Day 19

Hotel Icon

Pictures

I spent Friday being a total tourist visiting "The Peak" , taking the public double decker bus up and riding the tram down. This would be a great road for motorcycles, were it not loaded with trucks, buses, people, cars, I can't believe how these guys get around each other. I was on the upper deck front seat taking pictures of how close the bus got to one truck in particular, I looked at them later on and it doesn't even come close to doing it justice. I also did some window shopping and let me tell you, Hong Kong has shopping in spades!! Every high end name brand has their own store rather than a case or two at a big box retailer. I am very fond of watches (time pieces for the true collector) and was able to try on some that I've only read about or heard of the brand name. FYI, I tried a Petak Philippe that listed for $1,369,163 HK ($176,300 US), but as I was told in Hong Kong, there is no sales tax and I can just wear it back to the US to avoid import taxes, they would mail the box, when you think about it that way, it's quite a bargin, should have bought two!! I did get a couple of custom shirts made and bought a few other things you can't get back home but otherwise, I left my card in my wallet. I also took a night time harbour tour by the famous Star Ferry, it was a warm, humid, overcast and sometimes rainy day and night but it was still something I just had to do while I was here, well worth it. Overall I had a great time and am very surprised but I'd like to come back here again!! So on the plane tomorrow, leaving at 10:30am for Tokyo, which arrives at 4:14PM, I then change planes and leave Tokyo at 6:20PM arriving in Houston at 3:45PM, the same day, I get there before I leave, at least I get my day back that I lost!! Finally, I've got to give props to Hotel Icon, I selected them only based on Google feedback and did it work out great, the entire staff went out of their way to help, accommodations were superior and the view superb, all exactly as described. OK, enough for now, I've got to finish packing up and it's off to bed, morning comes awfully early.

Day 18

Sydney to Hong Kong

Hotel Icon

Got to the Sydney airport around 6:30 this morning for a 10:40 flight, traffic in the city is really similar to home, if I left at 6, I'm there at 6:30, if I left at 7, I'm not there until 9, it wasn't fun sitting in the airport, even if it was in the first class lounge!! So I was very disappointed that Qantas has a change in equipment today, I didn't get to fly the A380 and instead had to live with the 747-400, nice plane but I really wanted to try the other. Anyway a rather uneventful flight that I slept through most of. Once I got to Hong Kong it was a really easy process to go from the airport to the hotel, although traffic was once again intense and the guy driving the shuttle bus thought he was driving a Porsche, glad I didn't have to drive here!! This is my first time in Hong Kong and it's a really vibrant city, I went out tonight around 10 and it was fully awake. I'm planning on doing the full tourist thing tomorrow, tour the city during the day and a harbour cruise at night. Here is a video looking outside my hotel room, sorry for the angle, just turn your monitor on its side!! Also, here is a link to my hotel room (very cool) and the view out the window (pictures)

Day 17

Port Macquarie to Sydney 442 kms (275 miles)

Four Points Darling Harbor

Got up around 5am this morning, I wanted to catch at least one sunrise while having the Pacific on my east coast!! It was definitely worth rising for, I've got a full video of it, which covers about 2 minutes, but my internet connection won't support uploading that big of a file currently, I'll update when I get back to Atlanta. Meanwhile, here are some pictures from last night and this morning

So we got back to drop off the bikes today around 1PM, really easy drive without GPS until about 30km outside of Sydney, once there the GPS would have been real handy, took us over an hour to travel that 30km and find the place. All in all, not bad and overall a fantastic bike trip, Selena at Bikescape and Mark at BikeRoundOz were outstanding to deal with and very gracious.

I'm meeting a new friend tonight for dinner and will be heading to Hong Kong in the morning. Looking forward to the flight as I'm on a Qantas A380, I am quite an aviation buff and have wanted to fly on one of these planes since I first saw the design sketches. I was fortunate enough to have frequent flyer miles that allow me to sit in first class, I'm not sure I'm refined enough to be there, but I'll make due.

Not much else going on now, just finished up posting my blog link into the BU Vista system and look forward to getting started with that when I get home.

