Thanks for all the support

Well the results are in and Global Gals placed 2nd in the Non-Rev Travel Challenge contest. We are all very proud of our accomplishment and look forward to next year to step up our game.
For the individual pledge contest in support of the United Way, I placed second while my teammate Lisa Smith placed fourth. Our Team, Global Gals raised more than $3500.00 combined. Way to go Global Gals for a job well done.
Thanks again for all those who supported us in our journey by pledging to a very worthy cause, The United Way Worldwide Relief Fund. All the contributions are truly appreciated.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday to all.
Irie mon.

An amazing adventure

So...it's been a while since I had the time to update my blog and I am doing so in between eating a slice of vegi pizza with a side of fresh fruit from Publix....yum,yum.
After Santo Domingo it was off to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh PA the following weekend.
PHL was a mad rush to get to the Liberty Bell for my photo-op and back to the airport all within a three hours time for my return to the ATL to do it all over again the following day.

Sunday I was lucky to get on a flight to Pittsburgh as the Steelers had a home game and quite a few people on my flight was attending the game. A sea of Yellow and Black seems to be a the PIT airport showing their team spirit. i was nervously hoping I could get back to the airport before any Steeler Fanatics even leave the stadium.

Thankfully my sister Pauline in Pittsburgh came and pick me up from the airport thus making my transit to the downtown area and back a breeze. The illusive tandem bike was found here thanks again to my sis who scoped out it's location before I arrived. A passerby was nice enough to occupy the back seat.
We then venture in a cable car up the Duquesne/Monongahela Incline for a photo at the top which over looks the city. The weather was mild and the athmosphere was electrifying. I wanted to partake in the Steeler Fans festivity which seems to be happening at almost every bar in the area.

Unfortunately, I had to dash back to the Airport early to get a flight before the possibility of getting bumped by the Steeler fans returning to the ATL. No idea if they won or loss that day.

No rest even on a beautiful afternoon with sunny 70 degrees weather in the  ATL.

Off we go to New Orleans on a Thursday afternoon for a pix on

Burbon Street

and back to Atlanta in a matter of 5 hours.

Friday morning we are off again this time to Managua, Nicaragua.  Our photo-op there was at La Concha Acustica.  Sad to say it had rain recently and the area around it was flooded. The main purpose of the place was for outdoor concerts and events however it had not been in use for a long time and was in dire need of pressure washing. 

We stayed at the Hilton and took the opportunity for some much needed R and R by the pool.  We savored the few hours of relaxation before heading back to the airport the following day.

No time to loose and much to gain we arrived from Managua and hop on a connecting flight to Seattle WA. Our WARRior(World Airline Road Race) friend Steve who works for Alaska Airlines took us to get our pix by the Ewing and Clark building by Lenora St. Sadly my Pentax camera accidently fell and no longer functions. Thanks to my BlackBerry Storm I was still able to function for the remaining photo challenges.

Steve then took us to the last required pix in Seattle, the Fremont Troll. This was at 7am in the morning and we were a little fearful there would be people loitering under the bridge where the Troll was residing.  Thankfully all was peaceful and quiet while we got in the hands of the Fremont Troll for yet another photo-op.

We then raced to the airport for a 9am flight to Anchorage, AK on Alaska Air. We arrived in Anchorage approximately noon time for a rendezvous with a moose, a bear and a raven (who came up with these ideas?).

Luckly the bear and the raven was just a picture cut-out a Downtown Theatre that was closed due to only seasonal performances.

The moose however, we had to go find at the local Zoo. We were told, if we stay around long enough on any given day we could actually spot one on the street or in someone's backyard. No thanks.  Those animals are quite hugh and mean especially if their young is on hand.

Polar Bear showing his good side at the Zoo.

  

So we arrived in Anchorage at noon on Sunday and was back in our second home (Delta Air Lines) by 9pm.
Our next stop, Chicago. Beautiful, windy and a shopper's paradise. If only I had time and money....oh well.
First stop directly from the airport on Monday morning was a visit to one of Frank Lloyd Wright house. On our way we had a bonus find of Hemmingway's birth home.

Next stop, before a well desired rest in a comfy bed that I am so looking forward to at the Swissotel was the top of the Willis Tower, standing 110 stories. Willis Tower is the tallest building in North America and on a clear day four states- Illinois, indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin can be seen from the Skydeck.

Standing on the glass ledge which extends over four feet outside of the 103rd floor is not for the faint hearted. Global  Gal Debbie faced her fears and step out on the ledge to join me for our kodak moment.

If you are going to take the elevator ride to the 103rd floor, just do it. Of course this is easier said than done for some people.  I loved it.

By mid afternoon we were tired but, after a hot shower at the hotel we managed to make our way out to dinner and a little shopping down the Magnificent Mile.

Tuesday morning we are back on our prefered carrier of choice, Delta Air Lines and our home away from home to the ATL.

Following week Global Gal Lisa and I were off to Omaha Nebraska for our last travel photo. We overnight in Detroit at the Westin Hotel where we had a view of the Aircrafts.

Saturday morning we arrived in Omaha by 9:30am with the mission of getting at photo with the Joslyn Castle in the background.

Joslyn Castle was an easy find in our little rental car and left us with a couple our to do a little sightseeing in Old Town.

