I actually slept like a baby last night. What a great change from previous years! Dennis & Tath were up before the alarm - ick! We got ready, met Willy and headed downstairs for the shuttle. It looked like we might miss the 5am shuttle but at the last minute they asked for four more riders - Perfect! As we climbed on and headed to the back I overheard someone say, "That's Penny Kellam." Heck, I didn't even know I was famous! ;-)

The bus dropped us off in a foggy Golden Gate Park. We dropped off our gear and headed over for breakfast - bagels, cream cheese, fruit, trail mix and OJ. Yum.

We made our way down to where Opening Ceremonies would begin a just a few minutes. First we were led through some stretches then we were treated to the safety video. It was a bit chilly and I was anxious to get going!!

Finally we got to go. The four of us stuck together and headed out through the foggy park. It was kinda cool to see the line of walkers disappearing into the fog!

We were introduced to the first hill of many right away as we climbed our way up to the Golden Gate Bridge. It definitely got us warmed up though. Dennis isn't a big fan of bridges so he headed off across on his own while Tath, Willy and I stopped for pictures. There wasn't too much to take pictures of though - way too foggy! The foghorn was sounding all the way across. As soon as we got across the sun broke out and we were treated to amazing views of the water for the rest of the day.

The route took us under the bridge (I didn't even know you could walk under the bridge!) then along the water to Sausalito. Sausalito turned out to be this really cute little town with what looked like great shops! In fact the shops were so attractive that we had to keep reminding Willy that we were walking, not shopping!

We left Sausalito via a charming wooden boardwalk along the Marina. Very very pretty. Next stop...Lunch.

At lunch Willy's hubby David came to meet us and pick up any extra stuff we didn't want to carry around. I gave him my coat - which I would live to regret!! ;-) While we were enjoying our lunch I gave Bjorg a call to let her know that I was doing wonderful!

The route after lunch was a bit less scenic and a good section of it was pretty flat. Not my favorite but better than constant hills. The afternoon took us up into Mill Valley, looped us back around then back into Sausalito. Willy decided to get on the bus in Mill Valley after about 20 miles. She felt great but better safe than sorry - especially with Portland just 2 weeks away!

Dennis, Tath and I trudged on. The weather was still beautiful with bright sunny skies and a gentle wind. We retraced our route along the boardwalk and through Sausalito. My very favorite refreshment was the Otter Pop a kind lady offered us as we walked by in Sausalito. It really hit the spot!

As we approached the Golden Gate Bridge I discovered that we were going to get to climb that big hill we had come down in the morning. Thanks to Tath for reminding me to take small short steps to save my hamstring! I do have to admit that somewhere on that hill I lost my sense of humor. We were on mile 25 or so and I just plain didn't want to walk up that hill!

Once we got up the hill we were greeted by the big fog bank hanging over the bridge. About halfway across I started wishing that hadn't given my coat to David. Oh well....lesson learned! I still didn't get to see much of the bridge. Foggy and windy this time!

Across the bridge and down towards Crissy Airfield and our camp site for the night. Yippee! It was foggy and chilly but we were almost there! What we didn't know was that there had been some last minute rerouting and the .5 mile to camp turned into 2.5+ miles. Yikes! You'd think that after all the walking a couple more miles just really wouldn't make a difference but it did. I was pretty dang happy to see Willy cheering us in with my coat in hand!! The poor girl had been standing out there for quite some time waiting for us to come in. She was worried that we'd be too cold and wanted to make sure that she was there to help us out. What a sweetie!

Our tent was set up and my gear already in it when I stumbled over to it. I made a quick phone call home to let Jeff know that I was okay - kinda grumpy, a littly whiney (oops), a couple blisters and some sore legs and hips - but okay.

After a dinner that I devoured I took what felt like the very best shower EVER and found that my mood had definitely improved! I even headed back over to the dining tent to check out the music. I drew the line at dancing though!

Before I headed to bed I spent a little bit of time with Dennis and Tath in their tent. Willy joined us and we compared aches and pains. Tath was relatively well considering her car accident. Dennis was just plain tired and Willy was feeling pretty good. I thanked them for coming to SF with me to walk. I really can't imagine what it would have been like to do 29.8 miles today without them. I'm not real sure that I would have made it.

Well, off to bed. The alarm is set for 5:30 and I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight!