21.5.800 - Day 2 (6/9/10)

I am either behind or I can't count.

Either way - I fulfilled the yoga part of my challenge for the first 2 (or 3) days of 21.5.800.

I have been woefully short on the words. Let's see about improving that part...

21.5.800 - Day 1 (6/8/10)

This is going to be quick. As reported on FB yesterday: I got about 800 words in yesterday, yoga, and pranayama. Day one down!

Namaste

Wow...

If I waited much longer it would have been a year since my lost post!

Speaking of - where the heck did 2006 go anyway!?!?

Anyhow... maybe I will be better about blogging, maybe I won't. You can also find me at: www.myspace.com/mahadavis

Happy New Year (plus 4)!

g

Historic Route 66 Facts

• Current maps do not include old Route 66.
• Route 66 is 2448 miles long. (about 4000 km).
• Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, picking up as many as possible bits and pieces of existing road.
• Route 66 crosses 8 states and 3 time zones.
• Route 66 starts in Chicago, and ends in L.A. (Santa Monica).Some people think driving it in the opposite direction is historically wrong, but it's mainly a lot harder as all available documentation goes the "right" way. (Please note that our adventure was not only going the “wrong way” but in OK we deviated off the path for a more direct route back to VA. Did you expect us to follow the norm?)
• In 1926 only 800 miles of Route 66 were paved. Only in 1937 Route 66 got paved end-to-end.
• You can only drive parts of Route 66 these days... it has been replaced by the interstate highways I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10, but still a surprisingly high amount of old road is waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
• Route 66 is also know as "The Mother Road", "The Main Street of America" and "The Will Rogers Highway".
• During all of its life, Route 66 continued to evolve, leaving many abandoned stretches of concrete, still waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
• Route 66 was also the title of a TV series playing from 1960 till 1964.
• Cyrus Stevens Avery from Tulsa Oklahoma can be called the father of Route 66
• In 1985 Route 66 was officially decommissioned, but for daily use it was replaced far earlier by the Interstates.
• Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing gradually over the next 25 years, old Route 66 was bypassed section by section as the high-speed Interstate highways were completed. Finally, in 1984, when the last stretch of freeway was finished, Route 66 was officially decommissioned (in 1985); the old route is now designated "Historic Route 66."
  
  For more information visit www.historic66.com (among may other websites)

Road Trip Stats

All the things you wanted to know...

Miles Driven ~ 3100
Gallons of Gas Used ~ about 180 gallons

# States Driven Thru/In ~ 8 CA – VA (with a brief stop in Mississippi)
# Hotel stayed in ~ 6
Needles, CA
Grand Canyon, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Elk City, OK
West Memphis, AK
Knoxville, TN
# of Natural Wonders of the World ~ 1.5
# of huge roadside crosses ~ 2
# of times on old Rt 66 ~ at least 8
# of dry counties visited ~ 1
Postcards sent ~ 23
Rolls of film ~ Gretchen - 7 Candi – 10 or more
Hours of Video ~ 2
Bags of M&M’s ~ 6 or so
Beef Jerky consumed ~ 1 pound
Bottle Cap Candy ~ 100+
Bags of Fritos ~ 3
Bison Burgers ~ 1

Animals seen ~ squirrels, chipmunk, fox, coyote, goats, cows, horses, buffalo, elk, burros, and long horn steer

Lessons Learned:
~ It always takes longer than you thought.
~ Plan for multiple days in an area you really want to see.
~ Unforeseen complications like construction, weather, and road detours will reduce your average speed.
~ Mad Libs are very entertaining and help pass the time.

~ Dramamine is your friend.

