Our long awaited trip to the South Island has come and gone. And, what an adventure we had! On December 3, our friend, Lisa, arrived from California to join Rob and me on a guided trek on the Milford Track. On the 6th we left Auckland, and flew to Queenstown for our pre-trek orientation. Queenstown lies on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, the third largest lake in NZ. Our hotel was situated up on a hill...with a very nice view of the lake, and the remarkable, Remarkable Mountain Range. The next morning at 8:25, we caught the yellow bus that stopped right in front of our hotel, and made our way to The Station where we were to catch another bus that would take us to the beginning of our trek...and the beginning of an awesome adventure. We were a bit taken back when we realized that there would be 45 other people on the guided walk, as in our minds we had thought it would be a small, intimate group. Having said that, we realized early on, that it really did not matter how many people were with our group because we all had a different tramping pace. Rob & I kept our own pace, as we stopped frequently to delight in the natural beauty that the track is so well known for. I can not begin to describe the different shades of green mosses that hung onto anything it could grow on. I had no idea that there were bright purple mushrooms, and fungus that was so bright yellow it looked for a moment to resemble cauliflower. We got pictures of this purple mushroom...so you don't need to think I have gone off flying in fairyland.
As usual...the weather has a way of making sure you know it is here in NZ. I overheard someone describing the weather, and she said...'We don't really have marked seasons, here in NZ. We just have 'weather all year round'...RIGHT! It's that 'four seasons in every day' back again! So, my trusty weather man, Rob, pointed out that we would most likely have some heavy rain the first couple days of our trek. Hmmmn...was not really too keen on tramping a a total downpour...but that wouldn't stop the trek if we had rain. There is never the wrong weather...just the wrong equiptment and clothing. Fortunately, we had prepared for this scenario.
The coach that we boarded in Queenstown took us to another location called Te Anau where we had lunch, picked up 2 more guides, and 2 more trekkers. We were then taken to a place on Lake Te Anau called Te Anau Downs, where we boarded a ferry that transported us to the beginning of the track. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon when the boat dropped us off on the jetty. Today, all we had to do was walk a very short distance to the first lodge, Glade House. At this point, the weather was still looking pretty good...a few clouds, but no precipitation. After we dropped our packs at the lodge, we had an option to take a nature walk with some of the guides. We were divided up and off we went to hear about the flora and fauna on our nature walk. That is where we saw that purple mushroom. We walked up to a waterfall that was cascading down from Dore Pass to Lake Te Anau. All the water in this region is pure, and safe to drink, as there are no sources of contamination upstream. It was so refreshing! All along the track it was safe to fill up your water bottles...such a welcome relief from having to sterilize the water before you could drink it. Back at Glade House we enjoyed a very nice dinner served by our friendly guides. We then had our 'Hello I am...and why I am here...'session,retired to our rooms before the generator turned off...and lights out. We needed our beauty rest for the next day. We were instructed to leave the light switch on in our room so the light would wake us in the morning.
Before the light came on to wake us...the rain had been beating steadily on the roof since o'dark hundred. It was not exactly the weather we had wished for...but hey, we were here to have an adventure. Starting out we had to cross a swing bridge that only two people at a time could be on. That kind of bridge always gives me the noodle knees, as I have this intense fear that the cable will snap & down to the river I will go...as long as I look ahead and not down, I seem to do better. Also...such a comical reflection...we all did our best to avoid the puddles in the center of the track...until the track became the river, and there was no dry way around any of it! Also to note...if you thought you would be drier on the side of the track when it had turned into the river track...you really got stuffed when you sank to your chest. Hmmn...I guess there was a valid reason for those trail markers on both sides of the track. Lunch was along the track at a shelter that looked out to Hirere Falls. Our friendly, generous, guides fixed us warm drinks as we arrived to the lunch shelter. We were soaked! Thank goodness for merino wool! Even if you are wet, at least you stay warm. Lunch was quickly devoured, and off to the track we went. If we thought we saw heaps of waterfalls before lunch, we saw even more after lunch. The cliff walls were wailing!
We met some DOC workers along the way and they told us that they were constructing another bridge ready for the afternoon, as it was expected to get even wetter the next day. Hmmn...as I had my clothes plastered to my body, I thought...how much wetter could one get? I already resembled the look of a drowned rat! Crikey! And the next day was going to be the big climb up and over Mackinnon Pass!
After 16 kilometers we reached Pompolona Lodge. Our host wanted to show us about the place and have nice chat...and all Gailini and I wanted to do was get out of our wet clthes, find a shower and find something dry to put on. I was praying like mad that my pack liner kept my dry clothes...dry! Somehow, I managed to lose Rob along the way as he was trying to take pictures, and all I could think of was that hot shower. So he wandered in to our room about 45 minutes later than I had arrived. He was thouroughly enjoying the massive waterfalls and the gorgeous bush, so he was in no hurry to hang out at the lodge.
Heaps of heavy, water-soaked clothes began piling up outside our door...there was a hand crank laundry water extractor that I used to get most of the water rung out of our clothes. And then there was the drying room. The drying room that we all came to love! It not only dried our clothes...but it was warm! Boy did it feel great to be clean, dry, and warm! After our dinner, and briefing to alert us of what we should expect going up and over the pass...it was time to pass out.
Rob & I both slept like bricks, and did not know when the lights had come on even though we left the light to the bathroom on with the fan, as well as the light in the bedroom. When we finally realized that the light was on...we flew into our clothes, and made it down to make our lunch as everyone else was sitting down for breakfast. This was the day they said we would need to leave early...or at least before 8am. We still had to pack our packs after breakfast...and Gailini, Charles, and Lisa were all waiting for us to show up...oops.
If we thought Tuesday was wet...well, a new meaning of wet was discovered as we trudged through more water and waterfalls on Wednesday. No matter what kind of gear you had...there was no gear that kept you 100% dry. The part up the switch backs was not really as bad as we had been led to believe...it was the wind at the top of the pass, and the 20 minutes more to Pass Hut for lunch that did me in. Sweet, Mio, another fantastic guide, greeted us at the memorial cross with hot Milo...but there was no view to behold...just bucketing, freezing rain. Wind + wet = cold...and I was getting very cold, and very grumpy. I knew I had to get to that hut, warm up, and get an attitude adjustment while eating. Thankfully, this hut had a heater, and more warm drinks. I am so grateful for that hot Milo! Our guides really had that drink down! I found my merino hat and gloves and put them on before we went back out to the whipping wind. Now we were going to go straight down the other side on the emergency track. Slowly, we made our way through raging waterfalls, and wet track as the water continued to gush out of everything. For a very brief moment, we were able to see through a break in the clouds to the valley below. Down, down, down we went. Along the way there were heaps of Mt. Cook lilies growing on the side of the track. Even though the water was overwhelming...the scenery was fabulous. It really was magical. After this very challenging day, Rob had enough energy to drop off his pack and go out to Sutherland Falls, the 5th highest waterfall in the world. Frankly, I had seen enough waterfalls the past two days...so I opted for a nap, and a shower. One thing you do well after a tramp like that...sleep like a brick!
Day four, and again we had an early start as we had 21 kilometers to cover. We also had glorious sunshine! Yay!! The bush was sparkling and glistening with the rays of the sun filtering through. The air was crisp and fresh, and the rivers and waterfalls were still raging in a torrent. Birds were singing, and all was fantastic on our last day in the bush! I had never tramped for 21 kms. in my life...so this was going to be yet another challenge for me. I was constantly stopping in amazement of the beauty that we were traveling through. The track just kept getting more and more beautiful. We passed Mackay Falls, and Bell Rock...climbed up along a cliff wall, crossed over rivers, and we were immersed in the bush full of ferns and mosses. It was exponential beauty! We had great plant identification chats with Charlotte & Lizzy, and Tom & Johanna. It was incredible what we saw! And...we were dry today! We reached Sandfly Point a little late, but the Captain waited graciously for us. Such hospitality!
You definitely would not want to wait for too long at Sandfly Point. Those little buggers pack a nasty bite...and somehow they love my skin. Once we got out to the sound, the sandflies disappered, and a pod of dolphins came up to the boat swimming along side of us. What an awesome greeting! Milford Sound was under sunny skies, waterfalls were crescending down the cliffs, and all was glorious. We were deposited onto the Milford Harbour docks, and caught a very short bus ride up to the Mitre Peak Lodge. Again, that hot shower was the ticket! It was the most amazing hike I had ever done in my life. I would do it again in a heartbeat...but, maybe I would check out some other treks first. :) Cheers! And Ho, Ho, Ho!!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Spring Is Not What You Think Spring Should Be
If you were to tell me that Spring has sprung...at this point I would say you are mad! There is no rhyme or reason to the NZ Springtime...which means there must be a 5th season during the year that no one tells you about. The 5th season is the crazy, bucketing, hosing down rain that happens out of no where. Literally, you can wake up and have the most gorgeous morning laid out...and in the space of 10 minutes you can have bucketing, hosing rain coming down...and if you are as unfortunate as I have been...you will be WET!!!
Spring in my poor mind is gorgeous. Flowers bloom, sun is shining, and for the most part, Spring is like a comfortable sit in the window seat. However...here in NZ, Spring is like a wild animal that I never knew existed! I would expect these rain outbursts in the dead of winter...but the spring I have tucked in my memories is gentle, with an occasional shower. I remember the saying...'April showers bring May flowers'. But it is October...and I do not see the May flowers....some days I can barely see the Sky Tower.
I have finished up my mosaic art class at the school I was volunteering at..at least for now. My neighbor, Margaret, is a year 4 teacher at a private school over in Mt. Eden, and she asked me if I would be interested in helping out with a new art lesson. So every Tuesday I would make my way on the ferry, and then bus up to Mt. eden to teach in her classroom about mosaic art. The first few classes were utter chaos...I had previously taught groups of no more than 10...and here were 17 very active eight and nine year olds constantly asking questions, and sometimes being naughty. Glue was a bit of a worry, as it found more than just the surface of their projects. After the third class the students began to settle down and truly get into their creations.The final finish on the project allowed me to work with just two students at a time. Trying to oversee 17 students grouting their projects for the first time would have been a real nightmare. Working with just two students at a time gave me a great opportunity to get to know these special children. Our art class became the envy of the school, as the projects progressed each week. Other teachers have asked Margaret if I would consider teaching their classes...but...as of this moment I have not committed to any further volunteer projects.
The last day I was at school was special person/grandparent day. The whole school put on a musical program. My students very dearly asked me to come to their performance. I was in awe at the talent that they displayed. They sang, they played piano & violin, and they did parts of their theater performances. Truly amazing! When it was time for me to leave, the class gathered round and presented me with a huge envelope with personal thank you notes. Some of the girls clung to my leg and told me that they wished I could come back and teach them agian. I didn't have time to read these notes until I got home, as I was trying to make it to the bus stop. While we ate dinner, I read the notes to Rob and he was quite touched at how much the students enjoyed their mosaic class.
A few weeks ago I was walking with a friend from the gym, and she mentioned that since I love to be out walking that I should join the WOPS group. WOPS? (Women's Outdoor Pursuits). I was able to sign up just in time for the 6, once a week, intensive courses on saftey while out in the bush. Our first two weeks were indoor, learning about all aspects of tramping safety in the NZ bush. Then...yesterday, we got out in the bush, and abseiled down a cliff. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would ever find myself at the top of a cliff with a harness around my mid section, rope woven through my harness, and walk flat footed down the cliff. This lesson was about teaching trust, confidence and courage. Man I was trusting that instructor!! I am happy to say that I made it down that cliff with not one scape or bruise. My knees did, however, turn to noodles after I had made it down safely. I can also tell you that I will nevah, evah, evah do that again!!
Next week we will go into the bush on the Okura River Bush Walk. If it stops raining we might not need to hose down after the hike. It was reported to still be very muddy yesterday...and today we got more rain. As soon as the six weeks are up, I will be able to join in on 2 hikes a week. Have to pass the test first! Then I'll be an official wopper!
Rob & I continue to train for our trek that is coming up in less than 4 weeks! Hills and stairs are our focus... Hopefully, I will be reporting amazing things about our experience in the Milford Sound and Queenstown in the South Island. Our friend, Lisa, will be joining us from the States, so we have been busy making plans for a great time. You only turn 50 once!!
The beauty in New Zealand continues to amaze us...even despite all the rain we are experiencing. I hope you are all well and are enjoying a beautiful Fall. Can't believe one year ago there was a going away party for us at the Gun Club!
