There's no I in team

What a day.

Turns out nobody cared whether we had a ticket to get in or not. And it wasn't chaos at all with the racing going on. I don't even think there were people actually watching those stock cars going around the track. It appeared to be just "us". And even though there weren't any problems finding the team, I'll apologize for telling you all to meet by the wall. The wall wasn't. Instead of having a survivor wall standing tall, they had paper draped over tables by the registration area. So, a few changes here and there, but it all worked out.

We had a mixture of almost-rain, clouds, strong winds and sun. By starting time (noon) the clouds were clearing out and blue skies were bright. It made me smile...blue-sky days were important to Carol.

The walk was brisk and hard to predict! One corner brought fierce, strong winds into our faces that encouraged everyone to zip up a little higher and gasp a "good grief!"....then the next corner would be hot and we'd start shedding layers. My face is bright pink and warm tonight. I can't decide if it's sunburn or windburn, but I'm figuring maybe a product of both.

The star of the day was Carol's dad, Dick. Unbelievable. The guy is a machine. He lead the pack when we started out, carrying Carol's walking stick and a bright pink sign announcing that we were Carol's Crusaders. It bore a beautiful picture of Carol. As the team broke up here and there I passed Dick at one point, but always kept a close eye on him by the sign. He caught up, said hi to me, and then marched forward. That was the last I saw of him! A few of us tried to track the pink sign over the next few miles and it got further and further away from us, meaning that Dick was really cruising! He finished four miles in one hour and three minutes! We were so proud of our leader. Not bad for a 75-76 year old. (I apologize for the uncertainty there, Dick, but your daughter, Sue, wasn't sure how old you are....so she thinks that's your age.) :o)

Dominic was dubbed the "Pied Piper". He walked with all the young cousins...another moment that made me smile.

The walk was good, as was the company. The team really rocked this year.
Bert, we sure missed you!

We had a nice dinner at Brian's house after. Food was plentiful, the kids ran crazy outside and everyone enjoyed the time together to catch up and chat. I can't speak for everyone, but I felt a warm feeling tonight. (Maybe it was my burnt face....kidding!!) It was a day of Carol's favorite people, all together in one place. That gives me a warm fuzzy.

A huge thanks to Sue for all the organizing and team announcing. It was a job well done that does not go unappreciated. Thank you to Brian for opening up his home to us and hosting the dinner gathering, not to forget the Stecker family that did all the setup work. Thanks to Deb for inviting, reminding and dinner planning. Thanks to every member of the team for taking time out of their busy lives to walk today and raise the pledge money that could make a difference. And last but not least, a big thank you to all of those that read this blog and donated to this wonderful cause.

I must also extend a hug to those that provided fabulous therapy for me today. There were many, but words from Jerry and Kate stuck out. You're all good people.