The Los Angeles Area 2011 WalkMS Event was this past Sunday, and while I was really hoping for a bigger in-person team turn out, I was thrilled to have a good friend come and walk with me and my husband.

Adam and I met up with my good buddy Jarrod at the Registration area.

We walked over to the tents where there were vendors and areas for the larger teams.

Vita Coco was handing out samples of all of their flavors. I really enjoyed the plain flavor, surprisingly enough.

You can also see in this picture that I was totally in costume for the event as team leader for Team Spinal Tap!

Aside from stealing Adam’s Proud to Be Awesome t-shirt, I had on my hillbilly-rock cowgirl hat, my pvc skirt, and some opaque tights with heavier makeup on the eyes and lips. It’s the kind of thing I’d wear on stage to rock out!

Adam and Jarrod also got into the spirit by wearing clothes that they’d wear on stage if they were in a rock band with me. Adam, though not pictured, was rockin a Schwarzenator t-shirt (so much love for my Berklee boys!!!) to boot.

There were so many families there with strollers. Check out the sweet little baby on the right in this picture! Couldn’t have been more than a couple of months old. It was really fantastic to see how many people were there to support research and development for a cure. It made me really hopeful about my future and how kids will fit into it.

I know what you’re thinking. “THIS IS THE LINE FOR LUNCH!?!?” Thankfully, no. Everyone sort of meandered to the end on their own time, so getting lunch at the end was really easy. 🙂 They served bowls of penne and sauce and Chinese chicken salad. I don’t think those really go together, so I opted for the salad. Adam opted for the penne.

We also got to try some of the new Zevia soda. I had always wondered why there weren’t any diet sodas out there sweetened with stevia. Now I know why! 😉 Some things just aren’t made to go together. Stevia as a sweetener and “cola” flavoring are those two things, I think. I heard more positive rumblings about the citrusy flavors though. I just couldn’t hang with the cola though, as much as I do genuinely like stevia as a sweetener. I also don’t drink much in the fizzy-drink arena.

All in all, it was a great day! 🙂 It was fun to see the other teams, some of whom were in fun costumes too. I got lots of high-fives from strangers for the note I had pinned on my back; I got a medal at the end; and I raised money for MS research. All in all, not too shabby. 🙂