THE CHEAPEST GAS: $1.60/GALLON IN CHINA

THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAS: $8/GALLON IN ATACAMA DESERT, WHERE WE HAD TO GO DOOR-TO-DOOR SOLICITING GASOLINE.

WORST PLACE TO RUN OUT OF GAS: THE ATACAMA DESERT IN SOUTH AMERICA, OR THE ROAD OF BONES IN RUSSIA.

THE GAS STATION THAT WASN’T A GAS STATION: IN CAMBODIA, THE KIDS SELL FUEL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, USING ONE-LITER JOHNNY WALKER BOTTLES.

FUNNIEST ROAD SIGN: “DON’T GOSSIP, LET HIM DRIVE.” -SEEN IN INDIA.

SCARIEST DAY: GETTING A MILITARY ESCORT THROUGH IMPHAL, INDIA.

NUMBER OF TIMES WE WERE SHOT AT: ONCE IN PHUKET, THAILAND

THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE: LAOS AND MYANMAR (They smiled ear to ear.)

WORST DRIVERS: CHINA AND ARGENTINA

WORST CAB DRIVERS: BANGKOK. THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE ANYTHING IS.

THE BEST CAB DRIVERS: ARGENTINA. THEY KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING IS.

NUMBER OF REPLACED WINDSHIELDS: 5

NUMBER OF OIL CHANGES: 1

THE BIGGEST BRIBE AT A BORDER CROSSING: $400 Russia

THE LONGEST BORDER CROSSING: CHINA. IT TOOK 10 DAYS. (They impounded our vehicles!)

SHORTEST BORDER CROSSING: USA. IT TOOK FIVE MINUTES!

I CAN’T BELIVE WE SAW THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MANGO.

I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MET THE DALAI LAMA.

CANS OF RED BULL CONSUMED: 2,125

INTERESTING FOOD CONSUMED: GUINEA PIG (CALLED CUYEA), RAW HORSE MEAT, SEA SNAILS, CRICKETS, SILK WORMS AND MAGGOTS.

NUMBER OF DOCTOR’S VISITS: 15 (No connection with the interesting food, we think.)

SPICIEST FOOD: THAI FOOD IN SINGAPORE, THAILAND

HOTTEST DAY: 128°F (53°C) Mojave Desert, California USA

COLDEST DAY: -58°F (-50°C) Yakutka, Russia near Oimyakon, aka ‘The Pole of Cold’

HIGHEST ALTITUDE DRIVEN: 18,640 feet (5682 meters) OVER KHARDUNG LA PASS IN LEH, INDIA (Himachal Pradesh)

LOWEST ALTITUDE DRIVEN: -505 FEET IN TURPAN, CHINA (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region)

OUR TOP OF THE WORLD/HIGHEST LATITUDE: WE CROSSED THE ARTIC CIRCLE IN PRUDHOE BAY, ALASKA. (USA- North 70° 19’ West 148° 18’)

OUR LOWEST LATITUDE: 100kms SE OF USHUAIA, TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA, (South 54° 58’ West 66° 44’)

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT TOOK SO LONG: ONE DAY IN MYANMAR, IT TOOK US 15 HOURS TO DRIVE 75 MILES. (Monywa to Kalewa)

THE MOST DESERTED: WE DROVE THREE DAYS IN AUSTRALIA WITHOUT SEEING ANOTHER MOVING CAR. (Gun barrel Highway)

ARE WE THERE YET? LONGEST DRIVING DAY: 40.5 HOURS. (FROM ARICA, CHILE TO SANTIAGO, CHILE.)

NUMBER OF TRAFFIC TICKETS: 3

Members of the parkinson’s institute, friends, family, and generous sponsors. Thank you for coming out today. Today our drive around the world for Parkinson’s is complete.

Sixteen months ago we left this very parking lot on an exciting journey that would be used to highlight a problem that many of us face—Parkinson’s Disease. We began a drive that took us south and we traveled down the baja peninsula, through mexico, central America, and south America. And when we reached the bottom the Americas we drove to where the road simply ends.

Our expedition was called LONGITUDE and our aim was to drive as far south as possible, and when we could go no further—we moved the expedition to the other side of the world and began driving north. We took a ship to Australia and traveled across the outback on back roads. For days we didn't see another living soul. The vehicles performed well even when the only gas available for 500 miles was 112 octane aviation fuel.

Another ship took the team from Australia to Singapore where we continued north through southeast Asia, and up the coast of Thailand toward China. On the beaches of Phuket, we camped 30 feet from shore and made friends with people like David Thurston—a retired journalist with Parkinsons whose first introduction to the disease came in the form of a tremor while he was typing. We challenged him to use his skills to make a difference. Months later a Tsunami hit these same beaches. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who were affected by this tradgedy. And I mention it because somehow, having been there makes it all more real.

