We're finally home

Wow what a long day back. We took a 767 this time instead of a 747 and you can really tell the difference. There was zero leg room between seats, and sleeping was nigh impossible. Then customs in LA, and a 4 hour wait for our next flight to Seattle. How great it is to be home! We had a great trip, and we have lots of fantastic memories, but it's so nice to be back with the girls and the dogs and have coffee again!

I'm working on getting all of our pics into a Picasa web album, but here are some of our favorites, in no particular order -

Caving in Waitomo



The rolling hills of the Hobbiton sheep farm




60 million sheep - no, I'm not making that up



The Hangi with Jonathan as our chief



Tangariro National Park and "Mt. Doom"



The scenery all over the place



And Pippa!

Black Water Rafting and Home

Yesterday was our Black Water Rafting trip through Waitomo Caves. This was probably the most adventurous thing yet, and getting into a wetsuit was every bit as humiliating as I had imagined it would be.

Waitomo Caves is about an hour southeast of Hamilton. The day started out gray and drizzly, so it was perfect that we had planned an indoor and underground activity for the day. After dropping off Pippa at the neighbors we headed out for Waitomo.

We got there with plenty of time to spare - we had booked the 11 am trip and we arrived shortly after 10. We signed some waiver forms and waited with the rest of the 8 people in our group. Turns out it was good we booked early because they had 5 people that were on the waitlist for this trip. So after everyone was together, the guides took us down to the changing rooms and explained how to get into the wetsuits. When we were all suited up (don't worry, pics are coming), we hopped in a van and rode to the caving site. Here we had a quick lesson in using the rope for our abseil descent into the caves, then it was right to it. First was the abseil, where we used the rope to descend about 100 feet into the cave. We had to squeeze through a kind of tight space right in the middle, but it didn't last long and I got through just fine.




When we got to the bottom we walked for a bit until we got to the flying fox, which was like a zipline except in the pitch dark. That was fun. Then we got our harnesses removed and were given an inner tube which we had to hold onto our butt and jump into the river below. Even though Megan and Kelsey didn't think I'd be able to do that without the tube escaping, I managed quite well. The surprising bit to me was that we went under water when we jumped from the pressure of the drop, and DAMN that water was COLD! Here's someone jumping, and I think it might be Jonathan:



Then we used a rope line to move ourselves through the water and we had various times of swimming, walking, tubing, going down waterfalls, walking up waterfalls and general caving stuff. When we came out we had hot showers, tomato soup and bagels. All in all, we were done in about 5 hours total, about 3 of which we had spent underground. It was lots of fun and a very memorable experience.

We got home last night tired and hungry so we went to Valentine's for our last dinner here...which was not our first choice. We were going to go to this restaurant called Hydro which was recommended in the guidebooks and was said to get very busy Saturday nights. However when we showed up at the ungodly hour of 6:45 pm, the restaurant was closed. It's tough to eat out in Hamilton, choices seem mostly fast food like KFC or McDonalds or other local Takeaway places, but actual sit down restaurants are few. So when we spotted Valentines, open and actually full, we jumped. Turns out it's a pricey buffet restaurant with mediocre food but plenty of it. Although normally they only do two seatings a night, like a cruise, they let us squeeze in the first seating that was halfway over. The only downside to this was that they don't apparently replenish dishes until the next seating so we missed out on some stuff :-)

Today we're up early and heading to Auckland to bum around before our flight. We've had a lovely time and New Zealand is every bit as scenic and beaufiful as promised. The people we've met have been friendly and wonderful to talk to, and it's been great seeing Jonathan. Jay and I are both ready to get home though I think and see the girls and the beagles and our own lovely city for the last of the summer. I'll post lots of pics when we get home, but it takes so long here just to upload one that you're lucky you got that one! Next post from the states.

