Day 2--Another 20 miles

Day two and we're off!

You know folks ... Atlanta is hilly ... not San Francisco hilly ... but l-o-n-g, let-me-tell-you-about-it hilly!  It seemed as if we were walking uphill all day long! But Atlanta has some really wonderful people to get a tired walker up those hills.  We all looked forward to seeing the 3-day Coffee Kids waiting with coffee and bread and just looking so adorable!

Day one had us walking through Stone Mountain and downtown Decatur.  Day two took us through Buckhead.  Boy howdy ... there are some beautiful homes in Buckhead!

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Here's a shot of the port-o-potties.  Some were more "fragrant" than others ... but when you gotta go ... well ... you know the rest!

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The kids were out in force all day!  They were almost always dressed in pink and they were adorable!  They "slapped  five" and cheered us every step of the way! (The little guy on the left doesn't look happy ... it's because his mama took him away from his job welcoming the walkers to pose for the picture!)

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We walked past pink plumbing trucks ... and pink fire trucks ... but I think I liked these fellows at the car wash best!

Boy Howdy ... Atlanta knows how to do PINK!

Lesley picked up this guy by the car wash.

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We arrived back at The Georgia World Congress Center after a long day of walking.

This was my 6th walk ... and I have to tell y'all ... there's nothing like camping indoors!  The shower trucks are still outside ... but indoor plumbing is AWESOME!  It's also comfortable to sleep indoors!

Here's Lesley in our 3-day accommodations!  The air mattresses worked just fine.

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The Girl Scouts took very good care of us.  They should earn a couple of badges for their work in the "dining tent."

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I think Night 2 was the dance party ... but I enjoyed wandering around, finding a place to charge batteries, and talking to people.  That's all part of the experience!

We were sore and tired, and our friend "Advil PM"  helped us get through the night.

After all the months of training, we were about to take our first steps on our last day.  

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And for you Sarge ... 

I thought this was a little girl.

It wasn't?

Atlanta 3-day: Day 1 (20 miles)

Ah ... Day 1 is always so exciting.

You get up before the sun is up (like 3:30 or something) and you dress in your finest 3-day gear and you wander downstairs (dragging your 35+ lb. duffle on wheels behind you) and suddenly you find yourself in a sea of pink and see the greatest get-ups you will find in one place! (someday I will wear a tu-tu and a tiara!)

You grab something to eat (usually included in the hotel bill ... this time NOT!) and then you wait for the bus to take you to Opening Ceremonies.

Opening Ceremonies this year were in the shadow of Stone Mountain.

It was chilly but we were excited ... and the warmth of the thousands of participants ... walkers and crew ... was enough for me!

One of the first things we do (after throwing our duffles on the truck to be transported to camp) is remember for whom we are walking.  As always ... I walk for Muriel, Cynthia, Phyllis, and Bee.  I have added Lisa to my list.  You might remember we lost Lisa 2 years ago to Leukemia.

Always emotional ... Opening Ceremonies is a time for us to honor the survivors.  This is the Survivors' Circle.  These are the heroes.

 You wipe your eyes ... and you're off!

We always start together ... then little groups walk together.

Sometimes we walk alone.

It's a time to reflect.

I met these three gals along the way ...

3 generations of walkers!

I love it!

The cheering stations in Atlanta were amazing.

I almost lost it when we came to the Stone Mountain cheering station.  To hear their cheers and read their signs made me walk just a little faster ... and helped me to forget that my feet were beginning to hurt ... just a little!

Although I was just fine with port-o-potties all day ...
it was very exciting to be camping indoors in Atlanta!  That meant flushing toilets!  What a thrill!  It also meant that we didn't have to drag our gear over grass ... we didn't have to find the heaters in the dining tent ... we could walk around in our pjs and feel warm!  Lesley and I found that Advil PM is a miracle ... and we quickly fell asleep in our pink tent ... ready to begin a new day and walk another 20 miles in the morning.
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Always on the lookout for something to bring home to my dear friend Sarge, I decided on the following:

get a load of them balloons ... 'eh Sarge!

Breast Cancer Claims Another Brave Woman

When my friend Denielle told me her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 ... she was upbeat and KNEW her mother would BEAT THE BEAST!

It didn't play out the way the family and friends of Joanie Balsari thought it would.

Today we said goodbye to another brave woman.

I never knew Joanie ... although I knew she couldn't be anything but amazing ... because Denielle is just that!

I learned about Joanie as I waited to hug Denielle and her dad.  She clearly was amazing!

Hundreds of her friends paid tribute to her.

Letters from her students decorated the walls of Connell's.

The pictures showed a vibrant ... beautiful woman.

I knew that she fought breast cancer with all her might.

As hard as she fought, though, in the end ... she lost the battle.

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So ... in memory of Joan Balsari and the women who lost their battle today

and in honor of those women who conquered this disease

I WILL WALK AGAIN!

I will walk because I CAN ... 

and because EVERYONE DESERVES A LIFETIME!

Will you be join'n me? 

A SHOUT OUT TO KRISTEN!