The Home Stretch

Saturday – Knoxville to VA
7:28 – We go to check out and have a bite before heading out. It is dark outside, similar to what it looked like last night when we checked in and went to bed.
Bristol is next – AKA Tennsay, Virnasse, or Tengia. It was much cooler in TN as well as in VA. Fall has taken hold and colored a handful of trees – the leaves are tipped in gold and russet. The peak of the change isn’t far off.
12:26 – So the Natural Bridge isn’t a go due to the $12 fee to go see it. After 7 days of sites and expenses we have become a bit frugal. And after seeing the Grand Canyon for $5 each it is hard to cough up $12 for the Natural Bridge. In the spirit of adventure we tromp down 137 steps to see if we can catch a glimpse of the bridge. There isn’t much to see at the bottom besides a lot of trees and a cranky ticket puncher. Its pretty lame that they charge you to see a naturally occurring phenomenon.
So I pay 35 cents for a fallesque postcard of the bridge after dragging my arse back up the 137 steps. I can still feel it in my chest, pretty sad huh?
1:30 – We stop in Charlottesville for lunch. We are all fairly spent and ready to be home. We stop at the first restaurant we find downtown. Northern Exposure Café, which actually has a New York City theme. After I dump a Diet Coke all over the table and narrowly miss my leg we eventually get our food,
Little did we know it was “Family Weekend” at UVA – this made getting out of town fun. Who knew that “Don’t Walk” signs were optional in college towns?
5:45 – about 2 hours after we escaped Charlottesville we rolled into Manassas. It was chilly and drizzling – the only difference from when we left is that it is brighter than it was at 5am, but not by much.
As we go thru our postcards (purchased for scrap booking of course), the trinkets we bought, and the brochures from various sites we stopped at little bits of memories flood back. I can only hope I caught most of them along the way.

Elvis Lives?

Friday – almost to TN
8:00am – The Ramada Inn is the first decent continental b-fast we have had. The highlight being the biscuits. Bill taught me the trick of nuking then for 20 seconds before applying butter ~ yum!
8:30 – We gas up and head to the legendary home of Elvis.
8:45 – Hello Tennessee!
10:00am – Ok, so Graceland wasn’t what we expected. $5 gets you into the parking lot. A minimum of $22 will get you a tour of the house – blah!!
We took pics from across the street and perused the gift shop. After sending off a few post cards we hit the road.
Bill mentioned that we were 5 miles from Mississippi. We figured that if we were that close we might as well add another state to our trek. So we buzzed down the road to MS, which was rather uneventful and headed back up Elvis Presley Blvd to get some covert shots of the famous house and gates. I wonder what they would have done if we hopped the stone wall?
Onward to Nashville; we are planning to lunch at the Hard Rock Café and buy more crap… I mean schwag.
11:40 – Alex has conquered the 1lb bag of beef jerky ~ it only took AZ-TN to do it!
1:00 – We stopped in Jackson, TN at Casey Jones Town. It has a train museum and a little strip mall with a cute “old town” façade. After taking some video footage and fun pictures posing as train engineers we went over to the Old Town Restaurant. Our visit was complete after noshing on “Kracklin Corn Bread”. About 100 miles to Nashville. 4:48 – We had a late lunch in Nashville at a Hard Rock Café. They has very yummy mac & cheese – it was twisted and had roasted peppers in it. We then bough the required schwag – Alex bought me the pink ribbon pin I was eyeballing. After picking up several glasses and fun t-shirts we were ready to go. We checked out the decorated guitars on the water front (similar to the fish in Baltimore and cats in Fredericksburg) before heading out of town.
4:53 – We passed the “Original Bigfoot”. After taking a few more pictures we hit the road and promptly get stuck in traffic. The notion of leaving Nashville near rush hour didn’t strike us. The last 5 days of driving along a ½ empty interstate has skewed our prespective.
There was a garland of bras lining Broadway as we made our way to the highway – must me some kind of event. Candi is bored and makes a variety of faces at Bill who is very intent on the road.
7:29pm – We cross over into the Eastern Time zone and loose another hour. At least it is for the last time. 48 miles to Knoxville ~ more fun with elevation & popping of the ears.
10:00pm – We get into Knoxville and crash for the night. Tomorrow will be an early start.

