Gayle Zinda

Today is Gayle’s 51st Birthday! We have allot to be thankful for! Wow what a difference a year can make! Not even a year ago Gayle was recovering from a hip replacement surgery when she was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. After a successful surgery and restless recovery she is now 51 and celebrating her Birthday with her son Adam in San Francisco, CA. San Francisco will be the last stop on the west coast. I know Gayle wishes her husband Michael were with her but, she gets to fly home tomorrow for much rest ,relaxation and (speaking engagements). Gayle is a true testament of what you can do when you put your mind to it. Much of her success to a quick recovery is given to the fact that she always has an amazing positive attitude no matter what “Lemons” life gives her. I do not personally know a stronger women than Gayle. She is simply amazing. I am impressed that she has been on the road living in an RV with her son all in the name of raising awareness for Lung cancer so that she may help in saving someone else’s life. She could have very easily remained in bed and complained about the year to her two dogs while overlooking the lake she lives on. Yet, instead in true Gayle fashion she took the road (literally) less traveled. She is also the most selfless person I know always putting everyone else’s needs before hers even total strangers. It has been an honor and a privilege spending the past couple of months with Gayle and seeing her in many situations inspire people throughout the country. I am very proud to call you “Mom” Happy Birthday!!!!Proud son!- Adam since the following is her favorite Bible verse I found it appropriate for todays quote of the day. Quote of the Day: ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” – Philippeans 4:13

As soon as the MOPS talk was finished we hopped in the RV to embark on a very long three day trip up the coast to Seattle, WA. The first night was spent in a Walmart parking lot which is never a bad experience but and experience non the less especially after logging 10 hrs behind the wheel of an RV. Driving through LA was the most difficult part but for the most part the drive was beautiful. The second day we drove about 15hrs before coming to rest again at a Walmart not to far from Portland, OR. We stopped in Portland on the third day to visit Sandra’s daughter Dawn and her husband Andy. Thank you guys for giving us the quick tour of Portland! After leaving Portland and crossing the river into Vancouver, WA we stopped and met an old friend Burke Barlow for lunch. It’s always nice to see reminders of home when you’ve been on the road this long. Thanks Burke for taking time out of your day to meet up with us. After lunch the three hour trek to Seattle turned into five as it rained the entire way. We finally found our new campsite, Tall Chief just as it was getting dark. Unfortunately we were about 25 miles outside the city. But the site was free. We had been given three free nights by a couple we met in LA. We awoke on Sunday and were going to go explore to get our bearings of where we were going to go in the three days we had. As soon as we were pulling away from the park we got a call from the news who wanted to do a story. I agreed to meet them at Swedish Hospital in downtown Seattle in two hours. So we quickly unhooked the RV packed everything back up, pulled in the slides and began our journey into the city in the “Motorvator” . Thank God it was a Sunday and the traffic was not to bad because trying to navigate a 31′ RV through downtown Seattle was a challenge. The hospital was atop a very steep hill I felt like I was driving in San Francisco. We lucked out and found a parking spot directly in front of the Hospital. Since we still had an hour before the news was going to meet us I decided to give the “Motorvator” a wash in a slight rain just outside the hospital. Michael the camera man arrived to take some shots of the RV. He was a very nice man who worked for KING 5. He was from NYC. After spending about 45 minutes with us we were on our way back to, Tall Chief. While I was washing the RV I noticed another quarter panel was loose on the RV. Remember one already flew off in New Mexico. So I drove 30 mph, 25 miles back to Tall Chief with my emergency flashers on. A police man actually pulled alongside of me on the highway and got on his mega phone and told me to turn my emergency flashers off and then he sped away. Ahh what a day this was. Once we got back to the RV park I made a quick trip to Home Depot for some screws to fix the panel. While in Seattle we met lots of great contacts at cancer centers, hospitals and some churches. On our way to meet Jackie who is a niece of Michaels good friend Carol we came across the American Lung Association of Washington. I ran into quickly drop of some information when to my surprise I was speaking to Robin Evans the Director of Medical and Scientific affairs. He was such a nice guy and was rejuvenated by what we were doing for lung cancer. I know our paths will cross again. Finally we got a chance to meet up with Jackie who lives downtown. She took us for a marathon walk around the city. Ha ha We really appreciated her spending an evening with us and introducing us to Vietnamese food. I have never eaten soup with chopsticks before. What an experience! After a quick three days in Seattle it was time to head to our final two stops on the west coast. Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA where mom will be flying back home from on March 21st. Quote of the Day: “What I do best is share my enthusiasm” – Bill Gates

