30 Days On JetBlue

There is nothing quite like the art of the “speed tourist”!  After more than 3 weeks of this, I am starting to get pretty good at it!

No time to waste in NO.  I headed straight to the highly recommended beignet restaurant called Cafe DuMonde (thanks Eric – of www.moblemuncher.com!)  It was about 10am, so what better time than to have a cup of fresh coffee and a traditional New Orleans style Beignet.  For those of you that have not had one before…it is well worth the trip!  They are fried fritters with various sweet/fruit fillings covered with powdered sugar.mmm!

On a time crunch, it was now time to head to my favorite lunch spot in New Orleans…The Acme Oyster house, located just off Bourbon St.  Every time I have been to this city, I’ve made time to visit this local hot spot.  Jambalaya better than any place back home, and amazing shrimp poboy sandwiches!

I wish I would have had more time to do a tour of the city, I have not been here since hurricane Katrina devastated this city.  I was hoping to see the progress that was being made since this tragic event.  Unfortunately the scheduled tours did not match up with the limited time I was in town.

After feeding myself to the point of discomfort, it was time to head back to the airport.  less that 2 hours after landing…I was boarding my next flight!

My one and only rainy day of this flying marathon.  I know…hard to believe, but I was very fortunate!  It didn’t matter on this particular day, because I was blessed with a great hostess that picked me up at the airport and showed me around the city, so the rain was not even an issue.

Nicole, a friend of a friend from Chicago graciously agreed to take time out of her busy schedule an be my tour guide.  Nicole is the youth ministry director at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Orchard Park, NY (just outside Buffalo).  Our original plan included meeting up with her youth group and helping with a makeover (cleaning, painting, etc) of the youth meeting rooms, but due to circumstances beyond both of our control, we ended up having to cut the visit short.  Even under this short notice situation, Nicole was a great hostess!  She gave me a driving tour of the city and then we headed to Anchor Bar – the home of the buffalo wing.

There is great debate about who has the “best ” wings in Buffalo.  I can not help answer that question, because I only tried the one restaurant.  But I can tell you, the wings at Anchor bar are excellent.  As much as I love BW3 (otherwise knows as Buffalo Wild Wings), the Anchor wings were far superior.  The simple difference…Anchor cooks the wings in the sauce…they dont just pour flavored wing sauce on the wings.  Each wing is crispy and full of flavor!

OK, enough of the food critic review.  I had a great time talking with Nicole at lunch.  She told me about her love for the TV show the Amazing Race.  I have to admit, it is one of my favorite shows as well.  She pointed out how 30daysonjetblue reminded her of that…I hadn’t even thought of that, but in many ways, it  is very true.  Constant travel and landing in places without knowing what you are doing!

Thanks Nicole for taking time to show me your city!  I wish I would have gotten a chance to visit with your youth group…Next time!

Here is the incredible story of a boy named Christoper.  He attends the very school that 30 Days On JetBlue is attempting to support.  He is the face of many students at MICS and where 100% of the money donated through this program will be going.

Please take a minute and watch this story.

A few dollars can truly change a life!  Please help us reach our goal!

Thanks!!

Please take a moment to read the MSNBC news article that features the school in Zambia and the 30daysonjetblue.com project.

Click Here For Article

I can honestly say that I never thought I would wake up one morning in Bogota, Colombia.  But it happened this week!  It was probably the most motivating and moving experience of the trip.  I was there for just one day, so there was not much time to waste.  I was fortunate enough to be able to connect with www.childrensoutreachministries.org.  They have an orphanage in Bogota for 12 girls.  These girls come from tragic backgrounds of abuse, neglect, poverty and worse.  To see them in this home was amazing.  They are a small group of girls that now have a future.  They love life and are excited about tomorrow.  I was only able to share a small about of time with them. I was not able to actually pitch in and help with any projects, but I was able to help with getting them some groceries.  Simple things like milk and pasta.  So simple, but yet so essential for these girls.  When I left, one of the little girls named Jennifer ran up and to me with a big smile and gave me a  hug, I have to be honest…I had to fight back the tears.

It is such a perfect example of how a few people can get together and make a huge difference in the lives of others who desperately need help.  Jacob Grady, Libni Montenegro and Daniel Montenegro, along with many other people have spent the last 2 years establishing this project with the intent of giving these girls every thing they need to reach their maximum potential in life.

Although the country and the situations are different, there are many similarities to the school in Zambia Africa, that my parents are building.  It reminded me of the impact this new school in Africa is having on these children who were not otherwise able to get an education. These children who are living at the boarding home in Zambia are now getting food, clothing, and the love that they were not receiving because they had no place to call home.

