On Saturday we had two, yes TWO NAMI walks! In the morning we had one in Rock Hill, and in the afternoon it was in Lancaster.
I volunteered at the Rock Hill walk, which meant I needed to get there an hour early. So that Brad didn’t have to wake up as early and come with me, I drove my wheelchair over to the park (about 15–20 min walk from my house). I’ve never done that before, and so was surprised when I came to a street crossing along the way that didn’t have a curb cut for my wheelchair to get down!
I was running late and didn’t have time to backtrack to the last intersection, so I got out of my wheelchair and lifted the front half off the sidewalk, and then the back half. It was difficult, but I managed! And I only got there a few minutes late. It’s a good thing Brad wasn’t the one going this way, because he can’t do that with his chair.
I was helping out at the registration table with my friend Marija. We had a good time together getting stuff ready for the walk, but we didn’t have a lot to do once people started arriving. Most of them had registered online before coming, so we only had to sign in like 5 people! Mostly what we did was direct people to other areas like where to get T-shirts and coffee.
Brad got a good picture of me and Felix with Marija, Julia, and Pauline, who all work or volunteer for our local NAMI affiliate.
Felix was such a cutie pie during this whole time. Brad got so many good pictures of him climbing on me and looking at other dogs and just being a doll. He also got some good shots of other dogs who were there. Felix was still recovering from his neuter, so he has a purple surgical suit on in all the pictures.
When the walk started, Brad and I stayed behind. We knew we’d be walking in Lancaster and so didn’t want to tire Brad out on Cherry Park’s bumpy sidewalk too much.
After the walk, we headed home to relax for about an hour or so. Hestia and Alice were happy to see us, and we were happy to get a break.
We headed down to Lancaster, which was the first time we’ve ever had a walk there! It was set up really well, and even though there was a smaller turnout than in Rock Hill, people were still having a great time.
Since I was a volunteer, I got a voucher for a free meal from the food truck that was there! I had a chili cheese dog and fries, yum! We ordered with and ate with our friends Betsey and Dan, and Brad got a few pictures.
Unfortunately my friend Sabrina was too ill to come, but her husband Russ and daughter Faith (with service dog in training Brida) came! We had a great time hanging out with them.
We were happy to explore the trail for the Lancaster walk—it is a brand new trail and so very smooth pavement and very nice, even wooden walkways over the swampy areas. Brad got some good pictures of us walking!
And of course the day wouldn’t be complete without a photo montage of our friend Kati who is leaving NAMI at the end of the month. She did so much work for the walks, and they went off without a hitch! Thank you Kati!
Brad didn’t have to take pictures for marketing this year, so he was able to enjoy experimenting and practicing his latest style of photography with lots of blurry colors, sparkles, and rainbows in his pictures from having objects in front of the lens. He says he was able to try for home runs, rather than just base hits (safer shots). Below are all his pictures that he took, for your enjoyment!