Tongariro National Park, Hobbiton, and Rotorua

Wednesday we got up bright and early to make the 3 hour drive to Tongariro National Park. This is supposed to be the best one day trek in New Zealand and in the top 10 of the world. Unfortunately, it's winter here, and the one day trek across the mountain turns into more than one day, and suddenly you need all manner of special equipment and a guide and everything, so we did not do that.

Instead, we opted for the one trail that was open - a 2 hour trek to Tanaki Falls and back. Of course, I'm sick now with Jason's cold, so this was going to be rough going, but we put on our winter gear (yay Sorel boots) and off we went. Turns out that the day was absolutely gorgeous, so within 10 minutes I had divested myself of hat, scarf, gloves, and fleece jacket. I pushed ahead of Jonathan and Jason since they were actually enjoying the view and taking pictures while I just wanted to finish. Jason has taken more than 1400 pictures so far! We have to edit, but the scenery here is just so beautiful that it's hard to know what to stop taking pictures of!

Anyway, we had a great day hiking on the mountains over the snow and slush covered trails, and got back after dark to Pippa and thankfully bed (for me anyway) where I tossed and turned all night trying to breath.

This morning we got up early again to start out for Rotorua. On the way we did the Hobbiton Movieset tour. This is the only place left in New Zealand where any of the Lord of the Rings sets still exist. There are 17 of the original 34 Hobbit holes still there, including Bilbo's house, Bag End. The farm that they filmed this on is breathtaking. There is literally nothing around it except rolling hills and valleys and streams and sheep and it looks like a painting from all directions. Another beautiful day too, with a blue sky and shining sun. The movie tour was fun and afterwards we watched a sheep shearing and then took off for Rotorua.

Here we went to the geothermal spa first, where I had a mudbath soak, then a sulphur spring soak, and then a massage while the boys toured the park and made wood carvings. Then we all went to a traditional Hangi concert and dinner by the Maori people (which is kind of like a Hawaiian luau) and that was really fun. They needed one of the tourists to act as the Chief of our "tribe" and that person was Jonathan! So we got the benefit of being the chieftan's family, and we got front row seats to the show to watch Jonathan accept the peace offering from the tribal warriors and then he gave a speech. It was pretty awesome and we all had a great time. Dinner was fantastic, having all been cooked underground in a steaming pit for about 5 hours.

Now we're at the Cactus Jack Backpackers for the night....our first time in a hostel type place. (That's hostel as in youth, not hostile as in takeover). Tomorrow we're gong to try to go to Taupo and kayak through the Maori carvings on the lake. It should be another awesome day. I hope I can breathe a little better by then.

More later, with pictures probably not until we get home. Internet is tough here in En Zed.

Greetings from Waikato University

Okay, we're in New Zealand. I'll update everybody on the events so far.

Our trip to LA was pretty uneventful, and was in fact one of the smoothest flights I've ever taken. Huzzah for Alaska Airlines. We arrived right on time in LAX and began to seek out the International Terminal.

What a process that was. When we got off the plane in LA, there was absolutely not one sign that pointed the way to the International Terminal and we had to ask no less than 3 people how to get there. Eventually found our way to a parking garage where we had to go down to level 3 and then make our way to this cross walk that was kind of tied in with the parking arms to get into the terminal and still no great signage. Once in, we had to go through security again, but there was only like 2 people ahead of us so it went very quickly. The terminal itself was quite empty with only one small cafe open with premade sandwiches and salads, and one small magazine shop to be had. We spent a little over 3 hours there before boarding the gigantic 747-300 series for our 12 hour flight to Auckland.

We were in the way back, row 70 J&K, which was a two person row. The plane was only about 75% full, so as soon as the plane took off and the seatbelt sign was turned off, there was a mad dash for empty rows and prime laying down space. We weren't fast enough, so were stuck in our little two person seats. After a dinner of chicken cacciatore and salmon, we each watched a movie and then fitfully slept for the next 8-9 hours, had breakfast, and endured pretty horrible turbulance for our last hour into Auckland.