Someone recently told me (thanks Eric!) that the problems of Africa and other 3^rd world countries are so massive that it seems like we are looking to an abyss.  Rather than be dismayed and disorientated by the overwhelming nature of this “abyss”, we each need to choose a situation that we can connect with and jump in too address that small situation.  We need to do what we can to help those people.  Little by little we can make a difference..but it is only by taking that step and choosing to help that anything can be accomplished.

We have so much in the US.  I know the economy is rough these days.  But compared to these children in Africa and Colombia, we are living like rock stars.

I am asking each one of you to make a small sacrifice.  Maybe you give up your Starbucks for the week, or maybe you take a bag lunch to work for a few days.  I am not asking you to neglect your mortgage!  I am just talking about something small.  If we all pitch in, collectively we can make a major difference.

At the school in Zambia, the needs are extremely great.  As I have mentioned, they need supplies, furniture, food, uniforms, and many other things, but the biggest obstacle at this point is a reliable/durable vehicle to transport the children to school during the rainy season and to bring supplies into the school as the village is extremely remote and is located more than 2 hours from the closest paved road.  Your support today will ensure that these children will be able to attend school no matter what the weather, and also guarantee that the school will be able to travel to pick up all the supplies that it needs to continue operating. Please click on the “Donate” link on the upper right portion of this page to make your contribution.

Thanks for reading this long post.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions about how you can help! Thank you very much!

My friends Lisa and CJ had just gotten married in Seattle barely a month ago.  Having been there recently, I felt like a local!  I stored my bag and grabbed a bus into downtown.  Once again, an extremely simple and inexpensive process.  The Bus dropped me off right underneath Pikes Place Market.  I was able to grab a cup of coffee at the original Starbucks location (I know…it doesn’t get any more touristy than that!)  I also tried to get in on a little fish tossing at the fish market…it is alot harder than it looks!

I went down to the waters edge and had one of the freshest bowls of clam chowder I have ever had – great sour dough bowl too!

Up until now, I have managed to avoid the rain.  A miracle, considering I am about 20 days into the project!  On the way to the bus back to the airport, I got caught in a down pour for just the last minute or two.  I am not complaining…I am actually telling you this show how blessed I have been through all the days of travel.  To be caught in only minutes of rain…I couldn’t ask for anything better!

I had a very quick trip to Austin, TX.  Fortunately I met a girl named Rebecca, on the plane that was able to give me some tips about the best spots to see quickly in the city.  She was a runner, and when I told her that I was training for a marathon, she suggested that I go fur a run on river trail.  With limited time, she said that I would be able to see the park, river and some of the downtown all in one run.  Seemed like a great idea…until I got off the plane and realized that it was almost 90 degrees outside!  Too hot to run any distance,  So, I decided to just settle for a quick walking tour of downtown and head back to the airport.  The marathon training would have to wait…again….

For the second part of our Costa Rica adventure we headed up into the mountains.  We stayed in a city called Mounteverde.  It was loceted above the clouds…so their famous region was called a “cloud forest”.  We did a night walk through this.  The wildlife was amazing.  There were so many animals and insects…everywhere we turned, our guide was pointing out something new!

Since we were at such a high elevation, there was an opportunity to do some extreme zip-lining.  Some of the lines were over half a mile long!  The view as we zipped along was incredible….I could see for miles in every direction.  It was amazing to sail across the canyons and see people working in the fields and children going to school….its as close to flying (aside from inside a jetBlue plane) that I will ever get!

We managed to meet a US transplant now living in Costa Rica.  Tim was a great host with all the inside knowledge of where to go and what to see.  He even set us up with a home cooked barbecue -  Thanks Tim!

Darla and I brought along a few soccer balls to give to children along the way.  I got this great idea from a not for profit called LittleFeet.com.  They supply kids all over the world with soccer balls.  We thought it would be a good way to meet some local people and to make a few kids happy in the process.  It was amazing to see the faces light up when we said that they could keep the balls!  Thanks  Joe and Trevor at LittleFeet.com for a great idea!   I am hoping to do the same thing when I go to Bogota, Colombia in a few days.

I thought you would all like to see how the children at the school in Zambia are tracking the progress of 30DaysOnJetBlue. They do not have access to the technology that we have in the states, so they make due with what they have. Everyday, my parents and the children attach the new strings to show where I will be heading for the day. They are very excited about this project as the funds raised are going toward the desperately needed vehicle for transporting the students and supplies. The needs for this school in Zambia are great. These children are being given a future because of this school. Please take a moment and consider donating. Every donation gets us closer to our goal. Thanks for your support!

In case you missed the TV segment that aired last week, here is a repost. 
Great summary of the who, what, and why behind this whole project.  Check it out!