Where was I? Oh yeah, my head was in the clouds!
Sunday March 14, 2010, was my first night in a proper bed for over two months. And it was a good one. It needed to be, because I had a busy week ahead. The whole of Monday was spent with my dad and brother cleaning out the boat, preparing it for the return journey home. As I’m sure you can imagine, that’s a whole lot of cleaning.
Because I’d set off prepared for up to 100 days at sea, I also had loads of food left over. Rather than let it go to waste, we boxed it up and it’s now being distributed to the people who need it most in Guyana. Given how bad some of it tasted, I think they might wonder whether it’s some kind of test when it arrives! But, after the fantastic welcome I was given in Guyana, it was the least I could do.
Although I was only around for a few days, Carla and all the guys at the Tourism Authority made sure that I saw the best of Guyana and, just 48 hours after getting off my boat, I stepped into another slightly terrifying mode of transport; a six-seat plane to take us to see the Kaieteur Falls, an amazing waterfall about 120 miles inland from Georgetown. After a relaxing few hours watching the water flow over the edge of a cliff, we quickly escaped the incoming fog and returned for my final night, as I prepared for my entry into complete chaos.
That chaos came in the form of New York City and more interviews than I could have possibly imagined. The day was spent jumping into cars from studio to studio as I tried to answer every question that came my way without looking like I was about to fall asleep through 
exhaustion. A brief respite came in the form of a really cool interview with Rosie O’Donnell but, by the time the day ended, I had nothing on my mind but sleep. So sleep I did!
I’m now back home in Ohio, gradually sorting through all the video and photos I took as I crossed the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll share them with you as soon as I can, which hopefully will be from tomorrow, so please come back to have a look! In the meantime, here are some of the interviews I did over the past week. I hope they’re not too cringe-worthy!
{ 15 comments }
So proud of you, Katie! What an awesome and inspiring young lady you are. May God continue to bless you and use you to bless others as you have done so far.
Again congratulations Katie: I wish Mentor had done a homecoming down Rt. 20 for you on Saturday. . . . and even your neighbors, I thought they would have decorated the street. . . . . if you lived in my neighborhood you would have had the red carpet rolled out for your welcome home after what you’ve done!! I’m sure it was good to see your mom, the rest of your family and your own bed. . . . .can’t wait for the pictures. . . .and of course we’ll all be back. .. . you’re amazing!!!
Awesome interviews. Your cousin Jim’s wife, Rachel shared many of the links with me so I had already seen all of them but the Discovery Channel one. I think I liked that one and the one with Anderson Cooper the best. Love the picture of you above the falls in Guyana. It must be SO good to be home again. Get lots of rest and give yourself time to adjust to the “real world” again. I will continue to share your blogs and pictures with my first graders. They think you are just awesome!!! Congratulations and WELCOME HOME.
Welcome Back home. May the collective Sighs of your many fans allow you rest, and energize you for your next Quest. We are on board
Katie, I couldn’t keep up with you once you were in NY and started your interviews so, THANK YOU for the links to them. I was tracking your flight home from LaGuardia to Cleveland and have a snapshot of the info from Continental Airlines stating “landed … taxiing to the gate” … I will e-mail this to you so you can put it in your journal or whatever you are keeping of this expedition. it’s kinda cool. A sense of PEACE came over me when I saw it, anyways.
Catch up on things… you deserve some ‘time off’ … altho I know you won’t take much… but know all of us at Pentair are thinking about you and are just glad you are HOME.
Michelle
Awesome..awesome…awesome!
That is the best way I can describe you Katie.
We are all so proud of you. All of my co-workers at the Willowick Post Office and a bunch of my customers from my route were following you every row of the journey. My dad – Uncle Norm – even made a Mini-Wilson 3 out of a Wilson golf ball in your honor!
You also did a great job on your interviews and we are looking forward to seeing you real soon!
Also looking forward to seeing more of your photos and videos.
Congratulations!!
Thanks for sharing the links. What I now understand about your endurance adventures, is that they are “Active Meditations”! This is what is drawing you, to step out of daily life and preform a repetive ritual, and submerse yourself into meditation. I now get it.
I do Bikram Yoga and it does feel like meditation to focus on body and breath, while putting your body in different poses; active meditation.
Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts, allowing us to be present in your adventures. Looking forward to next journey.
Welcome home, and thank you for the links and interesting interviews! Hopefully, you’ll still be young enough when the U.S. chooses it’s astronauts for our first manned trip to MARS! ; )
So great you are getting all this excellent publicity Katie, and well done on the $75 000 raised for the Blue Planet Foundation. I hope you are resting up at home and I look forward to seeing more videos and photos. I will keep looking at your website in anticipation for your next adventure.
.
Hi Katie, thank you so much for your interview! I really enjoyed talking to you about your amazing adventure. The finished story is posted now at http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/03/katie-spotz.html. Thanks also to your PR agent, Betty, for setting this up so quickly! Hope you enjoy the article. Thanks again for sharing your story with me for Intelligent Travel (www.intelligenttravelblog.com). – Kristen
LOVE the photo of you laying out over the waterfall, Katie. Well deserved seeing of a sight.
I’m poised and ready to ring up Phil Keoghan to get you and Sam on The Amazing Race ……. don’cha think you guys’d be shoo ins? (shoos in? In the shoo? Where’s my shoo?) I and the rest of the Katie fan club definitely do.
Love that you’re continuing to blog and I hope to be seeing loooots more, along with the photos/videos you’ve promised. (hear that? PROMISED)
- Rachel
thank you so much for posting the links to all the interviews! You did a GREAT job! I can’t imagine going from over 2 months all alone on the ocean to being plunged into NYC chaos AND having to conduct yourself with poise (not to mention “hair and makeup”) with all those tv people and cameras! Way to GO!
Please take some time to decompress and enjoy your friends and family in Ohio. I can’t even imagine how glad your mom is to have you under her roof, in your own bed!!!!!!!!
When my son came home from Iraq the first time i cried while he was in the shower. It was just so “regular” and peaceful and happy.
You did such a great job – raising all that money for clean water. And good for you for giving your leftover food away! I’m sure they appreciate it!
Looking forward to hearing you on Tuesday 3/23 on radio WDOK Cleveland. . . hopefully it will be on my way to work. . . and hopefully you will also save and share it with us. Just wondering. . . .where is Sam? I don’t see many posts from him. . . and you’re right – Lake Erie is certainly COLD. . . .and rolling. . . . it isn’t Spring yet in Cleveland!
Thank you Kate,
I sure will be back to look through those pics!
Hello Kate! You are truly a Goddess incarnate! What a wonderful example of Spirit and Soul! You have worked hard to make this world a better place and you have accomplished it! I am looking forward to hearing more about you and your cause in the future. I am sure you know how blessed you are, but I doubt that you recognize just how much you have blessed others. I believe that this is just the beginning of all the great things in store for you, and for the millions you have touched! You rock girl! Blessed Be Sweetie! So cool you are from Ohio! Us Ohioans are made of some good stuff huh?!?! Peace! Ra
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