Alarm went off at 4am and I jolted awake. It was finally here. All of the training and fund raising was coming to a close. I hurried to get ready and pack up my hydration pack. Fellow Hottie Margo and her husband pulled up at 4:30 and we headed to Bellevue. Once we got there we were amazed. There were people everywhere. Dressed in pink, boas, tutus, etc. We unloaded and headed over to drop our bags at the transport area. Luckily the Hotties all had on our deely-bops so we were easy to spot. We all started to congregate and headed into the holding area to get a spot for the opening ceremonies.
Soon we were all gathered and it began with a short stretch and then some inspirational words. The tears were already flowing when they released us two by two out onto the path. It was slow going at first but eventually the pack began to spread out. We had our first pit stop under I-90 somewhere. The lines for the Honey Buckets were LONG! After that we headed back onto the path and made our way to Mercer Island where we found the second pit stop.
They had the most amazing snack ever - graham crackers with peanut butter and jelly in the middle. And they were cold, and delicious.
After that it was the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington where cars were honking and people were yelling. A wall of pink as far as you could see.
We reached the end, crossed under, and headed south along the lake to the 3rd pit stop. We rested for a bit and then continued on south, winding along the lake to the first cheering station. Each cheering station was filled with kind generous souls that brought tears to our eyes and shouted words of thanks and encouragement. We continued on to Seward Park where we enjoyed lunch and gathered with many more of our Hottie Team mates (Susan, Stephanie and I had journeyed together the first day).
After lunch we hiked out of the park and continued on to the 4th pit stop, then the grab and go in Renton. After Renton we angled towards Tukwila where we passed another cheering station (more tears and thanks) and then we entered our last pit stop for the day in the parking lot of Denny's near Southcenter mall. We ate string cheese, got water and Gatorade, watched other walkers suffer with blisters and injuries and prepared ourselves for the last 3 miles to camp! And what a doozy of a 3 miles they were. First we started up a long slow climb out of Tukwila, following along the 509, heading towards Burien. We didn't think the hill would ever end, but after about 1.5 miles it finally did and we crested. We wound around down a hill and then back up where we finally made it to Moiser Fields in Burien, and CAMP! Hot, sweaty, tired and joyful, we gathered our belongings from the trucks we dropped them at earlier, grabbed a HOT PINK tent and found spot A-93.
We set up our tent (I roomed with Susan!), showered in a truck, and headed over to the mess tent for a yummy dinner of spaghetti (anything would have been yummy after 23+ miles). There was a guy playing Jimmy Buffet songs (dinner music). We continued to hydrate, stretch and visit into the night until it was lights out at 9pm.
More to come.......
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