Rt 66 Museum & More

Thursday – Elk City, OK
8:00am – Denny’s has Tabasco Sauce on the table! We are going to the Rt 66 museum after scooping out the Flamingo Inn for schwag (that’s Brenda’s word) and taking a photo in front of the old time gas station.
The Flamingo Inn was a bust – no café. But the Rt 66 Museum was awesome. Three mini museums on one property ~ Rt 66, Old Town, and The Farm & Ranch. We were less than thrilled with the gift shop but that is ok, its not like we haven’t spent money is every other state so far. The woman who rung us up was a bit “off” and was challenged by using a register.
The woman that greeted us at the Old Town museum was thrilled to see people and have a warm body to talk to. She was quite animated and had been working there for ages. Among many other things she swore that the inmate that came in to clean the bathrooms just sprayed Lysol in the air and left.
We got great footage of all the museums including a very informative tour of The Farm & Ranch museum. The gentleman giving that tour had a lot if interesting stories and personal notes to add to his tour.
We headed out of Elk City around 11am after cruising thru town on old Rt 66.
We stopped in Weatherford for a picture of the welcome sign for Candi’s grandmother. Then we sped on to Hydro to hunt down and old gas station. Once off the exit I blew thru a stop sign and nearly did it a second time on the way out.
We found the old time pump in front of a closed café. At least we got the picture. We stopped for gas at an Native American Trading post. After acquiring some souviners (aka junk) we hopped back on the road.
Around 200ish miles down the road Candi and I made the executive decision to stop at Sonic for drinks. It was a fabulous idea! We got yummy crème slushies in lime, watermelon, and blue coconut ~ tasty!
Back on the road I again discover that I am good for about 4 hours and then I have to get out of the car to move around and wake up. We stop at a “no facilities” rest stop, which equals a road that loops off Rt 40. After stretching Candi takes the helm.
As we make our way thru OK we pass thru many Native American Nations. Also trees have sprung up and we are thrilled to have more than a vast open plain to look at. It is a bit warm but fall is here and is coloring the leaves brown, red, and gold.
4:36pm – Approaching the AK border – picture time!
5:01 – AK is lush and green. We are starting to gain elevation again.
Car games – Mad Libs are still keeping us in stiches. Now it is time for “The first person to spot…” game.
Lake Dardanelle – very pretty and I managed to got some video footage of it between the trees.
Dinner is yummy and we are surprised to find ourselves in a dry county. All I wanted was some lime for my diet coke. The waiter was very nice and explained that there was no bar. I talked Alex into a Bison Burger so that I could have a bite. It was quiet good. Similar to beef, but leaner.
10:30 – We roll into a Ramada Inn for the night. Its off to Graceland in the morning.

The Journey Continues

Wednesday – NM, thru TX and to OK
8am – we locate a Starbucks - yum! – and hit the road. We cruise along old 66 thru Albuquerque to see all the kitchy old buildings – video and snapshots complete this leg of the trip. Next stop – Kline’s Korner.
The mountain views leaving Albuquerque are awesome – some are rock covered – others covered with forest and vegetation. Some are so tall their peaks are hiding amongst the clouds.
Random side note - Everyone in Albuquerque thinks we are freaks for being in t-shirts and shorts.
Cline’s Corner – 7200 ft – kitchy stuff for cheap. Candi models a sombrero. Gretchen buys crap (but it is fun crap).
10:54 – We plat Ripley’s Believe it or Not trivia as we roll on towards TX.
12:11 – Tucumcari (its real!) – 4000ish ft. Very cool Rt 66 sign… many pictures to be had.
12:50 – Hello TX! Hello new time zone… it is really 1:50 now.
2:37 – Texas is really flat. The boys are napping. Amarillo is 30 min away.
2:45 – Passing lot-o-cows… one is pooing – Bill and I commiserate on the view. A cowboy is out rounding up his herd.
3:10 – “Look at that!” says Candi and we all look to the right as we almost miss the Cadillac Ranch. We bee-line to the next exit, make a crazy u-turn and head up the access road to the Caddy Ranch entrance. The cars are out in the middle of a windy-arse field. They are covered in the graffiti of time and visitors. After capturing the site on film and video we head to find some lunch.
While eating lunch there is a roller coaster of emotion for Candi & Bill as they debate the decision of a new job for Candi. The news is wonderful as Candi is able to accept the job – Yea! *Glamour Horoscope ~ too freaky~*
4:45 – We leave Barnes & Noble – armed with Mad Libs and magazines – and are off to find the Bug Ranch. Then off to OK City – 250 miles away.
5:24 – Exit 110 – The Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere. We grab a few pics – it was big but we bypassed the gift shop.
Random side note - The Bug Ranch was a bust… we think we missed it while passing a truck.
And then there was nothing (after passing a funny leaning tower).
5:29 – We break out the Mad Libs – Monster Madness Edition – absolutely hysterical. We have to make copies for our scrapbooks.
6:05 ish – we are approaching the OK border.
6:14 – finally pass the sign for OK. Candi says “Oklahoma is OK!”
6:18 – Alex turns down a rest stop ~ unbelievable.
6:35 – We hop off at the OK Rest Stop and Visitor Center (despite Alex’s lack of need which still mystifies me) but the center is lame because they closed at 5pm. We pick up a motel guide for options later that evening. Some playtime on the sing set, spinny thing, and monkey bars help us stretch and unwind. Candi and I give the boys one last spin before hitting the road. 136 miles to OK City… crap, that is like 2 hours!
6:56 – We hop off Rt 40 to visit Elk City. There is a Rt 66 Museum but sadly it closed at 5pm. The time change and losing an hour per day is challenging.
8:00pm – OK, change of plans! We are drooling over the museum and decide to spend the night, relax, have a real breakfast, and hit the museum in the morning. Hopefully Jeff and Jennifer can drive west and meet us in OK for a bite to eat before they head home. Unfortunately this means no high pointing in AK, but we are pretty excited about the museum.
After checking to a Days Inn we are planning to hit El Charro for dinner. Alex attacked the toilet, requiring the need for a snake/plunger. Hopefully dinner will go better.
10:10pm – Dinner was so yummy! Candi had her 10th cheese based meal (it might be more than that actually) and Bill’s dish had more zip than anticipated. Hello yummy cheesecake desert! The waitress (who started off with a negative value tip but got better) is amazed that we would be in the town of Elk City during an adventure like our road trip. I felt like telling her “You know, Rt 40 cuts thru OK and by Elk City” but the effort would have been futile.

