March 2010

Today is the last day of traveling. I am sitting at the VIP lounge for New Zealand…we’ve been here now for hours. Unfortunately we got in around noon and Carol had to be at the airport by 5 to catch her flight. The shuttle into town was an hour so it really wasn’t worth it to head into town. This lounge is exceptional! There is tons of food and alcohol, chairs for napping, and internet access. .. Read More

This morning I was supposed to be landing on a glacier. The pilot called at 8am for weather check and unfortunately he said we would have to wait and that he would call back around noon. It’s now 1:30pm and I haven’t heard back and I really want to do the trip. This is our last day! Carol is still off on her tour, but we are meeting back here in a short while to go .. Read More

Queenstown is everything I thought it would be and better. The hotel itself is nothing to brag about, but the views from the lobby are outstanding. We arrived late last night to the bustling downtown. It seemed by far the busiest of the towns that we have been to. The town is like a little ski town only better because it actually has a lake as well. Queenstown is known as the adrenaline city of .. Read More

Today we are leaving to head back to New Zealand. Our flight doesn’t leave until tonight so we are thinking of doing a cruise along the harbor. Yesterday we took a ferry to Manly Beach. The boat ride was short, but absolutely beautiful! I can’t believe how many cool beaches line the harbor. There are tons of little coves with private areas of sand. Manly beach was very different than Bondi Beach. It .. Read More

Sydney seems quite different than New Zealand so far. I think Carol and I both agree that we like the energy of Sydney better than Auckland. This place seems to have the best of both worlds, the ocean and city. People here seem nice and helpful and there is tons to do. The first night we went to the harbor for dinner. We had some interesting food which included Kangaroo and some strange animal tail. .. Read More

It was time to leave Auckland and head to our next destination-Sydney. Unfortunately, this happened at 4am! We were both exhausted by the time that we got to our hotel. Auckland was okay, but probably not a place that I would spend more than a couple of days unless you plan on touring around the outskirts of town. The skywalk was not nearly as scary as we thought. We were strapped into a harness the .. Read More

Today was our first full day in Auckland, New Zealand. We arrived yesterday early am and spent the day roaming the city shopping and getting our bearings on our new surroundings. Auckland is no different than any other large city and as expected-globalization at it’s best. Today we did a tour to Wahiki Island. There are about 8000 permanent residents on this beautiful island. Many of the residents commute to work via 35 minute ferry .. Read More

Saturday night Tera and I attended the annual Jewel Ball. The Jewel Ball is put on by the American Cancer Society. Molly and Bob were the co-chairs of the event. They did a really nice job on everything. It was beautiful! It was also interesting to talk to some of the other cancer survivors and learning their story. During the night they had a live auction. I found myself getting caught up in .. Read More

Yeah! After talking and planning for so long, I am finally on my way to New Zealand and Australia! My friend Carol that I grew up with in Seattle is meeting me there. I am sitting in the Honolulu airport right now waiting for my flight. When I arrived here I immediately looked for someone that could help me with my carry on bag…maybe someone with a wheelchair? I spent the first hour trying to .. Read More

Yeah! Only a few more days until I leave for New Zealand! I can’t believe this is finally happening. I don’t think it has hit me yet and probably won’t until I am on the plane. My brother in law is here visiting with a couple of his friends. They are in town for a week for spring training. I was nervous about leaving the cats for so long, so it actually works out perfect that they are .. Read More