Our mobile phone saga

We decided to get a mobile phone with internet access for the trail, and took our super duper sony next G phone with us to the US. A visit to the mobile phone shops in Atlanta - and we learn that the best coverage on the trail is with Verizon - which has their OWN phone sevice with CDMA. Our phone is no good on their system. We can use AT&T service, and buy a sim card BUT you can't get reception on the trail with them most of the time. So we decide to go with Verizon. Then we have to have a plan. The easiest way to do it - is under the auspices of Mike and Theresa's account - otherwise we have to have a passport and a utility bill with an address in the US which we don't. M&T are happy to have us on their plan, so we go with it. We buy an extra super battery as well.

The next day we go to leave and have to go back to the verizon shop - the super spare battery doesn't actually fit into the phone - it needs a special cover - they dont have the cover. Verizon swap over the phone battery and give us a similar size one for free. We are on our way.

Three days later we have made 2 international calls and one tweet into facebook, and the phone dies on the screen - you can still make calls but no picture to see what you are doing.

We walk for three days and arrive at Neels Gap where we can mail the phone back to M&T so they can get us a replacement. We then walk another four days and arrive in Hiawassee. We walk into the motel, the guy looks at our name on the registration card and says, "there was a guy here yesterday looking for you to give you a mobile phone". Mike has driven a hundred miles to hand deliver a phone and he has missed us. We think where would he have left the phone - maybe the post office. We visit the post office - no they had nothing for us. The post master - called Brenda - lends us her mobile and we call Mike and Teresa and leave a message on their phone to say we are here.

Then we go off and have lunch in Daniel's Steakhouse. An hour later we emerge and find the postmaster Brenda has been driving up and down the road looking for us - she had rung the other motel, Mull's motel, and they had the phone, so once she knew where our phone was all she had to do was find us - which she finally did! We wander over to Mull's Motel to be greeted by a very old lady, wearing handmade knitted stockings to her knees, who says yes she has our phone for us!!! We tip her $2 and take the phone. Let's hope the phone saga is now finished.

We are overwhelmed with how the locals have put themselves out for us - and very appreciative.

PS We check the messages - there is one from a debt collection agency chasing a debt - whose number have we inherited??