In 5 days, I will be 27. (Yes Todd; I am really not 19, anymore.) Actually, I am quite shocked that it is already almost my birthday. You see, in my head, my birthday marks the beginning of the end of the year. You have my birthday, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and then suddenly you find yourself staring at a ball on the TV, screaming “Happy New Year!” It is hard to fully comprehend that almost 9 months of this year are done, and in less than 3 months, I will be back home. Let us not dwell on that fact too long, because I still have 2 full months left on this Race. And a birthday to celebrate!
Every girl gets to have a birthday wish right?!? Wanna know mine this year? OK!
I want to fly!
I know what you are thinking: “Karen, have you lost your mind as you have traveled the world. You can’t fly!” To that I have to say that the way things stand right now you are absolutely correct. But with a little help from all of you my birthday wish can come true! Let me explain.
Next month, we will be in Nepal. In case you were not aware (and I was not until I picked this route and did research of each country), Mount Everest is in Nepal. They offer plane rides around Mount Everest and. since I am going to be there any ways, as well as, it would be a very cool experience, I thought “Why not?” So my birthday wish is to fly around Mount Everest. Some of my teammates have looked up prices for the trip and the cost ranges between $150- $200.
Also, in case you have not had access to a calendar as much as I have this year and are surprised that it really is coming to the end of September, you may not realize that December will be here before we know it. I still do not have all the details about when and where I will be flying into the United States. However, unless it is Florida (highly unlikely based on what I have been told thus far), I am responsible for buying my plane ticket back home. I have done some pricing of tickets and it looks like I should be able to find a one-way ticket home for around $120-$150. So my birthday wish also includes me wanting to be able to fly home at the end of my Race.
Here is where you come in. I have seen you do it before. You listened to God and I watched my support account hit $15,500, an impossible task in my head. I know this time is a little different and the trip around Everest would be just for fun, but I still have faith that you can help make my wish come true. To purchase tickets for both I would need anywhere from $200-$350. Obviously, the higher priority of the two would be the plane ticket home, so funds would go to that first. If I raise enough for both, then I would do the trip around Everest, as well.
The easiest way to give is through my PayPal account. The money in PayPal can be directly transferred to my bank account and I can make purchases using my debit card or by withdrawing money from an ATM. Just click the "donate" below, or search for me through my email address: [email protected] . Another way to give is to get the money to my parents who can put it in my bank for me. If you need their address to mail money to them, let me know and I can provide it for you.
Thanks so much in advance for helping make my birthday wish come true!
