Last Weekend: Saturday Night
The bus picked us up in Mill Valley and drove us over the bridge to Chrissy Field. First of all, I have to say, no matter how long I live here, two things still strike me: the first is how weird it is that San Francisco is *South* of me instead of north, and the second is the view of the Golden Gate Bridge when heading toward it from the North STILL never fails to take my breath away.
It was only on that bus ride that I began to appreciate the distance we had traveled that day. Well geez, no wonder my feet hurt! It was a full 20+ minute ride to our camp for the night. As we pulled up toward the field, we saw a sea--I mean an OCEAN--of blue tents. It was quite a sight...about 1100 identical tents set up in rows. Two rows for each letter of the alphabet, A through K, the first of each row being tents A1-A50, and the backside being A51-A100. Truly an impressive site. And almost every one was already set up for us. They call them Tent Angels. Tent Angels, indeed--I was one very grateful walker.
I was equally impressed to discover that there were showers, masseurs, and chiropractors waiting for us at the campground. We were one of the first busses back to camp, but even still the line for a massage was more than an hour and a half wait. There were, however, no people waiting for the chiropractors. So I set up my bedding, hobbled into a luke-warm shower (don't get me wrong, I could have taken a hot shower, but I chose the cooler temperature), got into some comfy clothes, and paid a visit to the bone-cracker. Nothing like a good chiropractic visit, with a bit of accupressure thrown in for good measure, to make a body feel whole again.
The incredible crew started serving dinner at 4:30, so my walking partner and I grabbed ourselves some chow and went to the dinner tent to eat. We met a number of very interesting people there, mostly woman, each with her own story of why she was doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It was incredibly inspiring.
We went back to our tent and lazed around for a while, drinking more water and stretching our feet, legs, back.... At about 7:30 (I'm embarrassed to admit this), we went back for a SECOND dinner! It was just as good the second time around. :) And a local band donated their time to our cause, giving us an hour and a half of some GOOD blues/rock. They were fabulous. I only wish I could remember their name.
Technically lights out was at 10:00, but everyone had been up so early that morning that I think the entire camp was asleep by 9:30.
The next morning, most of the camp was up and moving by about 6:00. I don't want to rush the events of Sunday because they were unbelievably emotional (spurred, perhaps, by the heat and lack of sleep?). However, as usual, I don't have the wherewithal to finish tonight. I'll try to get to the last part soon. Again, thanks for your patience. (Oh, and when I'm done with this 3 or 4 part aside, I'll get back to the "me" story--'cause I know that's what y'all are really waiting for). ;)
Night. Talk to you folks soon.
It was only on that bus ride that I began to appreciate the distance we had traveled that day. Well geez, no wonder my feet hurt! It was a full 20+ minute ride to our camp for the night. As we pulled up toward the field, we saw a sea--I mean an OCEAN--of blue tents. It was quite a sight...about 1100 identical tents set up in rows. Two rows for each letter of the alphabet, A through K, the first of each row being tents A1-A50, and the backside being A51-A100. Truly an impressive site. And almost every one was already set up for us. They call them Tent Angels. Tent Angels, indeed--I was one very grateful walker.
I was equally impressed to discover that there were showers, masseurs, and chiropractors waiting for us at the campground. We were one of the first busses back to camp, but even still the line for a massage was more than an hour and a half wait. There were, however, no people waiting for the chiropractors. So I set up my bedding, hobbled into a luke-warm shower (don't get me wrong, I could have taken a hot shower, but I chose the cooler temperature), got into some comfy clothes, and paid a visit to the bone-cracker. Nothing like a good chiropractic visit, with a bit of accupressure thrown in for good measure, to make a body feel whole again.
The incredible crew started serving dinner at 4:30, so my walking partner and I grabbed ourselves some chow and went to the dinner tent to eat. We met a number of very interesting people there, mostly woman, each with her own story of why she was doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It was incredibly inspiring.
We went back to our tent and lazed around for a while, drinking more water and stretching our feet, legs, back.... At about 7:30 (I'm embarrassed to admit this), we went back for a SECOND dinner! It was just as good the second time around. :) And a local band donated their time to our cause, giving us an hour and a half of some GOOD blues/rock. They were fabulous. I only wish I could remember their name.
Technically lights out was at 10:00, but everyone had been up so early that morning that I think the entire camp was asleep by 9:30.
The next morning, most of the camp was up and moving by about 6:00. I don't want to rush the events of Sunday because they were unbelievably emotional (spurred, perhaps, by the heat and lack of sleep?). However, as usual, I don't have the wherewithal to finish tonight. I'll try to get to the last part soon. Again, thanks for your patience. (Oh, and when I'm done with this 3 or 4 part aside, I'll get back to the "me" story--'cause I know that's what y'all are really waiting for). ;)
Night. Talk to you folks soon.
posted by Aimee at
8:06 PM
|
<< Home