Day 16

Byron Bay to Port Macquarie 410 kms (254 miles)

Quality Resort Sails

We left Byron Bay before 8 this morning for our first non-GPS day, a 400K ride down the Pacific Hwy to Port Macquarie.  It was a very uneventful ride with great weather and little traffic. We got into town around 3 and decided to skip the workout to instead explore the town. Port Macquarie had the IronMan Australia triathlon this past weekend, so banners, stages and such were in various states of removal, otherwise it was a very sleepy town, a good way to unwind from a fun week.

Day 15 (Surfing attempt)

Well we woke up early this morning and were setup with a surfing lesson at 9:45, pretty pumped with this and ready to go. The company the hotel contracts with to provide these canceled them because of the surf and rips, well since we were only going to be here for today we sought out a surf instructor with less concern for his liability insurance. Probably not the best idea in hindsight but still lots of fun. I was never able to get beyond my one knee up and was being knocked around like I was in a washing machine. The instructor kept telling Rick and I that as soon as our time was up, he was coming back because the waves were "calling him", that should have been another clear warning, but we ignored that as well. Rather than trying to describe the surf, just look at this video.

After coming back and rinsing off the sand, we went back into town to see what was going on, busy again, we just went to grab some lunch and some Hahn SuperDry (watch this video!!). Very chilled day, we're getting ready to go out for the evening and tonight the self proclaimed "Party Bar" Cheeky Monkey's is open, look out Byron Bay backpackers, US is in the house!!

Day 14

Brisbain to Byron Bay 165 km (102 miles)

Lord Byron Resort

Woke up this morning in Brisbane to a bright blue sky and a short ride ahead. Decided to go to the gym to get a good workout in before heading out. We started out towards Byron Bay, the eastern most point of Australia and were on the interstate, quite a boring ride so we pulled off and went through the beach drives, lots of tourist traffic and we ended up stopping for a bite in Surfers Paradise and do a little people watching. Not all that different from Panama City or Myrtle Beach. The more I travel the smaller the world seems to become.

Highlight of the day though was the demise of my GPS unit that has done such a great job finding our destinations. We're going down the interstate at about 120 kph (70 mph) fast by Australian standards, but very slow for 285, Rick is leading and hits a bump in the road and all of a sudden I've got a missile inbound, the unit hits the road surface and bounces twice before falling into pieces on the side of the road. We stopped (safely) about 1/2 mile further. After a discussion of are we going back and if we can even find it, would it work? We decided it was a futile effort and moved on. Well it took quite a bit of effort to locate the Lord Byron, not only because we lost the GPS, but because Mardi Gras 2012 was going on and the city was packed with both people and cars. After driving around Byron Bay in every direction but the correct one we get some local advice and she told us it was down from Woolies, well after figuring out what a Woolies was, she was right and we found it with no problem. We checked in and went out to see the town. Byron Bay has a cool, laid back feel and with lots of big money intertwined with back packers. We had a pretty relaxed evening with just some pizza and beer while talking to two French backpackers. These guys have been here for 6 months balancing seeing the country with working on farms to earn enough to stay a little longer. The really unique thing about them was their entrepreneurial streak; both are finishing up a dual Accounting / Pharmacy degree and want to develop a biotech company to develop the next big drug. Rick and I talked about some of the advantages in the US and business in general, never too far removed from work, I suppose. Being Sunday night and surfing coming up tomorrow, we decided to call it an early night.

Day 13

Lismore to Brisbane Map 205 km( 127 miles)

Diana Plaza Brisbane

Back to the beautiful Australian weather, we’re headed to Brisbane today; this is as far south as we’ll ride and marks our transition to the coastal riding. We stopped at a couple of parks / lookouts on the way, but the highlight was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I got to hold a koala (even softer than they look) as well as feed/pet kangaroos, emus and such, plenty of pictures. I know I’m limited on detail here, but I can’t put into words how cool this really was. I thought this was just going to be a tourist trap but it was a great experience and we closed the park down and would have stayed longer if we could.

We went out last night expecting to experience a Brisbane Cinco de Mayo as this was on the news earlier in the week. Well the celebration was quite weak, actually non-existent; guess the news had it wrong again. Brisbane didn’t disappoint otherwise though and the Southbank was packed. 