If you were to tell me that Spring has sprung...at this point I would say you are mad! There is no rhyme or reason to the NZ Springtime...which means there must be a 5th season during the year that no one tells you about. The 5th season is the crazy, bucketing, hosing down rain that happens out of no where. Literally, you can wake up and have the most gorgeous morning laid out...and in the space of 10 minutes you can have bucketing, hosing rain coming down...and if you are as unfortunate as I have been...you will be WET!!!
Spring in my poor mind is gorgeous. Flowers bloom, sun is shining, and for the most part, Spring is like a comfortable sit in the window seat. However...here in NZ, Spring is like a wild animal that I never knew existed! I would expect these rain outbursts in the dead of winter...but the spring I have tucked in my memories is gentle, with an occasional shower. I remember the saying...'April showers bring May flowers'. But it is October...and I do not see the May flowers....some days I can barely see the Sky Tower.
I have finished up my mosaic art class at the school I was volunteering at..at least for now. My neighbor, Margaret, is a year 4 teacher at a private school over in Mt. Eden, and she asked me if I would be interested in helping out with a new art lesson. So every Tuesday I would make my way on the ferry, and then bus up to Mt. eden to teach in her classroom about mosaic art. The first few classes were utter chaos...I had previously taught groups of no more than 10...and here were 17 very active eight and nine year olds constantly asking questions, and sometimes being naughty. Glue was a bit of a worry, as it found more than just the surface of their projects. After the third class the students began to settle down and truly get into their creations.The final finish on the project allowed me to work with just two students at a time. Trying to oversee 17 students grouting their projects for the first time would have been a real nightmare. Working with just two students at a time gave me a great opportunity to get to know these special children. Our art class became the envy of the school, as the projects progressed each week. Other teachers have asked Margaret if I would consider teaching their classes...but...as of this moment I have not committed to any further volunteer projects.
The last day I was at school was special person/grandparent day. The whole school put on a musical program. My students very dearly asked me to come to their performance. I was in awe at the talent that they displayed. They sang, they played piano & violin, and they did parts of their theater performances. Truly amazing! When it was time for me to leave, the class gathered round and presented me with a huge envelope with personal thank you notes. Some of the girls clung to my leg and told me that they wished I could come back and teach them agian. I didn't have time to read these notes until I got home, as I was trying to make it to the bus stop. While we ate dinner, I read the notes to Rob and he was quite touched at how much the students enjoyed their mosaic class.
A few weeks ago I was walking with a friend from the gym, and she mentioned that since I love to be out walking that I should join the WOPS group. WOPS? (Women's Outdoor Pursuits). I was able to sign up just in time for the 6, once a week, intensive courses on saftey while out in the bush. Our first two weeks were indoor, learning about all aspects of tramping safety in the NZ bush. Then...yesterday, we got out in the bush, and abseiled down a cliff. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would ever find myself at the top of a cliff with a harness around my mid section, rope woven through my harness, and walk flat footed down the cliff. This lesson was about teaching trust, confidence and courage. Man I was trusting that instructor!! I am happy to say that I made it down that cliff with not one scape or bruise. My knees did, however, turn to noodles after I had made it down safely. I can also tell you that I will nevah, evah, evah do that again!!
Next week we will go into the bush on the Okura River Bush Walk. If it stops raining we might not need to hose down after the hike. It was reported to still be very muddy yesterday...and today we got more rain. As soon as the six weeks are up, I will be able to join in on 2 hikes a week. Have to pass the test first! Then I'll be an official wopper!
Rob & I continue to train for our trek that is coming up in less than 4 weeks! Hills and stairs are our focus... Hopefully, I will be reporting amazing things about our experience in the Milford Sound and Queenstown in the South Island. Our friend, Lisa, will be joining us from the States, so we have been busy making plans for a great time. You only turn 50 once!!
The beauty in New Zealand continues to amaze us...even despite all the rain we are experiencing. I hope you are all well and are enjoying a beautiful Fall. Can't believe one year ago there was a going away party for us at the Gun Club!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thunder Storms, Bucketing Rain, and Tsunami Warnings...Is It Really Springtime?
Wow! I can not believe the weather we have experienced since the official beginning of Spring on the first of September. Rob had to go back to the states for a business meeting with the parent company out of Milwaukee. Since his meeting was starting on a Monday, and since his mom's birthday was on a Wednesaday, and since he was missing our kids...I convinced him to leave a little earlier to surprise his mom, and spend time with our kids, before he went off to Milwaukee. It turned out that this plan worked really well.
I was of course, alone, during the time Rob was gone. He had taken the ferry, then the bus to the airport on the way out of NZ. He left the car in our car park, and told me before he left that he hoped that I would start driving while he was gone. Well...I have been quite comfortable here without driving, as, if I need to go anywhere I take a bus or a ferry, or a train. But, I knew that it would mean a lot to Rob if I could get over my fear of driving here...so I started by pulling out of the carpark. Then, I managed to do the 5 point turn to get out of the drive...and I prayed like crazy that I would not scrape the car in the narrow driveway. Whew! Got out of the driveway and drove out to my friend, Faith's house to take a walk about her neighborhood. It was surprisingly easy, as I kept my mantra to stay to the center of the street. Thank you, Riki, for helping me keep focused. The next day I ventured out to Takapuna...a town on the North Shore very close to Devonport. So, I was finally getting comfortable behind the wheel. Well...not really comfortable, but I knew I could do it! So, the day Rob returned to NZ, I got up at some ridculous hour and checked to see if his flight had an arrival time. His flight was due to arrive 1/2 hour earlier than I thought it would be in...4:45 am. I was awake, so I decided to drive the 45 minutes out to the airport to surprise him. Only problem was, he did not have his phone turned on, and his plan was to take the bus to the ferry & take the ferry back to Devonport. I litereally arrived at the airport at 5:17 am...pulled into the carpark, and got into the greeting area at 5:18am. Rob walked out the customs clearance door at exactly 5:19am. You should have seen his expression! He was so amazed...and shocked! I wanted to tell him that i took the bus all the way from Auckland so we could ride hom together...but I held up the keys. He was really happy to see me. However, he drove home.
It was a completely gorgeous morning when I picked Rob up at AKL (Auckland International Airport). Because he had been cooped up on a plane for so long, he really wanted to get a good walk in, and then completely crash into his pillow. So, we had a fabulous, gorgeous hike around Devonport. I went off to my class that I take every Monday, and Rob unpacked, and soon found his pillow. I actually came home from my class, and curled up, and completely went into a deep sleep for 3 hours. I guess the drive to the airport was a bit more than my system could really handle...and it was at an unbelievably, early time. It was so great to have Rob back here in NZ.
Since Rob has come home, the weather has been full on! I still can not believe the force of the rain when it comes down. One day, I was coming home from the class that I was teaching in Mt. Eden when the skies totally unloaded the most powerful rain storm. Luckily, I was close to a cafe when the water statred to beat down. My friend, Beth, came down to the cafe & we had a nice warm coffee as the rain just pounded outside. Finally, I was able to make my way to the ferry building before the rain got furious again. When the ferry landed in Devonport, it was heaving against the dock, which the New Zealander's call the jetty. Getting off the ferry was a bit of a serious balancing act. I really get affected by rolling, jolting sea motions, so it is really difficult for me to be thrust onto the dock like that. Thankfully, I managed to get to dry dock. And, thankfully, I was able to take my time leaving the ferry building, as the storm was still unleashing crazy amounts of water from the sky. My friend, Faith , spoke with me during this time, and she asked how I was dealing with the 'bucketing rain'? She even felt compelled to pick me up from the ferry building so I would not have to walk home. Eventually, the rain subsided, and I was able to make a mad dash home before the next furious wall of water came down.
And...for the whole month we have had one major whopping rain storm after another! Thunder & lightening is also part of the show. The other night the lightening was literally on our patio...flashing furiously at us through our window. Rob was BBQing on the back patio, and he came in the house to tell me that tonight might have been a bad night to pick to BBQ. He was supposed to put grill marks on the polenta...but it came back a little wet, and mushy. Thankfully, I could blot it off, and put it under the grill inside with the tomato/basil bruschetta. Dinner saved!
Las Saturday, Rob & i both went to the AA office in Takapuna and got our driver's licenses. Because we come from the USA, they do not even require a driving test! Yikes! I will say that everytime I get behind the wheel it feels a lot more comfortable. But...I will also tell you that the first circle I came upon...I went around and around and around...just because I could! So...if any of you are thinking about visiting...I could actually drive you around! :)
On Wednesday, when my friend Jenny came to the gym to exclaim that there was a Tsunami Warning, I thought...what next. Sure enough, the Civil Defense was out in force to keep people away from the beaches, as a Tsunami from the earthquake in Samoa was going to hit NZ at 11:12 am. There were heaps of people on the coast...looking for the big wave. The big wave never came to Auckland, but it certainly wreaked havoc in Samoa. It is astounding seeing news snips from that Tsunami zone. So sad.
So, thankfully, there was no Tsunami here. But, quite frankly, I have never experienced such severe weather in a 'springtime' ever!! Tomorrow, we are planning to tramp in the bush out on the West Coast. Also known as the 'Wet Coast'. I am really looking forward to one, whole day of sunshine!! This rain can just pack up and head off to California!
Wishing you all well! Sometime soon, I will be trying to translate some of the phrases that some of my friends I have here have humored me with. :)Heaps of hugs and love, ~Skye
I was of course, alone, during the time Rob was gone. He had taken the ferry, then the bus to the airport on the way out of NZ. He left the car in our car park, and told me before he left that he hoped that I would start driving while he was gone. Well...I have been quite comfortable here without driving, as, if I need to go anywhere I take a bus or a ferry, or a train. But, I knew that it would mean a lot to Rob if I could get over my fear of driving here...so I started by pulling out of the carpark. Then, I managed to do the 5 point turn to get out of the drive...and I prayed like crazy that I would not scrape the car in the narrow driveway. Whew! Got out of the driveway and drove out to my friend, Faith's house to take a walk about her neighborhood. It was surprisingly easy, as I kept my mantra to stay to the center of the street. Thank you, Riki, for helping me keep focused. The next day I ventured out to Takapuna...a town on the North Shore very close to Devonport. So, I was finally getting comfortable behind the wheel. Well...not really comfortable, but I knew I could do it! So, the day Rob returned to NZ, I got up at some ridculous hour and checked to see if his flight had an arrival time. His flight was due to arrive 1/2 hour earlier than I thought it would be in...4:45 am. I was awake, so I decided to drive the 45 minutes out to the airport to surprise him. Only problem was, he did not have his phone turned on, and his plan was to take the bus to the ferry & take the ferry back to Devonport. I litereally arrived at the airport at 5:17 am...pulled into the carpark, and got into the greeting area at 5:18am. Rob walked out the customs clearance door at exactly 5:19am. You should have seen his expression! He was so amazed...and shocked! I wanted to tell him that i took the bus all the way from Auckland so we could ride hom together...but I held up the keys. He was really happy to see me. However, he drove home.
It was a completely gorgeous morning when I picked Rob up at AKL (Auckland International Airport). Because he had been cooped up on a plane for so long, he really wanted to get a good walk in, and then completely crash into his pillow. So, we had a fabulous, gorgeous hike around Devonport. I went off to my class that I take every Monday, and Rob unpacked, and soon found his pillow. I actually came home from my class, and curled up, and completely went into a deep sleep for 3 hours. I guess the drive to the airport was a bit more than my system could really handle...and it was at an unbelievably, early time. It was so great to have Rob back here in NZ.
Since Rob has come home, the weather has been full on! I still can not believe the force of the rain when it comes down. One day, I was coming home from the class that I was teaching in Mt. Eden when the skies totally unloaded the most powerful rain storm. Luckily, I was close to a cafe when the water statred to beat down. My friend, Beth, came down to the cafe & we had a nice warm coffee as the rain just pounded outside. Finally, I was able to make my way to the ferry building before the rain got furious again. When the ferry landed in Devonport, it was heaving against the dock, which the New Zealander's call the jetty. Getting off the ferry was a bit of a serious balancing act. I really get affected by rolling, jolting sea motions, so it is really difficult for me to be thrust onto the dock like that. Thankfully, I managed to get to dry dock. And, thankfully, I was able to take my time leaving the ferry building, as the storm was still unleashing crazy amounts of water from the sky. My friend, Faith , spoke with me during this time, and she asked how I was dealing with the 'bucketing rain'? She even felt compelled to pick me up from the ferry building so I would not have to walk home. Eventually, the rain subsided, and I was able to make a mad dash home before the next furious wall of water came down.
