Day 0 has arrived...

Registration opened at 1pm on the day before the walk. They call this "Day Zero". It was advised to all to arrive before 3:00 to make it through the registration process by 6pm. We arrived at 2:30pm and finished at 6:30pm.

Standing in line wasn't so bad. There were many nice people to meet and learn their stories. We met some women that came all the way from Arizona just for this walk. Another woman was selling t-shirts and lapel pins that said, "Got Mammogram?". All money from the sales went to sponsor her walk.

At one point, Donna ventured inside and bought our team some water. We had come unprepared to stand for two hours in the 90 degree heat. Fortunately, the next day's temperature was more tolerable.

We made it inside the convention center and were ushered into a small theater where we watched a 45-60 minute video about safety that was more informative than we expected. We were warned of the rules and causes for expulsion: no cell phone use while walking, no running, no abuse of others. We were also told of the walk's clichés: "No Whining", "Humankind, be both", and "Stay Alert, Stay Alive!"

After the video, we were processed in one fell swoop. There was another long line but it handled everything from towel rental to choosing your meal preference. We chose our tent mates from within the team, turned in our money, got our badges and we were on our way. "Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" Yes we did.

We had our first look at the store where we made a few purchases. Then we said our goodbyes and ran home to pack before trying to call it an early night.

Next page: DAY ONE