The 3 Day - Day 1

The 4 am wake up call came too early, we jumped out of bed drank our coffee got dressed and headed out. The hotel we were at was kind enough to have a shuttle for us, even though they normally don't start running till 7 am. When we got to Port Authority it was still dark. We dropped off our gear at the gear truck and was greeted by the overly awake and excited crew. I said bye to my mom and started to make my way where opening ceremony would be. I picked up my lanyard, signed Jeana's name to one of the memorial ribbons on the flag. I wrote my goal on a dot that was a on a big banner, and picked up some last minute things in the shop3day.com store. I was there before most of the walkers were there, because I went with my mom who had to be there at 5am. I took some pictures, and collected stickers at each on of the giant globe lights, and of course got my picture taken in front of the opening ceremonies sign. As the sun came up the sky turned bright pink, it was quite a sight.

Soon all the walkers were led into the circle where the ceremony would take place. Opening ceremonies was beautiful, I cried (again). Soon we were off and walking, we started walking past the Browns stadium and the Rock Hall. Before we realised it we were at pit stop 1. Which seemed to come up so soon. There was a long line for everything, but we got in and out in good time. I finally found Jenn and Julie who I walked with for the rest of the day. There was a really cool bridge we walked over before pit 2. When we arrived at pit 2 the sun was out, so I used the worst sunscreen ever. It was sticky and oily eckkk. I took care of the hot spot I got. I ate a Pb&j graham cracker sandwich....sounds gross but it is so good.

We had lunch in the park, which was nice and shady. Lunch was a turkey sandwich, chips, and apple. I took care of the new hot spots, re-applied body glide to my feet and changed my socks. As we were leaving lunch I had the opportunity to carry the "my children" flag to the next pit stop. That was my only flag I wanted to carry that weekend. We had a huge hill we had to walk up. Julie was in a lot of pain so she took the van to the next stop. A lot of walkers did that and for good reason that hill was steep. Jenn and I walked together for the rest of the day. I got lots of good pictures along the way.

Lots of families had water, Popsicles, candy, coffee and even beer along the way. The signs in yards and on the light posts kept us going. There were 2 cheering stations that day, and they always seemed to be exactly when we needed them.

When I got to camp, I was so sore and hot! I was greeted buy the Kid Crew that drew inspirational sayings on the sidewalk, and played music for us. Some of the walker stalkers were at the finish line too. For anyone that has never walked before, a walker stalker is someone that shows up all along the route everyday cheering you on. There was Jerry...who tells you that you look strong, and that you are doing great. He is always a joy to see. There was also and group of three men that cheered us on all weekend, and the kid crew. Then there is the hug lady, she greets you when you arrive at camp and gives a hug to each one of the 900 walkers.

I grabbed my bag and tent, only to find out that someone took my assigned spot. Grrr so I had to limp over to the gear and tent crew to find out where I should go. I finally got a new spot. I tried to put up my tent, but its not easy to do alone. Some of the camp angels came over and did it for me, I tried to help but they just smiled and told me to rest. I decorated my tent while I waited for dinner and my mom to get back to camp. Dinner that night was steak, potatoes, salad, green beans and apple pie. It was yummy. While I was eating I ran into Michael and Monica from Chicago. I made their logo and designed their tattoos. They brought me homemade chocolate chip cookies and hugs.

I showered in a semi truck for the first time in my life. I have to say that was the best shower ever (or at least it felt like that after being covered in sweat and nasty sunscreen) There was karaoke that night, but I missed it because I was checking out the 3 Day main street. New Balance had a store where I got a new shirt. The 3 day had their store where I got these kick ass pink pajama pants that say kindness rocks. Energiser had massages and massage chairs as well as laptops with Internet access. AT&T had phone charging, so I dropped my phone off for a while. There was so much to do at camp, its a shame I didn't have the chance to do it all. Lights out was at 9pm but we were all so tired it was not a problem to fall asleep.