We headed down to San Diego on March 7th to prepare for a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) meeting that was on March 8th at which mom was the speaker. We arrived in San Diego late afternoon and returned to the camp ground that we first stayed at in San Diego, Campland by the Bay. We were going to just stay in the church parking lot but after giving careful consideration to the water pressure without being hooked up to a water source we decided we both would like to have a nice shower before going to the meeting. We awoke at 5:30am the morning of the meeting. We had to un hook everything to the RV, take in the slides and re-attach the car before heading to the church in Le Mesa. Believe me the shower was worth it. Ha ha. We arrived at Journey Community Church around 9:00am and began to set up a table with the books on it and meet Kristy and Heather the MOPS coordinators who set up the talk. Along with thanking them for setting up the talk we would also like to give a special thanks to Nicole who actually had us over for dinner the night before to enjoy her husband’s awesome cooking! The women did a great job with the theme of lemons they had real lemons with a toothpick flag coming out of them that had a bible verse inscribed on it. They also had bottled water with a Crystal light lemonade packet hot glued to the bottle. Wrapped around the bottles was mom’s favorite Bible verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” along with our lemon logo. They did an unbelievable job decorating! The talk went well and mom did a great job of being very enthusiastic and not missing a beat even though she had been up since 5:30 and packing up an RV We really enjoyed our time with the group and meeting another group of MOPS women. Thank you all! Quote of the Day: “You can’t build a reputation on what your going to do”- Henry Ford

After leaving Las Vegas Gayle and Adam went back to Los Angeles for a couple days before heading down to San Diego for the MOPS talk on March 8th. With only a couple of days to spend in LA they visited and dropped off some information to major hospitals, cancer centers and churches. A lot of time was spent trying to capture the attention of the media but to no avail. You win some, you loose some. It was still worth the visit as they know the people they did visit with really appreciate what they are doing. Quote of the Day: ” You can do anything, try everything” – Adam Rizzo

Gayle and Adam are wrapping up the week in Las Vegas, NV. The week was filled visiting with churches, hospitals, cancer centers and talking to lot’s of people at the RV park who stop by to ask what the Pink RV is all about. Gayle and Adams story was featured on channel 3 News here in Las Vegas, NV. Gayle and Adam would like to thank Suzanne Dunn the Healthline 3 Producer, Rob Klein the Special Projects Photojournalist and the rest of the News 3 team for sharing the story with the city of Las Vegas. Please check back soon to view the media coverage from all the cities visited so far. A special thanks to Michael as he continues to do lot’s behind the scenes while maintaining his full time position as a Dr. Michael plays a vital role in keeping his wifes message ongoing. Thanks for being so supportive!! Quote of the Day: “If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.” – Anthony Robbins

Wow! Today was definitely a highlight of our trip! Gayle and Adam took a trip to Saddelback Church in Lake Forest, CA. For those of you who do not know Rick Warren is the Pastor of this church. Rick Warren the author of the Purpose Driven Life. Gayle and Adam arrived late and had to park in the last remaining parking lot the other 10 where already filled. They hitched a ride on a trolley golf cart like the ones at an amusement park. As soon as they stepped off the trolley Gayle and Adam could here the Pastor speaking. Adam immediately recognized the voice as being Rick Warrens. They were so excited because Pastor Warren had been out of town the last four weeks so there was no guarantee that he would be there today. After an awesome service Gayle and Adam really wanted to meet him. What were the chances of that going to be. After waiting for everyone to exit outside they asked if it were possible to meet him and the man said sure he usually walks around outside after the service. They could not believe their eyes as they looked out the window and saw Pastor Warren shaking hands with people like a priest after a Catholic service. They rushed outside to meet him and both got to shake hands with him and he even took time to get a photo with the two of them. Unbelievable. Gayle and Adam also got to meet and get a picture with Chris from American Idol the curly headed kid from South Carolina. Good luck Chris! What an Awesome Day! Quote of the Day: ” If God only used perfect people, nothing would get done,….God will use anybody if you’re available.” – Rick Warren