And...for the whole month we have had one major whopping rain storm after another! Thunder & lightening is also part of the show. The other night the lightening was literally on our patio...flashing furiously at us through our window. Rob was BBQing on the back patio, and he came in the house to tell me that tonight might have been a bad night to pick to BBQ. He was supposed to put grill marks on the polenta...but it came back a little wet, and mushy. Thankfully, I could blot it off, and put it under the grill inside with the tomato/basil bruschetta. Dinner saved!
Las Saturday, Rob & i both went to the AA office in Takapuna and got our driver's licenses. Because we come from the USA, they do not even require a driving test! Yikes! I will say that everytime I get behind the wheel it feels a lot more comfortable. But...I will also tell you that the first circle I came upon...I went around and around and around...just because I could! So...if any of you are thinking about visiting...I could actually drive you around! :)
On Wednesday, when my friend Jenny came to the gym to exclaim that there was a Tsunami Warning, I thought...what next. Sure enough, the Civil Defense was out in force to keep people away from the beaches, as a Tsunami from the earthquake in Samoa was going to hit NZ at 11:12 am. There were heaps of people on the coast...looking for the big wave. The big wave never came to Auckland, but it certainly wreaked havoc in Samoa. It is astounding seeing news snips from that Tsunami zone. So sad.
So, thankfully, there was no Tsunami here. But, quite frankly, I have never experienced such severe weather in a 'springtime' ever!! Tomorrow, we are planning to tramp in the bush out on the West Coast. Also known as the 'Wet Coast'. I am really looking forward to one, whole day of sunshine!! This rain can just pack up and head off to California!
Wishing you all well! Sometime soon, I will be trying to translate some of the phrases that some of my friends I have here have humored me with. :)Heaps of hugs and love, ~Skye
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Fishing & Tramping Through the End of Winter
We have survived our first Kiwi winter...although, at times I was seriously confused because August in my mind should be hot with long, warm evenings. We realized that any time there was a sunny day, here, in Auckland...we better get outside to enjoy the sparse warmth. I have experienced some pretty terrific storms in California...but being on the water when a gale storm hits is such a different experience. One day we planned to take our bikes across to the other side of the harbour and ride out to a place called St. Hellier's. Sun is on the other side of the harbour in the winter, so it was looked to be a warm, winter day.
As we were waiting for the ferry, I received a text message from our friend, Jeanette. Jeanette asked if we would like to join her and her partner, Chris on a boat for the day. They were planning to cast some lines, and relax in front of Rangitoto Island. So...we rode away from the ferry building, packed our picnic, and headed over to Torpedo Bay where Chris & Jeanette picked us up from the dock. It was a stellar day...not a breath of wind as we passed North Head, and journeyed out the channel to set up for our fishing experience. Unfortunately, my nose happens to be on the ultra sensitive side, and I had to escape to the bridge to get away from the revolting smell of bait...Rob, Chris and Jeanette did manage to catch 3 snapper, which we cooked up for supper. I was finally able to come down from the bridge when Chris got rid of the excess bait. I was so affected by that smell...just like the pungent smell of geo thermal areas...makes me instantly nauseous. Some of our pictures from this gorgeous day on the harbour will be sent via my picasa web albums.
Tramping, tramping and tramping some more is how we spend our weekends as our big trip to tramp in the Milford Sound gets closer. We have also been exploring an area about an hour and a half north of Auckland outside of a charming town called Matakana. We have had several visits to an incredible beach called Tawharanui. So, a few weeks ago, we decided to check out the much touted Matakana Saturday Market, and visit another part of the coast, called Goat Island. We were told that Goat Island is an amazing marine reserve where you can snorkel and be amazed by brilliant sea life. Well...we didn't have our snorkels...but the tide was low enough to do some tide pooling, and we could see heaps of huge fish, clearly in the water. This will be a must go when the weather is warmer...and we will have our snorkels then. We had great aspirations for a worthy tramp, but the Department of Conservation had closed our chosen track due to slippage...so we ended up walking the beach and checking out the amazing tidepools.
Spring has arrived, and the first Sunday in Spring is Father's Day here in NZ. Rob wanted to go re-visit a track we had sussed out back in April...the Te Hunga Track at Bethells Beach. It was a crisp....brrr...clear day out on the west coast. The last time we did this track, I was having serious challenges with my knee being in such pain after the surgery I had in September '08. This time, we whipped through the track...so the knee is finally coming around! Another amazing day, albeit, a bit cold out on the wild west coast. We found an amazing cave at O'Neill's Beach, and watched the koru from the ferns unravel as the light helped open them up. Koru is the tightly wound new fern growth...pretty amazing to watch. There are a few pics to show you this amazing plant.
I have also included an amazing sunset on NZ Father's Day taken atop Mt. Victoria, which is a torturous hike uphill from our house here in Devonport. Torturous, because I thought we were going to miss the sunset, so I told Rob that we should just go straight up the side of the mountain to the top...instead of going the route we are accustommed to going on our regular tramps on Saturday/Sunday. By the time we reached the top of the Mountain...I thought my lung was going to pop...I even crawled over the top edge on my knees! Rob had the last laugh...
I was really gasping for my breath!
I hope this message finds you all doing well. I do have to mention that someone from the US commented on the fact that I had been 'quiet' for awhile. Well...my response to you all...we have been busy, and we also like to hear from you. So...it is a two way street folks... keep us informed as well, as we miss you all heaps!
As we were waiting for the ferry, I received a text message from our friend, Jeanette. Jeanette asked if we would like to join her and her partner, Chris on a boat for the day. They were planning to cast some lines, and relax in front of Rangitoto Island. So...we rode away from the ferry building, packed our picnic, and headed over to Torpedo Bay where Chris & Jeanette picked us up from the dock. It was a stellar day...not a breath of wind as we passed North Head, and journeyed out the channel to set up for our fishing experience. Unfortunately, my nose happens to be on the ultra sensitive side, and I had to escape to the bridge to get away from the revolting smell of bait...Rob, Chris and Jeanette did manage to catch 3 snapper, which we cooked up for supper. I was finally able to come down from the bridge when Chris got rid of the excess bait. I was so affected by that smell...just like the pungent smell of geo thermal areas...makes me instantly nauseous. Some of our pictures from this gorgeous day on the harbour will be sent via my picasa web albums.
Tramping, tramping and tramping some more is how we spend our weekends as our big trip to tramp in the Milford Sound gets closer. We have also been exploring an area about an hour and a half north of Auckland outside of a charming town called Matakana. We have had several visits to an incredible beach called Tawharanui. So, a few weeks ago, we decided to check out the much touted Matakana Saturday Market, and visit another part of the coast, called Goat Island. We were told that Goat Island is an amazing marine reserve where you can snorkel and be amazed by brilliant sea life. Well...we didn't have our snorkels...but the tide was low enough to do some tide pooling, and we could see heaps of huge fish, clearly in the water. This will be a must go when the weather is warmer...and we will have our snorkels then. We had great aspirations for a worthy tramp, but the Department of Conservation had closed our chosen track due to slippage...so we ended up walking the beach and checking out the amazing tidepools.
Spring has arrived, and the first Sunday in Spring is Father's Day here in NZ. Rob wanted to go re-visit a track we had sussed out back in April...the Te Hunga Track at Bethells Beach. It was a crisp....brrr...clear day out on the west coast. The last time we did this track, I was having serious challenges with my knee being in such pain after the surgery I had in September '08. This time, we whipped through the track...so the knee is finally coming around! Another amazing day, albeit, a bit cold out on the wild west coast. We found an amazing cave at O'Neill's Beach, and watched the koru from the ferns unravel as the light helped open them up. Koru is the tightly wound new fern growth...pretty amazing to watch. There are a few pics to show you this amazing plant.
I have also included an amazing sunset on NZ Father's Day taken atop Mt. Victoria, which is a torturous hike uphill from our house here in Devonport. Torturous, because I thought we were going to miss the sunset, so I told Rob that we should just go straight up the side of the mountain to the top...instead of going the route we are accustommed to going on our regular tramps on Saturday/Sunday. By the time we reached the top of the Mountain...I thought my lung was going to pop...I even crawled over the top edge on my knees! Rob had the last laugh...
I was really gasping for my breath!
I hope this message finds you all doing well. I do have to mention that someone from the US commented on the fact that I had been 'quiet' for awhile. Well...my response to you all...we have been busy, and we also like to hear from you. So...it is a two way street folks... keep us informed as well, as we miss you all heaps!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Taupo & Hawke's Bay
Rob & I just returned from a little trip that we had planned a few months ago. We drove south of Auckland to Lake Taupo, where we traded one of our timeshare weeks. Friday, August 7th was a gorgeous, sunny, clear day when we arrived in Lake Taupo. Lake Taupo is the largest volcanic lake in the world...186 meters deep! The view from the top of the lake across to the Tongariro Mtn. Range was spectacular! Such brilliant white, snow capped mountains, deep blue sky, and flat calm lake...normally the scene at Lake Taupo is wind, wind, and more wind. So we hit the weather on the right week!
We did a fair amount of tramping in the bush...along the walking track at Huka Falls, out to Crater's of the Moon, and Spa Thermal Park, the Wairakei Thermal Park and the Aratiatia Dam area of the Waikato River. Thermal Parks are a real trip...the earth lets out heaps of hissing steam, and gurgling pots of mud. Sometimes it smells unpleasant..like rotten eggs, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. We also had a walk about the Botanical Gardens, and a nice Lake Cruise to see some impressive Maori Cliff carvings, as well as a nice drive to Mt. Ruhapehu and the Tongariro Mountain Range. Our last two days were spent on a small tour of the Hawke's Bay region...about an hour and a half drive from Taupo. Rob has been looking forward to visiting Hawke's Bay, as it is a world class wine region. We could have spent a week in the Hawke's Bay Region...next time we will stay longer.
We really lucked out on the weather...first three days were brilliant, clear, sunny. Next couple of days we were hiking in overcast, cold weather, and our visit to Hawke's Bay was sunny & warm...16 degrees. The day we drove up to the mountains, we were hoping to do a track called the Tongariro Crossing...but the snow closed the trail..so we opted for a much shorter track called Tawhai Falls. Even though the weather looked like it was warm...it was not. It was 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, and you really had to move quickly to stay warm.
Our timeshare was a bit on the hokey side...except for the thermal spa that every room had. Natural, thermal water to soak in any time you filled the huge tub. It was such a welcome amenity for those cold days out tramping...and cold mornings trying to warm up so we could go tramping.
The common theme for me as we return home from our journeys have been...ah...my own bed. I love to go and explore...but there is nothing as nice as my own bed when I return. If I could only attach it to the car when we go on holiday...
I have sent most of you...if not all of you the photos of our trip to Taupo. If you somehow did not manage to receive them, give me a shout, and I'll send them to you.
I am looking forward to the beginning of Spring on September 1!! I am not much of a fan of the Winter. Gale winds, and squalls can go away until next winter for me. Enjoy the rest of your Summer in the US. And...please keep in touch. Cheers! ~Skye
We did a fair amount of tramping in the bush...along the walking track at Huka Falls, out to Crater's of the Moon, and Spa Thermal Park, the Wairakei Thermal Park and the Aratiatia Dam area of the Waikato River. Thermal Parks are a real trip...the earth lets out heaps of hissing steam, and gurgling pots of mud. Sometimes it smells unpleasant..like rotten eggs, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. We also had a walk about the Botanical Gardens, and a nice Lake Cruise to see some impressive Maori Cliff carvings, as well as a nice drive to Mt. Ruhapehu and the Tongariro Mountain Range. Our last two days were spent on a small tour of the Hawke's Bay region...about an hour and a half drive from Taupo. Rob has been looking forward to visiting Hawke's Bay, as it is a world class wine region. We could have spent a week in the Hawke's Bay Region...next time we will stay longer.
We really lucked out on the weather...first three days were brilliant, clear, sunny. Next couple of days we were hiking in overcast, cold weather, and our visit to Hawke's Bay was sunny & warm...16 degrees. The day we drove up to the mountains, we were hoping to do a track called the Tongariro Crossing...but the snow closed the trail..so we opted for a much shorter track called Tawhai Falls. Even though the weather looked like it was warm...it was not. It was 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, and you really had to move quickly to stay warm.
