15 May ...

 I'm writing as part of my commitment to the American Cancer Society to write for 30 minutes a day in May.

Click here to go to my fundraiser page.

 Where was I?  Oh yes ... my last day of vacation ... the 3rd of May

 Kat has suggested meeting up to go to Maymont Park and Gardens [<link to click] and I foolishly twisted Dan's arm to join them.

  I say foolishly because he did say that it was a lot of walking, and I was foolishly thinking of my walking challenge and not the fact that I'm essentially an office potato who is seriously out of shape.

 My camera phone was not cooperating most of the day, so I didn't get many pictures.  I think I'd run out of memory space without realizing it and needed to upload and delete some.

 This tree was as we were walking in from the parking lot and was just so massive.  I really wish now I had walked out to it and just stood under it for size comparison.

 We started at the petting zoo, which was 98% goats.  Followed the trail down through the aviary gardens, where we role-played what the hawks and owls were thinking as they watched us from their cages. 

 Saw a beautiful red fox snoozing in the sun while the day was cool.  When we later took a shortcut back to the parking lot we watched him move out of the sun and into a shady spot for his nap.

 There were amazing Japanese gardens with a large pond that was currently drained.  Kat, who has been to Maymont many times said that it is usually full of koi, and there are waterfalls as well.  This is one of her photos from a past visit when the waterfall was flowing.

These are from Heather's phone.

 This is the Maymont Mansion.  We didn't tour it since it was towards the end of our walk, and I'm not even sure if it was open for tours that day.  Either way, we'd already walked over three miles and were pretty "done" for the day.

I'm smiling through my pain.  Hahaha.
I was exhausted!

 Dan cooked dinner for all of us [us=Kat+hubs, Luke & son, Jordon; Heather; him & his daughter, Aura; me].  I have to say that his girlfriend, Christine, whom we did not get to meet because she was out of town for work has herself a keeper.  Steaks to perfection, roasted asparagus, and twice-baked potatoes.  But in all of our exhaustion, and the chaos of dinner, we missed the last opportunity for a group picture!  I was so bummed when I realized it the next day.