The Walk - Day Three

Okay, finally, the wrap up.

So on the second night, we didn't have the freezing temps to deal with. Because it rained. Hard. Fortunately, some nice woman (who was leaving the walk altogether) had given us a plastic drop cloth, which we'd clothespinned over the tent along with the mylar blanket in hopes of keeping ourselves dry.

It basically worked - and the mylar helped darken the tent (don't get me started about the mysterious glow). However, with the rain coming down, neither Lynne nor I were in any rush to get out of the tent. We packed up all our stuff (sleeping bags, sleeping bag mats, clothes, pillows, snacks, etc.) without getting out of the tent. The tents were supposedly 6'5" x 6'5", however I'm 5'9" and couldn't stretch out. You do the math.

When we finally emerged into the wet gloom, the landscape had changed. The sea of blue tents was leaking away as tents were being taken down. We were instructed to tear down and pack up our tent as well. Hah! I scoffed at that. I was wet, sleepy, cold and in need of caffeine. Take down the wet tent and pack it up? I think not. Some man came along and offered to do it. I told him to knock himself out and Lynne and I headed off to the gear trucks to unload our duffel bags.

We reconvened with Deidre and Janice under the main food tent with "breakfast" in hand. Deidre had been put on medical restriction and wasn't allowed to walk. The rest of us decided unanimously to hang with D and ride the bus. Best decision we ever made. After a long wait, we finally got on the tour bus and took a nice comfy ride to the lunch stop, where we sat on the bus and watched The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson. Great movie with some unexpected twists! I totally didn't figure out the red herring until the end.

As the day came to a close, the bus dropped us off at Piedmont Park, site of the finish line and closing ceremonies. We limped through the finish, collected our t-shirts, then soon gathered our gear and decided (Janice, Lynne and I) not to wait until the closing ceremonies were over to take the shuttle buses. Instead, we called a cab.

He dropped me off at my hotel then continued on to take the girls to their vehicles. Within 10 minutes, I had the tub filled with steaming hot water and was up to my neck. Pizza and salad soon followed. I fell asleep shortly after 8pm, happy to be in a real bed.

And so concludes the 3 Day adventures. Tomorrow we return you to our regularly scheduled blogging.