We spent seven weeks in Bangkok, planning the first overland crossing of Myanmar in more than fifty years. When we arrived we learned that more than politics and had kept others out. We hit Myanmar during the worst monsoons in 15 years. It took us 16 hours to travel 100 miles through the muddiest roads I’ve ever seen—in some places the mud came up to your knees. Then we entered the insurgent ridden areas of far-east India, near Imphal where armed guards gave our convoy an escort through a mountaineous region that is as beautiful as it is dangerous. Continuing through India, we experienced roads of chaos and dodged everything you can imagine. Then in the Himalayas we drove over the highest motorable roads in the world—according to Guinness one of them—the highest—was 18,640 feet. We had a guest along—a private pilot and friend, Matt Candelaria—and when we reached the top Matt turned to me and said, I haven’t even had my plane this high!

Continuing north, we learned that Asia had a lot in store for us. In a brief and unexpected encounter, our team visited with His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama at his home of exile in northern India. He wished us a safe journey, gave a blessing to the team, and he even wrote a personal message on the hood of our Land Rovers. It says:

"For this long journey that you are taking I pray that you have no obstacles and that you may be successful and able to complete it."

And it seemed like an eternity but we finally reached Russia where the vehicles were prepared with fully synthetic fluids that would brave the coldest temperatures we’ve experienced. Near a place called, “The Pole of Cold” --known as the coldest inhabited pace on earth, our team recorded a low of minus 58 farenheight. We crossed two barely frozen rivers that were not officially opened. The locals told us it was ok but one 300-yard crossing began with a huge crack in the ice so we spaced out the convoy and reached the other side. I was relieved until our producer, Adam Burgess came to me and said, “Hey guys, let’s do that again so I can film it.”

And today we’ve completed the final leg of the expedition—leg number 8—which was a drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska—way up above latitude 70, above the arctic circle, and the highest road in the Americas—down through Alaska, Canada, and finally down the Pacific Northwest states, back to the Parkinson’s Institute--where it all started.

But why did we make this drive?
We did it because it was fun, because it was a challenge, and it taught us about resolve and what people are made of--but the main reason we did it is because our family members have Parkinson’s Disease and we were tired of feeling helpless. We were tired of asking ourselves the question that we all ask when faced insurmountable problems—“what can I do?” We’re not doctors. We’re not scientists. So Drive Around the World was formed as a creative response to helplessness. Using what we love to do—driving and traveling--we set off on the longest charitable drive-a-thon that’s ever been attempted. And using a satellite phone and a web site we shared every single day of the journey—hoping to inspire people to travel, learn about this disease, and support Parkinson’s research.

And what did we accomplish?
As we drove from city to city, we managed five non-profit programs. Our education program visited natural and cultural sites of interest and these visits were shared with students throughout the world. The Distance Learning Vehicle—a special vehicle, identical those on the expedition, was provided by Land Rover Certified and traveled to schools in the south, midwest and west coast, promoting a free distance learning program. And I’m proud to report that our Program Director, Todd Borgie—with some help from the team—answered more than 7500 questions posed by students.

But Todd Borgie’s education program did not stop with students. He also interviewed doctors, researchers, and people with Parkinson’s in nearly every country we visited. All of the information we learned from these interviews is now available on our web site—we hope it gives some hope and inspiration to those who are affected by this disease.

Adam Burgess and his film crew of Burgess Productions has documented the journey and we’ve shared our story with dozens of magazines, newspapers, radio and television stations. Also, hundreds of people within the sixty companies that supported us now know a little more about Parkinson’s than they did 15 months ago.

Through these programs we managed to learn and teach the world about Parkinson’s Disease and I consider the efforts of this team a success.

And now it's time to say THANK YOU to our supporters.
The LONGITUDE expedition team goes far beyond the drivers. It includes the domestic support team, our sponsors, our family and friends, and the countless people who helped us on our way around the world. I can tell you that for the most part, the world is genuinely friendly to travelers.

I’ll begin by thanking our board of directors:
Chris Hauk and Tom Clare. And our Advisors, first--Bill Baker who took a chance on a guy with a crazy vision because he knew what we were up against. Also, Jonathan Knowles, Lonnie Chrisman, Ralph White, Dr. Langston, and Steve Wozniak--Your example and advice has been more helpful than you will ever know.

I’d like to thank our sponsors beginning with:
Land Rover Certified’s Pat Ward who I admire because, from day one, Pat was confident in the vehicles he supplied and in our team. We also thank Miah Bradbury, Patricia Morisette, Larry Rosinski, Debbie Sandford, Daphne Greene, Nicole Marshall, and our angel, Laura Hagen. You all have shown unwavering support even when we hit delays, and we are truly grateful for all that you have done. And as for your vehicles—they delivered us, protected us, and became our homes of over a year. We’ve always known they are the best by far and so are you. Give it up for Land Rover Certified!

