I’ve been documenting my life on the Pod Trail for 9 years sharing lots of personal and professional events including my family holidays and mini breaks and so to receive so many well wishes for Christmas, New Year and my 50th Birthday was truly amazing.

Thank you for following and supporting my journey on Facebook and Instagram, your encouragement kindness and humour, means so much to me and really does keep me going.

I want to share with you this week some of the unexpected and the surprises we encountered while we ventured across the world together.

Number 2. NEW YORK COPS.

For years I watched American rom coms depicting love and excitement when the famous ball began to drop the minute before midnight.

The reality was in order to create and preserve those once in a lifetime moments for 1.2 million people in Time Square on New Years Eve, thousands of officers from the NYPD were armed and dispatched to help safeguard us all.

They closed the subway and cornered off surrounding blocks with heavy metal barriers and strategically placed cop cars.

We were directed to walk up and down designated streets that lead us to stand in a spot to safely watch and rejoice in the magic together.

Coordinating 1.2 million people in a space encompassing an area of approximately 22,448 square feet is no mean feat.

Record breaking in fact.

I have never experienced being in such close proximity to so many fellow human beings in my life before.

It was exhilarating.

We were happily wedged in between a pretzel food cart and an industrial garbage bin on 7th Avenue West 56th St.

The air was crisp, our ears and noses tingled with a mixture of frost and excitement.

Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora whipped up the crowd while we all huddled together in anticipation as the ball began its 60 second descent.

And then it happened, the once in a lifetime moment.

2024 began.

And we were there together as a family the second it began.

03/01/2023