If you don't browse the full picture album, here are two:

Day 12

Bellingen to Lismore 275kms (171 miles)

LismoreWilson Motel

The weather was calling for showers all day but thankfully, the sun held out. Today’s route didn’t have any sightseeing stops unlike yesterdays “Waterfall Way” but it was one of the better rides. Not much traffic and nice curvy roads, very similar to SR-180 in N. GA, in goat path kind of way, what was different was the tractor trailers that use this road, not many, but when they showed up, I was on my toes!! It was really a day devoted to riding, no pictures even. We finished the day in Lismore around 3:30, add 45min to clean up and we were in the town by 4:30. Turns out this was graduation weekend for Southern Cross University and another night of celebration at the local pub was alright by me. So we’re mingling with the locals over pints of Tooheys Extra Dry when Rick and I comment that the students are closer to our age than the coeds I was picturing. We start talking to a group of graduates and discuss this, it seems as though most Australians graduate high school and travel or otherwise enjoy their youth before getting on with being an adult, maybe there is some wisdom in that thought process. The other unique thing with regards to secondary education is that it is paid for by the government, the only way it gets paid back is if you earn a certain amount when you start working. I would assume that works pretty well if you were a doctor or engineer but what about an artist or teacher? 

Day 11

Armidale to Bellingen 153 kms (95 miles)

Bellinger Valley Lodge

Well it just wouldn’t be a complete trip without breaking out the rain gear at least once and today was that day. It was a short day in terms of mileage but there was so much to see that we didn’t get to our hotel until almost dark. I really don’t have much to share that the pictures won’t tell, so enjoy these and rest assured that neither Rick nor I had any problems with leeches in our eyes!! ;)

Day 10

Hunter Valley to Armidale - 360km (224 miles)

Quality Powerhouse Hotel

Great ride today, lunch in Gloucester and a fantastic hotel in Armidale, see the link above for the full route. We're in the New England area and it's fall, leaves are changing and it was a cool, clear day. The landscape over this route remind me of the Shenandoah Valley area. Strange to think Australia is about the same size at the continental US, it had a gold rush, lots of natural resources, etc, could have easily evolved the way we did. Anyway, this region is the only part of Australia to have four distinct seasons. Armidale, where we are staying tonight, has a town population of 22k, 17k of which are students, you know what that means, another night on the town, something to make us feel older and so uncool, but still something to do. I'll keep it short today, but if something goes on tonight, I'll check back in.

Here are the pictures and a video

Day 9 (You gotta see this video, AKA STUPID AMERICAN)

Windsor to Hunter Valley - 263km (163 miles)

Pokolbin Village hotel

Hey guys- Rick here. You may be asking yourself why it is that I am posting for Paul. Well, I felt it necessary to try and explain what may be one of the dumbest things I have ever done. While riding on the famous Putty Road today, I thought it would be really cool to get a little video of us ripping through a few corners. We scouted a perfect spot and Paul set up the mini tripod and camera and I rode down the mountain to get my run started. I was so excited about getting a good video that I forgot the most important rule in riding- STAY ON YOUR OWN SIDE OF THE ROAD!!! For whatever reason, I totally cheesed it and reverted back to riding on the right side of the road. All I can say is that it is not my time to go. If it was, I'd be writing this from my grave. I learned my lesson and can say without a shadow of a doubt that I will not repeat this again. Without further adieu.....

PS- I'll apologize in advance for the gratuitous swearing. Apparently, a brush with death will make you cuss like a sailor!!!

Now watch it again and look in the motorcycle mirror at Paul trying to warn me and then bracing for impact- Classic!

Other than the near miss, it was a pretty laid-back day as we rolled into Hunter Valley and Australia's wine country. I started to drink immediately to take the edge off of the day.

Just glad to be here for the rest of the story!

... And, I'm back, here is what we were trying to go for:

Rick's second try!!

Me!

Here are today's pics too.

Day 8 (First day of riding!!)

Officially started the first day of my motorcycle trip, picked up the bikes from Selena at BikeEscape, great equipment, very helpful staff and only made fun of Rick and I for asking to connect a power outlet for our heated clothes. Selena also warned us about driving on the wrong side of the road, we assured her there were no worries.