Hey y'all ... I'm back in NY.

Youse guys in Atlanta are the greatest.

I will add pictures and a wrap up tomorrow ... tonight I'm filled with sadness because our good friend Tom passed away while I was walking the hills of Atlanta.

Ronnie kept the news from me as he didn't want to ruin my amazing 3 days.

I'm glad he did that.

Tom Harkins was the sweetest guy.  

I will miss him.

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I do want to give Kristen Cincotta a shout out.

She sent me the nicest note while I was in Atlanta.  

I don't think she'll mind if I share it with y'all:

"You don't know me, but I've been reading your blog for a while now.  I've actually linked to a bunch of your posts (my blog is "Kristen Walks")  I keep coming back to your posts because you are always so positive about everything.  So, let me give some of that back to you:  I'm positive that you're doing a great job!  I'm positive you're inspiring others and I'm positive that you're awesome!  have fun stomping across Atlanta!!"

Well readers (Bee and Sarge and those of you who say you read my blog but don't comment) that made my day ... no ... that made my YEAR!!!

Thank you Kristen!  Thank you!

Hello From Hilly Atlanta

Hi y'all!

I have now finished day 2 and another 20 miles here in this BEAUTIFUL city. The people are amazing!

I am pleased to say that I don't have one blister.

I guess that's because

I haven't complained!

More later (with special pictureS for sarge!)

FIRST STEP IN THE MORNING

I am in Atlanta.

I am taking my first step tomorrow morning.

I have so many people to thank.

My family ...

My friends ...

My supporters.

It has been another journey to get to this point and I'm ready to go.

I have raised over $3500.00 and I thank you all!

Our team PINK SLIPS has raised over $30,000 for the Cure.

AMAZING!

Pictures to come soon.

I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

(oh ... and by the way ... I had DELICIOUS chicken and waffles this afternoon, y'all.)

Another 10 miles in Sands Point

It is a gorgeous day ... perfect weather for a walk.  So I did another respectable 10 miles in Sands Point.  I saw this little guy just sitting on the side of the road. He's a bit of a mess ... just waiting for someone to pick him up.  No ... I didn't.

But I did a deed.  I gave directions.

I saw this guy at the water.  Could he be one of the "Three Amigulls?"

Probably not.  He's a Sands Point Gull ... the others were Port Washington townie gulls.

My neighbor goes ALL OUT for Halloween. The house is decorated inside and out ... and he and his wife have the best "Party on the Hill" every year.  Here are some shots of his house:

 Finally ... something, as always, for my dear friend Sarge.
I love you sir ... and hope you're feeling better soon.
This is for you:

Sands Point

Yom Kippur was Friday and Saturday ... no walking just praying and fasting for me.  Yesterday, after the fast, I was pretty tired ... so ... another day of no walking!  Today I made up for my lack of training and took a nice long walk through Sands Point.

It's a magnificent day in Port.  The temperature is in the 80's with zero humidity!  Perfect!  It's hard to believe that Halloween is just around the corner with these temps!

I couldn't resist stopping by the water at the tip of Sands Point to take it all in.  This is one of my favorite spots ... so I stopped and sat on the rocks for a while and listened to the gulls having fun.

On the way home I saw this in the road:

Could this be a booby, Sarge?  What do you think, sir?

So ... I was out for about 3 1/2 hours ... I would call that 10 miles for today.

It's a respectable training walk.

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Atlanta is less than 2 weeks away.  I'm just shy of my personal goal of $3000.

I think I'll make it.

My Dogs are Barking

Here we are ... Burt's Babes ... on our way to Inwood for lunch at Grandpa's Pizza.

Today's walk was a total of 21 miles.  

Honestly ... I feel fine ... just listening to my "dogs" barking!

Oh ... and my thighs are a tiny bit sore ... but that's because we really slammed the last 5 miles or so!

I am ready for the walk in Atlanta.

I can do 21 miles ... I can do 60 miles!

Now ... I'm going to bed.  Gotta quiet down those doggies!

The Path Not Taken

I always wondered why this part of the path along the water is usually a little muddy ... now I know.  When it's high tide it floods.

So today ... this was the path not taken!

Fall has finally arrived and it's much cooler here on Long Island.

I feel sad that another summer has passed.

Some people love this season ... but to me ... it's an end and I don't love it at all.

There are still some pretty things to look at ...

... but most of the flowers are gone ... and the trees are beginning to lose their leaves.

Pretty soon it will be so cold I won't remember complaining about the heat!

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Tomorrow is a 20 mile training walk to Inwood.

I love my training team and look forward to seeing them.

Did I mention that we have committed to walking together in Dallas in 2012?

Of course, I want to take one step at a time ... and will register after I complete my 60 miles in Atlanta.

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This morning Sandy was on the Today Show!  

Well ... she was on camera!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the 3-day folks told us to put on our 3-day shirts and put together our 3-day signs and make for Rockefeller Plaza!  It was not a beautiful sunshiney morning but Sandy made her way to the Plaza and had her 15 minutes (or 60 seconds) of fame!

Me?  

I watched in my kitchen!