After a balmy and beautiful Saturday, we woke Sunday to a precipitous drop in temperature. I'd seen the weather reports, but it didn't sound that bad. In the mid-50's is what I'd read. Heck, dress in layers with a long-sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt. No problem.
Thus, the morning of the 2007 Minnesota AIDS Walk began.
Avindair, MonkeyDude, SportyGirl and I set out on our adventure. Being a prepared mom-type person, I carried a backpack filled with: granola bars, non-aspirin pain relievers, a small first aid kit, hand sanitizer (cause I knew we'd be in porta-potty land), one compact umbrella (just in case), and the more important contents of my purse. At the last moment, I added a cute little stuffed frog as our mascot. He'd been a gift from my uncle when I was a little girl. Since I was walking in his memory, I thought it only appropriate I bring Froggy along for the ride!
Not being familiar with Minnehaha Park, it took us a little time to negotiate the area and find parking, but since we were early it was blessedly close.
"It's cold," MonkeyBoy observed.
"Uh-huh. That's your Mom's fault," said Avindair.
Eh, I thought. It's early yet. It'll warm up. Right.
Our first stop was the registration building. After verifying the donation in my name I was handed a yellow ticket to pick up my official t-shirt.
"There's been a delay opening the Boutique," my friendly volunteer indicated, meaning the tent where we were to pick up our goodies. "They struck a water main with a tent spike."
No way. We had to see this.
Next to the "Boutique" was a rather lovely fountain, springing forth from the earth, sending rushing water across the walking path. Remember the Beverly Hillbillies? "And up from the ground came-a bubblin' crude." It was like that... but water.
The Starbucks booth had just opened across the sidewalk with free, bitter, hot goodness in a cup. On a day like yesterday, there couldn't have been a more pleasant sight at 9am! The kids wrinkled their noses.
"I don't like coffee," MonkeyDude said through chattering teeth. "I'll be okay."
SportyGirl agreed with her brother with her best "yuch" face.
"Nope. You're having coffee. Both of you. It'll help warm you up," said Avindair.
"Yeah," I offered. "Besides, you can fill it up with cream and sugar. It'll be good."
The girl behind the counter had been watching our exchange. "We have decaf, too, if you don't want the kids to have caffeine."
"Nah," Avindair countered, "give them the regular stuff. It'll be funnier that way."
We wandered a bit more. Nearly everyone we met was cold, determined... and smiling. People helping each other set up, answer questions, or just joining in a friendly, shivering chat.
As nice as that was, we had cold kids and the walk didn't start for another 2 hours. We hoofed a couple of blocks to a local Senior Citizen breakfast joint for coffee, hot chocolate and toast for a bit. After an hour or so, we decided to head back over.
The weather hadn't warmed up and the wind was still blowing, but the park was getting full of walkers. We were very glad we'd decided not to give up our parking spot to go get chow. To pass the time, we wandered some more, filled out an "In Memory Of" placard for Dale to carry with us, joined an impromptu game of frisbee, petted lots of cute dogs, and listened to the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus and the cast of "Menopause: The Musical".
The only other volunteer to join Team Stone Soup this year, Garret, showed up just in time to get his official walk t-shirt and hook up with us to start a-walkin'. THANK YOU, GARRET!
Without waiting for the opening ceremonies to end, we decided to start out, along with bunches of other folks. The brisk pace we set actually warmed us all up, almost as much as the laughter and great conversation along the way. About one mile into the 6.2 miles, the skies opened up on us. Great big drops of rain soaked us through - but my brave Stone Soupers and the rest of the walkers just kept on moving! Volunteers cheered us on from many points along the path... 7 rest stops offered water, bananas, other snacks and porta-pottys.
We hit the finish line back at Minnehaha Park cold, tired, soaking wet and sore... but strangely happy. I can't speak for everyone else, but I had a great time. The kids had far more endurance and good cheer than I thought them capable of under those conditions. Garret was a good sport and a great friend for joining in on our crazy quest. Avindair, my incredible husband, was his wonderful, supportive self.
THANK YOU, to our fantastic TEAM STONE SOUP walkers.
THANK YOU, to our friends and family who, by supporting us, raised $825! So we didn't hit our goal. That's okay. Every bit... every single cent is appreciated by the Minnesota AIDS Project.
We couldn't have done this without any of you. THANK YOU, all.
... and see you next year!
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