350 Miles

Yep!  That is how far Lexi and I have now walked over the last 7 Multiple Sclerosis Challenge Walks that we have participated in.  Simple math would tell you that that is 50 miles each time.  Granted, it is over the course of 3 days, but still.  20 miles in one day?  And, then again the next?  And, then 10 the next?  It's a long time to walk.  Trust me.  But, it's all worth it.  Lexi and I get to spend an entire weekend together doing that sister bonding thing.

Because the walk starts at the A$# crack of dawn, we stay in a hotel on Thursday night. As you can see, we travel in style...

Lucky for us, one of the best restaurants in town was located right across the street from the hotel, which made it quite convenient (disregard my stomach roll please - these pictures are put on this site and not on facebook because I trust that any of you reading this will not judge :))...

 

The next morning started off with our annual trip to Dunkin Donuts (followed very closely by our annual question of "why in the hell did we think that eating 2 donuts before walking 20 miles was a good idea?")

 

 

 

 

and then it was off to the bus stop!

 

 

Yes, these are just a couple of the 1000 selfies that will be in this post.  This is what happens when there are just two of you. 

Finally, after 6 years of participating in this walk and after 6 years of discussing possible t-shirt ideas, we made our own TEAM SWEETPEA shirts.  I have to say, our quotes on the back were pretty good (although, you really only get them and find them funny if you participate in the walk).  The only problem?  We decided to go with a local screen printing company that happens to be a not-for-profit that employs inner city high school kids...who apparently need a little help in the spelling department...

Seriously?????  This was on all six of our shirts.  The sad part is that I had already corrected this error on the first round of edits I sent back to them.  AND the final proof had it right!  Ugh.  We did our best to change the 'a' to an 'e' with a bit of fabric paint.  Some turned out better than others, but whatever.

 ANYWAY....Day 1 shirt was as follows:

We didn't really even mean for this to be all that funny and/or memorable, but man!  We got a lot of comments on it!  People loved it!

Day 2 is one of those that you won't find funny unless you do the walk. Most of the second day is spent on a bike path and inevitably, bikers come through going way too fast and giving too little notice with their "On Your Left!" warning...about 3 seconds before they are about to run you over.  Needless to say, this become really freaking annoying for walkers - especially considering we've already walked 30 miles at that point and we really feel like we should be able to walk wherever we damn please.  Hence, the "On Your Right!" shirt (which is obviously funny to other teans as well...)

Day 3 was "10 miles?  I can do that before lunch"  Again, you probably don't see the humor, but people laughed and liked it...I swear. 

As you can imagine, an event like this can't be done without, well, lots of porta potties...

And, lots of volunteers.  I'm telling you - these people are amazing!  The amount of effort, energy and enthusiasm they put into this event is unbelievable.  It's amazing how a simple thing like a well decorated rest stop can make the walk that much more exciting...

 

 

And, of course, there are all of the signs along the way (and apparently the need to make a muscle while posing with them) that keep you motivated...

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And, there's also the music.  Between the two of us, we had a pretty decent play list.  The best, though???  Thriller.  Or, rather,  Lexi's rendition of the thriller dance...

 

But, I'll be honest...the true motivation?  Day One?  Getting to the cabin first so that we can pick out our bed location.  There is definitely a science behind this - primarily, distance from the main entrance, the bathroom and the rest of the people in the cabin. Oh, and distance from spiders and spider webs.  That's an important one.  This year, we booked it.  Like, walked really really fast (you know, because we're in shape like that). And, as a result, we were rewarded with the "counselor side" of the cabin, which included a wall separating us from the rest of the cabin AND 2 beds on GROUND LEVEL!!!! It was like staying in the Ritz Carlton of the Cape Cod Sea Camps I tell you.  The only downside was that there was no shower in our building, so we had to shower in the communal showers.  BUT, yet another motivating factor - being the first in the showers so as to avoid the drain that eventually gets clogged with every one's hair.  Disgusting and definitely something worth walking quickly to avoid. 

And, then of course, the other motivating factor?  The beer and wine waiting for us every day at the sea camps when we finished.  Not to mention, the gorgeous beach that we got to sit on to consume said beer and wine...

 

 My only complaint?  They served wine in cups that were basically the size of a shot glass.  Clearly I figured out a way to fix the problem, but still...

 And, the wine takes effect (which apparently makes Lexi turn into Miley Cyrus)...

The last day was "only" 10 miles and one of the rest stops has munchkins from DD.  It's all about motivation people.  And, as you know, my motivation is food (well, and wine).

 

 

The walk ends with a bbq at a local high school (and more importantly, a good 2 hours to just sit and do nothing). 

 

They're getting there guys.  They have come out with new treatments for people with MS and I'm sure they will continue to come out with more in the near future.  And, eventually?  A cure.  This is all possible through your donations.  So, thank you! 

While I love this weekend with my sister, I would take a weekend of leisurely walks, wine and food celebrating a cure vs. trying to find one any day.  Until then, we'll keep walking...