I never thought I would be so tired just one week after making my Christmas Eve journey, but last night definitely took a bit out of me. I have promised Mrs. Claus for years that I would take her somewhere special to ring in the New Year. Well I decided to do it the only way Santa can really do it....and that is go BIG. Hooking up Prancer and Vixen to our mini sleigh I surprised her by flying off to New Zealands main city of Auckland to be one of the first to see the New Year roll in as we glided above the harbor to enjoy the fireworks display. Vixen too loves fireworks but to be quite honest, Prancer could do without them. As we journeyed past Sydney Harbor Bridge we saw the most memmorable and beautiful sight as fireworks rained down from the the bridge itself. The city itself seemed to then explode in a bloom of color as fireworks were launched from skyscrapers with fireworks being launched from barges in the harbor at the same instance. We then scooted off to Hong Kong in time to catch a pyrotechnic show that was launched from both land and sea illuminating the sky to cheers that echoed throughout the land. We were only briefly able to catch the celebratory style of Shanghai as the fireworks were winding down when we arrived. Mrs Claus is certain however that she heard a mixture of Gangnam Style and Auld Lang Syne echoing below. The beauty of it all may have been seeing fireworks high above the Acropolis in Greece. Always one of my favorite places to see, ever since I witnessed Jason and the Argonauts do battle above it, it was wonderful to see it in such a celebratory expression of renewed life. We sailed quickly up to Moscow to catch the revelry high above the Kremlin and then it was off to Paris to catch the Eiffel Tower brightly shown against the rain of light. Although the night was a bit chilly as we raced above the Atlantic, it was imperative that we catch the midnight celebration in New York Cit. Frank Sinatra once told me that celebrations of all celebrations start in New York City. With nowhere to park the sleigh we gazed upon the millions of celebrants lining the streets below as the cherrished ball finally dropped ringing in the New Year in the States. I am sure that somewhere here in the stars, Dick Clark was watching down upon this celebration as well. Ah, in the faint distance I hear Frank singing New York, New York as we sail west toward the Golden Gate to catch the celebration San Francisco style. The weather is quite pleasant here and hardly feels like winter. As the cable car bells ring below and beacon light shines bright above the Transamerica pyramid, the fireworks begin and do not disappoint. With Mrs. Claus getting a bit tired (she is not used to these long nightly journeys), I had one more stop for her to see as we sailed across the Pacific to the magical island of Hawaii. Hints abound as perhaps this could be our winter getaway this year...perhaps. Time however for us to head back home and toast to a New Year. Quite a journey and quite a night. I wish all of you a wonderful New Year. It was time however to get some rest, especially if I was going to be able to awaken in time for the Rose Bowl tomorrow. Happy New Year everybody...make it a safe one and stay on the nice list....