Our timeshare was a bit on the hokey side...except for the thermal spa that every room had. Natural, thermal water to soak in any time you filled the huge tub. It was such a welcome amenity for those cold days out tramping...and cold mornings trying to warm up so we could go tramping.
The common theme for me as we return home from our journeys have been...ah...my own bed. I love to go and explore...but there is nothing as nice as my own bed when I return. If I could only attach it to the car when we go on holiday...
I have sent most of you...if not all of you the photos of our trip to Taupo. If you somehow did not manage to receive them, give me a shout, and I'll send them to you.
I am looking forward to the beginning of Spring on September 1!! I am not much of a fan of the Winter. Gale winds, and squalls can go away until next winter for me. Enjoy the rest of your Summer in the US. And...please keep in touch. Cheers! ~Skye
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Were Does the Time Go?
I never really understood my mother when she used to tell me that time just flies by...and,every year it goes faster and faster! Almost two months have passed and it seems like I wrote my last post just yesterday. In mid May, Rob & I traveled home to the US to attend Ross' graduation from CSU Chico, as well as attend a special ash spreading ceremony on the SF Bay to wish Papa a final goodbye. We also managed to celebrate my 50th Birthday with many of you at a fun gathering at the Sonoma Plaza Park. It was a real whirlwind trip. Next time we come home...I would enjoy a bit slower pace!
It was so great to see our kids, as we both miss them heaps! It was also great to see all our family & friends...Farmer's Market in Sonoma, staying with Mickey, staying with Emmy & Chris in Sacramento, traveling to Chico, staying in Glen Ellen with Mary, Greg & girls, sailing on the Bay, seeing my family. Links to pictures will follow this post.
Now we are back in NZ, and it is very much winter here. As I write this, the wind is whipping,wildly, and the rain is pounding down! Rob & I took our Sunday morning walk in shorts and rain slickers...shorts, because no matter what you wear...you are going to get wet, and rain jacket...to keep the upper body warm. When we got to Cheltenham Beach, the wind was blowing the rain straight in our faces! No wussing out here! We were out with all the other crazy people getting in their daily exercise. If you can believe it...there were even people crazy enough to be sailing! I guess that would tell you what kind of a sailor I am...not a wet weather sailor! It really does not matter what kind of weather is here...the Kiwi's just do it! Nothing seems to stop them from their run/walk/cycle.
When we arrived home, there were flowers, balloons and a banner wishing me a Happy Birthday! A very special welcome home, indeed! The weather was picture postcard clear, but very COLD! Coming from warm, sunny California was a bit of a contrast. Rob took me to have lunch at the Sky Tower so we had an amazing view all the way out to Little Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula. I was also treated to lunch by my gym buddies here in NZ. They took me to a very flash place on the harbour, and we had heaps of fun for the whole afternoon.
It seems that my Birthday just kept on being celebrated, as our friends, Joan & Mark rented a Bach (sounds like batch, and is a vacation home) on the Coromandel Peninsula. It is roughly a three hour drive from our house in Devonport. Rob & I were treated to the master bedroom, that had a view overlooking Pauanui. The Bach was in Tairua. All weekend we explored the Coromandel Peninsula...went to Hot Water Beach, and a very neat Art Gallery there. We also hiked to a place called Cathedral Cove. It seemed like everytime we were in the car, torrents of rain came down, and everytime we were walking, the storm broke, making it possible for us to enjoy the day without getting drenched. Rob got some amazing shots of our time in the Coromandel.
On June 15th, we had our first non-family visitor from the States. Drew Pickering, who was working the harvest @ St. Clair Winery in Blenheim, was passing through Auckland for a few days. Actually, he had stayed here twice before, but Rob & I had both been back in the states when he passed through previously. Drew had been in NZ since February, and had quite an impressive itinerary of where he had traveled. He put on an amazing slide show of his visit the night before he left to go back home to Sonoma. We really enjoyed having Drew as a guest.
Actually...to be more accurate about visitors...Mike & Mary Szykowny were are first non-family visitors. I failed to acknowledge that fact as they actually stayed in a very fancy hotel in Devonport, and not in our little apartment. We had heaps of fun while they were here, and they had heaps of fun on their own little jaunt down south to Rotorua, Lake Terawera, and the Waitomo Caves. Mary did say..."don't ever stay in the Waitomo Hotel"...Sorry to M&M for that gaff in my memory!
Rob & I have been in training for a trek that we are booked on in December. We are going to do the Milford Trek, out of Queensland, with my friend Lisa, and our friends Joan & Mark. There is one day that is fairly long...20km. So, every weekend, we hike on both days. When my knee was so weak, I could only ride a bike at the gym, but now I am getting stronger, and able to keep up with Rob. Well...almost keep up. He is still faster, but I am getting better!
Last Sunday, it was particularly clear out...windy, and cold, but clear. We drove to Gulf Harbour and took a ferry ride out to a bird sanctuary called Tiritiri Matangi. It is a special island where the Department of Conservation is bringing back habitats for rare and endangered plants and animal species. Because it is an open sanctuary, you can hike around and enjoy the amazing sights and scenes. Many volunteers work to help maintain the Island. The DOC has has massive planting campaigns where even school children have volunteered, planting native species of bush, so the bird life would thrive. It was another amazing experience here in NZ.
This past weekend was foggy, wet, and miserable weather. Last night we had such loud thunder & lightening it felt like our house was going to shake apart! When they say there is a heavy storm coming...they really mean it! Rob & I are settling in here...hunkering down for the rest of the winter...it is sure strange having Winter in the Summer months, and Summer in the Winter months! I hope you are all enjoying your nice, warm, days!
PS...the links below are my picasa web albums from the various activities we have done over the past few months. Just click on the link, and it should bring up the particular album. :)Some of you may have seen Papa's Last Sail, and Ross' Graduation.
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/TiritiriMatangi?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvkwOTlu5XswAE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/Coromandel?authkey=Gv1sRgCIC6_Y-TkY2yiQE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/SkyeSSonoma50thParty?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKA4tn92dDDWw&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/PapaSLastSail?authkey=Gv1sRgCKy1657ktsHigwE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/WelcomeHomeBirthdayLunchWithTheGymGirls?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/RossGraduationFromCSUChico?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2tltv0qemn-AE&feat=directlink
It was so great to see our kids, as we both miss them heaps! It was also great to see all our family & friends...Farmer's Market in Sonoma, staying with Mickey, staying with Emmy & Chris in Sacramento, traveling to Chico, staying in Glen Ellen with Mary, Greg & girls, sailing on the Bay, seeing my family. Links to pictures will follow this post.
Now we are back in NZ, and it is very much winter here. As I write this, the wind is whipping,wildly, and the rain is pounding down! Rob & I took our Sunday morning walk in shorts and rain slickers...shorts, because no matter what you wear...you are going to get wet, and rain jacket...to keep the upper body warm. When we got to Cheltenham Beach, the wind was blowing the rain straight in our faces! No wussing out here! We were out with all the other crazy people getting in their daily exercise. If you can believe it...there were even people crazy enough to be sailing! I guess that would tell you what kind of a sailor I am...not a wet weather sailor! It really does not matter what kind of weather is here...the Kiwi's just do it! Nothing seems to stop them from their run/walk/cycle.
When we arrived home, there were flowers, balloons and a banner wishing me a Happy Birthday! A very special welcome home, indeed! The weather was picture postcard clear, but very COLD! Coming from warm, sunny California was a bit of a contrast. Rob took me to have lunch at the Sky Tower so we had an amazing view all the way out to Little Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula. I was also treated to lunch by my gym buddies here in NZ. They took me to a very flash place on the harbour, and we had heaps of fun for the whole afternoon.
It seems that my Birthday just kept on being celebrated, as our friends, Joan & Mark rented a Bach (sounds like batch, and is a vacation home) on the Coromandel Peninsula. It is roughly a three hour drive from our house in Devonport. Rob & I were treated to the master bedroom, that had a view overlooking Pauanui. The Bach was in Tairua. All weekend we explored the Coromandel Peninsula...went to Hot Water Beach, and a very neat Art Gallery there. We also hiked to a place called Cathedral Cove. It seemed like everytime we were in the car, torrents of rain came down, and everytime we were walking, the storm broke, making it possible for us to enjoy the day without getting drenched. Rob got some amazing shots of our time in the Coromandel.
On June 15th, we had our first non-family visitor from the States. Drew Pickering, who was working the harvest @ St. Clair Winery in Blenheim, was passing through Auckland for a few days. Actually, he had stayed here twice before, but Rob & I had both been back in the states when he passed through previously. Drew had been in NZ since February, and had quite an impressive itinerary of where he had traveled. He put on an amazing slide show of his visit the night before he left to go back home to Sonoma. We really enjoyed having Drew as a guest.
Actually...to be more accurate about visitors...Mike & Mary Szykowny were are first non-family visitors. I failed to acknowledge that fact as they actually stayed in a very fancy hotel in Devonport, and not in our little apartment. We had heaps of fun while they were here, and they had heaps of fun on their own little jaunt down south to Rotorua, Lake Terawera, and the Waitomo Caves. Mary did say..."don't ever stay in the Waitomo Hotel"...Sorry to M&M for that gaff in my memory!
Rob & I have been in training for a trek that we are booked on in December. We are going to do the Milford Trek, out of Queensland, with my friend Lisa, and our friends Joan & Mark. There is one day that is fairly long...20km. So, every weekend, we hike on both days. When my knee was so weak, I could only ride a bike at the gym, but now I am getting stronger, and able to keep up with Rob. Well...almost keep up. He is still faster, but I am getting better!
Last Sunday, it was particularly clear out...windy, and cold, but clear. We drove to Gulf Harbour and took a ferry ride out to a bird sanctuary called Tiritiri Matangi. It is a special island where the Department of Conservation is bringing back habitats for rare and endangered plants and animal species. Because it is an open sanctuary, you can hike around and enjoy the amazing sights and scenes. Many volunteers work to help maintain the Island. The DOC has has massive planting campaigns where even school children have volunteered, planting native species of bush, so the bird life would thrive. It was another amazing experience here in NZ.
This past weekend was foggy, wet, and miserable weather. Last night we had such loud thunder & lightening it felt like our house was going to shake apart! When they say there is a heavy storm coming...they really mean it! Rob & I are settling in here...hunkering down for the rest of the winter...it is sure strange having Winter in the Summer months, and Summer in the Winter months! I hope you are all enjoying your nice, warm, days!
PS...the links below are my picasa web albums from the various activities we have done over the past few months. Just click on the link, and it should bring up the particular album. :)Some of you may have seen Papa's Last Sail, and Ross' Graduation.
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/TiritiriMatangi?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvkwOTlu5XswAE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/Coromandel?authkey=Gv1sRgCIC6_Y-TkY2yiQE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/SkyeSSonoma50thParty?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKA4tn92dDDWw&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/PapaSLastSail?authkey=Gv1sRgCKy1657ktsHigwE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/WelcomeHomeBirthdayLunchWithTheGymGirls?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.skye/RossGraduationFromCSUChico?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2tltv0qemn-AE&feat=directlink
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Two days of Tramping
Saturday and Sunday Rob & I got out our boots and headed out to do some tramping...getting ready for the Milford Sound Trek that we have booked for December. Saturday, we drove to Long Bay, a beautiful beach on the East Coast Bays, and took a tramp along the bluffs through Granny Bay,Pohutukowa Bay, and finally to the Okura River. We could have tramped along the shore, but we decided that even though it was very low tide, we needed the hills and steps to get us stronger. And...even if we would have tramped along the shore...we could have been layed flat many times as it was dangerously slippery on the rocks. Emily can attest to slippery rocks along the shore. She took a huge fall when she was visiting here over the Christmas break. The tramp along the bluffs was under some sunny skies, mixed with a few rain showers. Amazing rainbows, and incredible display of big white birds dive bombing into the sea to catch fish. Not sure what kind of birds, but they certainly produced a splash when they hit the water! It was a glorious day, with gorgeous vistas looking out to the Gulf Islands...Rangitoto Island, Tiritiri Matangi Island, Little Barrier, and others that I do not know how to say or spell. Considering that it began to pour on us when we began our adventure, it was amazing that we stuck it out and completed what we set out to do. Saturday night I was in bed by 8:30, after a nice dinner that Rob cooked, and a hot bath.
Mother's Day was so different without having the kids around. Rob was so sweet...he made me a gorgeous mixed berry crepe, fresh papaya with lime and a flat white for breakfast. The kids called on Skype, and then I received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from Ross & Emmy. It got me all teared up...and made me miss them even more!