Where it was POURING. Like, really bad. So when Jonathan picked us up we went right away to indoor activities. Sky City for breakfast, and a really quick trip to the casino where I won $9! On to the aquarium, and then to the museum. On the way into the museum, Jason and I both had our umbrellas broken by a huge gust of wind that just snapped the things in half. Right inside the museum door was a large container filled with other broken umbrellas so we deposited ours there with the others.

We finished with the museum around 12:30 or so, and rode back to Hamilton to rest up at Jonathan's house. It took about 1.5 hours to get there, and we got a tour of the place, met Pippa the dog, and deposited our bags in the master bedroom. Rested a bit, and then Jonathan and Jason went to the grocery store and then to play soccer while I took a shower and hung out with Pippa at the house. Bed by 10, and a good night's sleep and we were ready to go the next morning.

Today we have spent all day at Waikato University, where Jonathan teaches. He had to be here to teach a lab for 3 hours today so Jay and I explored the university while Jonathan worked, then we all went to lunch at a little cafe nearby and came back so that Jason can help Jonathan work on a computer issue. I can see the twon of Hamilton from where I'm sitting now, tantalizingly close and yet too far to walk to. The skies are gray but it's actually not that cool out and at least it's not raining.

So that's it so far...we haven't seem much of the country except what we passed through to get from Auckland to Hamilton which was mostly full of sheep. Most of our activities will be scheduled for Wed - Sat, when Jonathan has off completely. I will post more later when we have some better pictures to go with it!

Off to Down Under

We're off in about 3 hours. We fly to LAX and then we have a 3.5 hour layover there, then our big 12 hour flight to Auckland. We're in row 70 on the Qantas flight, which is a two person row so Jay will get the aisle and I'll get to snuggle up to the window where I hope to sleep for most of the flight.

Our bags are all packed, including one that's just chock full of Jonathan's stuff...10 cans of gatorade powder, 6 cannisters of Crystal Light, batteries and barbecue sauce. That bag will be nice and empty for the return trip! Then there's a second bag that's just full of winter stuff and a third gigantic bag with the rest of our clothes that will hopefully cover all manner of weather.

Jonathan will meet us outside customs at Auckland, or else he'll be in the McDonalds. Either way it will be freakin' early! We're sorry that he has to drive up to pick us up at 5 am, but if we have to be tired, so does he. Especially since he and Jason are scheduled to play soccer that very night, and nobody should have the advantage.

So we'll probably post more when we're actually IN New Zealand, which won't be until Sunday their time - which I think is Saturday for us, but I'm still confused about that whole thing.

Pictures and random things

First some pictures from PA last week.









There are lots more I hope to get on the gallery soon. This week has mostly been spent so far in getting ready to leave again. On Monday I got my emmissions test done for the Mazda so I could register it, then I went to Swedish to turn in all my volunteer stuff. Turns out I didn't have my Measles or Rubella vaccination OR titer, so I am trying to get an appointment at the lab to get that done before I go. So far, no luck in getting a call back after TWO days!

I took care of paying all the bills that will be due while we're gone, put together the start of the trip journal with the information on all the stuff we want to do while we're there, and pulled out a bunch of winter clothes to pack. Jonathan said the Tongariro Crossing got snow last week, so we'll need some good boots and waterproof pants for that day. And no, we don't plan on trekking to the summit, just some good several hours walks around the national park there. I think anything that requires crampons and an ice axe is definitely out. I still have a bunch of gear from when I did the dogsledding trip so I think I'm well outfitted. Jay's taking mostly ski stuff but we'll pick stuff up there if we need it.

Other than that, we'll need swimwear for the black water caving tour and raincoats for the unpredictable showers...the weather doesn't look very cold for when we're there unless we go higher in elevation, mostly just like Seattle in the late fall and we're used to that.

