Mile 77 Night at Yolanda's

Day 8
Today we woke up leisurely in our lovely cabin. Tracy sauntered over to our refrigerator several times to view our food in its cool environment. I made many short trips to our private bathroom, admiring the handsome wooden floors on the way. Sleeping in one's own filth gives one an appreciation for things we usually take for granted.
We thought we might take a trip in to Julian on this 'day off' to get cash at the ATM, buy Aleve for our knees etc. However, we decided after watching other hikers unsuccessfully stand in the sun for at least an hour that we would instead sit at the picnic tables on the front porch of the Stagecoach Trails Inn Store.

What a hub of activity! We exchanged life and travel stories with Yolanda, the Swiss woman running the store and her friend Elaine. Met more hikers, including Craig from Portland, and some of the locals. We also witnessed a young couple pull up in a car. The young woman was clearly unhappy and while her boyfriend was in the store she explained they hadn't seen anything and that if he had only LISTENED they wouldn't have done the 3 hour U turn that had landed them here...
It was while talking to Craig, who'd hurt his ankle that I looked down at my own and discovered my right ankle bones were nowhere to be seen, but buried in puffy flesh. When did that happen? My Prima Donna knees had stolen the show while right ankle had been nervously waiting in the wings. I'm a bit worried about what our hike tomorrow will do to it.
After Yolanda's shift at the store she drove us back to her home where she had offered us a bed for the night and a ride to the trailhead in the morning at 5 am! Her house is amazing. She is an artist who does everything. She makes jewelry, stained glass, mosaic, oil paintings, metal work, wood work and has a collection of interesting antiques. And everything comes together in her art space/home.
She shared more about her interesting life before we went early to bed.