DAY Zero

I don't have any photos of Day zero, but that was quite an experience in itself. It was a Thursday, the day before the start of the Avon Breast Cancer 3 Day. All the participants were required to register themselves, turn in any remaining donations, and watch an orientation and safety video. It took about 3 hours to complete the procedure.

DAY 1

Day 1, gathering at the convention center and then heading towards Camden Yards

Day 1 began with all 5541 walkers meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center by 6 AM. Any tiredness that I felt was replaced by the excitement of the event. I had trained for this event and also reached outside of my own comfort zone to ask donations. This was the goal that I had been working towards.

walking on a path through Catonsville                      arriving at camp

We left the Convention Center and headed west out of the city towards Catonsville and to the campsite for the first night. This turned out to be Columbia. Familiar ground since I had been training with a group of women in Columbia since January.

Day 2

Day 2 began quite early. It is difficult to sleep when all there are about 3000 2-man tents all around you! Once someone crinkles a plastic bag, everyone wakes up. It was very cold last night. I heard that it was about 27 degrees Fahrenheit. We awoke around 5 AM and headed right off to breakfast. It was wonderful, the same quality as the spaghetti dinner from the night before. After eating we packed up our tent and gear and took it over to one of 26 trucks and headed out on the route.

Karen stretching before heading out                 Karen and Beth along the route

Lunch storage                        a well deserved lunch break

One of the themed pit stops along the    route with a wedding theme                                    The Porto Potties, a very welcome site after much hydrating!

The sea of tents, the amazing mobile city

Home Sweet Home                                a beautiful sunset

Saturday night dancing under the big tent Karen, Beth, and everyone dancing to 'YMCA'

DAY 3

Day 3 again began early, the majority of us got a bit wet since there was a bit of rain in the evening. Lots of the tents leaked, ours was one of them! I slept fine though, amazing what an entire day of walking will do to help lull you to sleep. One of the most amazing things of the event was the mobile shower complete with hot water! They were located in trailers, with about 20 showers per trailer. I must have been so grateful for the showers that I forgot to take my contact lenses along with me to my tent! Thankfully I found them under a pile of towels by the showers. We arrived at the final destination in DC around 3 PM that afternoon.

approaching the DC city limits                      Heading towards our goal

Arriving at our final destination in DC!!!

Closing ceremonies

The Red Devils Team

Part of the Red Devils Team (The Columbia branch)

The Red Devils Mascot: The Duck           Some Red Devils in action

Tentmates: Ava and Karen                      Mom and Daughter: Ava and Erna

After closing ceremonies