New Year's Eve

I just want to say I had the kind of New Year's eve you never imagine you are going to have. My hotel was directly across from the Sky Tower in down town Auckland. I was on the twentieth floor with a balcony looking directly at the tower. I started my evening with a beer in the local bar downstairs and then went up and watched people bungy jumping from the top of the tower. That was strange enough until around 11.45. I was coming back up to my room when the Chinese desk clerk got on the elevator and said "do you want to go with me to the roof"? That is exactly how he put it, so I was quite unsure how to respond to a young Chinese guy inviting me up to the roof until he said "fireworks".

I sat with the desk clerk, several other staff and some other guests and watched one of the most spectacular fire works displays literally over my head to the sound of Maori drum beats and war chants below. I couldn't make this stuff up folks.

Later that night the TV announcer stated that New Zealand was the first major city to bring in the new year. Very cool...I thought to myself.

Second Day in Auckland

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning over Auckland. Attempted to wash some clothes in the hotel room washing machine and was confounded by the number of buttons and instructions needed to wash a t-shirt, two pairs of socks and some underwear.

Auckland is a cool city and it is surreal to see so many Maori girls dressed in trendy clothes looking very European except, that most of them are my height and look like they could easily take me in an arm wrestling match. It is refreshing to see that the culture and world of these original inhabitants is ever present in the art and every day existence in this city. This morning I watched a channel dedicated to Maori art and dance and their presence and impact is evident everywhere you go.

Good to see.

Finally

Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.

It simply means "land of the long white cloud." After a thirteen hour flight spiced with moments of complete turbulence terror, we came down through the long white cloud and flew over white capped breakers and moss covered hills. One of the most stunning approaches to a landing I have ever experienced.

After inspecting the bottom of my boots and looking over my tent and other equipment I was deemed to be free of any biological contamination. Ten minutes later I was hopping on a bus and having a late in down town Auckland.

Time to explore.

Twas the night before my insane mid life trek

I am sitting in my father in-law's house with my wife and daughter the night before I fly to the other side of the world. I would like to say that I am studying maps and checking my equipment as most hardened world adventurers would do but that would be a lie. I am watching my daughters' first season of Glee DVD collection. Instead of checking weather alerts in the South Island, I am listening to show tunes wrapped in a snuggie. I am ready for my adventure to begin.

A half century of walking and counting

The other day I was walking home over the bridge from down town Charleston.  As I got to the top of the bridge this young guy gave me an unsolicited high five.  Immediately afterwards his lady friend did the same. I have seen them a few times before, so I am still trying to figure out if they were impressed with the fact that I do this most days or if the sight of this grey haired guy carrying a full pack was an inspiration to them both.  The reality of the situation may be that it was a sympathy high five at the fact that I am able to make it to the top with out the aid of a mobility device.  They may have been just encouraging me like a mother does when her new baby takes his or her first steps.

The mornings are extremely cathartic for me.  Mt wife drops me at the shell station in Mount Pleasant and I strap on the pack and off I go.  Watching the sun come up over Charleston Harbor is a great way to start the day and an hour and fifteen minutes later I am usually walking into my office in down town Charleston.  At the end of the day I do it all over again and it feels great.  

This morning I had a different experience.  It was a beautiful sunny 65 degrees and I got to walk with my daughter Halley.   We checked her blood sugar, stopped at Starbucks and then headed up the bridge. On the down side heading in to Charleston we looked down and the water was like glass. We saw a pod of dolphins and some resident pelicans flying under the bridge.  A great start to a great day.

TYPE 1 DIABETES INFORMATION

Statistics

• As many as three million Americans may have type 1 diabetes.
• Each year, more than 15,000 children - 40 per day - are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S.

Warning Signs
Warning signs of type 1 diabetes may occur suddenly and include:

• Extreme thirst
• Frequent urination
• Drowsiness or lethargy
• Increased appetite
• Sudden weight loss
• Sudden vision changes
• Sugar in the urine
• Fruity odor on the breath
• Heavy or labored breathing
• Stupor or unconsciousness

What is it Like to Have Type 1 Diabetes?
Ask people who have type 1 diabetes, and they will tell you: It's difficult. It's upsetting. It's life-threatening. It never goes away.

"Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dieticians all rolled into one. We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive."
- JDRF International Chairman Mary Tyler Moore

"This disease controls our lives with all the pricking of the fingers, shots, high and low blood sugars; it's like being on a seesaw. Without a cure, we will be stuck on this seesaw 'til the day we die."
- Tre Kawkins, 12, Michigan

"I never realized how much of my day would be spent dealing with
this disease and all of its challenges."
- Patrick Lacher, 13, Connecticut

"A cure would give us freedom to carry on a normal life without
taking a break to check our blood or have a snack."
- Asa Kelly, 16, North Carolina

MOULTRIE NEWS ARTICLE

http://www.moultrienews.com/news/-10SULLYGREGPICS-

The kindness of strangers

Today I came home and their was a check form a Dr. Kimberly Pugh for Halley's JDRF fund raiser.  I am amazed how kind people are that don't even know Halley.  I would also like to thank Dr. John Colwell another physician that I have never met.  

Courage

Someone said to me the other day, that my scheduled trip sounds scary and a little daunting.  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little nervous.  While training over these last few months, I have had many moments where I've said "oh crap, I'm fifty."  At times I don't want to strap on the pack and walk five miles to work at 7 am, knowing I'll be doing the same thing again at the end of the day.   Then I realize that nothing I'm doing is as daunting as what my daughter has had to deal with every day for the last nine years.  From the age of ten she was dealt a hand that she didn't ask for and yet she has never let if beat her or stop her from doing anything.    

Her courage and love of life is an inspiration for me.  Since her diagnosis of type 1 (juvenile diabetes) almost ten years ago, I have spent to much time asking her what her blood sugar is and what she ate today.  Instead I should have just told her that I love her and that I am amazed by how she lives her life with such courage, enthusiasm and affection for her friends and family.

The Nine Great Walks

My journey across New Zealand will hopefully encompass the completion of all nine 'Great Walks.'  The Great walks were established as some of the most spectacular walks in the country and certain ones such as the 'Milford Track,' The Tongariro Northern Circuit,' and the 'Routeburn Track,' are said to be some of the most spectacular walks on the planet.  

The nine walks actually include a river journey in which I will attempt to paddle 145 kilometers.  The walks will be completed in this order.  Lake Waikaremoana, the Tongariro Northern Circuit, the Whanganui River Journey, the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, the Heaphy Track, the Milford Track, the Routeburn Track, the Keppler Track and the Rakiura track.

Assuming that all goes relatively well I will end the New Zealand leg of the trip sometime at the beginning of March and then hopefully fly to Tazmania and on to the Australian mainland.