Just a handshake from W 49th St.

It's 0245 in the Big A - drizzly luminous mist, the tops of the buildings glowing or lost in the murk high above (who lives up there?? -  and how different must be their lives...perhaps the line for a novel) and the subway steam wreathing around a lot. The garbage trucks crashing the big skips in and out of their compressors and the yellow cabs still busy. The night people are out in force.To coin a cliche. I've just been across 8th Ave to an all night food market for an onion bagel with cream cheese (bliss on a red carpet!) and what passes for coffee here. I'm fully back into the old Berri 3 hours on, 3 off routine that Pete and I were in for all those days and miles. Seems to happen every time I  cross a bunch of timezones and it does help with the jet lag.

In about 3 hours, I'll be leaving for La Guardia airport and a flight to Anchorage via Chicago. Food available for purchase and a charge for checked baggage. Overnight in ANC- in the Puffin Inn, a modest establishment next to the airport and then to Nome tomorrow. Where it will be sub arctic cold and twilight. I have some of the North West Passage arctic gear with me - will be fascinating to be there before the sea ice melts - in 2008, we snuck in following the melt and arrived on July 4th in time for the celebration. I'm hoping the barman at the Breakers' Bar will be cooking his special Brisket for the Iditarod finish as he did for July 4th. As promised, there will be photos. And a description of the brisket if it eventuates.

For those who care, some interest here in the concept of leaving NZ to starboard - but I doubt whether any or yer actual takers. We won't be doing the Fastnet this year - Entry list limit already reached and a waiting list of hundreds. Sad but, for this shoestring geriatric, probably inevitable.

So - for the two or three of you who might still be following this - see ya later today from ANC, airlines and wx permitting.