We Survived.

It was my fifth year participating the Walk for Hunger (five years fundraising, four years walking since I skipped the third year due to rain) and I had a large group of family and friends to keep my company.

The morning started off early, with some bag balm (apparently originally used on cow's udders) to lubricate feet (foot model is my cousin Andrew) - I stuck with a double layer of socks:

Did I mention that the day started off early (hence the bleary-eyed expressions)? We were at the Common at 7 am and started walking at 8 am after registration and a group picture with my company's team. Our walking group (L to R) consisted of Amy, my cousin Andrew, my uncle Rich, me, Andrew and our family friend Jeff:

The Walk has a rolling start but it was packed at 8 am with people like us who were trying to get a start while the weather was still reasonably cool and comfortable:

Our walk tradition always has us stopping at Dunkin Donuts on Beacon Street close to Mile 3. Due to water crisis, every Dunkin Donuts we passed was closed this year and we had to settle for breakfast sandwiches from a Starbucks (open but not serving any hot drinks).

This was around Mile 6 around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and before our "secret" bathroom stop at BC (a yearly tradition) - that section of the reservoir you see roped off is where the City of Boston was sucking out water to use as a back-up water supply during the water main break:

We had a surprise visit from a mysterious man in blue while heading toward Newton Center (I think around Mile 7 - 8) - our friend Julian, fully outfitted in his kit, had finished a short race in Milton and biked all the way to Newton to see if he could find us along the walk route. He slowly pedaled the bike alongside us for a couple of miles before speeding off in the distance:

Did I mention that the weather was sunny, hot, humid and in the eighties for most of the day? By Mile 15, we were hot, sweaty and sore. On the plus side, there were tons of water stops and food giveaways, if you couldn't guess from the sandwich stufffed in Andrew's face:

But we were happy because 1) we were close to the finish line and 2) there was a nice breeze coming off the Charles:

What kept us walking at the end when we could barely move our feet? The free ice cream we knew they'd be handing out in Boston Common at the finish line (also a Walk tradition) and the thought of an icy cold gin and tonic at the Parish Cafe afterwards. Of course, we weren't sure there would be ice available for drinks at Parish Cafe, but apparently, they brought in ice from Gloucester (an unaffected community). Despite the fact that our muscles were cramping up, our sunburns were making an appearance, and the fact that we were way underdressed compared to the restaurant's other patrons, we were ready to dive into the Parish Cafe's signature sandwiches, including Andrew's favorite, the Rowdy:

And my new favorite dish, the white bean hummus plate:

By the time Andrew and I got home around 5 pm (having finished the walk in approximately six hours at 2 pm with time for lunch and a ride home on the T), we had just enough energy to shower in E-coli water. Nothing was going to stop me from being clean at that point, plus I figure the water is as clean as bathing in a stream, which I have done in places like Thailand. With some aloe slathered on my shoulders and the back of my legs, I was good to pass out at an unusually early time, Andrew equally burned and sore next to me.