Day 1

Josh dropped me off at the Del Mar Fairgrounds at 4:45 am on November 9. I was one of the first people to get there. I left my duffel at the gear truck and headed for the "holding" area. Slowly, the rest of my team arrived, as well as 4,700 other walkers. Everyone was anxious to get started, but the walk didn't begin until 7:15. We had a long time to wait. We talked, and laughed and tried to not think about the fact there were no potty facilities available. I finally was able to meet Nik's sister, Danielle and her husband, Terry.

At 6:30 we started stretching, and soon after the opening ceremonies began. So emotional! There were lots of tears as the names of lost loved ones, as well as survivors, were named aloud. The excitement was palpable as the moment drew near to start. And finally! we were moving, out of the fairgrounds and onto the street. The first thing we saw were the "sweep" vans, ready to go into action. Their job was to pick up people who needed help, and took them to the next pit stop.

And the people lining the streets! It was amazing! Drivers honking their horns, waving at us. Everyone was so pumped. The day itself was perfect for walking. Overcast, mid-60's, slight breeze......you could not have requested a better day for a 21 mile stroll.

Day 1 took us through Del Mar to Torrey Pines State Reverve (and our first "hill), through La Jolla, to Bird Rock, Pacific Beach, and finally to Mission Bay Park (Crown Point) and camp! The scenery was out of this world. San Diego is so gorgeous, and walking by the ocean was certainly a treat.

To my delight, we had a Tent Angel, Mike Taylor, who set up all tents for The Breast Defense League! Yea, Mike! All I had to do was inflate my air mattress and take a nap, which is what I did just as soon as I took a shower in the truck. Now, that was different. After a much needed doze, and a rubdown with Aspercreme, and a handful of Motrin, I headed to the 3 Day Village. There I met up with Danielle and Terry, as well as their good friends, Christine and Marvin. Danielle got me a cup of steaming hot coffee and I have to say it was one of the best cups of coffee ever! We hung out while we waited for Danielle's friend to bring us In-N-Out burgers, read my mail (and I got a bunch! Thank you everyone!) and people watched. After chowing down on the best burgers in the world, I headed for bed, which was about 8:30 pm. Of course that was the exact time the truck came to empty the port-a-potties that were directly across from my tent. It didn't matter, I was out in a matter of minutes.

I had survived the first day, with only one blister on my heel. You can't beat that!

The Villagers Are Getting Restless

Several people have hinted that I need to get busy already and write more about my experiences with the 3 Day. Without my pc working at home it's been a little difficult. So, for this week I will give my lunchtime at work over to writing. Hopefully you will find it worth the wait.

"We're Not In San Diego Anymore, Toto....."

Yesterday the weather here in Columbus wasn’t that much different than what I had in San Diego, mid ‘60’s. But today, the high may get up to 40 degrees, and it’s been spitting snow. The forecasters are even talking wind chill! But you know the old Ohio saying, if you don’t like the weather just wait a couple of hours, it’ll change. Drastically. And I have a head cold, of course. A lot of passengers on the plane from DFW were sneezing and coughing, and apparently no one is aware you’re supposed to cover your mouth and nose when spewing germs out of your head. Oh well.

Still working on my thoughts about the 3 Day…I should have that done this weekend. I got my photos back and they are ok….I really need a new camera.

Things I've Never Done Before

• Showered in a semi-truck.
• Visited a minimum of 40 port-a-potties in 3 days.
• Hugged a man by the name of Bustin' Out Billy (go to http://bustinoutbilly.com/).
• Had a gorgeous young man step in front of me, tears in his eyes and give me a hug and kiss and thank me for walking for the cure, because his mother died from cancer.
• Attended a slumber party for 4000+ people.

Things I Learned At The 3 Day

• What Californians call "hills", Ohioans call "mountains".
• Don't carry more in your backpack than you're willing to carry up a 15 story "hill".
• Port-A-Potties don't flush, no matter how many times you look for the handle.
• Antiperspirant is useless when you're walking a 20 mile day.
• Man! can clothing stink at the end of a 20 mile day.
• Man! can you stick at the end of a 20 mile day.
• Camp food is great!
• An In-N-Out Burger snuck into camp is soooooo much better than camp food.
• Getting up at 5 am isn't hard at all when you go to bed at 7 pm.
• A roll of mole skin is only useful when you have a pair of scissors to cut it with.

3752

That's where I came in today, under my own steam, after walking 60 grueling miles! A total of 4700+ walkers participated in this wonderful event.

I'm so tired and can't wait to sleep in a real bed tonight! The kids are making me a fabulous pot roast meal with all the trimmings and apple pie and ice cream.

I had so many wonderful experiences and met so many kind and terrific people. Over the next few days, as I gather my thoughts, I'll be writing about this amazing chapter of my life. I have so many pictures I want to share as well!

Thank you all for being so supportive of me. It made all the difference knowing you were out there, cheering me on from afar. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Walking Time is Nearly Here!

Well, just a couple of things left do and then California here I come! I can’t believe it’s the first full week of November! I know I’ve said that every month, but it’s still true. So, where do we stand?

Friday I took the last of the pop cans to the recycling center. I can’t begin to tell you how sick I am of aluminum cans! The final tally was 85 pounds of aluminum for $55.35. Yea!

To date, I have officially raised $2, 865 in donations. There are still a couple of pledges outstanding, so I may very well reach my goal of $3,000. I have until December 9th to pull them all in. My team, The Breast Defense League, has raised $110,000 so far. Amazing! I will get to meet most of my team for the first time Thursday evening when we gather to have a pre-race carbo-load dinner.

Most of my gear is gathered, I just need to pack it all in my bright blue duffle. There was a last minute snafu (isn’t there always?)….my furnace decided to completely up and die. And not in a good way (meaning, fixable). So, in the midst of everything else that’s going on, I had to take time out today and arrange to have a new furnace put in. I mean, Jeremy can put on a sweater, but I don’t want to come back next week and find a couple of kitty icicles lying on the sofa!