Sunday in Vancouver

Hello everyone,
You will be happy to know that the weatherman in Vancouver is as wrong as the weatherman in Toronto. Saturday was 70% percent chance of rain which it did, but then it cleared up in the afternoon and it was beautiful in the afternoon. Sunday was a 90% chance and it ended up being a beautiful day. We wanted to get an early start on Sunday morning which we did...we were actually ready to go before the course was even opened! So off at 7 am we left camp and headed off for our next 26 kms.
Today though, the curbs are much taller than the 3-4 inches they are on the streets. It hurts each time I go up one or down one. Yesterday was a tough walk and I am feeling it today. Again though, it helps so much to have Marion there with us. Just by her flying out here has given us such a lift and so much energy. So as we start out, I see a man in his early 60's and his shirt simply says on the back..."I am walking for my wife" and it has her picture on it...she is beautiful...she is bald. That is what I needed to see. It motivates me to ignore the curbs and just keep going.
I think everyone in Vancouver has a "pocket dog". The city is jammed pack with condo's and for every condo there is a little dog to go with it. When you see a large dog they really stand out because you don't see many of them. At least downtown. Vancouver is a "dog town" which is great because our "chatter" over the two days was about dogs. There is Reilly the Rottweiler, Thor the Boxer, Kato the Husky, Aine the Newf, Finnigan the Newf and Casey the Landseer Newf. We all shared stories of missing shoes, glasses and how these balls of fur provide you with endless hours of fun and no matter how stressed you are...they are always happy to see you.
Today was also a bit like Halloween. There was lots of candy along the way and Pat was there at every one. Marion a little bit...me not so much. One of the stops had sour chews which Pat loves. That is the funny thing about sour chews people who love them...complain about them while they are eating them. They say how sour they are and how they can only eat a couple of them because they are just "so sour". It is a concept I did not understand when I was 8 years old and I can honestly say with age...I still don't get it. The one thing that still holds true though is that it is still as much fun at 42 to watch people eat these as it was when I was 8 years old. While Pat was eating these with her cheeks puckered, it reminded me of my best friend Laura who we had dinner with in Ottawa. When we were little I would chase her down and literally force her to eat sour chews JUST so I could watch her face pucker and I would kill myself laughing. Yep, that is how good of a friend I am even back then. It amazes me that she still wanted to have dinner with me when I look back on it.
So as we walked and talked about the benefits of puppies and sour chews we arrived at lunch which is generally better on the second day. Turkey sandwiches and potato salad. While we are at lunch we see a man in his early fifties wearing a pink laneer....he is a survivor. It is surprising how many people we talk to that do not know that men can get breast cancer but how many men we are seeing during these walks. Please, if you are reading this, please let everyone know...men do get breast cancer.
It had been overcast in the morning but no rain and at lunch just as we were sitting down the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon. The one thing about these walks is you have lots of time to think and come up with ideas. You know the ones...if you invent it you will be an instant millionaire. The "pet rock" idea. Well, Pat's million dollar idea is the "butt lifter". This was probably around km 50 of the walk. I think we were starting to get a little giddy because this was a very funny thought but at the same time had a real potential...so we thought. So although we have not perfected the invention yet we will have lots of time and heads to put it together in Toronto.
So at km 52 (and km 112 over two weekends) the organizers decide to have us walk up West 4th Ave. Now if you have never been to Vancouver, this would mean nothing to you. For myself it will be the one street I will always remember. West 4th Ave was approximately 1 km straight up hill. If they had put this at km 2...OK...km 22 maybe....km 40 tough...km 52 just flat out mean. If you were struggling this would probably do you in. It was very tough but we just put our heads down and did not talk and made it up the hill. There were many people who did not though. Imagine walking one km straight up hill, never mind after walking 52 kms in two days. It will be part of the walk that I will never forget. It was very tough.
Vancouver is a beautiful city but it was definitely the toughest walk we have done. Usually the second day is better and goes by faster, but even the second day was tough. The walk is a fabulous way of seeing the city but very gruelling at the same time. We finished the walk around 2 and again in the top 500.
Finally, I have now realized that this walk is really saving lives. Maybe not yesterday, maybe not today but definitely tomorrow. I have learned that in the past before these walks $200-300,000 a year was going to breast cancer research in Alberta and BC. In the four years since these walks over 10 million dollars has gone to breast cancer research in BC and over 10 million in Alberta. I know that these walks are raising money for research and research will save lives. Saving lives means finding a cure. We picked up our fifth shirt at the end of the walk in Vancouver and it finally hit home to me. On the front of the shirt is two footprints and it says "Leave your mark. I did" I hope in the not too distant future those marks of our foot prints will be felt for all Canadians for all types of cancer. Together, we are all "leaving our mark".
Look out Montreal...here we come.
To Mom and Joanne...thanks for being my courage and inspiration
With love and thanks,
M.J.