My wish was to take a bush walk for our daily activity. I got my wish, but the weather was dark & gloomy. When we entered the Okura Bush Walk...it really was difficult to see, but as we continued the clouds must have lightened up because we could see better. This walk was amazingly gorgeous! I kept proclaiming to Rob that it had to be one of the most beautiful bush walks I had ever been on...so lush and full of huge Kauri Trees, giant Fern trees, ferns of every kind, amazing bird life, weeping walls of water, mosses...it was just lovely. It was also very muddy! Some of the track was so muddy that I was very grateful to have my new walking poles for support. Again, we got caught in the rain...but it didn't get us through the heavy canopy of trees until we were almost back to the car. We were both quite a muddy sight!
There will be two photo links from my Picasa web album to show you how beautiful these tramps in the outdoors were for us...and both within 1/2 hour of our house here on the Waitemata Harbour.
One more week before we come home for Ross' graduation from CSU Chico!! Looking forward to some good visits!! Cheers!
Mother's Day was so different without having the kids around. Rob was so sweet...he made me a gorgeous mixed berry crepe, fresh papaya with lime and a flat white for breakfast. The kids called on Skype, and then I received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from Ross & Emmy. It got me all teared up...and made me miss them even more!
My wish was to take a bush walk for our daily activity. I got my wish, but the weather was dark & gloomy. When we entered the Okura Bush Walk...it really was difficult to see, but as we continued the clouds must have lightened up because we could see better. This walk was amazingly gorgeous! I kept proclaiming to Rob that it had to be one of the most beautiful bush walks I had ever been on...so lush and full of huge Kauri Trees, giant Fern trees, ferns of every kind, amazing bird life, weeping walls of water, mosses...it was just lovely. It was also very muddy! Some of the track was so muddy that I was very grateful to have my new walking poles for support. Again, we got caught in the rain...but it didn't get us through the heavy canopy of trees until we were almost back to the car. We were both quite a muddy sight!
There will be two photo links from my Picasa web album to show you how beautiful these tramps in the outdoors were for us...and both within 1/2 hour of our house here on the Waitemata Harbour.
One more week before we come home for Ross' graduation from CSU Chico!! Looking forward to some good visits!! Cheers!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Easter Week ...Tawharnui, Bethels Beach, & Feijoas
How can we have already had Easter...and Easter week? I keep thinking I should be seeing tulips and daffodils, and instead I am seeing leaves falling all over the place. Christmas was warm & sunny...when it should have been cold and rainy. My brain has had to do some bending...April just does not jive with Autumn...it is Spring! Just like driving...I still do not drive here, because everything is completely backwards, but I may be getting closer as Rob is hoping to have some relief from always being the driver.
Easter was sort of an anti-climatic holiday for us...the Kiwi's do up Easter really big time, as it is one holiday that they get 4 days off. And the kids are out of school here for 2 weeks. Easter Sunday, Jarrod & Anna & Svea, our friends here in Devonport,came over for a walk along the shore. We walked to a park where little Svea played on the swings, teeter toter & slide. It was actually the first really noticeable change in the weather, and it was cold. Hard to imagine that Easter was in the middle of Autumn...Kiwi's do not call it Fall...it is Autumn. So, after a reasonable time at the park, we managed to find a cafe with nice, warm, coffee. Svea, who is 20 months, began showing signs that it was time for her nap, so Jarrod & Anna made the move to put their little darling down for a nap.
Rob & I had no plans for Easter, so we set out for a day trip. Jarrod had told us about Tawharnui, and how we should definitely go check it out. Tawharnui is pronounced Ta fra new i. It is a Marine reserve about one and a half hours from Auckland. The last 5 km was on a very skinny dirt road...as you can imagine, Rob had a lot of fun flying around the corners, while my knuckles continued to turn pale white. So, by the time we reached the beach I was welcoming fresh air, and land we could walk on! The weather was kind of overcast with a bit of sun trying to get through...so it was actually quite pleasant. We explored caves along the beach, as well as tide pools that were part of the lava flow into the ocean. The tide pools were full of fish, hermit crabs, starfish, and other sea life. The color of the water around the tide pools was a turquoise/green/blue with white sand at the bottom of the ocean. A color that can only be described as spectacular! The hills around the beach were emerald green...so awesome! And the sand...white, soft, and gorgeous! We walked down the beach to a nice, sheltered spot...threw out our blanket, and both fell into a deep nap. Tawharnui looks out to Little Barrier Island, and in it's background is Big Barrier Island. You can also see the tip of the Coramandel Peninsula far in the distance. I found perfect scallop shells, clam shells, green lipped muscle shells, snail shells, and other bits of shell along the shore after we woke from our nap.
Another day trip we took was to O'Neill Bay past Bethells Beach. We decided to go to Bethell's Beach on the west coast because we saw on a map that there was a trek that we could go tramping on. It was called the Te Hunga Trek, and it went between Bethell's Beach and Muriwai Beach. In between was O'Neill Bay...so instead of tramping through the bush all the way to Muriwai beach...we decided to go as far as O'Neill Bay. At the beginning of the Te Hunga Trek, we had to go through a pasture. There were two horses, and when they saw us, they came to greet us. One of the horses kept trying to bite Rob's pack, because we had some almonds and dried apricots in the pack. Persistent bugger! It was magical...tramping through the bush with amazing views of the ocean & the beaches below. At one point a juvenile pheasant showed us the way on the trek. Then, perhaps we were getting to close and it took to the skies, and flew off. We were able to hike down from the cliffs to the beach below at O'Neill Bay. There were three surfers entering the surf when we got down to the beach. The surf was furious, as it is the mighty, Tasman Sea. Two of the surfers looked like they knew how to handle surf, and the other guy looked like he was being tossed around like a log in an angry surf. The waves rolling into the shore were huge. Walking back to the car, that we had parked at Bethell's Beach we found another type of shell that we had not seen before...a boxy - like clam shell. Need to find a shell identification book...
Feijoa...what is a feijoa? Well...I got an e-mail from a friend, Joan...she asked if I wanted any feijoas?? Not having a clue I said...what is a feijoa? And then came the explanation that it is sort of like a fig, but it really has a taste all on it's own. By the way...they do not taste like a fig. Feijoas happen to be in season right now, and after getting a batch of feijoas from Joan...more bags full of fiijoas kept appearing on my doorstep. You can eat them alone by simply scooping out the fruit, add cream or plain yogurt & honey to them, make feijoa and ginger jam, bake a feijoa cake...there are many things you can do with a feijoa... Joan also made this amazing feijoa pate that she served with an amazing blue cheese. Way yum! Still waiting for her to share the recipe so I can make that pate!
I hope you are all doing well...less than 4 weeks before we arrive in CA.! I'll be sending links to some photos along with this blog. Cheers!!
Easter was sort of an anti-climatic holiday for us...the Kiwi's do up Easter really big time, as it is one holiday that they get 4 days off. And the kids are out of school here for 2 weeks. Easter Sunday, Jarrod & Anna & Svea, our friends here in Devonport,came over for a walk along the shore. We walked to a park where little Svea played on the swings, teeter toter & slide. It was actually the first really noticeable change in the weather, and it was cold. Hard to imagine that Easter was in the middle of Autumn...Kiwi's do not call it Fall...it is Autumn. So, after a reasonable time at the park, we managed to find a cafe with nice, warm, coffee. Svea, who is 20 months, began showing signs that it was time for her nap, so Jarrod & Anna made the move to put their little darling down for a nap.
Rob & I had no plans for Easter, so we set out for a day trip. Jarrod had told us about Tawharnui, and how we should definitely go check it out. Tawharnui is pronounced Ta fra new i. It is a Marine reserve about one and a half hours from Auckland. The last 5 km was on a very skinny dirt road...as you can imagine, Rob had a lot of fun flying around the corners, while my knuckles continued to turn pale white. So, by the time we reached the beach I was welcoming fresh air, and land we could walk on! The weather was kind of overcast with a bit of sun trying to get through...so it was actually quite pleasant. We explored caves along the beach, as well as tide pools that were part of the lava flow into the ocean. The tide pools were full of fish, hermit crabs, starfish, and other sea life. The color of the water around the tide pools was a turquoise/green/blue with white sand at the bottom of the ocean. A color that can only be described as spectacular! The hills around the beach were emerald green...so awesome! And the sand...white, soft, and gorgeous! We walked down the beach to a nice, sheltered spot...threw out our blanket, and both fell into a deep nap. Tawharnui looks out to Little Barrier Island, and in it's background is Big Barrier Island. You can also see the tip of the Coramandel Peninsula far in the distance. I found perfect scallop shells, clam shells, green lipped muscle shells, snail shells, and other bits of shell along the shore after we woke from our nap.
Another day trip we took was to O'Neill Bay past Bethells Beach. We decided to go to Bethell's Beach on the west coast because we saw on a map that there was a trek that we could go tramping on. It was called the Te Hunga Trek, and it went between Bethell's Beach and Muriwai Beach. In between was O'Neill Bay...so instead of tramping through the bush all the way to Muriwai beach...we decided to go as far as O'Neill Bay. At the beginning of the Te Hunga Trek, we had to go through a pasture. There were two horses, and when they saw us, they came to greet us. One of the horses kept trying to bite Rob's pack, because we had some almonds and dried apricots in the pack. Persistent bugger! It was magical...tramping through the bush with amazing views of the ocean & the beaches below. At one point a juvenile pheasant showed us the way on the trek. Then, perhaps we were getting to close and it took to the skies, and flew off. We were able to hike down from the cliffs to the beach below at O'Neill Bay. There were three surfers entering the surf when we got down to the beach. The surf was furious, as it is the mighty, Tasman Sea. Two of the surfers looked like they knew how to handle surf, and the other guy looked like he was being tossed around like a log in an angry surf. The waves rolling into the shore were huge. Walking back to the car, that we had parked at Bethell's Beach we found another type of shell that we had not seen before...a boxy - like clam shell. Need to find a shell identification book...
Feijoa...what is a feijoa? Well...I got an e-mail from a friend, Joan...she asked if I wanted any feijoas?? Not having a clue I said...what is a feijoa? And then came the explanation that it is sort of like a fig, but it really has a taste all on it's own. By the way...they do not taste like a fig. Feijoas happen to be in season right now, and after getting a batch of feijoas from Joan...more bags full of fiijoas kept appearing on my doorstep. You can eat them alone by simply scooping out the fruit, add cream or plain yogurt & honey to them, make feijoa and ginger jam, bake a feijoa cake...there are many things you can do with a feijoa... Joan also made this amazing feijoa pate that she served with an amazing blue cheese. Way yum! Still waiting for her to share the recipe so I can make that pate!
I hope you are all doing well...less than 4 weeks before we arrive in CA.! I'll be sending links to some photos along with this blog. Cheers!!
Friday, April 3, 2009
One Perfect Night In Auckland
We have been trying to organize a sailing outing with one of Rob's work mates Chris and his wife, Janine. Finally, we were able to confirm that it would work for all of our schedules to join Chris' friend Andy who was sailing in the Friday Night Rum Race. Previously, I have referred to watching the Rum races on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday evenings...but I did not know that they were called Rum races because Mt. Gay Rum sponsors the races. And if you win...you get a bottle of rum! I thought the guys were just racing & drinking rum...
I left our house at 3:00pm...making the 3:15 Ferry that took me 12 minutes to cross the water to Auckland' Waitemata Harbour. I met Janine right outside the Ferry Building, and she drove us to West Haven, the Harbour, where we were to meet the guys, and board the boat. Our skipper was Andy, the owner of the boat...a 40' Elliott called 'Sure Thing'. We were also joined by another Chris from Rob's work, and his partner, Jeanette, as well as Matt, one of Andy & Chris & Janine's friends.
Just to get the picture of the setting...we were lost in a sea of sailboats & power boats...getting ready for the race. The guys and Janine just went to work, setting the sails & the lines, while Jeanette & I sat and watched the activity. The race was to start at 4:30, so at 4:20 we pulled out of the slip and went out to join the other boats for the start. There was a light breeze as we started the race...and then as we were about to turn the second mark...the wind just died. We were all kind of bunched up around the mark, and then we caught another breeze...and again the wind died...in my mind this was perfect, as I am truly a fair weather sailor. But for the guys...they would have preferred a steady wind.We would get ahead and then we would be back in the pack...and it continued on throughout the entire race. When the boats were all bunched up, there was banter between the sailors...very friendly. It is very possible that we placed...but we did not go to the race room after the race to check, because it was so nice after, we stayed on the boat & had some nibbles and wines. The light on the harbour was gorgeous...amber hues mixed with pale blue skies and perfect white & grey clouds. It was the most calm, and civilized boating adventure I can remember...no stress...just amazing. There was a great mix of warmth and friendliness in the air.