Random side note I don’t want to forget – Hippie’s begging for gas at the uber expensive gas station – we were after fuel ourselves so we moved on to a cheaper location. We left the hippies with their dreads, tie-dyed t’s, and beat up bus but we saw them at the next exit.

Where to next?

Tuesday – AZ to NM
We grab McDonalds and hit the road by 7:30 – we will be driving along Rt 64 to catch more glimpses of the Canyon and then heading south to Montezuma’s Castle then on to Albuquerque.
We stop for one great photo opp with the clouds dancing thru the Canyon. The next stop is not as photographic but it is wild to see the clouds roll thru in seconds. The magnificent view is quickly masked and we move on ~ hoping for one last glimpse before we head south.
8:18 – Lipan Point – 7360 ft and totally cloud covered; it is a shame.
8:45 – We leave the Grand Canyon National Park and enter Kaibab National Forest.
9:03 – Every “Indian” Stand we pass is deserted or closed. Now at 5000 ft ~ we have started our decent. The rain has picked up too. I am hoping it is drier 2 hours south.
9:09 – Looks like someone was listening and I thank Her. The skies are starting to brighten and the clouds are more patchy. We stop to take some shots if Navajo Land – it is a shame to see their poor living conditions.
We stop at a Navajo ran shop to stretch and look around. The were pleased to see us and have our business. The sky is clear and bright & it is much warmer ~ time to shed some layers.
9:56 – Back to 6000 ft – Cococino National Forest
10:05 – We pass Humphries Point – the high point of AZ (Bill drools). Only 15 miles to Flagstaff and about an hour to the castle.
10:15 – We enter the City of Flagstaff ~ elevation 6906 ft. This explains Candi’s throbbing head and my left eye wanting to pop out of its socket.
11:09 – We stop at the McGuireville rest area to stretch and pee. The view is an added bonus. The rain keeps catching up with us ~ bless it!
11:19 – We turn off of Rt17 and head up the road to Montezuma’s Castle – passing by Cliff Caverns Casino… it is only a little commercial. I didn’t know they made colored bulbs bigger than a human head.
12:28 - Montezuma’s Castle was very cool. We got good pics, but sadly no video. We got back into the visitor’s center just in time to miss a down pour. The exhibit is did a great job of trying to show what these Native American’s culture was like so long ago.
12:20 – We stop at Crusty’s Café (I am scared) for lunch. It turns out to be decent… I would love to take some of that bread with us!
1:23 – We see a blinking sign on the highway warning of “Winter Driving Conditions – Be careful” – is it that cold out? It is probably due to the elevation; my ears start to fill as we head north on Rt 17.
2:24 – Albequerque – 299 miles! It is delightful to see fluffy white clouds and an expanse of clear clue skies ahead. Dare I say we have driven out of the storm?
2:39 – We roll past the exit for the Meteor Crater & Meteor City, deciding that $12/head is stupid to see a big hole in the ground. Of course, after the Grand Canyon, what can compete? Meteor City also boasts having the world’s largest dream catcher – also rather lame.
3:05 – we skirt the edge of the Painted Desert – I will have to remember to get a post card.
3:14 – We have hopped off Rt40 to see the National Petrified Forest and we are back on old Rt 66 again. The National Petrified Forest was amazing, but a bit longer of a detour than desired. The trees we are seeing were there 225 million years ago and are now unearthing as quartz.
The Painted Desert – OMG! This is such an amazing view –the rich red vibrates from the ground – my second favorite view.
Onto Albuquerque @ 90 mph – trying to catch up on time. The Christian Radio station keeps us awake.
8:40 – We made good time getting to Albuquerque but then we hit a detour from HELL trying to get into the city. After several turn arounds we find our way to Central – a huge Neon Rt 66 sign greets us.
We meet up with Chris and Susan and head to the Rt 66 Diner for dinner. Two words – Pumpkin Milkshake or Peanut butter Milkshake (ok, so that is 3 words) but holy cow were these suckers good! After the hushpuppies and the extra crispy fries we were about to roll out of the building.
We wrapped up the evening posing w/ Marilyn Monroe under the Rt 66 wall mural. It plots out all of the cities along old Rt 66. The locals think we are off our rocker. We score some super cute schwag – Rt 66 pins and postcards of the front of the diner on our way out.
The Silver Moon Lodge was built in the 50’s and is a little scary at first glance but we crash hard and are out for the night. This was after Candi and Bill discovered that their first hotel room lacked a necessity – a bed. They got a new room – one complete with a place to sleep!

