After a little bit of shuffing around due to Qantas rescheduling our flight by over 8 hours, we're back, and a little stunned to be back, especially to the land of rum-pa-pa-pum and "buy a car for Christmas."
Some things we already miss about NZ/AUS:
- Tipping as a novelty (and really "Insures Prompt Service")
- Christmas at the height of summer ("air conditioners make great holiday gifts!")
- "No worries!" "How are you going?"
- Less than 5% of the population walking around with their eyes glued to their phones
- Eggs On Toast
- Only seeing 3 Starbucks in 3 weeks
- Thorough, actual briefings to people sitting in airplane exit rows.
- Fewer commercials...but...
- Seeing George Clooney in coffee commercials
- High CD % rates
- All NZ scenery
And only a few things to leave behind:
- Standard hotel check-out times at 10am (11am for high-end business hotels)
- Internet usage measured by MBs with overage charges
- $80 fill-ups, $40 breakfasts and $18 burgers
- a lot of work to be done re: attitude toward animals and pets
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Bridge Climb
We had to leave Sydney a little earlier than originally planned, due to some flight changes, but we did keep our appointment with the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We were fortunate to be in a small group of four (us and another couple - groups are typically about 14-15 people) so we had plenty of time for everyone to stop and get commentary and admire the view as we climbed.
It was a perfect day - sunny and a little breezy - VERY breezy at the top
The Bridge is exactly the same height as the Nevis Bungy Jump (see "Christina Screams Like a Girl" earlier this month). Coincidence??? I think not.
You can see our hotel in the background of this shot....second tall building left of the xway, looks like it has a big window at the center top.
We were fortunate to be in a small group of four (us and another couple - groups are typically about 14-15 people) so we had plenty of time for everyone to stop and get commentary and admire the view as we climbed.
It was a perfect day - sunny and a little breezy - VERY breezy at the top
The Bridge is exactly the same height as the Nevis Bungy Jump (see "Christina Screams Like a Girl" earlier this month). Coincidence??? I think not.
You can see our hotel in the background of this shot....second tall building left of the xway, looks like it has a big window at the center top.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Bubbly Trip
It has been a good Champagne trip for us. Almost everywhere we've gone, we've stumbled on some good bottles (by "stumbled" I mean "frequently looked for and found." The actual stumbling came later).
From discovering a halfway-decent sparkling wine maker in Marlborough (No. 1 Cuvee - French winemaker from Champagne relocated to New Zealand) -
On Lizard Island, besides the obvious attractions of having their "house" Champagne be Louis Roederer (which means as much as we wanted within the definition of "all-inclusive") the crack staff there took time out to schedule a lesson to teach me how to sabre a bottle.
All in all, some great choices...so much for our resolution to eat pub food and drink beer throughout.
From discovering a halfway-decent sparkling wine maker in Marlborough (No. 1 Cuvee - French winemaker from Champagne relocated to New Zealand) -
- to finding this nice bottle at a dark little unlikely wine bar down an alley in Queenstown
where the young bartender pulled out the rest of their stash from the cooler for our perusal:
On Lizard Island, besides the obvious attractions of having their "house" Champagne be Louis Roederer (which means as much as we wanted within the definition of "all-inclusive") the crack staff there took time out to schedule a lesson to teach me how to sabre a bottle.
All in all, some great choices...so much for our resolution to eat pub food and drink beer throughout.
We Are...
..."here" being at the edge of a cliff on the 3 km walk from Bronte to Bondi Beach in Sydney. Great views, beautiful water, interesting people watching.
Or maybe this is more recognizable as Sydney?
We are climbing this today:
Catching Up - Haast
Finally have some broadband Internet connections so can add a few photos and videos.
On the west coast of New Zealand is an area called Haast, named for a German geologist (Julius von Haast) who explored the area, named the Franz Josef glacier, taught at the university and was knighted. There is a Haast Pass, and a town named Haast.
Ken thought it would be brilliant to play Rammstein's "Du Hast" while we drove through. I agreed (you don't have to watch the whole thing...nothing exciting happened, we just don't have video editing software with us).
On the west coast of New Zealand is an area called Haast, named for a German geologist (Julius von Haast) who explored the area, named the Franz Josef glacier, taught at the university and was knighted. There is a Haast Pass, and a town named Haast.
Ken thought it would be brilliant to play Rammstein's "Du Hast" while we drove through. I agreed (you don't have to watch the whole thing...nothing exciting happened, we just don't have video editing software with us).
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving - No Thanks
When we got to Lizard Island, it was us, lots of Aussies, a couple French, a few Italians, a few Brits and a few Scots.
Since yesterday, though, we are being invaded by Americans taking advantage of the Thanksgiving week. Either sour, furtive looking couples, or families with shuffling, disinterested teenagers mad to be away from their friends and Facebook. They are so competitive – desperately afraid that someone will have some kind of experience or sign up for some activity that they won’t have or didn’t do and are frantically signing up for everything in sight. Saw one family where the dad was grilling the dive staff saying “we haven’t all been together in a while, so snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef was just the thing to do as a family” – my God, haven’t these people heard of Monopoly or jigsaw puzzles?
