Saturday, October 24, 2009

This morning thousands of walkers came together with one common cause – Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny morning once again in central Florida. The sun was shining bright without a cloud in the sky and the temps were expected to reach the 90s. Only in Florida could you ever confuse a day in October with a day in the dead of summer.

In 1995 my family suffered a great loss when my Aunt Joan passed away after fighting a losing battle with breast cancer. Thirteen years later my cousin discovered the perfect way to honor her memory by registering a few family members for a local breast cancer awareness walk.

Last year a handful of us were able to raise just over $800 in less then a week. This year with a little more planning and dedication, 12 came of us came together to raise close to $1500!

I know my Aunt Joan would have been proud to see us all come together in a joint effort to raise money in her memory.

The walk was held this morning about 30 minutes outside of Orlando at 9:00am. This meant I had to leave my apartment at 6:45am to make it to my cousin’s at 7:!5am so we could arrive at the start before 8:30am.

Breakfast had to be eaten on the go.

I made an Almond Butter, Pumpkin Butter & Raisin Sandwich to eat on the road.

I also ate about 1/2 of the giant Honey Crisp Apple pictured above.

During the walk my stomach started growling, so I dug in the Kashi Peanut Butter Granola Bar they were handing out before the start.

The walk was hot, but fun.

There were a few organizational problems along the way, such as the criss crossing of walkers at one point and the lack of water on the course. There was a total of three water stations on the course and each one we passed had ‘just run out’ of water.

When we finished we hauled butt to Mimi’s Cafe for a celebration lunch.

You think we would have learned our lesson after the slow service and large crowds we experienced last year, but we didn’t. We waited over 45 minutes for a table – even though we told the hostess multiple times we had no problem being split up – and they managed to mess up a few of our orders. In the end our brunch became a full on lunch by the time we left.

I didn’t order a muffin of of my own, but did manage to steal a sliver of a Pumpkin Spice and Carrot Raisin Muffin.

Originally I had ordered the Sante Fe Egg White Omlette from the Fresh n’ Fit Menu which meant the omlette was served without potatoes and cheese. The waitress has misunderstood my order and I was served the santa fe omlette from the regular menu. I sent it back and ate my side of fruit while everyone else began their meals.

Eventually they did deliver the correct order, but when the waitress brought it back she told me that next time I need to let her know which version of the omlette I wanted – which I had but she chose to ignore my pointing finger and questions. Ughh.

WIth the Omlette I had dry Wheat Toast.

I ate one piece with strawberry jam.

After lunch we all said our good byes and made plans for a bigger and better team next year. I love our new family tradition.

Central Florida VegFest is happening right now and I need to get down there to check it out before its too late!

If you’re in the Orlando area you should head to Loch Haven Park right now to check it out! If so, I’ll see you there!!

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