The Canyon ~ it was Grand

Monday – Needles to AZ
After a semi decent bagel and gassing up (as well as procurring the required snacks) we hit the road. Eastbound on Rt 40 with the goal of the Grand Canyon. We have a little rain but it isn’t enough to dampen our spirits (yea, that reads as lame on paper as it sounded in my head).
We try a turn off onto old Rt 66, but it turns out not to be a thru street. Only 42 miles of old Rt 66 are paved… this is a road that once stretched from Chicago to CA. But it gives us an opportunity to stretch and get some good shots of the mountain range and a train running along the Colorado River.
We pop back onto 40 and cross the river to officially put us in Arizona. The next exit for Rt 66 is more promising, with the potential of a ghost town! After a lot of rocks, cactus, and a few stops for some awesome pictures (and wild sage) we are surprised by the cute and rustic town of Oatman.
We could not have had better timing because there was a gun fight in the street 10 min after we got into town! The cowboys were hysterical and did a great job entertaining the crowd. They were even nice enough to pose for a picture. We then poked into a few shops, bought some postcards, and tried on some cowgirl hat (pink of course) before hitting the road.
Rt 66 climbed up a mountain and the constant switchbacks made me thankful for taking Dramamine earlier in the day. We eventually reach Sitgreaves Pass – elevation 3550 ft (about 2pm). The view is phenomenal and we saw a coyote!
After taking some choice shots and video of the scenery we take the fun switchbacks back down the mountain and finish our trek to Rt 40. We pass many “shanty towns” and trailers we can’t imagine people living in.
Once back on Rt 40 we break for lunch in Kingman at the local Cracker Barrel. Listening to the local is entertaining (I think they think the same of us) and my Apple Harvest Grilled Chicken Salad is tasty. After perusing the gift shop we hit the road. It is about 2 hours to the Grand Canyon.
3pm – We just passed an elevation sign ~ 5000 ft… wow. No wonder my ears feel solid. It is odd to see “flat” plains so far above sea level. But there are still fabulous views of mountain ranges and it reminds me of where we are. Only 103 miles to the Grand Canyon!
3:40 pm – Candi asks Bill if he wants to take a nap. He says “No.” “Why?” she asks. “Because I might miss something.” He says. “Right,” I say “like a tree.” As we come around the bend I am in shock and say “Or a rainbow!” It was a beautiful and complete arch of colors.
4:15pm – Herd of sheep ~ Alex says “Holy sheep!”.
We stop for gas @ Rt 64 & Rt 40 and the chick behind the counter said they are expecting a storm, possibly snow ~ wow.
4:24 – New elevation ~ 6000 ft.
4:52 – New elevation ~ 6540 ft. We have arrived at the little town outside of the Grand Canyon Park. Onto the Canyon itself! We shielded out eyes as we drove up, got out of the truck and put our shoes on. We all wanted the first look to be non-moving and undistracted. There are no words for how awesome I found the canyon to be. I teared up as I looked across the expanse. I could have sat for hours and still found new things to look at. We walked west along the south edge, trying to see as much as we could before the rain caught up or it got dark. I think we might have used more than 2 rolls of film trying to capture the view. I knew the colors I saw wouldn’t be reflected in the photos, but I could try.
The rain is starting to move in and we forced ourselves to turn around and head back to the car. Walking briskly uphill at this elevation proves to be a challenge and we are pleased to make it back with both lungs. After checking into the hotel we have dinner at a nearby sport’s bar. It has been a long day and we are quickly starting to wind down.

