This article went out to 500,000 BoatUS readers today.

       It's not about a boat, instead it talks about spreading awareness of Parkinson's Disease!

 

 

Family Ties III

Just because it's been awhile since you have heard from us, it doesn't mean were not still fighting the fight against parkinson's Disease and guess what? I am winning!

 

Becky and I have had a busy summer with motivational type presentations, professional speaking engagements and short trips with new boat. Now, at the top of our list, it's time to get the boat ready for our next adventure as we cruise to the bahamas, Exumas, Turks and Caicos Islands. We have a ton of stuff to get ready on the new boat boat which has lots of moving parts. To give you an idea of the complexity of electronics equipment, they have spent over and 160 hours just to install the equipment. That's a cool 4 weeks worth of work for 1 person nonstop. Actually, we have 39 mechanical and electronic issues to deal with before we leave the dock in 3 weeks, hence I'm not bored. BUT I AM kicking Parkinson's Disease in the butt each and everyday, which brings me great pleasure!

 

Make absolutely no mistake about it, with my tenacious spirit, a belief system that is "refuse to lose" and the support of my friends & family I guarantee I will be cured. I will beat Parkinson's and then dance on it's grave.

 

Fair winds.......Here's a toast to beating even one Parkinson's symptom today and everyday!!

 

Twice in one month Family Ties is featured in Sabre's on-line magazine and our story is to appear in the country's largest boat magazine, BOATUS, in October.

We are getting our story out slowly but surely and we recently crossed the $200,000 mark in fundraising for Patient Care Support Service. But it is not about me and it's not about the boat. It's about demonstrating that there are so many ways to view life's set-backs. I see challenge as opportunity, the chance to beat whatever is in my way, in my case, BEATING PARKINSON'S. I have set backs, but I stay focused and in shape, ready to take another pop at Parkinson. So my thought of the day: BE BOLD as you battle your own challenges in life, you may surprise yourself.

On our way back......

We reached lake Champlain and are now on our way back to Rhode Island. We are still on Family Ties 2 and the past few days have continued to be as challenging as the whole month of July was. Below was a close call with a bridge and waterfall......

This is as close as you can get and still fit. Keep in mind we have radar, antennas and a Satellite dome on the roof. Made it by inches !

Above is the waterfall we just traversed, not much scares me, but this freaked me out.  Each lock had one of varying size

We will be saying goodbye to Family Ties 2 and picking up Family Ties 3 in a few days. Arriving in Rhode Island on Tuesday, with the new boat. The next few months will be spent getting acquainted with our new boat before starting the next part of our journey. Stay tuned for updates on the Optimism Tour!

Go Bob, go!

Home | Related Links | News & Updates | Donate Optimism can take you anywhere! That’s a terrific attitude to adopt, especially when you or a loved one is battling a chronic illness. Bob Preston should know: He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) seven years ago at age 47. But Bob won’t let PD stop him from living life to the fullest. He is setting out for the second year in a row for a 5,000-mile round-trip sailing excursion from northern Maine to the Florida Keys, with the goal of raising awareness and funds for Parkinson’s research. Bob is not just optimistic that the cure for Parkinson’s will be found in his lifetime — he’s confident of it. You can help make Bob’s dream a reality by donating today to help the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) ease the burden and find the cure. If you’d like to follow Bob’s progress on his “Optimism Can Take You Anywhere” tour, please connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. Along his journey, he’ll be meeting with APDA chapters, giving media interviews and inspiring as many people as possible to join the fight against Parkinson’s. Please send your gift of $25, $35, $50 or more today in honor of Bob’s incredible optimism and spirit! To embracing life, Leslie A. Chambers, President and CEO American Parkinson Disease Association Please help spread the word. Forward this message to a friend! See Where Optimism Can Take Bob — and You! Join Bob in the fight against Parkinson's disease as you make a gift of $25, $35, $50 or more now!

© American Parkinson Disease Association, 2003-2013. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy 135 Parkinson Avenue | Staten Island, NY 10305 | Tel. (800) 223-2732 | www.apdaparkinson.org If you prefer not to receive APDA e-mail correspondence, please unsubscribe here.

	The American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc. was founded in 1961 "To Ease the Burden - To Find the Cure" for Parkinson's disease. Headquartered in New York, the organization focuses its energies on research, patient support, education and raising public awareness of Parkinson's disease.

Are we having fun yet?

Bob with his fellow conservatives!



By the expression on his face I would have to say, Yes!

Bob and Becky left a few days behind schedule because of some persistent rain.  But, as of yesterday they have reached Lake Champlain, used 800 gallons of fuel, encounted very challenging waters and pushed themselves to the edge with boat challenges (this was suppose to be the easy part of the journey). They are keeping their goal fixed on reaching Lake Ontario in the next couple of days!

Bob is walking the walk and enjoying every minute of this adventure!



On top of Family Ties



Becky tending line at a lock. 12 locks on the Hudson and Champlain rivers between NYC and Lake Champlain.









WPC People's Choice Award - Please Vote

While voting is private matter, please consider my friend Larry Schneider's piece when voting. It takes only a total of 3-4 minutes to see each piece.

About the WPC People's Choice Award Out of the 113 submissions to the WPC 2013 Video Competition, the review committee selected a Top 12 (which was an extremely tough process)!  From these videos we have chosen a Grand Prize winner, (as well as a Second & Third placed video) but we thought this wasn't enough and we wanted to include the global Parkinson's community in the process so we created a brand new People's Choice Award.  Both the Grand Prize and People's Choice Award winning videos will be shown at the Opening Ceremony in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday, October 1. VOTE NOW! To Givers of Care by Larry Schneider Jr.