Today I want to finish getting our stuff together and make sure we have the stuff that Jonathan requested we bring along. The girls are going to Oregon today for a Jack Johnson concert so they won't be back until late and I won't have to worry about making dinner so I can get a lot done today.

Last night was a total battle for Trixie - us versus fleas. She was overrun and miserable last night, so we sprayed her nether regions good with the flea spray and then we put the last bottle of flea-be-gone over her back and that just sent her insane. She wouldn't stop running around and rolling over on her back and rubbing herself on anything she could find, in addition to panting like crazy. We tried to go to bed but she just couldn't keep still and so at 12:30 I got up to bathe her, thnking that maybe the medication was irritating her skin. I soaked her good, lathered her up good, and let her sit like that for about 5 minutes while I paid special attention to her legs and feet. Finally rinsed her off, dried her good with a towel, and the difference was immediate. She went up under the bed and was asleep and quiet the rest of the night. She still looks good today, no sign of the fleas returning yet. Whew.

PA Trip

Holy cow, it's been a while since I updated this. I'm finished with the first year of the program (yay!) and ready to start clinicals on September 15. I'll work 4 days a week, Mon-Thur for 10 hours each day, and it works out great because then Jay and I can drive in together and hopefully drive home together too.

Kelsey and I spent a week in Pennsylvania visiting my family. We kept fairly busy, with trips to Hersheypark, City Island, Memorial Lake, playgrounds, cookouts, shopping, and lots of relatives. We had a great time and got to see everyone, even my cousins Rob and Sue came down from New York, and Kirk and Krispy and family came in from Austin. It was fun but also good to get home again today. We caught a very early flight from Baltimore today, so we were up at 2:30 am to drive down there and I'm feeling pretty tired right now. The first thing I did when I got home was go grocery shopping :-)

I have a couple of days to unpack, do some laundry and repack the winter stuff for New Zealand. I had a moment of panic today when I thought about visas...I KNOW I checked and we didn't need them for New Zealand but for some reason I had this feeling that I read it wrong or something and that we wouldn't have enough time to get them....turns out we don't need them, and everything is cool. Jay said he checked last week too so we must be on the same wavelength about the trip :-). We have our Jonathan bag ready to go with all the stuff he wants from the states that is either too expensive or not available there.

I'll try to post pics tomorrow when I'm more awake. I think I'm probably good for another 45 minutes and then I'm asleep for sure.

Last week!

Well, I'm going into the final week of school. I had my instrumentation final in lab on Wednesday and my advanced OB final last night. We have three more days of classes when we do Patient Care from 9 - 5 and than that's it! I met with my clinical instructor at Swedish Hospital on Wednesday afternooon. She seems pretty nice and the place seems really busy and overwhelming, but I know I'll start out slow so I'm not particular worried - okay well, just a little bit I guess.

Brianna is back home, safe and sound. We all had a good time while she was here. I don't have pictures to post yet, I'm hoping to get some from Megan because I know she took some. While she was here, we went downtown to the Space Needle and Seattle Center to the Bite of Seattle festival - an orgy of food, drink, and music where we all ate way too much. We also went to Pike Place Market and the waterfront, and introduced her to our favorite little donuts. We all went to the outdoor Cinema on the Lawn to see Bring It On, and that was a lot of fun, everybody there was really into it. They had a photo booth set up where you could dress like the cheerleaders from the movie and get your picture taken, so the girls all did that. Finally we went to a Storm game (they won, yay!) and Brianna really enjoyed that since she's so involved in basketball.

The rest of her visit was kind of lazy - it wasn't really all that warm the week she was here, so the girls just hung out at home watching One Tree Hill on DVD. But that was just as fun for them to just be with their cousin. All in all, a good trip I think and we were all sad to see her go back home.

Tomorrow we're going to drive down to Portland for the day. Kelsey and Ayla are going to a concert, so we're just going to make a day of it since we've never been there, take a look around, have some dinner, and come back after the concert is over. Hopefully it will be a nice day and a nice drive.