Color me Happy - part 2

After spending last night laughing and hanging out at the hotel with wonderful friends (both old and new) I was awake before my alarm!  How I was awake that early, considering I didn't get to sleep until after midnight, will always amaze me!  I guess I was just too excited to sleep!

The guys and their tutu's!

Even though I wasn't really hungry, I made myself eat some breakfast before we headed out to the "Happiest 5k on the Planet".  Of course, John broke out the camera and got some awesome photos before we headed out.  I will have to post a link to those once he has a chance to go through them and get them posted on his website.  We had an amazing group of 8 crazy friends heading over for the festivities.  John and Chad, along with Beth and Cari, put on their tutu's, we all strategically placed our HAPPY tattoo's, Color Run socks, headbands and t-shirts and made the short trek across the hwy to the the festivities.  It was really nice to be able to stay that close to the event for several reasons... no worrying about parking at the event, but better yet, we didn't have to worry about climbing into the car afterwards when we are all covered in paint!

John and I before the color explosion

It started out as a very blah and dreary morning with sporadic rain showers.  A little rain today was not going to ruin our fun... it was only going to make it messier and all that much more entertaining!

The festivities were already rocking when we got there, to include one of the largest outdoor Zumba parties that I have ever seen!  I have no idea how may people were in front of that stage enjoying the dance party, but the energy was obvious!  Everyone was ready to have fun!

With my cellphone sealed in a ziploc baggie and tucked away in my beltpack, we headed towards the start line to get this adventure on its way!  We lost Heather, Andrea and Lexi as we headed toward the start line, but we knew we would find them later.  They were on a mission to try and run at least part of the course.  The rest of us were walking the course today.

The start line

Normally, I would also be running, but once John decided yesterday that he was going to join the fun and complete his first ever 5k, I wanted to be there to walk it with him!  I will have plenty of other events to run this summer, this one was about enjoying the festivities and crossing the finish line together.  I am very proud of him for joining us for this awesome event and finishing his first 5K.

While we were waiting to start, the rains did let up for a while, but by the time we got up to the front of the pack for our start wave, it started up again!  Let the party begin!

Once we hit the first of many color stations, we learned a few things...

Blue - the last of the color stations before the finish line party

1.  Don't inhale!  The powered paint is harmless, but getting it into your mouth does not taste good!  Not to mention makes you want to sneeze!
2.  There is no need to walk or even take you time going through the color stations... the volunteers working the stations will make sure you get a nice coating of color before you get to the end of each station!
3.  Even if it is a dreary rainy day, sunglasses are a must - that way you have eye protection as you go through the color stations and can actually keep your eyes open somewhat so you can see where you are going!
4.  Once your feet get wet from the rain, it is pointless to try and go around or over the puddles, Just walk, run or jump right through the middle of them... your shoes are already going to be a mess when you are done, so you may as well enjoy playing in the water.

Like I mentioned, John took some awesome pictures that I will have to post a link to later ones he has a chance to go through them all and get them posed on his website.

After we all finished the course, we met up at the finish line, opened up our color packets and made sure that we each were adequately colored!  It was then time to head to the party at the stage!  More color packets were bring thrown from the stage to create massive color explosions that would further coat us with even more layers of fun!  After walking through the rain and being coated with powered paint, the walk back to the hotel gave everything a change to dry into a nice colorful "crust".  I would definitely not want to be part of the house keeping staff in the hotel today - there was potential for some torrential messes while everyone was getting cleaned up!  In the end, we managed to not make a huge mess in the hotel rooms, however, the clothes we were wearing, including our shoes, will never be the same again!

Our crazy bunch after the run but before the after party!

After this amazing morning, John and I had the change to spend the afternoon and evening hanging out with Matt and Molly at the campground (with their 3 cats that were along on vacation too!).  I can't think of a better want to end this awesome day than to spend the evening sitting outside, campfire crackling, watching the Brewers game on TV and enjoying some cold beer with more awesome friends!

I am truly blessed with amazing friends that have, with which I am able to create and share these awesome memories with!  I am glad that each and every one of you was part of this awesome weekend!

My summer vacation continues... next stop:  Liberty Run 5k on the 4th in Baraga!