On the road again....

On the road (Sunday) – We are off to Needles, CA. 3:30 is later than we expected, but it could have been even later if we hadn’t had the help of some fabulous crew members. We are sore and tired but very excited for the adventure ahead.
The first “wow” view came from seeing an amazing mountain range that truly looked like a movie backdrop. It towered above smaller mountains and filled the sky with shades of grey, purple, and blue.
So, the definition of nothing? ~ The Mojave Desert… it is a whole lot of nothing as far as you can see. Wait… yup, more nothing. It was beautiful for the first 20 min and then you know you have seen all there is to see. Night fell as we trekked across the nothing and gave us dark nothing to look at; way more exciting.
We struggle to stay awake, mile after mile and after 5 long hours we make it to Needles. We knew it was close as we saw pin-pricks of light appear in the vast darkness. The city lights make a hard line with the edge of the dark open desert.
After checking in and grabbing a bite at Denny’s (why do cheesy fries sound better late at night?) a bath is just the thing sore backs need. Of course nodding off in the tub is not a good plan. We pass out by 11 and sleep like the unraised dead till morning.

Last one for today... Day 3

Day 3 – We are up and at breakfast by 4am. Today we pack up camp and head to closing ceremonies to drop off all of the gear. It is a cold morning. I am SO glad I started the day in my pants. Candi and I huddle together on the truck tailgate waiting for the walkers to start flooding over. We get our wish and moving bags helps keep us warm until the sun creeps over the horizon. There is a nasty pile of evil tents that came back in piece, missing pieces, or with a “I don’t know how to fix it”. No problem… we LOVE rolling tents! Jim saves us and says to just make them fit. Works for me!We now play the waiting game to head out to closing ceremonies. There is tasty rice cracker snack mix to help us pass the time. Finally it is warm enough to change into shorts and I do so in the truck cab ~ not an easy feat. Then there is Alex harassing me from the truck next door via Nextel.We get to the unload site which is woefully small and happens to be uphill to boot. Woohoo! Oh, and there is like 2 volunteers. Looks like another round of manual labor. We unload truck after truck… remember how it warmed up? Well now I am wishing for a breeze. Instead we get the exciting episode of the sprinkler system going off. We all start running for rolls of plastic and I go for a bag right in the line of fire. As I drag it out of the way the sprinkler flips over and nails me in the back. Hello chilly! I guess I got the cool off I was looking for. Alan (who I know think is the quickest thinking) says “Stand on it!” Ah, relief! But not for long, as Alan and Lisa keep the sprinklers in check dark clouds start to roll in. We take some time to cover as much luggage as we can before it starts raining. I have discovered that the rain (at least that weekend) is much lighter than any rain I have ever dealt with. If anything it is refreshing as we drag 50lb bags up the stupid hill.Once we get good ole Q unloaded we decided to break for out last 3-Day meal. After finishing our fruit cups, cookies, coleslaw, and mystery sandwich we find out that the sammich is actually the garden patty and wild rice from the night before. It had been all chopped up and mixed in with mayo and mustard. It was nothing to write home about, but when you are hungry, you eat. Once we were done eating we hear a cheer… apparently the last truck had been unloaded. I almost feel bad about not helping out more… almost.Candi and I manage to get a fabulous crew member to take our truck back to the airport for us. The boys catch a ride with Brandon to go get the rental from the fairgrounds. (Which saved us from a $50 cab ride, SCORE!) Candi and I hang out in the shade watching walkers from afar and enjoying sitting still for a bit. Eventully our ride arrives and we pack everything up. One last stop and we are on the road.We pop into “holding” which is where the walkers and crew hang out until closing ceremonies. It is festive and upbeat… some walkers are even dancing. How does one dance after walking 60 miles… not that is some spirit! We get our finisher shirts and say goodbye to our new friends. We have been told that we are required to come back next year. Candi and I wouldn’t mind walking next year… that way we can see San Diego this time!

You guessed it... Day 2!

