In Transit
It’s a glamorous life going on trips! Here we are in San Francisco airport, waiting for 5 hours for our onward flight to New Zealand. We had all of 2 hours sleep on our last night in the UK before the alarm went off at 3.15am for our 6.45am flight from Manchester. Thanks a lot to Jeff Cochrane for getting up even earlier to come and pick us up from Barry’s house and drive us to the airport. I feel pretty good now as I slept almost all the way to San Fran, although Barry is a bit more tired.
Just before we left the UK, our thoughts turned to food for the trip and we approached ‘Annies’ in Marlborough for sponsorship. They make healthy and delicious looking fruit bars and they’ve agreed to supply us with some of them for our journey. We’re very excited about that as it’s really important to try to eat as well as we can for such a long trip. We won’t always be able to buy fresh fruit and veg so the fruit bars will be fantastic.
http://www.annies.co.nz
Right, time to check our bags in for the last leg ( for some reason, we’ve had to collect them at every airport). Nearly there now!
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Justine: your photos are always so revealing. Even a simple picture of you and your paddling partner in the San Francisco aeroport shows two weary travelers, just getting to know one another, yet having an excited sparkle in their eyes. I can imagine a helpful stranded passenger or an upright luggage bag propping the camera.
Your videos and blogs are very entertaining for those of us stranded in the States, and worldwide, who have jobs that do not allow travel. As a consultant, I must be prepared for anyone calling for my assistance at a moments notice, and thus intercontinental jaunts are something that I see only in my retirement which, frankly, cannot come soon enough. I dream of a jet powered rocking chair, with a sea kayak strapped to the back, that will take me to Tasmania and Ireland and Greenland and other far off lands. Maybe a laptop computer with wi-fi, so that I can blog about my aching butt on the unpadded maple seat. Heck, I should conjure up a seat pad; it’s my dream, after all.
A famous golf caddie was killed yesterday by an errant cabbie in California, not far from the aeroport where you sat for the photo. A young life, nipped in his prime. A 12 year old daughter now without a Dad. If one were to dwell on stories such as this—as I admit to having done since reading it on yahoo four hours ago—we’d all scrap the day job and catch a plane to Tahiti to live in a grass hut and make fishing nets from beach twine. But we must keep it all in perspective, perhaps. I suppose I will show up for work in two hours.
Your website and DVDs are fodder for the armchair—and rocking chair– expeditionists. Some of us are fit and ready, simply unable to turn that hourglass back at work to join the fun. Others are cheeseburger gobbling, future cardiac stent candidates with motivation that would fit on a single Cheez-It cracker. But whichever group we favor, we all live through your adventures. Or better yet, you live for us.
Salud, Justine. I raise my cherry Coke Zero to you.
Hey guys, just been listening to a programme about plate tectonics on Radio 4 and apparently the fault that runs along South Island NZ is considered to be well overdue to ping. Recommend you keep an eye on the horizon for a big wave and get ready to brace!
Sea paddlers on the Wirral are routing for you. Richard
Hello Justine and Baz.
Just heard Mary and the boy scouts have just left in the fishing trawler, they actually were trying to track philip down but they got there timeings wrong, be warned. If you see them say hello from me too.
Have a good trip it will be exciting to follow you.
Regards
Harry