Last year Amy didn't walk, but she did go to cheer other walkers on and offered them watermelons. They crashed through six watermelons in no time. We were warned that if we wanted to do the same we should come prepared with as many melons as we could carry. So we arrived with a table, knives, cutting boards, and 10 watermelons and commenced the butchering.
I'd been fielding calls all morning from others who wanted to come cheer, too, so we knew we'd have some company. First to arrive were Lisa and Kevin (and kids) along with another watermelon. Lisa walked with Amy in 2006. Next came Jenn and Dan and entourage with garlic fries. Not quite as refreshing.
Unfortunately, this was to be another learning experience. It turns out the watermelon's success last year wasn't necessarily a good indicator of how it would go this year. Even though it was hot and we were a solid 16 miles into the second day we only went through four watermelons in two hours. Amy had described a battle to keep up with the empty trays while on Alki, but not this time.
It probably didn't help that we were just down from the Boobie Bakers who had a huge spread of sugary treats or that our table wasn't properly aligned for maximum visibility.
Ah, but who should arrive to fix our problems? Leader of the Melons, Amy! Hurray! She did her best to help the situation, but in the end it was a lost cause. With the kids melting down and a ton of melon still uncut (our one good move of the day) we packed it up and headed home. (Obviously, Amy was still doing great and had plenty of energy left to cuddle the kids and adjust tables. She didn't bother to help slice melons, though...)
After dinner I drove to the 3day camp at Marymoor Park to deliver some warm coats and pick up the team's dirty laundry. I wound up on the wrong side, but security is so lax this year I was able to meet Amy near the center of the camp. She showed me all the secrets of the community that forms around the walk and I was really impressed. I was half drawn to the sign-up for 2009, but I think my fundraising will have to take place in the mountains, not on city streets.
I left Amy with two small blisters, charged batteries for the iPod and phone, and a warm tent waiting for her.
Tomorrow we won't see her until the closing ceremonies in Seattle. If you want to cheer her on, though, head to Green Lake Park. And if you need some watermelons I think I can hook you up.
