2007 MS Walk

Thanks to the generous help of many friends,
we were able to walk in two different cities and make a
combined donation of $660 to the National MS Society this year!

 

We are in Tacoma's beautiful Point Defiance Park for the 2007 MS Walk. This is the first time that my big brother Paul and his daughter Katy have joined us in tacoma! From left, that's Paul, my son Sam, Katy, Katy's friend Mel, my son Isaac, and me (Tim.) Weather was perfect, and the crowd was huge! It sure seemed like twice as many folks as last year, although I have no confirmation of that.

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

My big sis Ruth showed up after the family photo and walked with us. Here she poses with one of those famously kind and friendly Klingons that assis the walkers every year.

I didn't get a photo, but another of my four big brothers, Bob, also was there to greet us at the finish line.

My good friend Gary joined us again, and had a happy reunion with the sweetie of a Klingon he met last year.

During the walk, Gary checked in on his cell phone with a sponsor in New York. Cool idea!

We were glad to see "The Littlest Klingon" again this year.

We are off through the grand balloon arch and heading into the first turn, by the Japanese Pavillion.

Here's the view looking back as we reach the first turn.

Paul and Ruth underway. You can't see Katy in theis photo, but she is there with Mel.

Brother Paul suggested we form a family team for next year. Sounds good to me, because he is an awesome fundraiser! No kidding.

Along the way, Gary and I met up again with Mark. We met Mark last year at the walk. This year, Mark walked the Tacoma course twice! He registered early and they said he could go ahead and start if he wanted. He did, and he was able to lap the group and catch up to us before the finish line. Yeah!

On top of that, Mark says he is planning to walk the Breast Cancer Three-Day. That's the one where they walk a full three days together and cover 60 miles! Mark is my new hero.

So here is a photo of Gary and Mark at the finish line, concluding another sucessful event.

Next day, Sunday, was the MS Walk in Seattle. Brother Paul moved from Salem to Seattle during this past year, so it was a great chance for both of us to walk in both events, which we did. My wife Deb was not able to walk in Tacoma due to schedule conflicts, but she did join us for the Seattle walk.

So why is there a photo of us in a canoe? Well, I must admit with no small amount of self-recrimination that I forgot to bring my camera to Seattle! But after the walk we met up with our friends George and Bonita for a canoe outing on Lake Washington. Bonita took this picture of us with Paul at the dockside.

You can look at the canoe photo while I'm finishing up.

The Seattle MS Walk started and finished in Huskey Stadium, and the route went to Gasworks Park and back, along the Burke-Gilman trail. Tons of people, Seafair Pirates, JumboTron countdown with local TV anchor, free food... all the perks you might expect in the Big City. Think of the cool photos I should have taken. Oh well.

Thanks, everybody, for your faithful support. We'll do it again next year!