Day 1- First Miles (10.23.09)

The first few miles were very quiet, but that did not last for long. As soon as we approached downtown Buford, we began to realize that this would not be anything like our training walks. If we thought high-fiving and screaming with all our supporters at the Opening Ceremony would be the height of support, we were completely wrong. In downtown Buford, we encountered our first mass crowd of supporters, and this would continue all weekend. People lined the roads everywhere, waving signs and handing out all sorts of candies and gifts.

The crowd highlights from Day 1 were the little kids at the Sugar Hill Elementary School who came out to clap and cheer for us with their teachers, the Wild Card 8th grade band that set up on the side of the road and entertained us with music on a quieter stretch of the road; and our first stop in Buford by a church with a beautiful pumpkin patch in the front yard! At every stop, from beginning to end, we would see Kim and both Jenn’s family and friends; I am still astounded at their dedication to the whole 3 days of walking!

As we approached lunch near a local high school (I think in Duluth? I have poor geographical knowledge of Georgia), I happened to walk up next to a young girl who was walking by herself at this point. She had no team gear on and I wondered if she walking alone or had been separated from a friend. I began talking to her and learned her name was Estelle, she was a student at UGA, and she did not know a single person at the 3Day. Of course, being me, I immediately announced that she would join our team for the rest of the day, be the 7th member of the New Kids on the Walk, and that she had no choice in the matter. I walk 7 miles a day by myself, and I walked up to 18 miles alone, but NO ONE should walk the 3Day alone. Meeting and sharing stories with strangers is part of the experience. Estelle joined us for dinner and stayed with us the rest of the day, and we saw her around camp for the next two days!

All day, we had been excited to reach lunch and take a break to reflect on the walk so far, rest our feet a little, and eat a good meal. However, the clouds that had threatened rain for so long finally broke, and within minutes of our arrival at lunch, heavy and cold raindrops began falling. Within minutes, we were wet to the core and VERY uncomfortable since we were sitting in a church parking lot. Obviously, this sped up the lunch-eating process, and our half hour lunch barely lasted 15 minutes.
Of course, as soon as we hit the road again, the rain stopped. This on-and-off pattern continued for the rest of the day, so we spent a lot of time removing-then putting back on- our rain gear. It was almost better when it rained because the humidity was high and it just felt warm and sticky when the rain stopped!
The only other interesting note of the day concerning crowds was seeing the Chik-Fil-A cow as we approached the finish line. He was pretty cool, but not nearly as fun as Thrash 
We finally reached this hill and people kept telling us the end was “just” up the hill and down. It felt more like a mile than just around the bend...Once we *finally* reached the final stop, we waited for the next bus to arrive. The bus then took us on a 10-15 minute ride to the campsite, which was the North Atlanta Trade Center, off of exit 101 on I-85. It was definitely not within walking distance and we were happy to have the buses, even if the A/C stiffened our muscles! We were very curious to see what our campsite looked at, so as we pulled up, we craned our necks for the best view.