Day 2 – We slept into till 6:30, which feels fabulous. Our backs and biceps are a little sore, but we soon warm up and are ready for a new day. At our breakfast meeting we discuss the day’s plans. Since we are camping in the same location tonight we don’t have to move camp (WOOWOO!!) We will be helping out at the lunch stop today! We are excited to be on the route and interacting with walkers.
We are transported to the lunch stop and finishing helping the lunch crew setup. Before we know it walkers are staring to pour in. We direct people to the lunch line, help answer questions, and make sure their water bottles are full. We wander about the field “peddling” our wares… “Water! Sports drink!” we call out.
I was heading back to the entrance to continue pouring my libations when I overhear a group of walkers. Once gentleman has brought lunches back for his friends “But I forget my drink!” he exclaims. I tell him I have what he needs and hold up the beverages. He is so excited he gives me a big hug (it is amazing the response that water gets once you have walked 8 miles). Later, as I am dancing to the music while waiting for more walkers the same guy comes up to me “I know you are working” he says as he starts dancing with me, “but you need to have some fun too!”
Many hours and 20 gallons of water/sports drink later and we are on the bus back to camp. Some of the early walkers will be in soon and we have dinner duty that evening. There is no rest for the Mighty Gear & Tent Crew!
We take our hour of downtime and go sit at the camp entrance to cheer walkers back “home” after their second day of walking. We alleviate “clapping hand ache” by sporting our pink and white pom-poms. We still cheer and yell our heads off and are a bit horse by the time we head to dinner duty.
Dinner this evening is roasted chicken, wild rice, carrots, and rolls. Can I tell you how much I love and hate dinner duty? The pans of chicken are mixed dark and light pieces. We are told to just serve the next piece you come to… that flies, well about as well as the chicken we are serving. “Don’t you have a breast in there?” ~ “We have what is in the pan ma’m, there are thighs left”. “Well what about the other lines?” ~ “You are welcome to get in another line to look.” We get the dirty stare and they move on, asking for extra rice, which I am happy to oblige. We go thru basket after basket of rolls until we come to some rather cold ones… in fact they are frozen. It looks like some weren’t pulled out early enough. The dining team races to start heating up breadsticks as a replacement. It takes a while and there is no disappointment like the look on a walkers face when you tell them “No bread right now”, after they walked 20 miles.
Alex was kind enough to put a tent up in the back of the truck for us to sleep in. After a hot shower in the shower truck (the fact that shower trucks exist and they are big ole 18-wheeler trailers still amazes me) I am ready for bed. The tent helps hold the heat in and it is a much more comfortable night. Until someone up the road decides it is the perfect night for a party. I roll over at midnight to screaming and music… 1am… 2am… 3am, they are still going strong. There is the added joy of the pitter patter of rain on the roof of the truck at 3am. We are in San Diego… what do you mean it is raining? Thankfully it is spotty and has all but stopped by the time we start our early day.

I am on a roll... Day 1

I didn't want to leave anyone hanging on the 3-Day adventure, so here is the dirt on Day 1 of the 3-Day.