Blue Mountains – Sydney to Windsor – 279Km (173 mi)

Windsor Terrace Motel

Daily Pictures

A little background for you, Rick and I ride are used to riding a lot, a Sunday morning ride can easily be 200 mi and be done before lunch, so when we got the itinerary from Mark at BikeRoundOz, at first we thought we would be bored. Usually the only sightseeing we do is while riding, the gentleman who set this up explained that the riding here is a little different than in the states, first of all, if is says the speed limit is 60K, they mean that, cameras are everywhere. We also found out that they are serious about drinking and driving, we came up to a road block and everyone was doing a breathalyzer, we took off our helmets and talked to the cop, mind you, this is a 4PM on a Monday afternoon, talk about a laid back country, they don’t do this because they never catch any one!!  Anyway after bailing out Rick, we continued on our way.

We went to Echo Point and saw the Three Sisters’ rock formation as well as taking on the Giant Stairway, we thought how difficult could it be, real difficult it turns out, while I got some pictures, this really doesn’t do it justice, once again another beautiful day. Here's my first "creative" video of Three Sisters and Jamison Valley.

So we rolled into Windsor around dark, found our hotel and unpacked. After cleaning up we decided to see what we could get into. We walked a few blocks over to the local pub and grabbed a beer, pretty dead place with 2 locals, the bartender and us. We enjoyed the beer but it looked to be an early night. Well after the 1^st beer going down so easily, we decided to partake in another, once that started a crew started hauling in the  gear, an upright bass, guitars, ukuleles, speakers, etc, looks like even a boring Monday night in sleepy Windsor, had potential. Turns out this was open mic night and everybody in town (I think) can sing, we were treated to a concert and camaraderie the whole evening. Some were great while others were OK, but all had the balls to get up there. I did record a few of the better acts but all are too big to post without editing.

Day 7

Today was a pretty low key day, just hung out by the Harbour in the morning and went to the hotel gym this afternoon to get my sweat-on or at least try to recover from last night’s festivities.  We also went over to the show one last time before picking up the bikes, most everyone was leaving, but there was this one unique “ribbon” show, check out these pics

 

So I was a little nervous driving on the left since I couldn’t even remember to stay left on the sidewalk, constantly interrupting the flow of people and receiving perplexing looks like I’m in the wrong, only after 2 days did I realize I was!! On the ride over to the shop my nervousness turned in to full blown stress, those who know me well know I don’t stress too often, so this was serious. We get to the shop and are talking to the owners who explain the local’s position on driving on the wrong side (they’re not too keen on it) as well as the problem with bailing out, our right side American bailout is the left side bailout for Australians, surely we are going to end up testing the Australian health care system!! Anyway, we finish up the paperwork, sign our liability or is that life away and after setting up the GPS for the hotel, off we go. Well I’ve got to be honest and tell you it was a non-event, now it helps that there is traffic to follow and cars parked on the side of the road pointed in the right direction, but overall, I was stressed for nothing.  I suppose though that thinking it’s nothing and not be focused can cause problems.

Back at the hotel, we hook up with Robert and Tom to grab a last night dinner (for them) at The Meat & Wine Co. down on Darling Harbour, again another fantastic meal, wine, beer and Maker’s Mark flowing freely while we attempt to solve all the world’s problems. I think we made a valiant effort, most remained unsolved, there is still a dependence on despot for energy and food for that matter, over population, etc, but what we did solve, while remaining unspoken for now, will have a tremendous effect on mankind.  Look Out!!

Day 6

Busy day being a tourist while Rick spoke at the conference, I'll keep it simple and let the day unfold by the pictures and map of my day.

Now the night couldn't go by that easily, finally adjusting to the local time, we weren't passed out at 8 and instead went to a VIP (really) cocktail party. We became instantly and intimately familiar with the local beers and wines while enjoying the company of some of the coolest and most interesting people in Australia. Everyone is so friendly and inviting, all wanting to know about the motorcycle trip with genuine interest. Before the reception was over there were multiple invites to "stop by" for a BBQ at various points on our route. There was also a spectacular fireworks display on Darling Harbour, some seemed to think this might be a Saturday night ritual, but I'm pretty sure they were celebrating us being here!! People were starting to thin out after a few hours, but that was just a sign that the real party was about to begin. We circled the wagons and with Emmett leading the charge we proceeded to find a spot for dinner. Being around 9PM on a busy convention/tourist Saturday the choices were limited for 12 people, or so I thought, one phone call later, a table was waiting, we by-passed the diners outside and were seated straight away, so maybe we weren't all VIPs, but Emmett and company surely were!! This was a fantastic seafood restaurant, however being a land lubber, crustaceans just weren't for me. Well some of the best steaks I've had were actually from seafood restaurants and this was no exception, a bone-in ribeye cooked to perfection, superb sides and of course, more drinks consumed while enjoying the company. After closing the joint we decided it would be a smart thing to get another drink (or three) and went to The Loft. Going out on the town with a crew in the know" makes all the difference and this was no different, what was different was seeing a dance floor packed with the rhythmically challenged. All of a sudden, my Deney Terrio / Tony Manero was itching to come out, thankfully for the Aussies, I was able to restrain myself, no need to make them feel inferior with all the great hospitality they have shown!!

