Beautiful Sights Along the Way

A glorious sunrise greeted us:

What an incredible view from Indian Rock Park:

And a great view of the bay on our way back:

The Greatest Sight of All

Walking in the San Francisco Bay 3Day is one of the most beautiful of all of the Walks. We are so blessed with the views that surround us all day long.

But the most beautiful sights, by far, are the Spectators and Fans and Walker Stalkers and the people of the cities and towns where we Walk. They cheer us, they provide candies and fruits and Kleenex and necklaces and stickers and all sorts of little trinkets. Their most important gift, however, is their presence. It is such an incredible boost to see them there waiting, cheering, thanking us. The very, very best part!

A Day in the Life

So you may wonder what its like on the route each day. We have at least 4 Pit Stops a day, each with snacks, beverages (water and sports drinks, not adult beverages…), a medical tent and of course, the port-a-potties. Each route has 2 or 3 Grab-N-Go stops, which are sort of like Pit Stops without the medical tent.

Sunday, Pit Stop 3 at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge

Lunch stops are similar but with a meal instead of a snack. When we walk in they hand us a paper lunch sack. We then assemble our own bag lunch from the choices offered, usually a deli sandwich donated by a local shop, an assortment of chips, fresh fruit, and a couple of snack options. Then we find some shade and have a seat, resting our feet and legs while we eat.  

Friday lunch

Saturday lunch

And of course, camp

Covering All The Angles

Over the course of the weekend, we covered a lot of territory. We started in Marin County and Walked south to Sausalito, crossed the bridge, and then to Fisherman’s Wharf where we caught the ferry to the island. Saturday they dropped us in the east bay where we Walked all over Berkeley. Then on Sunday, back to Fisherman’s Wharf, under the bridge and west to the coast. We Walked south along the coast for a bit then turned inland again and back towards Golden Gate Park.

As a result of the routes they set up this year, I have pictures of the bridge from just about every angle. This is for all of you Golden Gate Bridge fans:

Winding Down Day 2

Berkeley is a beautiful place for a Walk. We Walked in a lot of beautiful neighborhoods - 4th Avenue, Solano Avenue, Thousand Oaks, the Gourmet Ghetto. We spent some time on the UC Berkeley campus, along with several hundred football fans.

One of my favorite moments from the weekend took place while we were Walking downtown. We were passing a row of small cafes and shops when the Hookers for Hooters van drove by, shouting and honking the van’s horn. The entire line of Walkers is yelling and woohoo-ing back at them. I yelled, “We love our Hookers!” Then I heard a man who was sitting at a table on the sidewalk in front of one of the cafes yelled, “We love them too!”

Saturday is always the most difficult of the three days. Berkeley was more challenging but it wasn’t so tough. One thing I will say, though… Berkeley sure does have a lot of ‘up’!

The Walk back to Emeryville was quite scenic:

Bus ride back to the island and a 1 1/2 mile Walk back to camp and Day 2 is complete. I grabbed a quick dinner, a shower, talked with Dave for about 20 min (real sentences and everything!) and promptly fell asleep. 

The Moment of Truth

Sunday morning is, to me, the moment of truth. We get up early and dress quickly because in addition to breakfast, a trip to the medical tent to bandage up blisters and cover hot spots, filling water bottles and stretching, and all of the tasks necessary before we line up to the starting point, we have to break camp. And with the task of breaking camp comes that moment of truth – can I get my sleeping bag and my air mattress rolled up correctly so that they fit back into their respective storage bags. Once I pass that test, the next step is getting everything back into my duffle bag and getting it loaded into the gear truck. I’m happy to say that it was an easy task this year, due to the brand new backpacking-type sleeping bag we bought. Very warm and very compact. Perfect!

It’s always a little hard to leave camp that day, knowing that we won’t be back for another year. There’s something about the whole 3Day culture that is special and unique. The kindness, the energy, the spirit of unity, the fun… it’s something you need to experience for yourself to totally understand. And once you do, you will never be the same.

Sunday we went by ferry back to Fisherman’s Wharf to start our day. I met up with Pina and Saundra and we Walked together for the day. We got on the first ferry out of the dock. It was a gorgeous morning. Here is a view of the sunrise, as seen from the ferry window:

And the view inside the ferry:

We got to the wharf and off we went into the day:

A Day of Rest

No, not for us. We had miles to Walk before we could rest. Sunday is a day of rest for some of our best 3Day buddies, the Hookers for Hooters. On Sundays, their day off, they great us in attire that is a bit less.. formal…

The timing was such that Pina, Saundra, and I passed by the Hookers at about the same time as the ManOgrams for Making Mammaries guys. The Hookers seem to have them well trained: