Feb
16
2012
+Kum Georgie
Although your time with us was shorter than we had all hoped,
our love for you and the memories we made together will last forever.
Vječnaja pamjat.
Nov
18
2011
For your information
Curious about exactly where we’re headed while in New Zealand? Check out this map–we start in Queenstown, then head clockwise until we reach Christchurch.
View New Zealand Vacation in a larger map
Nov
17
2011
New Zealand Bound
Our latest adventure will be an epic trip to New Zealand, which begins tomorrow and ends 18 days later!
Experiencing the natural beauty of New Zealand served as our guide in developing the itinerary. The trip will include:
- two-day, one-night cruise through the Doubtful Sound of the Fiordland National Park
- three-day, two night hike on the Routeburn Track near the Milford Sound
- full-day hike on the Franz Josef Glacier
- kayaking Abel Tasman National Park
- an incredible dolphin encounter (expected to swim a pod of 300-400+ dolphins)
- exploring Christchurch
We believe that the adage “nothing good comes easy” even applies to vacations. Getting from Chicago to New Zealand will be quite a trek. A 28 hour trek, to be exact.
Flight #1: 4.5 hours – Chicago to San Francisco
Layover #1: 2 hours in San Francisco
—
Flight #2: 13 hours – San Francisco to Auckland
Layover #2: 6 hours in Auckland
—
Flight #3: 2 hours – Auckland to Queenstown
To help us along our journey, we’ll have a rental car (which I suppose we’ll have to drive on the left side of the road) and a local cell phone. While we’ve heard that New Zealand is expensive, the current trend on exchange rates will work in our favor (100 NZD = $77 USD). And with a 19-hour time difference, our heads may be spinning for the first few days.
Stay tuned because while in New Zealand, we will try to occasionally add new blog posts and share updates on Facebook.
Catch ya’ll on the flip side!
Oct
10
2011
04:54:09
1,000,000+: Spectators
45,000: Runners
22,123: Overall rank
1,868: Dollars raised for the American Cancer Society
400+: Training miles ran
76: Temperature at noon
18: Weeks of training
12mins 07secs: Average pace per mile
04hrs 54mins 09secs: Finishing time
6: Gel packs consumed during the race
3: Lost toenails
2: Incredible sources of inspiration
1: Amazing cheering group of family and friends
May
30
2011
You May Kiss The Bride
There’s no better way to spend a long weekend than at an epic family wedding.
Cheers to Norman and Sylvia!
[picasa width="600" height="400" autoplay="1" showcaption="1"]https://picasaweb.google.com/cbalach/20110528NormanSylviaSWedding[/picasa]
[picasa width="600" height="400" autoplay="1" showcaption="1"]https://picasaweb.google.com/cbalach/20110528NormanSylviaSWeddingLouSCamera[/picasa]
Apr
26
2011
A Marathon For Olivia
Today I signed up to run the Chicago Marathon to celebrate my cousin Olivia who has battled cancer since she was 5 years old. If you’re interested in supporting me, check out my pledge page.
Countdown to race: 166 Days
Miles run-to-date: 3 mi.
Progress towards fundraising goal: $0 (goal $950)
