Bob and I flew into Chicago on Thursday afternoon.  I am continually amazed at what a beautiful city it is--I did not realize what a great town it was when we spent the first four years of our marriage there.  One of our stops that day, besides the American Girl store for the granddaughters (!), was Garrett's, the famous popcorn store.  There was a lady in front of me who asked me why we were in Chicago?  She was with her girl friends and left the store and then came back in to ask if I was fundraising.  She handed me $10 for the cause.  Those are the kinds of things that just 'knock my socks off' and leave me teary eyed!

This walk had a record number of participants and raised record dollars.  Go Chicago!  What great support!

And again, I must say that the weather 'goddesses' were shining on us, which delighted everyone, since the previous week ends had been pretty extreme weather conditions.  The sun shone and the temps were in the high 70's.  Most walkers were in shorts and tank tops (no tank top for me!) and enjoying the suns rays!

I really did like the route of this event.  We walked along the lake shore and through communities, which is always fun.  On the way back on Sun. we walked through Sculpture Park, which is a couple of miles with various large sculptures all along the way.  I just love looking at them, and figuring which one I would like in my front yard! And towards the end of Sun we walked through a park that is a tribute to cancer survivors. It is another reminder of why I am doing this.  One of the signs that Bob hangs is "Breast Cancer---You're fired!

He cleverly hung that one in front of the new building that Trump is building.  I don't know if anyone noticed the connection, but he and I got a kick out of his doing that.

It was fun to see my friend Lenore, who is a woman I met 2 yrs. ago.  We have a lot in common and she was telling me about the days she and her husband spent in Mississippi this year helping and describing the devastation that was there.  All of her family were crewing the walk and her next adventure is walking the Portland marathon!  Go girl!! You are a great role model to all of those who you touch!

I spoke with Martha from the SF Bay area.  She has gone through several surgeries in the last year--including a double mastectomy.  It was interesting to hear how very proactive she has been in her treatment.  Many people I talk to really become authorities in their disease, especially since so much information is now available on the internet.  Martha is one of them.  How incredible that she is doing this walk and plans to do the walk in SF in July.  I look forward to meeting you again.  You are the hero!!

The first woman to do the multiple breast cancer events was in Chicago and has raised over $100,000 for the cause. She has become one of my dear friends.  I had called Robin when I was en route and she coincidentally was in Chicago on business the same week end.  She surprised me at the lunch stop.  She refers to herself as my "tall, dark-haired, daughter" since she is 6' tall and has straight dark hair! She always wears a long pink wig when she walks.  She was my inspiration in doing multiple events in the first place. It had never occurred to me that such a challenge was possible. 

For all of you women that may be reading this, may I remind you that our best protection is early detection.  Have you done your regular breast exam and is it time for a mammogram?  (Just a friendly reminder, since my mission is about raising awareness)!

Hugs to everyone and see you in CO soon.