This past Wednesday February 21st Gayle spoke to a group of women at Richfield Community Church in Yorba Linda, CA. We would like to personally thank Brandy and Nancy Brandon as well as Ginger for putting this talk together. It was a wonderful event. Nancy’s husband donated some delicious cakes and they served Pink Lemonade as well. All the women who attended seemed to have a wonderful time and where touched by Gayle’s story. I know that several women where inspired to do more for others after hearing Gayle speak. Thanks again and Ginger you will remain in our prayers! Quote of the day: “The future depends on what we do in the present.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Hello everyone we wanted to give an update. We are currently updating the web-site and we appreciate your patience. We hope that you like the new design! Gayle and Michael are in Maui, Hawaii. While they will be recharcharging I know Gayle is taking this opportunity to promote her book to the islands. Adam is still in Southern California promoting the book and setting up speaking engagements. Gayle will be speaking to a large group of women in Yorba Linda, CA just outside LA on February 21st. Special thanks to Nancy and Ginger for all their hard work in putting this together. Gayle will also be speaking to a MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) back in La Mesa, CA at Journey Community Church on March 8th. Special thanks to Nicole and Christie for making this happen. Adam would like to thank 24 Hour Fitness in Pacific Beach, CA for helping him stay in shape while on the road in particular, Stephen Troger and Chris Plato. Quote of the day: “These are not just books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.” -Ezra Pound

For those of you who do not know Lou Holtz he is an amazing man who just happened to coach our favorite college football team, Notre Dame. This past Saturday Michael called us and let us know that Lou Holtz would be speaking the next morning at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA about an hour and a half away from where we are staying in San Diego. So the next morning mom and I packed up the “Motorvator” and headed to the Crystal Cathedral to attend a service and hear Mr. Holtz speak. The Crystal Cathedral was started by Dr. Robert H. Shuller you can see him on T.V. on Sunday mornings during his Hour of Power. The Cathedral was beautiful almost entirely glass we highly recommend to everyone should they be fortunate enough to get the chance to attend a service there. Sitting in the Crystal Cathedral for a service was amazing enough but to get to hear Lou Holtz speak was the Cherry on top of this “Sunday”. One of the things that Mr. Holtz shared with us was that his wife is a Cancer survivor. Immediately I knew we had to get him one of our books to give to his wife. But how? After the service I ran to the “Motorvator to fetch some books in hopes of getting one in his hand. We went to his book signing and there was a huge line of fans. After waiting for about a half hour they cut off the line fortunately we made the cut. Mr. Holtz was in a hurry to catch his plane and I remember him saying “Planes are a lot easier to catch before they take off”. We were next in line and I was nervous to meet and shake hands with an idol of mine. Mom had already signed the book for him and she quickly shared with him about the book. Even though he was in a hurry he stopped to get a picture with us and seemed grateful for us sharing a copy of our book with him. We really hope his wife enjoys reading Pink Lemonade. What an awesome experience! Thank you Mr. Holtz. After such a great morning and since we were so close we decided to stop by Saddleback Church the one Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) started. Unfortunately he will not be in town for about a month but we did get to take a quick tour and leave one of our books at their book store. So far things are going great in Southern California! We are sharing our story with everyone and handing out books to those who seem interested. We are certainly creating a buzz with the “Motorvator”. Quote of the Day: “Don’t be a spectator, Don’t let life pass you by” -Lou Holtz

Hello everyone! We are now in Phoenix, AZ until Friday. We are staying at an RV park on beautiful Lake Pleasant. Michael, Mom and I spent New Years Eve in a Walmart parking lot in Tucson, AZ. All though it was very uneventful it will certainly be memorable. ha ha. We had our first experience at a truck wash. After the salt and snow in Albuquerque, NM the “Motorvator” was in desperate need of a good wash. The three young men who washed the RV and SUV where intrigued by what we were doing so we gave them a copy of the book. Today we had a chance to eat dinner with John, Rhonda and their two daughters. For those of you who do not know John and Rhonda have contributed a ton to this project from ghost writing, illustrations to the design of the wraps on both vehicles. John and Rhonda live in Phoenix and it is always a pleasure getting to spend time with the two of them and their family. Our first night on Lake Pleasant was a little scary. About two a.m. the winds picked up and the RV was rocking all night long. But this morning we awoke to beautiful blue skies and the mountains surrounding us. This evening I will be contacting the local media to try to get a story aired while we are in town. Friday we will be leaving for San Diego, CA where we will be spending a month. This will be the true test of how this tour is going to go. We will be hitting the ground running selling lot’s of books and doing a lot of promotion in Southern California. Quote of the day: “We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible” -Vince Lombardi