescription almost immediately. Meanwhile, I borrowed the phone since I couldn't get the one in my motel room to take a calling card. I called Charlotte and gave mom/dad Rabbit an update on the late night doctor visit, then called Eric and Ashley in Portland to do the same. My focus still was on getting back to VVR so I could be close to the trail and ready to hop back on as soon as the infection subsided.
Dreading the walk back to the motel, I decided to break it up into chunks, stopping along the route at any time I deemed necessary to get out of the heat and to get some early lunch. About half way back there was a McDonalds. I had sworn way back before Agua Dulce I wouldn't eat there again while on the trail...but I didn't have the strength or resolve to cross that 6 lane avenue to get to any of the fast food offerings on the other side, so I found my way into the Mickey D's for lunch.
By the time my order was filled, I had taken the first antibiotic and it, combined with the heat and my pain, killed my appetite. I slowly forced my food down while reading the local newspaper and keenly watching for possible humans who might be interested in giving me a ride back to the motel. No one looked approachable on this holiday, all were with large family groups including lots of kids...who would take a Charles Manson lookalike from a fast food restaurant to a motel in a big city? Probably no one, so I let go of the thought and resolved to walk the remaining distance to the motel.
Around 1 pm I got back to the motel. Darlene reported in that she had talked with everyone she knew and had no luck finding anyone interested in taking my back to the trail, even for money. So I let go of the idea of getting back until after the holiday. I hobbled back upstairs to the room and called the phone number given to me by my hiker friends back at VVR. Instead of getting a guy named Tom who I was told I would reach for a possible ride, I got Jim Clement's voice mail. And the message he left was from April. So I figured he wouldn't get any messages anytime soon, since there was no reception up at his resort. I left one anyway, letting him know that I was in need of a ride back to VVR and my telephone number just in case he got the message. Chagrined, I promptly went to sleep for the balance of the afternoon.
Around 6 pm, I got up and opened the door to the outside world so I could see what was going on across the street at the event center. There was live music and about 70 bands were playing in succession in the hot all day event. It wasn't my kind of music, and the drunks walking down the sidewalk didn't interest me either, so I crawled back in bed, propped up the foot, and slept some more. Around 8 pm I made myself get back up and went downstairs to find some food. There fortunately was a small strip center next door to the motel with a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant, a Pizza/Pasta restaurant, and a convenience store. I got some takeout from the Vietnamese restaurant, forced myself to eat, then called it a night and went to bed again. As July 4th holidays go, it wasn't my best. But then again, I had shelter, food, a relatively quiet place to sleep, and surely my foot was getting better with all those antibiotics I was putting into my worn out body! And tomorrow would be a better day!
