March for Babies

There were two March for Babies events going on in our area, but we opted to go the March around the Point Defiance Park in Tacoma because half my family is down there, and it would be a much more interesting walk than going around the track at Qwest Field. The weather forecast for Saturday morning wasn’t good. It was supposed to rain and/or snow. We drove through some snow (big, fat flakes) on the way to Federal Way to pick up my Mom, but it was clear and dry on the way down to Puyallup to pick up the rest of my family.

By the time we were all ready to go (it takes a while to get a group this large all ready) it was snowing again, but these were small balls of snow I was calling “Dipping Dots,” like the ice cream.


Snow is okay though. It’s cold, but dry, and we all dressed warmly.


Sarah was the awesome Mom of day. She made breakfast for Chloe, Walter, Wayne, and herself that morning, while also making sure that the babies were taken care of. Then she and Wayne made sure everyone got packed into their new mini van. And when I say packed, I don't mean it was tight. That thing is spacious!


By the time we got to Tacoma we were a half hour late from the starting time, but we turned in our donations and registration and got our site map that was supposed to lead us on the walk. Unfortunately, the people in the information tents didn’t know anything, and apparently the traffic directors had thought that the last of the walkers had already started and so they left, and we were left on our own.




So, we started on what we thought was the route based on our map, and walked down the street because there were no sidewalks. Apparently the traffic directors had closed the street to traffic, but since they had left we had to share the road with the cars. I’m sure there were quite a few confused, and possibly irritated, drivers wondering why we were walking in the road. By the time we had come around a bend, we were sure we were on the wrong path, because we could see where we had started on the other side of the field. But wait! Here’s a sharp turn on our map, and look, there’s a sharp turn right here! We must be on the right path. So we continued.



As we continued up the hill we encountered some walkers coming down it, and asked if they were part of the March for Babies, and were we going the wrong way? Sure enough, the answer to both questions was yes. But, the good news, they said, was that we weren’t far from the hot dogs, which were at the 4 mile check point. So we continued up the hill and found the hot dogs and had breakfast before we continued our walk. We decided that we would continue against the flow for as long as we could (which was until we encountered the last of the walkers and then, we were told, we’d have to turn around because the road would be open to traffic, and it was a safety thing) and then just turn around and go with the flow.



We had a great time. The weather, while chilly, was co-operable. It was slightly drizzly at times in the beginning, but that let off and it was dry for the whole way out. We all dressed warmly, and the weather didn’t bother us at all.

Even Padon. :)


And Sarah got Benny's help up the hills.


Plus, we got to have some more hotdogs on our second pass through the 4 mile check point. :D


Then we were all happy to get back to Sarah and Wayne's and start Greg's birthday party.