We are absolutely blessed, beyond belief! I woke up in my own bed this morning, after 36 hours of non-stop travel, having left Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, flying to Johannesburg with my colleagues, waiting at the airport for about 5 hours for our respective flights, and then Shanda and I boarded our flight to NYC – (and what a commotion when it came to security at the Johannesburg airport – Wow! – Shanda and I were again ‘searched’ before entering the departure gate area – very interesting!)

Leaving the amazing Victoria Falls Hotel on Sunday morning (I think it was Sunday, LOL – I have totally lost track of time!) – some of our colleagues had already departed for their safari adventure – Darla, Kate, Ezra and Marli were off and running. I got up early to go and bid them farewell but as I ran to the Reception area (remember – I was up past midnight attempting to upload photos for the previous blog!) – their van was just pulling away. It was just like in the movies, with me running, saying ‘stop……..!”……ha, ha, ha. Oh well, I had great intentions!

Had an amazing and relaxing breakfast on the terrace with my colleagues – the monkeys and warthogs were out and about. It was a sunny, gorgeous day again – I love the type of winter they have in Zimbabwe. Works for me! Temperatures were perfect – in fact, warmer than normal they said. Had my last African latte, chocolate croissant, scone (oh, carb overload, for sure!) – and omelet. The birds were enjoying the fountain in the middle of the terrace. All was well with the world. Caught a great photo of our fabulous tour leader, Sandy Salle (http://www.hillsofafrica.com) (who is also in my mastermind group with Suzanne Evans) –

And it was time to pack up and head to the van for the beginning of our long journey home. Because of some of the ‘luggage challenges’ experienced by Suzanne and Melonie on this trip, Melonie made sure that she would never be caught in that situation again (see photo of Melonie on the van, with back-packs fully loaded, LOL) – way to go, Mel!

Travel went smoothly – we parted ways at the Johannesburg airport with Suzanne, Melonie and Paige – who headed off on another adventure and a safari. I spent some fun time at the Johannesburg airport with Tina, Matthew, Shanda, Sandy, Kim……….we did some shopping, some eating, some wandering……….and then it was time to move on. Shanda and I were on the same flight to NYC and it was nice to have company for that 16 hour flight through the night! Shanda taught me how to play Black Jack on line – hey, that could turn out to be a valuable skill, right?! We were all given little travel kits, from South African Airlines (who I now love, by the way – they are simply the best!!) – and in that little kit, were orange socks (who knew it would get so chilly on that overnight flight, anyway?), an orange eye mask, toothbrush, etc. – Shanda and I immediately thought of our beloved Matthew – so had to take a photo to let him know he was with us in thought as we flew through the night, LOL! We settled in with some Bailey’s Irish Cream, some wine, Black-Jack, orange socks and all……..and had a wonderful visit together before getting some sleep. Thank you, Shanda! – it was great travelling with you.

We landed in NYC in early morning – but not before I caught some great photos of the sunrise from the airplane. That flight gave me time to reflect on the journey of the past week in Zimbabwe. My gratitude journal over-floweth.

Then it was time to say good-bye to Shanda as we went our separate ways – she grabbed her flight home to San Diego – and I was off to find my connection to Toronto, and then on to London (Ontario). It was, indeed, a long day of travel – when I got to Toronto, there were TVs everywhere playing the Canada Day celebrations from Ottawa. Made me proud! I saw this fabulous sign near one of the restaurants in the airport – check it out – Why I love Canada!

It was wonderful to arrive at the London airport to have my fabulous neighbors, Mike and Veronica, waiting for me. I was sooooooo tired – and it was great to be able to just jump in the car and head home. Thank you, both!

A hot shower was first on the agenda………get some groceries……..update the blog and Facebook, of course (I love being connected!) – and did everything I could to stay awake till at least 8 p.m. and get back on track with local time.

And that, my friends, ends this incredible journey! It was, indeed, life-changing……….so many emotions, so many experiences, so many new relationships, so many miles.

For those of you who say to me/us, ‘oh, you’re so lucky!’ – let me say this – LUCK has NOTHING to do with this. I/we created this experience. Suzanne had a dream……..she shared the dream…….there was an opportunity presented to us – and I, for one, grabbed it. I have worked hard, I have grown my business, I made good money – and this ‘dream’ was in total alignment with my own company’s vision and mission – to empower women around the world to live their best life, and to make good money to make that happen! Had I not seized this opportunity, it would have been on my ‘list of regrets’ – and I choose not to live my life that way.

So, what are your excuses? Where are you getting in your own way? Where are you feeling ‘unlucky’? What is your dream? What are you doing to make it happen? YOU have the power. Do something about it!
Thanks for following. Loved having you along on the journey……. 

Bye for now.

Happy Pat!

P.S. More photos here: http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/London/blog-727412.html