Day 3 - Sunday

Another early day today but it was much easier to wake up knowing that it would be over soon! I had to be at camp right on time today because the start of Day 3 wasn't a regular get-up-and-walk event. After meeting the rest of the team at the dining tent and having a little bit of breakfast, we were BUSED to our starting location. It was a process that they really had down pat so I don't think Denver is the only city they do this in. The bus ride gave us extra time (15 minutes) for stretching, taking Motrin, applying BioFreeze or just to talk with other walkers.

We were dropped off at Littleton High School and started our walk through Cherry Hills. It was a REALLY nice neighbourhood and we all kept saying things like "look at those windows" or "what a cool door!"... ok it was early and when you're that tired, you're easily impressed. But those houses were super nice. I'm not really sure where we went after that but we ended up at a cheering station on Denver University's campus. Jason was there to meet us and collect our jackets (it was quite cool this morning) and I spent a few minutes on the phone with my sister-in-law Courtney. She wanted to cheer us on even though she couldn't get down to Denver from Fort Collins and it was a really nice surprise for Jason to have her on the phone when we got to the stop.

Lunch today was really early so we didn't spend much time there. In fact, the lunch ladies changed their names to the Brunch Ladies for today! Even though it was early, and we thought we had been making pretty good time, we barely made it out of that stop before it closed. For those of you who have never done this before, each stop has a closing time and if you're not back on the route by the closing time, a big bus takes you to the end (they call it being swept)! We were not going to let that happen and we made it out with 5 minutes to spare.

I'm not sure if it was just the determination not to be swept or the knowledge that we only had 9 miles to go but we really picked up the pace after lunch... We made it to the next two stops in record time!! We were going to stop at the last stop and sit for a while but we knew that Gwyn and Sue were going to be waiting for Patti, Wendy and I at the 1-mile-to-go point so we just kept on trucking. To our delight that mile marker was right in front of a well placed Starbucks that had an outdoor patio. Jason's Dad and Stepmom were waiting for us there with Jason, Sue, Gwyn and Gwyn's husband Robbin. We took a few pictures, had an iced carmel macchiato (the weather had warmed up substantially since the morning) and soon the 5 team members took the final mile walking together.

In what felt like a distance that was much shorter than 1 mile, we saw the finish line!!! And to the right of the finish line we saw Jason's Aunt Merikay and Uncle Robb! That was a huge surprise because we weren't expecting them to come down at all. After some hellos we 5 walkers joined hands and crossed the finish line as one team. It was the girls first time going through "the gauntlet" and was a very emotional experience. All the walkers who have already finished line the path from the finish line to the shirt tent and cheer and high-five and congratulate you on what you have just accomplished. It is a very overwhelming experience, especially for those who are doing it for the first time.

With victory shirts in hand, we sat down in the holding area and were joined by all the previously mentioned supporters, including two new ones for the day. Jason's mom and her good friend Susan were there as well! I was on such a yay-for-being-done high that I wasn't hurting at all and even got a little dancing in! Eventually, the friends and family were kicked out so that they could go get ready for the closing ceremonies. The walkers lined up for the final victory lap and the closing ceremonies started.

Closing ceremonies are always a very emotional experience. The very funny national spokesperson that I mentioned in other blogs put on her "3-Day voice" and is always quite successful at making everyone within ear shot burst into tears. I wish I could properly explain what closing ceremonies feels like, but there really are no words. Those of you in San Diego really should come to closing in November and you'll see what I'm talking about.

After closing we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner and although it was only 7:30 pm when we finished, I felt like it was at least 11! It was then back to the hotel for a nice long hot shower, warm cozy PJs and the knowledge that I now have at least 12 hours to sleep!!

We fly home tomorrow and should arrive at the house around 7:30 pacific time.

I'll let you know how I feel then!
-Cara