I left our house at 3:00pm...making the 3:15 Ferry that took me 12 minutes to cross the water to Auckland' Waitemata Harbour. I met Janine right outside the Ferry Building, and she drove us to West Haven, the Harbour, where we were to meet the guys, and board the boat. Our skipper was Andy, the owner of the boat...a 40' Elliott called 'Sure Thing'. We were also joined by another Chris from Rob's work, and his partner, Jeanette, as well as Matt, one of Andy & Chris & Janine's friends.
Just to get the picture of the setting...we were lost in a sea of sailboats & power boats...getting ready for the race. The guys and Janine just went to work, setting the sails & the lines, while Jeanette & I sat and watched the activity. The race was to start at 4:30, so at 4:20 we pulled out of the slip and went out to join the other boats for the start. There was a light breeze as we started the race...and then as we were about to turn the second mark...the wind just died. We were all kind of bunched up around the mark, and then we caught another breeze...and again the wind died...in my mind this was perfect, as I am truly a fair weather sailor. But for the guys...they would have preferred a steady wind.We would get ahead and then we would be back in the pack...and it continued on throughout the entire race. When the boats were all bunched up, there was banter between the sailors...very friendly. It is very possible that we placed...but we did not go to the race room after the race to check, because it was so nice after, we stayed on the boat & had some nibbles and wines. The light on the harbour was gorgeous...amber hues mixed with pale blue skies and perfect white & grey clouds. It was the most calm, and civilized boating adventure I can remember...no stress...just amazing. There was a great mix of warmth and friendliness in the air.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Life from Far Away
This past month has brought on more challenges to my psyche than I ever thought imaginable. On February 12th, Rob & I returned to California to say goodbye to his father, who we both were so very close to. It still does not seem possible that Papa Earl is physically gone from our lives. He was our contact back home to Sonoma...he really told us how things were...and now he is not there to talk to.It was really an emotional return home. Recently I took his contact name off of my Skype list...it is one of those things that I struggle with in this new age of technology...I still need to update my e-mail list. More tears are sure to follow.
On March 13, we had another shock jolt our psyches. One of our Dearest friends, whom we hold so close to our hearts, suffered a blow no parent should ever have to experience. Her son had been laying in a coma for a week. And now it has been more than three weeks. First of all, I need to let you all know that what ever we might be feeling...it is nowhere near what she is going through. If any of you believe in a higher spirit...now is the time to pray. Please pray for her son to come out of this coma with full brain function. We can not even comprehend the gravity of what our friend is going through. We can only hope and pray that he comes back to us with full brain function.
Funny how life experiences play such a huge part in what you feel. I know now ...and I know forever...my friendship with my friend is so important. It is so important for us to let each other know how important we are to each other. It is so difficult being so far away...I would love to be able to be there helping in anyway I know how to help...as a friend. I weep over this...and I pray like crazy!!
Rob & I are also still reeling from the loss of Rob's father, Earl. We both have good days, and bad days. Some days you wonder...is this real?? I see photos from past family events, and I fall into a mush of tears. Rob's dad is really so much more to me than a father-in-law...he was really a father to me.
So sorry if this post has made you feel...but, my experience has taught me...feeling is a good thing. Please pray for my friend, and especially for her son!
On March 13, we had another shock jolt our psyches. One of our Dearest friends, whom we hold so close to our hearts, suffered a blow no parent should ever have to experience. Her son had been laying in a coma for a week. And now it has been more than three weeks. First of all, I need to let you all know that what ever we might be feeling...it is nowhere near what she is going through. If any of you believe in a higher spirit...now is the time to pray. Please pray for her son to come out of this coma with full brain function. We can not even comprehend the gravity of what our friend is going through. We can only hope and pray that he comes back to us with full brain function.
Funny how life experiences play such a huge part in what you feel. I know now ...and I know forever...my friendship with my friend is so important. It is so important for us to let each other know how important we are to each other. It is so difficult being so far away...I would love to be able to be there helping in anyway I know how to help...as a friend. I weep over this...and I pray like crazy!!
Rob & I are also still reeling from the loss of Rob's father, Earl. We both have good days, and bad days. Some days you wonder...is this real?? I see photos from past family events, and I fall into a mush of tears. Rob's dad is really so much more to me than a father-in-law...he was really a father to me.
So sorry if this post has made you feel...but, my experience has taught me...feeling is a good thing. Please pray for my friend, and especially for her son!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
It Has Been A While
Where does the time fly...it seems like yesterday we were going through customs with our caravan of luggage behind us. It was the first days of Summer when we arrived, today it is the 5th day of Autumn. There is a definite change in the light and the weather. Even if you think you are organized to do a move out of the country...think again, because as I have found...there are many little details that have been overlooked. And, some of the silliest things, like file folder tabs that you left behind...are impossible to find here to fit your file folders. When you are trying to organize paper & files...this is just a little thing, but for me it is important. Also...I don't think we will ever find anything that even closely resembles good salsa...I pine for Herdez Green Salsa! Anyone coming to visit will be required to bring with them a case of canned Herdez salsa for our pantry.
After coming home from our Hawaiian vacation, we thought we would have time to actually settle in here at our cozy, little apartment. However, calls and e-mails from home were coming frequently to update us on Papa's condition, as he lay in a hospital in Sonoma for 2 weeks. What a roller coaster ride of emotions! The difficult part for us is that we were so far away. We couldn't just jump in the car, and go to be with Papa. Then, Thursday, February 12 Rob rang me to say that he had booked 2 tickets for that same evening, because it was time to get home to say goodbye to Papa. I don't even remember how I packed...only that I did not pack properly, as it was 88 degrees, and fully humid when I was packing. Forgot how cold winter really is in CA. The traffic to the airport was unreal. We made the flight, but we were the last people to check in. And if I thought the flight coming over to NZ was long in December, this flight seemed like we would never get off that plane. We arrived at 10:45 am on the 12 of February...Sounds neat, gaining hours...except that it makes for one of the longest days of your life.
When we arrived in SF, and got sorted with the car, we drove straight to the hospital. Papa was lucid, recognized us, and was surprised and happy that we were there. Even though everyone in the family tried to prepare us, we weren't prepared for how Papa looked. The family had been rallying everyday, for those two weeks. There were really hopeful days, and then the days when Papa would slip back. The day we arrived, Papa was holding court...telling one line jokes as he responded to our questions. It wasn't easy to understand, but some of his hand gestures helped to convey the message. It was a huge relief the next morning to be able to get him home, and out of that hospital. I think once the decision was made it was a matter of a few short hours before we had a bed delivered & made up, and Papa was transported by ambulance to his home. Hospice really makes things happen. Papa was truly surrounded by his loving family at his home.
It all has been so surreal. Like it never really happened, and it is all just a bad dream. However, I know otherwise. It was amazing how quickly the family got a service organized, before we had to fly back to NZ. There were some really great stories and memories shared. We were so spoiled having Papa so close to us in Sonoma, to bounce ideas and recipes back and forth. We would be the lucky ones to always receive his fresh tomatoes, basil, lemons, limes, and peaches. Those peaches were like candy! Last summer, after Matt & Nina's wedding, I went over to the house to help Papa pick peaches. He sat on the lounge and told me all kinds of stories about his life while I picked the tree bare. I had boxes of peaches, and since we were leaving for Glenbrook, we took the peaches to the annual family gathering. When I had my knee surgery in September, Papa and Grandma came over with the cutest little meatloaf, and a salad for me & Rob. Well, Papa, last night I made your famous meatloaf, and we lifted a glass to you! What a gift it was at Christmas to receive Papa's cookbook. Many thanks to Sheila for getting that project to fruition. I will miss all my good times with you, Papa!! You will always be in my heart.
So where has the time gone? Can't really answer that...just trying to make our way here, and get more settled. I told Rob, when we got back a few weeks ago, that it felt good to be back in NZ...like we were home. I still miss you all, and I do love hearing from you. And I keep waiting to hear from some of you...Cheers, until next time!
After coming home from our Hawaiian vacation, we thought we would have time to actually settle in here at our cozy, little apartment. However, calls and e-mails from home were coming frequently to update us on Papa's condition, as he lay in a hospital in Sonoma for 2 weeks. What a roller coaster ride of emotions! The difficult part for us is that we were so far away. We couldn't just jump in the car, and go to be with Papa. Then, Thursday, February 12 Rob rang me to say that he had booked 2 tickets for that same evening, because it was time to get home to say goodbye to Papa. I don't even remember how I packed...only that I did not pack properly, as it was 88 degrees, and fully humid when I was packing. Forgot how cold winter really is in CA. The traffic to the airport was unreal. We made the flight, but we were the last people to check in. And if I thought the flight coming over to NZ was long in December, this flight seemed like we would never get off that plane. We arrived at 10:45 am on the 12 of February...Sounds neat, gaining hours...except that it makes for one of the longest days of your life.
When we arrived in SF, and got sorted with the car, we drove straight to the hospital. Papa was lucid, recognized us, and was surprised and happy that we were there. Even though everyone in the family tried to prepare us, we weren't prepared for how Papa looked. The family had been rallying everyday, for those two weeks. There were really hopeful days, and then the days when Papa would slip back. The day we arrived, Papa was holding court...telling one line jokes as he responded to our questions. It wasn't easy to understand, but some of his hand gestures helped to convey the message. It was a huge relief the next morning to be able to get him home, and out of that hospital. I think once the decision was made it was a matter of a few short hours before we had a bed delivered & made up, and Papa was transported by ambulance to his home. Hospice really makes things happen. Papa was truly surrounded by his loving family at his home.
It all has been so surreal. Like it never really happened, and it is all just a bad dream. However, I know otherwise. It was amazing how quickly the family got a service organized, before we had to fly back to NZ. There were some really great stories and memories shared. We were so spoiled having Papa so close to us in Sonoma, to bounce ideas and recipes back and forth. We would be the lucky ones to always receive his fresh tomatoes, basil, lemons, limes, and peaches. Those peaches were like candy! Last summer, after Matt & Nina's wedding, I went over to the house to help Papa pick peaches. He sat on the lounge and told me all kinds of stories about his life while I picked the tree bare. I had boxes of peaches, and since we were leaving for Glenbrook, we took the peaches to the annual family gathering. When I had my knee surgery in September, Papa and Grandma came over with the cutest little meatloaf, and a salad for me & Rob. Well, Papa, last night I made your famous meatloaf, and we lifted a glass to you! What a gift it was at Christmas to receive Papa's cookbook. Many thanks to Sheila for getting that project to fruition. I will miss all my good times with you, Papa!! You will always be in my heart.
So where has the time gone? Can't really answer that...just trying to make our way here, and get more settled. I told Rob, when we got back a few weeks ago, that it felt good to be back in NZ...like we were home. I still miss you all, and I do love hearing from you. And I keep waiting to hear from some of you...Cheers, until next time!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Christmas, Boxing Day & New Year's in NZ
It is so great to have Ross & Emmy here to celebrate the holidays! They arrived from California on Monday the 22nd, and we have been having heaps of fun together. They are in awe of this beautiful, new, place that we live. Our first afternoon, after a much needed nap, Rob, Ross, and Emmy took a walk around North Head & Cheltenham Beach. I stayed back at the house, sneaking in an extra nap. We also drove up to Albany that afternoon to pick up my custom orthotics from the podiatrist. I have been waiting for these orthotics, since early November, when my left foot flared up with a nasty,neuroma. Ever since I have had the orthotics, it has made an enormous difference in my foot. Walking with pain all the time is not any kind of picnic. So, now I am a happy camper!
