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The Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk
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 DAY 0 - We had plenty of time to get to know our follow walkers while waiting to see the safety video. |
 Rachel and I waiting for the other 558 people to take their seats so the safety video could begin. |
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 The video was shown on two large screens, lasted 45 minutes, and had every one in tears within the first two minutes. |
 DAY 1 - We created quite a traffic jam waiting to get into Keller Park. To begin our 3-day journey, we had to wait in the traffic for over an hour. |
 A bird's eye view of the participants waiting for opening ceremonies to begin. |
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 Opening ceremonies-not a dry eye in the place. |
 The circle of survivors-they will walk again at closing ceremonies. |
 Rachel and the crowd of participants getting started. |
 Note the Southwest Airlines hats to the right and the big number 3 balloon in the background. |
 Smiling faces, silly hats, and balloons begin our journey. |
 A field of wild flowers at the beginning of the route. |
 The line of walkers extends as far as the eye can see behind...and in front of us. |
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 Again, the seemingly endless line of walkers. |
 And an almost endless line of port-a-potties at one of our first stops. |
 The wonderful elementary school that let so many of their students come out and cheer us on. There were several hundred kids screaming their lungs out for US! |
 Me with some of the thoughtful people who brought homemade cookies to give out along the route. |
 Lunch at a school on Day 1. |
 The line of walkers waiting to cheer the final participants into camp. |
 Tent city. The dining hall is the big white tent to the far right. |
 The remembrance tent. A place to reflect and leave messages. |
 Uncle Butch's poem "Carolyn" is written in blue in the lower center of the picture. |
 The view of Lake Grapevine over the tents. |
 DAY 2 - Rachel and I at the start of day 2. Luckily the ominous clouds in the sky didn't send rain cascading down on us. |
 We walked back the way we came the night before-along the shores of Lake Grapevine. |
 A field of bluebonnets behind a house in Grapevine. |
 The medical volunteers keep us laughing. |
 Lunch-Day 2. |
 For our entertainment and to help keep spirits high, the lunch ladies dressed up, sang, and danced. |
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 Chalk messages on the sidewalk motivated us. |
 The cheer station at Addison circle was filled with signs held by family, friends, and fans. |
 More chalk messages on the sidewalk at the finish. |
 The crowd of people waiting to welcome participants to the finish. |
 A little boy waiting for his mom to finish. He gave everyone two thumbs up as they passed by. |
 The final participants to finish Day 2. The girls were crying, but triumphant. |
 A final look at the finish of Day 2. |
 Every mile really did make a difference. |
 The dining hall. |
 Tent city in Campbell Green Park at the end of Day 2. |
 DAY 3 - Rachel and our baggage angel. He kindly offered to take our bags to the gear truck-it was a LONG distance from our tent. |
 More tent city. If you look hard you can see the shower trucks in the distance. |
 The participants lined up and ready to start the final day of walking. Notice the girl at the far right of the picture-she dyed her hair pink! |
 Sweep vehicle C. The sweep vehicles drove the route picking up walkers that were injured or too tired to finish. They also raised spirits with shouts of encouragement and music. |
 The singing member of the motorcycle safety crew. They saw us safely across the busiest intersections and this member also sang to us! |
 See the line of walkers stretching off into the distance. |
 The best Scooby snacks were peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches! Yum!!! |
 Rachel and I in the Mystery Machine. Scooby Dooby Dooooooo! |
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 These young ladies played music and danced to show their support. |
 X-ceptional Wild Women Walking! This van met us at several points along the route. At this stop they were playing "I Will Survive." |
 Rachel and I with our new friend, Marisa. She was 18 years old, heard about the event, and got a friend's mom to sponsor her to be a member of the crew! What a sweetheart and what spirit! |
 Rachel and I at the holding area. This is where we waited for all of the participants so we could walk the final mile together. |
 The crowd cheering the participants into the holding area. |
 Survivors dressed in pink waiting to walk the final mile. |
 The final mile is walked together-a final team effort. |
 Our family, friends, and fans cheer us through the last mile to closing ceremonies. |
 Fellow participants cheer as we continue to file into closing ceremonies. |
 Closing ceremonies. Note the emotions on the faces of the participants. |
 A survivor thanks us for walking. Again, not a dry eye in the place. |
 Mom, dad, me, and Rob. Sixty miles and I'm still smiling! |
 One of my favorite banners along the route-Buzz Lightyear saying, "To infinity and beyond." |
 At the end of the walk, I was uninjured, not sore, and had no blisters. A very slight sunburn and a strange rash covering part of my legs were the worst things I had to show for walking sixty miles in 3 days! |
 After a 3 hour car ride and a long shower, me at home ready to turn in. Time to dream about what my next Avon Breast Cancer 3-day experience will be like. |