For Your Amusement

For your amusement...here is a picture of us stuck in a river in Mongolia. We had to bail out the floorboards. The bridge was out. It was dark and very silty. I'm full of excuses.

Anyway...please don't forget that it is never too late to DONATE to one of our worthwhile charities. Click on one of the links to the right. Even if you can only give a small amount...every little bit helps.

Also, for anyone who lives in Astoria and would like to do a good deed for a day...there are a couple of events that are seeking volunteers. First...we are looking for volunteers to work on New York Cares Day for Team Astoria Cares. The event will take place on Saturday, October 20 from 9:30am-3:30pm. Come out and have some fun helping clean up local schools. For information on the event and how to register, please contact Amy at AmyCeee@aol.com with the words "New York Cares" in the subject line. Second...we saw on the Joey in Astoria blog that Saturday, September 15 from 9am-12:30pm is the 21st Annual International Coastal Cleanup. You can help out at Astoria Park! Come down and register that morning. Please be sure to wear clothing that you can get a little wet and dirty in! For more information go to the Joey in Astoria website (http://www.astorianyc.blogspot.com/) or send an email to Karen.Overton@parks.nyc.gov

A Moment of Reflection

Some memories do not fade with time. For those of us who watched the Towers fall on September 11, six years ago, the images and grief of that day and the following days probably never will. This country, and indeed the world, was inevitably changed by the murderous actions of a few.

When I first signed up for the Mongol Rally, family and friends thought it was an incredibly bad idea. For some it was merely for comfort reasons - but I have never been one for a lazy beach vacation. For many others, worry for our safety, especially as Americans, was their primary concern. Arguments were waged and advice was given. In the end, my teammates and I ignored it all. And we will never regret that decision. All along our journey, strangers opened the homes to us. They helped repair our car. They fed us. Shook our hands. Asked questions about our families and lives at home. Smiled. Hugged us.

With politics, money and power dividing the world, it is easy to let our fears consume our lives. Although we should never forget the tragedies that happen in life, we must not let our anxieties lead us to make judgements too quickly. There will always be something to "fear" in the world. I just encourage everyone to take a journey like this. Off the beaten trail, away from the tour guides and cities. Kindness and openness exist. Only by getting out there can you really see that it truly is a wonderful world. And only by sharing with one another in this way can the openness spread.

In loving memory of all those we have lost and to a more peaceful future for all of us.

Amy

Czech, Slovakia and Hungary

Who knew Budapest would remind us so much of home... After seeing the Cafe Astoria, we couldn't resist having Greek food. Banking, lunch and a quick 15 minute tour down by the river and we were off again. Of course it took several hours to actually get out of Budapest. We will never complain about NYC traffic again. No...really. Our inability to read or find the names of streets had us following signs to the airport to get us out. At a petrol station on the outskirts of Budapest, a gentleman working for the AP in Hungary found a path through the gridlock to speak with us. He had heard of the Mongol Rally and wanted to meet us so he could follow our team website (and sign our car). Fame. And not even out of Europe yet. We promise not to let it go to our heads!

After leaving Prague, taking the wrong road and having to backtrack for an hour, Team MTA made up for lost time by blowing by numerous Rally cars. The VW was running well and the day was beautiful! Passed Jack Osbourne while driving through Slovakia. Guess which finger he is holding up as I take his picture?! Ah the camaraderie of the Mongol Rally. Made it to Hungary and found a great campground next to a sunflower field. After a long conversation with the charming young woman who was running the establishment and convincing her that we were not insane for covering a underpowered rustbucket with stickers and driving it to Mongolia we pitched our tents and had our first night under the stars.

Gallery

Its been a busy time for all of us over here at Team MTA. Thus picture posting has been going a little slower than we would like. While we will continue to to post pictures and stories here (and who know eventually some video clips?) I wanted to give everyone a link to a gallery that already has a few posted. . .

Click Here for the gallery.. or copy and paste the below address:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017743&l=91efa&id=27100175

I know, I know. Some of you may be saying "facebook... don't i have to sign up for that??" truth to view this album- no. just click away and enjoy the photos. Cheers for now!

Onward to Prague

Dover - check. France check. Belgium check. Germany check. Czech - check. A hard 24+ hour drive to the beautiful city of Prague. I'm sure the rest of Western Europe was lovely. I might be able to say this with more certainty if it hadn't been pitch black night for most of the trip. Alternating between sleeping and driving and visiting various petrol stations, Team MTA managed to take a few snapshots of roadsigns as evidence that we were actually there. I thought of my friend Peter's family as we passed the sign for Wurzburg. Sean waxed nostalgic as we passed within miles of his birthplace of Nurnburg. We all became very attached to the Mongol Mugs' car "Gaby", as for seemingly endless miles we saw nothing but their license plate. Numerous energy drinks later we managed to reach Prague - and find our hotel without getting lost. The Americans were beginning to feel confident. Too bad that would only last for a few more days! Attended the official Mongol Rally "Party in Prague" event then took a quick walking tour of the city. Prague is a magical city indeed and Team MTA highly recommends the beds at the Angelo Hotel. We dreamed about those beds often on the last two weeks of our journey.

The Launch in Hyde Park

Who would have thought that 200 crappy cars covered in stickers and loaded with spare tires would be a popular tourist attraction in a city like London...but lo and behold thousands of people came out to see the bizarre additions to the roads of the world that would be taking part in the Mongol Rally 2007. Maybe they came out for the performance of traditional Mongolian throat singing by Britian's premier performer of that genre. Most ralliers hoped it would sound better in Mongolia. We met a woman from New York now living in London who was thrilled to see her former hometown represented (thanks for your donation!). We bought ice cream to benefit charity from a team actually taking an ice cream truck on the journey. Various supped up car horns scared the horses in the nearby riding ring. 200 cars similtaneously reved their tiny engines and took over the streets of London for a drive by of Buckingham palace as they headed on their epic roadtrip. The Queen was in. What a view she must have had from her window. Wonder what she was thinking...

Not the only ones to break down

As you all now know, our car bought off of ebay had no clutch and broke down 10 miles after it was picked up. Thanks to the team's new friend Steve Theobald, a day later she had had several hundred dollars and many hours invested into her to get her up and running. We can't thank Steve enough for his help - would have been a very short trip without you!

Team MTA was not the only team to have problems before the race. We began Saturday morning getting and aerobic workout by helping push Green Team's 2CV through London to the start line in Hyde park (and two days later was a repeat in Prague). Good thing several teams were staying in the same hotel. Believe it or not, Green Team made it all the way to Ulaanbaatar - two days ahead of us! Congratulations boys! It was a pleasure parking next to you in the lock up!