The rest of the night I have to keep on the DL, you never know who reads this and I don't need any legal problems this far from home!! ;-)

Day 5 (Revised Evening!!)

I was so tired Friday night that I forgot we actually did something, here's a quick recap.

We decided to take in some local culture and went to a Rugby game at Sydney Olympic Stadium (ANZ) to see the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs take on the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, fortunately the Bulldogs were the home team, very easy to root for them, anyway, they got out to a quick start, but ultimately couldn't hold on for the win. Fantastic game once you understand and I found the Aussies more than willing to explain the game. Really interesting side note, just about every Aussie we've talked to has been to the US, but most Americans haven’t been here, don’t know if it’s the sense of adventure Aussies have or what. Anyhow, the atmosphere of the game was electric and you could see the dividing lines very clearly, I had in my mind that there would be a rugby hooligan presence, but by and large things stayed in control and the only fighting was on the field. 

Here is the opening kickoff:

Day 5

Friday was a beautiful day in Sydney, so we decided to squeeze in workout in the park. Just something to make sure that I keep my trip weight gain under 45 kilos with all this great food (Beer!!!!) As we were setting up a cool Aussie kid by the name of Lance approached us and wanted to know what the hell a couple "American blokes" were doing hanging strap over the branch of a eucalyptus tree. Turns out he is from Wagga Wagga, which is 5 hours from Sydney. He asked if we were doing Cross-fit, now mind you, Australia is the most fit nation on the planet and still, America has influence on exercise programs and this kid wanted to talk about it?!? We talked a bit about different exercises and pretty much everything else under the sun, Lance explained that he was the recipient of a scholastic award and in the city for that. So obviously this kid was smart, he talked about wanting to go into the Australian Army and fly Blackhawk Helicopters, nice to meet a kid with ambition and drive. He also commented that is was so cool that "older people" would do these kind of workouts in the park. Thanks... I guess!

 I’ve started a Picasa Web Photo Album with random daily pictures and will also post some videos directly into the blog. Here are two examples of a push to pike, bear in mind that the one of me is at the end of a 50 minute "killer" workout and suffice it to say, Lance took a little different route. Say what you will, but I don't think the difference in form has anything to do with being one of the "older people"... 

Paul  (DEAD TIRED!!)

Lance (SHOWOFF!!)

Rick (What is he talking about??? Comments welcome!!)

After the workout, we came back to clean up and head out for the day, at this point we needed some fuel so we went to a local café and ordered the breakfast special, empty place so we decided to stay. Once we told them we were staying, the price went up $10 each, no more food, just a “table” charge, WTF? They must not like us Americans :-(  Decided the money could be better spent elsewhere, took the sandwiches and went down to Darling Harbour to eat by the water. 

The rest of the day was spent in the Australian Fitness expo, which was the reason Rick came here in the first place and the catalyst for me to mark another item off of my bucket list. Have to say it was a really cool exhibit, seeing everything from the super fit to the super freak, take a look at my pictures above and you'll see what I mean. 

Nothing special to report for the evening festivities, actually came back to the room, showered to go out and ended up crashing early again. So sorry for no excitement!!

Day 4 (In Sydney)

Quick follow up to yesterday’s experience in the Narita lounge, I did find that they had a massage along with a full shower and  not to go into too much detail, but the Japanese have it all figured out with the bidet system built into the toilet seats, nice!!

