The 3 Day!!!!

I hope this post turns out okay. There are so many things that I would like to put into this, but I honestly do not know how it will turn out. I would love to put in some video and lots of pictures. I am not sure if I will get all the tech stuff right. I also have to admit no matter how many pictures I show or how many great things I can say, you will never grasp how I feel about this experience. As we all talked about our weekend we all came to the conclusion that words can not describe it to people who did not attend. I definitely do not want to bore you, but i thought I would give a few highlights form each day. You may not care at all, but at least it gives me the chance to reminisce.

Thursday (Pre Walk day)
We all thought we were doing great that we left around lunch on Thursday, but we will soon learn that was not necessarily the case. We made good timing to Atlanta, so we moved onto Buford to enjoy dinner at Cracker Barrel. We took our time reflecting on the journey we had completed and the one we were about to begin. We get back in the car, we were on a high riding into Lake Lanier resorts, we get out cheer with folks..then it happens. We find out that it seems that the resort overbooked and our confirmed rooms, that they called about two weeks before to make sure we would be there, were now GONE! Thankfully Nicole let her "light" shine and "showed Linda the manager, Jesus." We camped out up in the front lobby and shared our story until we eventually got more rooms than originally booked and we had king sized beds....the best part, they were FREE!!!!! We all decided we might go back since it really was a pretty place.

Friday...Day One

We began with a little rain, but the sun started to rise as the opening ceremony began. The emotions ran high and we started to truly realize why we were walking. Most of our day was spent in Buford, GA. The first day seemed more like country roads, but it was a nice beginning. first lesson I learned was the snacks were good, porta potty not too bad, but the drinks were awful...in order to survive I must stop to find my favorite mixed berry PowerAde Zero. Right as lunchtime rolled around the rain began to pour. Second lesson learned..lunch was okay, but again in order to survive I must find a good lunch where they sell the one thing I had finally weaned myself off of.....Coke! Seriously though, the day was so much fun. Everyone as still trying to chat and get to know people. We got closer to Deluth, found my PowerAde, and closer to the bus top. Finally, we make t back "home" to a nice hot shower. Now one might think mobile showers seem odd, but after twenty miles you really do not even think about it. Dinner was wonderful!!! It was nice to sit down, eat, relax and have a few cups of coffee. I turned in early that night, but sleeping is not for those who are light sleepers. between the snoring and hair dryers I got little sleep. I want to point out that I am not complaining because I really was not tired. I was so thankful to be indoors at the North Atlanta Trade Center...I didn't care!

Saturday...Day Two

For those of us who can't sleep we all wait for breakfast to be served. Definitely the smart thing is to get up early and eat...no lines!! Our whole day is spent looping around Deluth, so we have our fair share of gas stations, clean bathroom stops and Wendy's for lunch. We begin to learn to not really stop at many pit stops because the lines are too long. Grab a free snack and find somewhere else to take care of business and get a drink. Also all your medical needs are found at CVS!!! The cheer stations were great for candy, snacks and people even had doughnuts. We loved that Whole Foods had fruit and water!! My mom and aunts even were walker stalkers!! They had a us tons of all our favorite drinks ad candy!! Saturday was a long day, but we still managed to have fun while we walked. We managed to get back to camp early. That was a a great advantage. No shower lines, no massage lines, no food lines!! I think I was more excited about getting to get my phone charged!!! Saturday night we really enjoyed the speakers and entertainment, but the highlight was the dance party. You would never believe that after forty miles everyone was up dancing the night away. Some people were worn out b/c the again snored the night away. I got up once to go to the bathroom and people were taking down their tents...seriously

Sunday...Day Three

Everyone is up early packing, deflating, taking down tents and sorting through all those Ziplocs!! We had decided not to get in too big of a hurry because we knew if we finished too early we would be at Turner Field for a long time. Our route today was downtown Atlanta. It was a cold start that morning, but we were all excited about the day. We made some interesting pit stops for our group that day. We managed to find our usual gas stations, but found a nice hotel, Mella Mushroom, Starbucks and the best was the open house near Georgia Tech. We did learn our townhouse pit stop was only $628,000! We had tons of cheerleaders that day. Of course they had more doughnut holes and candy! The end of journey was amazing! We all walked in together to the PARTY in Turner Field! We also had a blast cheering on all the other walkers. Walking arm in arm to the closing ceremony was such a moving experience, but the highlight was the shoe raising for the survivors. It was here that we learner we raised a little over $5 million dollars!!!!

We were so fortunate to have my mother and aunts to get our luggage for us. That really saved a lot of time. We were able to get in the cars and head home.

Post Walk

The recovery was not so bad. We were all thankful to complete the race and only have a few minor injuries among us. It was weird getting back to reality, but eventually we did. The hardest part was getting used to walking down the sidewalk and not having people yell and cheer for you!!

Thank You!!!

I could never had this experience if it was not for some of you! So many of you supported our fundraisers, participated in our events and bought whatever we sold. Also a lot of you provided so much support for us as we progressed in out journey. Like I said words could never express how thankful I am. I a also thankful for all the people involved in the event. We had an awesome crew, inspiring walker stalkers....especially the children and all the businesses who opened the doors to us as we walked. I am most grateful for the survivors who were some of our biggest inspirations. Our own special survivor Donna was definitely our inspiration!

The 3 Day is an indescribable experience. It has been very hard to keep thinking about it. I will never forget that weekend. I hope to make this a annual event for me. Always consider donating to this cause and if you can Stand for something and walk toward it!!!!