We thank our official vehicle shipping partner, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and specifically Andrea Farrison for heping with so many arrangements to get the vehicles safely from continent to continent.

Thanks also to BFGoodrich and Christian Flathman. We’d like BFGoodrich to know that by rolling in here today we can say that we drove the entire length of the Pan American Highway—the longest motorable road it the world without a single puncture.

Thanks to Exxon/Mobil 1 and Don Empie and Debra Emory. In the extremes the only thing protecting us was our vehicles and the only thing protecting them was Mobil 1.

Thanks to Ellen and the staff at Prosigns and also Molly Designs for doing such a great job with the vehicle designs.

Thanks to Charles D’Andrade and his talented staff at Rover Accessories for not just installing accessories on the vehicles but for delivering solutions.

Thanks to Iridium and Patty Seagraves. Their satellite phone is what allowed us to deliver five non-profit programs and stay in touch with family no matter where we were in the world.

Thanks to Seagate--our official technology sponsor. We thank the President, Bill Watkins, and Gary Gentry who provided laptops for the team and hundreds of USB pen drives that we’ve distributed to schools, Parkinson’s organizations, and research sites throughout developing countries that are absolutely hungry for technology.

Thanks to Yvonne Pratt of Hella who supplied the vehicles with an amazing lighting system and also for providing thousands of keychain LED lights so we’d have a useful gift for kids.

A very special thanks to Hayes Wheelless of Red Bull for arranging an endless supply the energy drink. Having Red Bull along was like having an insurance policy that kept this team alert and awake.

And thanks go out to Rob Roskopp of Santa Cruz Mountain Bikes—Your bike helped the unstoppable Nancy Olson to stay mostly sane during the journey,

I'd also like to thank Rick Blum of K&N filters, Warn, Panasonic, Makita, Hannibal, ARB, Optima, The North Face, Garmin, Keyhole software, Gibson Dunn and Crutcher, Bootsnall, minitool, and Telenor/Marlink.

Finally, I’d like to thank the entire LONGITUDE Expedition team starting with our program director, Todd Borgie. He was responsible for so much and you simply cannot ask for a more loyal, dedicated, and determined friend.

Nancy Olson—who tirelessly edited and posted our journals every single day.

Adam Burgess—our film producer who worked hard to capture the journey.

And members of our final leg team, Mark Cope, Jim Magdych, and Ken Burgess. They helped with the driving, filming and planning. [We nicknamed Ken Burgess Tic Tac because he’s a breath of fresh air.]

The LONGITUDE Expedition was a fifteen month road trip for Parkinson’s. It was supposed to take only nine. For financial and personal reasons, several members of our team had to leave us at various points but I'd like to recognize a few individual who aren't up here.

Chanda Baggarly, our country research director, accountant, and web developer. Chanda has made countless contributions and I appreciate her and all she has done to move this mission forward.

Our Take Me With You! guests:
We shared some serious adventures with these folks. They not only helped with the driving, they brought new energy to our team and helped us share the journey with thousands. There were 30 guests in all. I send special thanks to a few of them: Manrico and Mary Beth Delcore, Sue Mead, Larry Rosinski, Debbie Sandford, and Matt Candelaria.

And we say a very special thanks to several team members who couldn't be here today but did so much to make this drive a reality:
Travel writer Rolf Potts, Justin Mounts our navigator/medic, and Colin McAuliffe our cameraman. These team members have also made countless contributions and we thank them, and wish them all the very best in everything they go on to do.

I’ll also recognize our domestic support team. Chuck and Stephanie Hudson, Chris and Gwen Hauk, David and Mary Homa, and all the teachers who used the Longitude learning program in their classrooms.

And I would be amiss if I didn't say thanks again to Dr. Langston and the people of the Parkinson's Institute. You work is both important and inspiring and everyone here, and folks throughout the world, appreciate you and your efforts.

People often ask me, "what lessons have you learned?" I'm still working that one out, but right now I tell them:
A journey of any kind teaches you that the world isn't as cut and dried as you might like it to be. To make amazing or extraordinary things happen, you must first believe you can make a difference and then you must continually persevere.

I’d like to thank you all for helping us make this expedition a reality, for being part of this journey. Those of you in the scientific community--those who are doing research toward a cure for Parkinson's and other neurological disorders--
Your work is important. Don't ever forget that. I encourage you to stay on this road. Stay in this fight against Parkinson's. Over the past years I can't tell you how many times we've said the words, "Parkinsons Disease" but I can envision a day when we no longer need to hear these words.

Thank you!