Day 1 – Talk about early, we get up at 3am (really it should feel like 6am to us) to get ready for Day 1. It is rough, but we know it will be worth it. It is pitch black and, to my dismay, cold when we arrive. We have the quiet before the storm as we unlock our trucks and setup our signs. Soon a flurry of walkers arrive – bag after bag we pass along smiles and good wishes to get their day started.
We then get the pleasure of cheering on 4200 walkers as they start their journey. It is no less than a parade, with teams sporting special hats, shirts, and themes. Just a few of the many we saw:
“Walking for Boo-bees” – complete with wings, antenni, and a striped vest.
“F**k Cancer” – The man that leads this team lost his wife to breast cancer last year. They walk in honor of fight as well as many others.
“Twin Peaks” – The even had their own flag on display in camp!
Then there were teams whose name I didn’t catch, but their attire stood out among the crowd: the ladies with the pink “dingly bobbers” head bands, the group with “smiley face” headbands, and many who more big foam pink flamingo on their hands.
We clapped, yelled, whistled, hooted and hollered until we didn’t think we could anymore… and then we kept clapping and yelling some more. If this brave group of people were going to walk 20 miles today the least I could do is cheer for 20 minutes. One woman emerged from the building already overwhelmed by emotion, as so many of them were. She looked me in the eye and I impulsively stepped forward to give her a quick hug. She looked at me, smiled, and went along her way; I never saw her again. There is so much hope and love and caring wrapped up in this weekend you could feel it in the air. It is truly amazing.
We head back to the trucks, pack up our signs, and start our caravan to camp. The site is small compared to twenty-six 24-foot Uhaul trucks that we go in groups of 3 and 4. This is when being truck Q is not the most thrilling spot in the line up. It was sunny and gloriously warm, so we tanned out arms and enjoyed the breeze. If it weren’ for sitting on blacktop I would have though we were at the beach. Finally our turn came and the moment arrived to get our beast out on the open road. Candi is the fearless driver and I am the trusty navigator. The trip will be interesting, as we have no idea where we are. (Now I know how the out-of-towners felt in DC in 2004). We are successful and safe (despite a crappy transmission) and make it to camp. We discover that we will be camping in a park on Mission Bay – gorgeous! It is a bit windy, which we find out later can be a challenge.
After the joy of unloading four 24’ trucks (at least there are 7 of us working together) we head to a team meeting. Out of the corner of my eye… what do I spy? It is a tent (without the required bag inside) caught in the wind, flipping end over end… heading towards the bay! Not let me take a moment to tell you ~ I don’t run ~ I walk… I can walk quite far in fact. But running is not my forte. But in the sense of duty and the lack of a desire to wade into the bay after the tent there I went; hauling arse after this tent. Six inches away and what graces me? An extra little gust that keeps the tent just out of my reach as I lunge for it. I hear Bill come up behind me… he is better at this running thing than I am. We gain on the tent, reach out, and snatch it from the wind’s hold. Heavy lifting and wind sprints… it is going to be a great weekend.
As the walkers arrive, tired and aching, we help them find their bags and assist them in putting up their tents. My favorite statement remains to be: “It is black and has wheels” (mind you, so do 50 of the bags we drug all over creation today). Once everyone is settled in we go to dine on penne & sauce, garlic bread, salad, and berry cobbler (yea… this camping stuff is rough). They have speakers thru out the evening and one announcement includes the amount of money raised by the walkers and crew. 10.2 million was raised by approximately 5000 people ~ how awesome! Exhausted and ready for bed we layout our sleeping bags in our truck and pass out. Remember all that hydrating we were reminded to do? I won’t dispute that it is a good thing to do, but once you are done sweating there is only one place it can go… and I was up twice that night. Hobbling to the port-a-john is SO much fun! It was a chilly night in the truck and morning sunshine was well greeted.

Finally... something cool to post!

Ok, so I finally got our 3-Day and Travel Blog typed up. And yes our trip was in October... but I wrote a lot. In the end it was about 11 type pages, not bad.

Anyhow, here is the first installment... this is "Day Zero" which is the day before the San Diego 3-day kicks off. "What is a 3-day?" you may ask... read on!

The 3-Day
Day 0 – We flew out to San Diego, leaving crappy rainy weather and entering a bright, sunny, and warm oasis. Getting on a shuttle to the rental car terminal proves to be our first challenge. Everyone seems to be using Budget Rental for their transportation needs. While waiting we spy a woman that must be a 3-day walker; she has the tell-tale fanny pack and water bottles and like us is in attire that is suited for cooler weather. Bored I go to chat with her and discover that she certainly is a 3-Day walker and happens to be from Alexandria; small world.
Finally, snug in the van with 15 other folks and about 50 bags we are off to the rental lot. The couple thinks we are kidding when we share our cross-country plans. They can hardly believe we could make it in only a week. I decide to ignore the naysayers and try to admire the view of the luggage rack during the rest of our trip. At the rental office we find a new line awaits us; full of those who caught the shuttles before us. Soon enough we are wandering across the parking lot in search of our ride and off to the Crew Check-in.
We find our way to the fair grounds and Check-In. There is some initial concern about the team we will be working with, as it is huge and the majority of them know each other from previous events. After all of the logistical stuff is done and we have had multiple mini-meetings to discuss the next three days we are armed with our Nextels and blue Crew shirts.
We finally head out to find something to eat. The last meal consisted of a latte and a scone at 7am in Dulles. One of the team members recommends Il Fortanto – a little pricey, but delicious. We find ourselves driving along the Pacific coast and the view is awesome. We settle in at our table and are thrilled to see the same view of the Pacific. A tasty bread basket arrives and is promptly devoured. After a minor snafu with the appetizer we get our entrees. The food deserves the praise it was given (not with holding the fact that we were starving).After wandering the patio and taking a picture with the pacific as out background we head to our hotel. We settle into our boushie room (complete with the over-priced chocolate basket) and pass out for the evening, anxious for Day 1 to begin.