Day #2

Morning of day #2…..Brrrrrr! Freezing…….well for southern girls it was freezing. I think the temp was about 48. So, out of bed and off to the dining tent for breakfast. OMG! Our dining tent had heat! Woo Hoo! We should have slept in there! Breakfast…….all I can say about that is, WOW! Menu included: Scrambled eggs with cheese, fried potatoes, oatmeal, muffins, sausage, yogurt and fruit. Beverages: coffee, hot tea, hot cocoa, milk, orange juice, cranberry juice and coke products. We were seated in the heated tent filling our bellies……..trying not to think about the huge hill we had to climb to begin the route for the day. After breakfast, we headed to brush our teeth and to get dressed to walk. Once dressed, we got in line to be scanned out of camp for the day. Up the hill to the beginning of the route. Today started out much cooler than Friday, but I warmed up quickly, pulling off my jacket and gloves and wrapping them around my fanny pack. Pit stop #1 could not come quick enough, potty break! As we walked, we chatted with other walkers about the reasons they were walking and where they were from and how many 3-day’s they had done. We met lots of people and heard lots of interesting stories. The day was going great. Our pace was just about the same as Friday. We were doing well with keeping a steady even pace. The hills were about the same as they were the day before. We were able to stay off the asphalt more today than the first day. You would not believe how that will just suck all of the energy right out of you! As we approached the lunch stop for day #2 we were at 11 miles. Today for lunch: ham & cheese or a chicken sandwich, chips, oatmeal raisin cookies, peanut butter cookies, choc chip cookies and an apple. Lunches were pretty much the same all weekend. You could have as much as you wanted, but with another 9 miles to go, it was better to just eat on the lite side and keep snacking at the other pit stops……….and that is exactly what we did. Erika & I had to head out by ourselves after lunch; our team mate was still have trouble and needed to be transported back to camp so she could be sure to finish on the final day. Don’t want to miss that special day! So, we sent her off with hugs and we would see her back @ camp! As the day progressed, so did the stiffness. The temp was higher today than Friday, but still not like south Alabama. I think it was about 78 degrees. We had somewhat of a breeze all day, so that was nice, but not much shade on today’s route. As we topped the hill, one of our safety crew member says “Only a mile to go ladies and it is all downhill from here!” We were so happy to hear that. So at about 5pm, we could see the downhill to camp! Woo Hoo! Our time for Saturday was 8 hrs and 18 minutes, about the same as Friday. Our plan was to head directly from the picture in front of the Day 2 banner over to the cell phone charging station. We hit the porta potty on the way to the charging station. After standing in line for about 10 minutes, we realized we were in the wrong line, but after we were told we were in the massage line, it didn’t matter how long we had stood in the wrong line. See, being confused worked to our advantage! We made an appointment for a massage, and then got in the correct line for the chargers for our phones. After receiving a phone charger, we headed to the dinner tent to eat. Tonight’s menu: Grilled chicken breast with mushroom and onion tomato sauce, rice, mixed veggies, salad, brownie & a bread stick. Beverages: Coke products, coffee and hot tea. After dinner, we went to get our shower bags. When we arrived @ our tent, we were surprised with a big ribbon for tent decorations. We had actually won a ribbon for our tent decorations! We had talked about how great that would be if we actually won! Woo Hoo! We were stoked! We then headed back to the massage tent for my neck and back massage and it was exactly what I needed. You would not believe how bad the top of my shoulders were aching. Walking takes a toll on the entire body. That was the best WRONG line I ever stood in! LOL! After the massage, then off to stand in line for a shower. I know, I know, lines for everything……fortunately, they all were very quick. The shower felt so good after the dinner and massage. I was so ready for bed. As the sun faded tonight, the temps were much warmer. We went back to our tents to undecorated and to pack up some things because we were leaving camp in the morning. After we had done some packing and organization, there was a concert in the big tent, so we headed back up there to enjoy the activities. We danced, laughed, danced and had a great time. On the way to bed, we grabbed some hot cocoa and hit the potty! We then settled in for the night and hopefully a great nights’ sleep. Erika’s family had a wonderful day, so she was not worried about them and hoped to finally get some rest as well!