OK, on to my first day in Sydney, I got in to the Four Points Sheraton around 9 this morning and meet up with Rick, we went out to grab a quick bite and walk around Darlington Harbor. After about a 1.5 hour walk we came back to the hotel and meet Robert. We then decided to walk over to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and take the full tour. It was expensive and long. but worth it. We went up and over the bridge, seeing the Sydney Harbor, the Opera house and Governors’ Mansion just to name a few.  After a 4 hour tour we finished up and started a Pub Crawl all the way back to the hotel. Went to the oldest bar in Australia, as well as the oldest bar in Australia and finally the oldest bar in Australia. I know, a bit of repeating myself, however each bar claimed to be the oldest, one even dating back to its first license issued in 1817. I’m not sure who is right as each has its own definition, one has had the building the longest, one has been in the same location the longest and this one with the liquor license date. Being the equal opportunist that I am, I sampled at all locations. I did really enjoy the different local brew, maybe too  though, I’m doing touch and go’s just writing this, so with that said, it’s around 8PM local time and I’m going to post this along with a cool picture and hit the sack. If this doesn’t quite make sense, please forgive me.

Take care,

Paul

Day 2 or 3??

Here I am in Tokyo and it's 4:30PM on 4/25, same day but 13 hours later, not real sure how this will translate for Sydney, I think 1 more hour change as it should only be a flight south (more or less) crossing the equator but not the IDL. BTW, the entire flight while covering 28 hours on the clock took about 13 hours, daylight the entire way. Also, JAL has installed a POV camera on the aircraft and I was able to see some cool icebergs as we passed over the Bering Strait, I was looking for the Wizard too but alas, today or yesterday wasn't that day.

Obviously, this is home of JAL and the Sakura lounge is quite swanky, funny thing though, here they separate the lowly business class (me) from the first class, I have to go downstairs with the upper lower class while the upper upper class stays upstairs. Both floors look out on to the same parked aircraft so I want to know what more do they get? I would like a massage, I wonder if they offer those upstairs?

During the flight over, I watched one movie, 'The Descendants' with George Clooney. This wasn't a movie that held enough interest for me to see at home but all in all, not bad. As for the executive seating, (JAL SHELL FLAT NEO) it sells itself as a flat bed but it is not quite flat, rather a slight downward incline. Sleeping for 8 hours, or at least trying you end up sliding down and being rather uncomfortable. The first half of the flight the aircraft was like a sauna too, after talking to the FA, I got her to understand it being hot and she adjusted the temperature, I was then able to sleep somewhat soundly with only the assistance of 1/2 Ambien.

Only 4 hours to kill here, not quite enough time to really do anything. Although with all these high end stores (duty free of course, which I think has to be some sort of scam), Phipps Plaza seems to have nothing on Narita, maybe I'll walk around and spend money I don't have or at least see if there is something I can't live without, or just people watch. Although in the lounge they have great Japanese beer and food that is complementary, so many choices with no real need to do anything.

Well next stop is Sydney, until then...

Day 1 (Lot's of Air time!!)

Hi Guys, Coming to you from JFK International Airport this morning. So I procrastinated as usual and didn't even start packing until 10PM last night. Now, before you question my integrity because the video post, from Sunday but posted last night, said I was packing, I was, but only in my head. Last night was crunch time and I ended up staying awake until 2:30AM and I set my alarm to wake me up at 3:30AM to be on a plane in Atlanta by 6. Well of course I didn't hear the alarm going off until 4:07 and I had to be at my Dad's house by 4:30. All I can say is thank you Marine Corps for teaching me how to SSS in under 5 minutes. I even had enough time to take the trash out, so I don't come back to that treat!

Right now, I'm in the Sakura Lounge of Japan Airlines, just walked in like I own the place and the polite Japanese ladies manning the store started to say something, then giggled, looked down and covered their mouths. Not sure if that means I'm a rock star or not, but I do know it means I got some good food, premium liquor (which I saved for later, small plane bottles you know) and plenty of NAYA water, not sure why JAL had Canadian water in New York, but who am I to question this stuff?

Since last night was such a late night, I'll try to sleep as much as I can from here to Tokyo. I may bust into my sleeping pills or the muscle relaxers, break out the kindle and see what happens. It's a 14 hour flight to Narita, then another 8 to Sydney and that doesn't include the 4 hour lay over. There is another Sakura Lounge in Tokyo that I will take advantage of, hopefully it's busier than here, there's only one other person right now and I'm pretty sure there would be a language barrier.

