On Sunday, June 4th, I took part in the Take Steps for Crohn’s and Colitis organized by The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.   It was held in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.  I never realized just how historic this park was until I got there.  There boats for tours to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty leave from here.  What makes them historic is that immigrants used to come here and catch a train to either New York or further into New Jersey.

When we arrived, it was raining a little, but not too much.  By the time I reached the check in tent, it had stopped.  My wife and I checked in and then walked the grounds waiting for the start of the walk.  I had brought my dog along because she likes walking and could use the exercise.  While my wife rested, my dog wanted to start and ran around.

At 5:00 they called everyone to the start line and we were off.  Now, I knew ahead of time that the walk was 3 miles and in the past I would have had no problem with that.  I didn’t realize just how far it is until I started walking.  We walked 1.5 miles one way, turned around, and walked back.  At the 1 mile mark, my legs were starting to feel the burn.  My little dog seemed to be holding up better than me. 

During the walk, the sun was shining and it was beautiful.  On the way back though, the sky got dark and the rain came.  My wife was smart and had an umbrella but I forgot mine.  I had a poncho in my backpack, but was too tired to take it out.  As we reached the base camp, the rain stopped and we were greeted by a great site.

Overall, I had a good time.  My legs were aching later that night and I was beat.  My dog looked beat also and slepted real well.  CCFA does this walk all over the country.  This year was my first walk and I raised $506.  I was worried I wouldn’t raise any so this amount shocked me.  I plan on doing this again next year and hopefully I will be in better shape.  The best part of the walk was seeing all the support for us sufferers of IBD.  One group raised over $27,000.  The love is out there for us.  YEAH.