Route ... Day 1

Day 1:

We started at the COW Palace ... (no cows) ... just before sunrise. The opening ceremonies were, of course, very moving. We were ready to begin. We took our first steps to the cheers of a few loyal supporters, then we were on our way.

We walked from the COW Palace through Daly City.

After walking through some beautiful neighborhoods (Seacliff) and past the Zoo ... eventually we made it to the Great Highway ... along the coast and through Ocean Beach.

It was beautiful.
It was here that I met MY loyal supporters!

Here we are, Jersey Girls for Shore ... Beth, Faye, Beth, and me ... on the Great Highway.

I spent some time with my Cheering Station, then walked on my own for a while. This is just before Lands End Trail.

Wait ... I just lost a photo ... maybe this IS Lands End Trail.

Beautiful.

I caught up with Faye and Beth along the trail. I think this was taken just after the 100+ steps that we climbed (without a complaint ... not even a whimper!)

The Golden Gate Bridge is behind us ... Our final destination for day 1!

And, of course, we finally arrived at the bridge ... but didn't get a chance to cross it until day 2!

Home sweet home

Our home away from home for two nights was Crissy Field by the Golden
Gate Bridge. It was kind of hard to walk on and pull our gear on the grass there ... wonder what kind of grass it was!

The directions were clear as to where we had to go.

(Notice the port-o-potties behind the signs ... I had to learn how to flush all over again!)

Our tents were pink.
Beth was able to finagle a tent just for me ... and one just for her ... so I didn't have to worry about bothering her with my snoring. (I snore? Really?!) I am also eternally grateful to Beth and the boys for helping me pitch my tent!

I should have taken pictures of the food lines ... and the dinners we ate ... but I didn't. Here's the dining tent, though. Where are all the people?

I was going to take pictures of the 3-day village the second night we were there. Severe wind warnings had the crew disassemble most of the village so you will have to imagine the 3-day store, the massage tent, the mail tent, the medical tent, etc. The dining tent stayed as did our little tents and the memorial tent. The trucks were there as were the port-o-potties.

Cheering Stations

All along the 60 mile route were cheering stations.

The kids were the greatest.

Here are a few pictures of people who made us feel like rock stars!

Frankly, this was the best of all the cheering stations ... complete with flat cats and one living breathing rock star ... SKEEZIX THE CAT!!

The next day the same sign was carried by a different group ... and joining the flats was the great FIONA BUN!

If there was a prize for the best cheering station ... this would win the pink ribbon!

The San Jose Police ...

One of the bonuses of this walk was the San Jose police who rode their bikes all 60 miles.

I've never seen such muscular legs.

(And such lovely buns ... )

I was told that the correct pronunciation is ...

MAN Jose!

Yes indeed!

A few of the things that made us laugh along the way

When you're walking many, many miles ... it's nice to have a good laugh.

Here are some of the things that made us laugh.

This is a guy who was working a pit stop on day 1. Look at him. I thought he was Elvis ... but now I'm not sure.

This "cancer sucks" van was at one of the cheering stations.

I loved the way it was totally decorated with bras.

Fabulous!

If you want to feel svelte ... I highly recommend hanging with these lovely ladies!

They weren't afraid to strut their stuff along the route.

Finally ... for this post at least, the sweep vans were beautifully decorated!

I especially liked this one ... "Hookers for Hooters."
The ladies on board were loud and hilarious. I always looked forward to this van passing by.

*Sweep vans picked up any walkers who couldn't finish any part of the walk. I'm pleased to tell you that I never set foot in a sweep van!! I attribute that to "good training!"

In the beginning ...

In the beginning we were bussed from our hotel to the Cow Palace ...

In this picture, we "Jersey Girls For Shore" are posing in front of a wall on which we dedicated our walk. My walk was dedicated to Mom, Cynthia, Phyllis, Bee, and Lisa.

It was a most emotional time for me.

I was thrilled to see that Stacey, a wonderfully brave woman who is a breast cancer survivor, was a big part of the opening ceremonies.

If you're reading this Stacey ... congratulations on an amazing 60 miles!

You are an inspiration.

We left the Cow Palace and began our first 15.5 miles.

Along the way we picked up two more Jersey "Girls" ... and we all met my cheerleaders!

What a great group!

Just the beginning ...

60 miles down ... 60 more to go?

I'm on the plane, goin' home, after an amazing visit to San Francisco ... a beautiful city. I saw 60 miles of that city on a wonderful walking tour! I'm trying to upload pictures ... but I guess that's not as easy to do at 40,000 feet. (I have a lot of pictures ... so don't worry ... I'll get to that later.)

I want you to know that I walked every step ... slept in a tent ... showered in a truck ... ate sitting on a piece of cardboard on the ground ... met wonderful friends ... and have decided to walk again. Heck ... I didn't get one blister so why not! I'm hoping that Debra will train and raise funds so that she can experience this with me.

I want you to know that I raised almost $6000 with your help! The San Francisco walkers and crew raised almost $5 million for research and awareness. That's only San Francisco ... don't forget there are many other walks.

I carried you ALL in my heart ... and carried ribbons in honor of survivors or in memory of those we lost to cancer. I walked for my mom ... my friends Cynthia, Phyllis, and YOU AUNTIE BEE!!! I also walked in memory of my friend Lisa. It was an emotional journey.

Thank you for continuing to read what I have to say. I promise to jazz it up with some great photos!

Love--Roberta