OK, enough for now, I'm going to walk the airport and see who I see and maybe I'll get recognized for the rock star that I am or at least mistaken for a member of the janitorial team.

D-Day -1

Wanted to give you a quick update on my trip, but first I want to apologize for no post yesterday. I did shoot a short test video and apparently I didn't uploaded it correctly, pretty good for a tech guy, I will work that out tonight, time permitting.

So I wanted to let you know the itinerary and some of the thing planned. I'll be leaving tomorrow at 4AM to catch a flight to LaGuardia and change airports to JFK, once there I have a 4 hour layover until I board Japan Airlines and fly non-stop to Tokyo, again another 4 hour layover and then on to Sydney. I'll arrive in Sydney on Thursday morning at 6AM, funny thing is I loose Wednesday somewhere along the way. I'll be in Sydney for 4 days, getting over jet lag, seeing the Opera House, taking a tour over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Hyde Park, The Rocks and anything else I can fit in, I'll be bringing some comfortable shoes for sure!! I won't go into detail of all the things to see on the motorcycle ride but here is the daily schedule, hopefully it looks interesting enough for you to come back each day and see what's new.

　

Sydney to Brisbane and Return

 

Total Distance – 2,552 kms ( 1,585 miles)

Summary of tour… (April 29 - May 9)

• Windsor area to Cessnock (Hunter Valley) 263km (163 miles)
 

• Cessnock to Armidale 360km (224 miles)
 

• Armidale to Bellingen 153 kms (95 miles)

• Bellingen to Lismore 275kms(171 miles)
 

• Lismore to Brisbane 205km (127 miles)
 

• Brisbane to Byron Bay 165kms(102 miles)

• Byron Bay/Ballina - rest day local area (Surfing!!)

• Byron Bay to Port Macquarie 410 kms (254 miles)

• Port Macquarie to Sydney 442 kms (275 miles)

• Sydney to Windsor via Blue Mountains 279km (173 miles)

Highlights include: Sydney, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, New England, Waterfall Way, Northern NSW, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Byron Bay & NSW northern coast.

D-Day -2 (Delayed Video Post)

OK, I've got my technical challenges addressed, this is a short test of my video camera shot yesterday. As an aside, between D-Day -1 and now, I called the airlines and changed my return flight so I would have another day in Hong Kong. How fun is this whole trip going to be??

D-Day -3

Welcome to the first of hopefully many blog entries over the next few months. I've started this as part of my FIRST class at Boston University (MET AD648) with the Masters of Science - Project Management as my end goal.

OK, let me back up a bit, I've been looking at graduate programs for a few years now and couldn't decide if I really wanted to pursue one, my friend Angeline, who got her MBA a few years back, even recommended against it and at the same time gave me one of the best complements ever, she said "Why would you want to put yourself through this, we are learning to do what you already do?" As some of you know I started PK Consulting, Inc (www.pk-consulting.com) in 1999, after dabbling in this as a side business for a few years while working in Corporate America, I approached a cross roads in my life in 2001, to make a long story short, serious health issues prevented me from working for "the man" any more and I had to turn PKC into a real business. Fortunately I was able to do so and have never looked back. Now when I complete this program it’s not like I’m going to promote or give myself a raise, however it's  something that I want to do just for me. If it enhances or adds to my current skillset and that transfer to current clients or allows me attract new ones, then great, but I think the sense of accomplishment along with the interesting, intelligent and diverse faculty and students that I will interact with and the “book” knowledge gained are the true draws back to academia.

So, D-Day -3, why is that the subject? Well I’ve started this blog a few weeks before class begins because I’m going on vacation and want to share that with experience with everyone (and I’m a little concerned I’ll run out of things to write in the daily grind). I am going to Australia for 2.5 weeks and will be renting a motorcycle to ride from Sydney to Brisbane going north through the mountains and returning on the coast. This is the trip that I’ve been planning, dreaming and saving for since I went into the Marine Corps at 18. Yea things have been stable for a while now, but it still never seemed to be quite the right time and I just kept coming up with excuses of why not. Well no more, I’m not getting any younger, despite my trying and when this opportunity arose and the stars all aligned, I decided to pull the trigger and am leaving on Tuesday. Thus I will be sharing stories, pictures, videos and whatever else I can think of to invite you in to this once in a lifetime experience.

Thanks for reading and we’ll talk soon.

Paul