Tuesday morning, we all woke up a little slow...Rob had to go off to the office, and I needed to do some grocery shopping. Ross & Emmy got settled in, and then they took our bikes out for a little tour of Devonport. We all met up in the afternoon, and took a ferry over to the big city. Auckland is only 12 minutes by Ferry from Devonport. The Christmas shoppers were bustling about, collecting their last minute gifts. We were on the lookout for the famous, Auckland, Santa figure that beckoned all with his crooked finger while one of his eyes was supposed to blink at you. His one eye bulged out unnaturally, as his other eye was slightly sunken and looking off to the side. He was fastened on the corner of Whitcoul's, a stationary store. Locals here say that this Santa has caused quite a stir in recent years as he looked a little on the perverse side. Once we saw the Santa, I would have to confer that he did indeed look a little suspicious. As we headed up Victoria Street, it began to sprinkle. We were looking to check out the famous Sky Tower. Hoping to make a reservation for dinner in one of the two restaurants at the top, but they were fully booked. When we came out of the Sky Tower, the little drizzle had turned to a torrent of rain...and we were completely unprepared for any kind of heavy rain...so we ducked & covered as best we could as we made our way back to the ferry. We were all completely soaked through by the time we walked from the ferry building to the house. Thankfully we have a little gas fire place, and soon we were being warmed by the fake, glowing coals...
Christmas Eve, and the rain was still pounding away...a good day to take a walk around our village & gather all the last minute stuff for Christmas Dinner. There is a local butcher here, and we had ordered a ham...actually the very first ham we have ever ordered. Emily was thrilled that we would be getting ham, and not missing Papa's Christmas ham at Sheila's house. Although...I think Papa & Sheila do something different with the glaze than I did. Never having made a glaze, or heated a ham in my life, I asked the lady at the butcher for a recipe, and she gave me a very simple glaze to make & baste on the ham as it heated. The ingredients were brown sugar & orange marmalade...not ham with hundreds of cloves, but it did turn out to be very tasty!
Christmas Day was a picture, perfect postcard for how beautiful it is here in NZ. The harbour was mirror like, with just the slightest breeze. We packed up a picnic & drove out to the west coast to a beach called Piha Beach. Piha Beach is on the Tasman Sea, and at times can be very rough. Christmas Day, the weather was perfect at Piha, and we were able to picnic in the dunes and walk the beach with minimal wind. There is a huge monolithe, called Lion's Rock that Rob, Ross & Emmy climbed up for a 360 degree view of the area. I stayed off this rock, as I am still having some issues with my knee that I had surgery on in September. I think this knee surgery has taken a lot longer to fully heal than I was lead to believe...We came home to Devonport in the late afternoon & decided to play Petanque, on the shell path infront of our house. Petanque is the french version of bocce ball. We decided to play individual teams, and I took the game! Yay for me! We have since played teams of two, and Rob & I won the 2 out of 3 match against the kids. All the while we are playing petanque, the sail boats, power boats, ferries, & cargo ships are passing by in front of us. Rob & Emily got Christmas dinner to the table, and we ate dinner by the lights of our little fake xmas tree that came from Rob's office party completely decorated. We sort of borrowed this little tree, as everyone was off work until January 5, 2009. It still did not feel like Christmas at all...not cold enough, and not all the family gatherings to attend. However, our Christmas was a very, quiet, reflective, and enjoyable time being together as our own little family unit.
Boxing Day is almost more of a holiday here in NZ than Christmas Day, and it follows just one day later. I still have no clue what the significance of Boxing Day is, but the whole country is on holiday, and nothing is open except restaurants & retail stores. Maybe Jenny, or Colin, can help educate me as to the significance of this day? Apparently you can get all kinds of bargains at the big stores. We took a ferry ride over to the city in the afternoon, looking for those bargains...where was Karen when we needed her? Actually, Emily found some good deals, and Rob found some binoculars that he got an extra 15% off so that when he looks at the ships coming into the port, he can read the words on the side of the ship. I think he may be looking at more than just ships...
Well a lot has happened since Boxing Day! I still have no idea why everyone here celebrates this day...but now we are on to the future...We were invited out to the bush, to spend the night on Sunday, the 28th of December. The bush, as we were to find out was a 2 and a half hour jaunt north...except that they are still working on a faster highway north, and our trip turned into a 4 hour excursion. Thank goodness that Chris, (our friend) gave us his Garmin...otherwise it could have been a 6 or 7 hour trip. We literally went on this road that went dirt FOREVER!! When you are sitting in the back seat you notice every turn and twist..believe me...there were too many turns & twists to remember. After awhile you need to close your eyes to ward off the nauseousness settling in. Finally, we arrived at 'The Hillbilly Inn'... There really is no accurate description of this place at virtually the end of a road to no where. Apparently this was a gun club at one time, and it has since been re-furbished with thrown out furniture from the rubbish dump. Seriously!! There was not one piece of furniture that ever came to this place new...and, it is still there, and it always will be. In fact, there were so many antique containers from the 30's, 40's and 50's along the shelves up high it took me a good long time to see it all. Thankfully, we did have flush toilets, and we also had lights for a short while as a generator was needed to produce that precious electricity. There was an outdoor shower that was heated by a wood stove, and also the water to do dishes was heated by this same stove. So, Chris was busy stoking the fire...even at 4 am he woke, so Jeanette, his partner, could have a nice warm shower at 8am. What a guy! I guess I forgot to mention that as soon as we arrived at this Hillbilly Inn, it began to pour...rain started out like a gentle mist, and soon turned to a torrent of water. We had walked down from our accommodation to see the property owner's collection of Ford cars that went back to easily the 30's or 40's. This guy has so many cars, car parts, hub caps, oil can funnels...he even had a 1950's Shell Station Pump with the office to go with it! I mean...just having made a huge move half way around the world...I was forced to give up a lot of stuff. This guy had the market on stuff...and I felt horrified with how much stuff he really did have. I pity the poor relatives that come in after he passes...Back to our original thoughts...sorry, I got off on a little tangent here...but seriously,there was so much stuff in this guy's place I was boggled to bits!
Originally, we were invited to come to this 'Hillbilly Inn' to visit with our friends, Chris & Jeanette, and tramp in the bush to see the huge Kauri Tree that was on their property. However, with the rain pelting our little inn all night long...patter, patter, patter...all over the corrugated roof...all night long...it was apparent that we were not going to do any tramping through the bush in the morning unless we all wanted to be quite thoroughly covered in mud from head to toe. After a very protein-filled breakfast, we set out to our next destination which was one and a half hours north from where we were at the 'inn'. One thing to note about the main highway, called the 'Northern Motorway'...it is the windingest, twistiest, turniest Motorway that I have ever experienced...and imagine...the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car, and very narrow roadway. Hmmn...time to close your eyes, again! And lots of praying starts to happen especially if you are me in the back seat... I am not sure what seat would have been better...I just know that being out of the car is definitely better than being in it.
Finally, when we came to a village called Opua, we boarded a car ferry that would take us over to the Island where we were headed...to the village called Russell. It is still pounding rain, and not looking like we will see sunshine for a good long time. So...normally, you board a car ferry & get out, go above board, and ferry over to your destination. Not apparently on this ferry...you drive on, and stay in your vehicle. It seemed like 2 minutes after we boarded the ferry we were ferrying across the water...and we were! Before 10 minutes passed, we were driving off the ferry on the shore to drive to our destination. Russell, was at one time the capital of NZ.The capital has since moved to Wellington, which is in the south- eastern part of the North Island. We had reservations, thanks to Rob, at 'The Duke of Marlborough',an inn right on the waterfront looking out to the Bay of Islands. This Inn was on 'The Strand'...a tiny, one way street in this little, tiny, town. First we went the wrong way, and thought the inn was a private residence...but after a call to 'The Duke' we found that we were on the opposite end of 'The Strand'. So, off to the other end, and finally, out of the car!
I will have to concede that after we unpacked our car & got a little settled, our hike out to Long Beach was very refreshing. One thing about the Kiwi's...they make walking a priority, and their paths are very well thought out, and very well kept. By the time we started walking over to Long Beach, the clouds were finally parting, and blue sky's & sunshine looked to be the new wave of weather. Thank goodness...Rain gets very tiresome after a while. It was as calm as ever @ Long Beach, and we noticed a cove to the left of us with a tree full of birds. So, we had to figure out how to get over to that cove, which we did, and then we saw the birds. They looked a lot like our Cormorants, except that they were black & white, and these birds were kind of skinnier, with very long necks. We think they were called Gannets, as everyone here always talks about the Gannets..especially on the west coast. I have since figured out that these birds we saw were not gannets...so I will need to ask my friend, Margaret what they are, as she is quite a birder. On our walk back to our inn, the sun was just setting...and the colors were supreme! Sunset was around 8:30...hard to imagine when back in the states darkness falls sometime close to 5:30pm. Still, I am messed up with Winter/Summer...my brain has not accepted that this is Summertime here!
Tuesday morning we awoke to a perfect, calm harbour. Tui birds were singing in the Puhutakowa trees that lined 'The Strand', and all was well with the world. We sat out on the deck of 'The Duke', and had our continental breakfast trying to decide what activity we would participate in...would it be a charter boat to swim with the dolphins?, a charter boat to sail around the Bay of Islands?, a charter boat that was a Pirate Ship, that taught youngsters about the sea?, a day at the beach?, or a tramp in the bush? The final decision was a tramp in the bush, so we set off to go tramping. For all of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what I have been smoking...a tramp in the bush, means in our language, a hike in the woods. Our tramp in the bush turned out to be so spectacular...I have never been in such a fern forest!! There were Ferns, of course, and tea trees, and manuka bush/trees, and all kinds of shrubs & flowers that I recognized, and that I have never seen...pictures will follow this link. The entire time we began our tramp, we were serenaded by cicada bugs. Have you ever heard millions of cicada bugs? At first it is kind of neat, but after a time, you begin to wonder if the bugs are in your ears! Then, they begin to irritate you completely, and make you feel like you have gone mad! They are so loud! We tramped down, down, down to a beautiful cove on the shore. Which meant we had to tramp back up, up, up...the view at the top was amazing! A 360 degree view of gorgeous islands and ocean. Another moment to be pinching oneself! The beauty is quite astounding.
Wednesday morning found us surrounded in thick, dense, fog. It was our day to check out of 'The Duke', and make our way back to our little village of Devonport. Checked out right around 10am and started our journey south, once again on the 'Southern Motorway'. More twists and turns, once again, but thankfully, the traffic was on our side & we were back home in record time. It was, by the way, New Year's Eve, and we did not want to spend our entire day in the car. We had a nice, quiet, re-introduction back to the house...naps, checking in with e-mail & Skype, and lots of laundry.
Then, it was time to make dinner because the kids were planning to go to the city to celebrate with the young crowd. Rob & I were quite happy to stay home, watching the fire works from our front patio @ midnight. About 10 minutes after the kids left for the city, another torrent of rain poured down, just soaking everything. Both kids had left with no excess...and that meant that they left with no jackets/umbrellas, etc...As soon as it poured...it stopped, and once again we could see the Sky Tower in the distance.It seems like even though it is 'Summer' here...we tend to get 4 seasons in one day...and, all Aucklander's will tell you that that is the norm. Rain, certainly does not slow them down...it is just us whimpy, Yanks! They even sail in the rain!! Ross & Emily arrived home just before midnight because they had been turned away at the pubs & clubs in Auckland due to the fact they they only had their Ca. Driver's licenses,not their passports, and Ross was not wearing long pants. Every establishment they tried to get in to turned them away. :( . So, they came home to watch the fireworks with old mom & dad. Our neighbors, Paul & Margaret also came out to view the show at midnight. So we rang in 2009 with fireworks, although, Rob thinks Sonoma's 4th of July fireworks were a better show! It was pretty, and clear at the moment...so a good time was had by all. About 3am, and here came more rain...much more rain, so it made it easy to sleep in on New Year's Day.
January 1, 2009...can it already be a whole month since we left Sonoma? A lot of changes have taken place. If you saw me before we left, you would have known that I was quite wound up over all of this moving stuff. Especially those of you that came over the day before we left...I apologize for my intensity...I was just trying to seal everything up, and I was definitely running out of time. Since we have arrived here, and received our shipment...and even put things away...I have realized how easy it is to operate without all that stuff we have packed away, stored in our garage. The trip to 'The Hillbilly Inn' was a lesson in excess, and it gave me much food for thought. Better to go out in life, experiencing adventure, than to have stuff weigh you down! These are my profound thoughts for the moment. Happy New Year!! I hope this year brings you all a lightness that brightens your path! Cheers!
PS...Photos will post soon...just have to go through the best ones to post a link on Picasa web albums. Could take me a few days...or longer...