 

A lone sculpture of  Doe in Old Town.

Ghost Riders enjoying the mild weather in Omaha.

We arrived back in Atlanta were the following monday we created a snowball fight (imagine that snow in 69degrees weather. It was a very funny scene, take my word no picture to show...tooo funny.
Global Gals Lisa, Debbie, Marva, Sara and I  worked for 62days as a team. We had more fun than frustration even when we had to sleep in airports or hotel sofas. Through 11hours flight and 3hours car rides we trully enjoyed our experiences.


Global Gals 2010

Between us all we accomplish all 100 photos with minutes to spare, literally.

Many thanks to my family, friends and coworkers who have supported the Global Gals on our fun yet challenging journey of 62days while we treck around the world in support of Delta Air Lines partnership with the United Way. Thanks for all your pledges which will aid in supporting the United Way WorldWide Relief Fund.
Much thanks also goes out to The Hilton Staff in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, in Managua Nicaragua and in Anchorage Alaska. To my seat mate in 10C on the New Orleans flight who gave us a ride to the French Quarters, thanks for going above and beyond. There are too many folks along our journey to name names however I do appreciate everyone's generosity and good will.
Will post in 2weeks the final result of the photo challenge and also the pledge contest. It is now almost 11pm night, night.

Deadline for Non Rev Challenge is drawing near

Ya, Global Gals can play ball.

For those Non Rev Challenge Teams on our tail,  you will stay right there and never catch up. Good luck trying though.

So how many people can sit in one dentist chair.  You got it, 5.

Yep, and 5 also can sit in 1 hammock.

Global Gal Marva begged us to bury her. She is such a good sport.

Global Gal Lisa and I made it to Santo Domingo by the, (how do you say)by the skin of our teeth. Whatever that means. Well it means we got the last two seat on the plane before they denied others because of the cargo load. Lucky us. SDQ was quiet and we actually got a chance to relax for a change even if it was only for a day.

The Hilton was the place to be.

Fortaleza Ozama, SDQ. The oldest fort in Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo has a rich history unfortunately we did not have time to take an official tour and learn it's rich culture.

Back to the airport we go 24hrs later ATL bound.

YoWindow - Weather like never before - Free Desktop Weather, Weather ScreenSaver, Weather Widget

YoWindow - Weather like never before - Free Desktop Weather, Weather ScreenSaver, Weather Widget

Nonrevchallenge around the World

The past 2weeks has been truly eventful. Started out in Brussels where fellow Global Gal Debbie and I had a few hours to complete our Nonrevchallenge photo.

This requires posing while eating a delicious snack and yes, it was scrumptious.

.

We then hop on a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt for a rendezvous with the Bear and Bull sculpture at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before dashing back to the airport.

Berlin was the next stop for a late night meet with an Ampelmannchen(German name for traffic light).

Midnight found us sleeping in the lobby of the airport area hotel because BER airport was closed.Early next morning we are back at the airport for a flight to London.  There we met with 2 other Global Gals for a photo op. snack at Laduree.

London was the most memorable stop on the trip as I was able to spend approx 5days with all my Warrior friends visiting London for the annual World airline Road Race.





<>

Delta Dusters





WARRiors

Post WARR was Barcelona, Spain along with some of my Warrior friends.

British Airways flight was late departing London City so my 1 day in BCN became about 10hrs instead.

 Just enough time to complete the Nonrevnorm photo at the Gaudi Park, spend a few hours with our Warrior friends and take a quick nap before heading to BCN airport for a flight to Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam Debbie and I met up with the other 3 Global Gals for our flight to Asia.

We first completed our Amsterdam Nonrevchallenge then flew KLM to HongKong(KLM service was excellent). Flight arrived late in HKG so there begins my first unscheduled layover in HKG for the night.

The team completed the photo at the Aberdeen Harbor then wanders the streets of HKG for a couple hours before getting some much needed rest at the Holiday Inn.

Following morning flew DL to Tokyo for our Nonrevnorm photo which was thankfully not far from our arrival gate.

The skyclub experience in TYO was as usual awesome.

Few hours later we hop on another DL flight to Singapore for the next Nonrevnorm photo, luckily also on airport grounds.

Sunflower Garden

Luck however ran out when we were unable to get on the flight back to TYO. Not to worry though. We purchase a ticket on UA and departed a couple hours later.

The UA crew was very nice. With their help we were able to complete one of the photo challenges onboard.

Second stop now in Tokyo where we completed another photo challenge at the Fuji TV Building.

Running short on time back to the airport for our flight to Honolulu we took the train in the opposite direction and miss our flight to Hawaii. Here, another unscheduled layover in Tokyo. We found the Radisson where there was no room in the Inn (really?). An employee was kind enough to let us shower and change in the Gym locker room (he needs a raise).

Because of  the missed flight we were able to complete this Nonrevchallenge photo here.


We quickly realize that we can get to HNL however flight to the mainland was full.  Operation plan B had to be activated. Flew instead TYO to Salt lake city, rented a car and completed two Nonrevchallenge photo then hop back on a DL flight few hours later to ATL.

The Great Salt lake

We arrive in the ATL approx 10:30pm on Saturday night. Can you say TIRED! Yes we were.

Well no resting.  This week lots to do because the Global Gals are in it to win it.