Tuesday morning, we all woke up a little slow...Rob had to go off to the office, and I needed to do some grocery shopping. Ross & Emmy got settled in, and then they took our bikes out for a little tour of Devonport. We all met up in the afternoon, and took a ferry over to the big city. Auckland is only 12 minutes by Ferry from Devonport. The Christmas shoppers were bustling about, collecting their last minute gifts. We were on the lookout for the famous, Auckland, Santa figure that beckoned all with his crooked finger while one of his eyes was supposed to blink at you. His one eye bulged out unnaturally, as his other eye was slightly sunken and looking off to the side. He was fastened on the corner of Whitcoul's, a stationary store. Locals here say that this Santa has caused quite a stir in recent years as he looked a little on the perverse side. Once we saw the Santa, I would have to confer that he did indeed look a little suspicious. As we headed up Victoria Street, it began to sprinkle. We were looking to check out the famous Sky Tower. Hoping to make a reservation for dinner in one of the two restaurants at the top, but they were fully booked. When we came out of the Sky Tower, the little drizzle had turned to a torrent of rain...and we were completely unprepared for any kind of heavy rain...so we ducked & covered as best we could as we made our way back to the ferry. We were all completely soaked through by the time we walked from the ferry building to the house. Thankfully we have a little gas fire place, and soon we were being warmed by the fake, glowing coals...
Christmas Eve, and the rain was still pounding away...a good day to take a walk around our village & gather all the last minute stuff for Christmas Dinner. There is a local butcher here, and we had ordered a ham...actually the very first ham we have ever ordered. Emily was thrilled that we would be getting ham, and not missing Papa's Christmas ham at Sheila's house. Although...I think Papa & Sheila do something different with the glaze than I did. Never having made a glaze, or heated a ham in my life, I asked the lady at the butcher for a recipe, and she gave me a very simple glaze to make & baste on the ham as it heated. The ingredients were brown sugar & orange marmalade...not ham with hundreds of cloves, but it did turn out to be very tasty!
Christmas Day was a picture, perfect postcard for how beautiful it is here in NZ. The harbour was mirror like, with just the slightest breeze. We packed up a picnic & drove out to the west coast to a beach called Piha Beach. Piha Beach is on the Tasman Sea, and at times can be very rough. Christmas Day, the weather was perfect at Piha, and we were able to picnic in the dunes and walk the beach with minimal wind. There is a huge monolithe, called Lion's Rock that Rob, Ross & Emmy climbed up for a 360 degree view of the area. I stayed off this rock, as I am still having some issues with my knee that I had surgery on in September. I think this knee surgery has taken a lot longer to fully heal than I was lead to believe...We came home to Devonport in the late afternoon & decided to play Petanque, on the shell path infront of our house. Petanque is the french version of bocce ball. We decided to play individual teams, and I took the game! Yay for me! We have since played teams of two, and Rob & I won the 2 out of 3 match against the kids. All the while we are playing petanque, the sail boats, power boats, ferries, & cargo ships are passing by in front of us. Rob & Emily got Christmas dinner to the table, and we ate dinner by the lights of our little fake xmas tree that came from Rob's office party completely decorated. We sort of borrowed this little tree, as everyone was off work until January 5, 2009. It still did not feel like Christmas at all...not cold enough, and not all the family gatherings to attend. However, our Christmas was a very, quiet, reflective, and enjoyable time being together as our own little family unit.
Boxing Day is almost more of a holiday here in NZ than Christmas Day, and it follows just one day later. I still have no clue what the significance of Boxing Day is, but the whole country is on holiday, and nothing is open except restaurants & retail stores. Maybe Jenny, or Colin, can help educate me as to the significance of this day? Apparently you can get all kinds of bargains at the big stores. We took a ferry ride over to the city in the afternoon, looking for those bargains...where was Karen when we needed her? Actually, Emily found some good deals, and Rob found some binoculars that he got an extra 15% off so that when he looks at the ships coming into the port, he can read the words on the side of the ship. I think he may be looking at more than just ships...
Well a lot has happened since Boxing Day! I still have no idea why everyone here celebrates this day...but now we are on to the future...We were invited out to the bush, to spend the night on Sunday, the 28th of December. The bush, as we were to find out was a 2 and a half hour jaunt north...except that they are still working on a faster highway north, and our trip turned into a 4 hour excursion. Thank goodness that Chris, (our friend) gave us his Garmin...otherwise it could have been a 6 or 7 hour trip. We literally went on this road that went dirt FOREVER!! When you are sitting in the back seat you notice every turn and twist..believe me...there were too many turns & twists to remember. After awhile you need to close your eyes to ward off the nauseousness settling in. Finally, we arrived at 'The Hillbilly Inn'... There really is no accurate description of this place at virtually the end of a road to no where. Apparently this was a gun club at one time, and it has since been re-furbished with thrown out furniture from the rubbish dump. Seriously!! There was not one piece of furniture that ever came to this place new...and, it is still there, and it always will be. In fact, there were so many antique containers from the 30's, 40's and 50's along the shelves up high it took me a good long time to see it all. Thankfully, we did have flush toilets, and we also had lights for a short while as a generator was needed to produce that precious electricity. There was an outdoor shower that was heated by a wood stove, and also the water to do dishes was heated by this same stove. So, Chris was busy stoking the fire...even at 4 am he woke, so Jeanette, his partner, could have a nice warm shower at 8am. What a guy! I guess I forgot to mention that as soon as we arrived at this Hillbilly Inn, it began to pour...rain started out like a gentle mist, and soon turned to a torrent of water. We had walked down from our accommodation to see the property owner's collection of Ford cars that went back to easily the 30's or 40's. This guy has so many cars, car parts, hub caps, oil can funnels...he even had a 1950's Shell Station Pump with the office to go with it! I mean...just having made a huge move half way around the world...I was forced to give up a lot of stuff. This guy had the market on stuff...and I felt horrified with how much stuff he really did have. I pity the poor relatives that come in after he passes...Back to our original thoughts...sorry, I got off on a little tangent here...but seriously,there was so much stuff in this guy's place I was boggled to bits!
Originally, we were invited to come to this 'Hillbilly Inn' to visit with our friends, Chris & Jeanette, and tramp in the bush to see the huge Kauri Tree that was on their property. However, with the rain pelting our little inn all night long...patter, patter, patter...all over the corrugated roof...all night long...it was apparent that we were not going to do any tramping through the bush in the morning unless we all wanted to be quite thoroughly covered in mud from head to toe. After a very protein-filled breakfast, we set out to our next destination which was one and a half hours north from where we were at the 'inn'. One thing to note about the main highway, called the 'Northern Motorway'...it is the windingest, twistiest, turniest Motorway that I have ever experienced...and imagine...the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car, and very narrow roadway. Hmmn...time to close your eyes, again! And lots of praying starts to happen especially if you are me in the back seat... I am not sure what seat would have been better...I just know that being out of the car is definitely better than being in it.
Finally, when we came to a village called Opua, we boarded a car ferry that would take us over to the Island where we were headed...to the village called Russell. It is still pounding rain, and not looking like we will see sunshine for a good long time. So...normally, you board a car ferry & get out, go above board, and ferry over to your destination. Not apparently on this ferry...you drive on, and stay in your vehicle. It seemed like 2 minutes after we boarded the ferry we were ferrying across the water...and we were! Before 10 minutes passed, we were driving off the ferry on the shore to drive to our destination. Russell, was at one time the capital of NZ.The capital has since moved to Wellington, which is in the south- eastern part of the North Island. We had reservations, thanks to Rob, at 'The Duke of Marlborough',an inn right on the waterfront looking out to the Bay of Islands. This Inn was on 'The Strand'...a tiny, one way street in this little, tiny, town. First we went the wrong way, and thought the inn was a private residence...but after a call to 'The Duke' we found that we were on the opposite end of 'The Strand'. So, off to the other end, and finally, out of the car!
I will have to concede that after we unpacked our car & got a little settled, our hike out to Long Beach was very refreshing. One thing about the Kiwi's...they make walking a priority, and their paths are very well thought out, and very well kept. By the time we started walking over to Long Beach, the clouds were finally parting, and blue sky's & sunshine looked to be the new wave of weather. Thank goodness...Rain gets very tiresome after a while. It was as calm as ever @ Long Beach, and we noticed a cove to the left of us with a tree full of birds. So, we had to figure out how to get over to that cove, which we did, and then we saw the birds. They looked a lot like our Cormorants, except that they were black & white, and these birds were kind of skinnier, with very long necks. We think they were called Gannets, as everyone here always talks about the Gannets..especially on the west coast. I have since figured out that these birds we saw were not gannets...so I will need to ask my friend, Margaret what they are, as she is quite a birder. On our walk back to our inn, the sun was just setting...and the colors were supreme! Sunset was around 8:30...hard to imagine when back in the states darkness falls sometime close to 5:30pm. Still, I am messed up with Winter/Summer...my brain has not accepted that this is Summertime here!
Tuesday morning we awoke to a perfect, calm harbour. Tui birds were singing in the Puhutakowa trees that lined 'The Strand', and all was well with the world. We sat out on the deck of 'The Duke', and had our continental breakfast trying to decide what activity we would participate in...would it be a charter boat to swim with the dolphins?, a charter boat to sail around the Bay of Islands?, a charter boat that was a Pirate Ship, that taught youngsters about the sea?, a day at the beach?, or a tramp in the bush? The final decision was a tramp in the bush, so we set off to go tramping. For all of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what I have been smoking...a tramp in the bush, means in our language, a hike in the woods. Our tramp in the bush turned out to be so spectacular...I have never been in such a fern forest!! There were Ferns, of course, and tea trees, and manuka bush/trees, and all kinds of shrubs & flowers that I recognized, and that I have never seen...pictures will follow this link. The entire time we began our tramp, we were serenaded by cicada bugs. Have you ever heard millions of cicada bugs? At first it is kind of neat, but after a time, you begin to wonder if the bugs are in your ears! Then, they begin to irritate you completely, and make you feel like you have gone mad! They are so loud! We tramped down, down, down to a beautiful cove on the shore. Which meant we had to tramp back up, up, up...the view at the top was amazing! A 360 degree view of gorgeous islands and ocean. Another moment to be pinching oneself! The beauty is quite astounding.
Wednesday morning found us surrounded in thick, dense, fog. It was our day to check out of 'The Duke', and make our way back to our little village of Devonport. Checked out right around 10am and started our journey south, once again on the 'Southern Motorway'. More twists and turns, once again, but thankfully, the traffic was on our side & we were back home in record time. It was, by the way, New Year's Eve, and we did not want to spend our entire day in the car. We had a nice, quiet, re-introduction back to the house...naps, checking in with e-mail & Skype, and lots of laundry.
Then, it was time to make dinner because the kids were planning to go to the city to celebrate with the young crowd. Rob & I were quite happy to stay home, watching the fire works from our front patio @ midnight. About 10 minutes after the kids left for the city, another torrent of rain poured down, just soaking everything. Both kids had left with no excess...and that meant that they left with no jackets/umbrellas, etc...As soon as it poured...it stopped, and once again we could see the Sky Tower in the distance.It seems like even though it is 'Summer' here...we tend to get 4 seasons in one day...and, all Aucklander's will tell you that that is the norm. Rain, certainly does not slow them down...it is just us whimpy, Yanks! They even sail in the rain!! Ross & Emily arrived home just before midnight because they had been turned away at the pubs & clubs in Auckland due to the fact they they only had their Ca. Driver's licenses,not their passports, and Ross was not wearing long pants. Every establishment they tried to get in to turned them away. :( . So, they came home to watch the fireworks with old mom & dad. Our neighbors, Paul & Margaret also came out to view the show at midnight. So we rang in 2009 with fireworks, although, Rob thinks Sonoma's 4th of July fireworks were a better show! It was pretty, and clear at the moment...so a good time was had by all. About 3am, and here came more rain...much more rain, so it made it easy to sleep in on New Year's Day.
January 1, 2009...can it already be a whole month since we left Sonoma? A lot of changes have taken place. If you saw me before we left, you would have known that I was quite wound up over all of this moving stuff. Especially those of you that came over the day before we left...I apologize for my intensity...I was just trying to seal everything up, and I was definitely running out of time. Since we have arrived here, and received our shipment...and even put things away...I have realized how easy it is to operate without all that stuff we have packed away, stored in our garage. The trip to 'The Hillbilly Inn' was a lesson in excess, and it gave me much food for thought. Better to go out in life, experiencing adventure, than to have stuff weigh you down! These are my profound thoughts for the moment. Happy New Year!! I hope this year brings you all a lightness that brightens your path! Cheers!
PS...Photos will post soon...just have to go through the best ones to post a link on Picasa web albums. Could take me a few days...or longer...
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