Reefs
Our second day at Lizard Island was beautiful – sunny, picture perfect. We immediately headed for the beach in front of our suite, and snorkeled around the point – amazing! Giant clams, 4-5 feet long, all living, as well as smaller burrowing clams, embedded in rock, with their bright teal and purple and blue mouths opening and closing. Fields of colorful coral, blue starfish, waving anemones. We took the waterproof camera to give it a “dry run” (pun intended) before we went on a full-day dive trip the next day. Later, we hiked to a ridge right above where we were snorkeling to see it from above.
The following day we were among a horde of folks going on the full-day trip to the Outer Reef, one of the reasons Lizard Island is so popular. Only an hour going out by boat (a rough hour, though, where I spent most of the time looking at the horizon from the back of the boat). We stopped at two sites that day – No Name Reef, and then Cod Hole. Apparently Lizard Island is allowed to go there twice a week, and live-aboards only once a week, so the sites are unspoiled. Ken and about 10 people went diving, and I and about a dozen people went snorkeling. Both were utterly amazing. The colors! The fish! The vegetation! Really, words cannot describe. Unfortunately, we learned that morning that our new camera bit the dust. Luckily, the resort was filming throughout, above and underwater so we will have some stills and video to share later.
If I could snorkel like this all the time, I wouldn’t ever have to learn how to dive.
The following day we were among a horde of folks going on the full-day trip to the Outer Reef, one of the reasons Lizard Island is so popular. Only an hour going out by boat (a rough hour, though, where I spent most of the time looking at the horizon from the back of the boat). We stopped at two sites that day – No Name Reef, and then Cod Hole. Apparently Lizard Island is allowed to go there twice a week, and live-aboards only once a week, so the sites are unspoiled. Ken and about 10 people went diving, and I and about a dozen people went snorkeling. Both were utterly amazing. The colors! The fish! The vegetation! Really, words cannot describe. Unfortunately, we learned that morning that our new camera bit the dust. Luckily, the resort was filming throughout, above and underwater so we will have some stills and video to share later.
If I could snorkel like this all the time, I wouldn’t ever have to learn how to dive.
Lizard Island
In the morning, we were taken to the private area of the airport where we stored some of our luggage and eventually boarded a 12-seater Cessna with four other couples to fly to Lizard Island. It was pouring rain, but after about a half an hour we could see parts of the Great Barrier Reef from the air. Amazing views. The flight took about an hour, and we landed in the driving rain on the island’s airstrip.
Lizard Island is a national park with one all-inclusive resort on it with less than 50 rooms. The island is a granite heap almost on top of and otherwise surrounded by reef. There are 24 beaches, and suffice it to say that even though it rained almost all day, we loved it. Our suite is gorgeous, and every little detail around the resort seems to be anticipated and taken care of beautifully and with good design. The staff all live on site and some have been here a long time, only getting to the mainland 2-3 times a year or less. So everyone from spa to dive to waitstaff are very professional.
I was dying to get in the water, so we went for a swim on the beach in front of our suite and the sun started to peek out. We could see that if we had brought our snorkeling gear with us, we could snorkel right off the beach – tons of reef all around.
Lovely dinner, and hoping for a better day.
Lizard Island is a national park with one all-inclusive resort on it with less than 50 rooms. The island is a granite heap almost on top of and otherwise surrounded by reef. There are 24 beaches, and suffice it to say that even though it rained almost all day, we loved it. Our suite is gorgeous, and every little detail around the resort seems to be anticipated and taken care of beautifully and with good design. The staff all live on site and some have been here a long time, only getting to the mainland 2-3 times a year or less. So everyone from spa to dive to waitstaff are very professional.
I was dying to get in the water, so we went for a swim on the beach in front of our suite and the sun started to peek out. We could see that if we had brought our snorkeling gear with us, we could snorkel right off the beach – tons of reef all around.
Lovely dinner, and hoping for a better day.
Travel Day - Cairns
After Christchurch (no problem about the rental car, by the way), we flew to Sydney, then to Cairns, where we were met by a car service and taken to the Shangri-La hotel for the night. Not the best impression of Cairns – think spring break town with lots of rowdy bars, less-than-bikini-clad girls, t-shirt shops, casinos. And LOTS of Asian tourists. At breakfast the next morning, the contingency was mostly Chinese. It didn’t look much better by day, but it must have been amazing in its natural state – between the ocean and the rain-forested mountains.
Christchurch Day and Night
We left Mt. Cook a little earlier than planned, since Christina had a cold, we couldn’t take advantage of the main thing to do there, hiking, and since it’d be best to recover in a place with easier access to things like stores and pharmacies (the hotel compound/village is the only thing there…the nearest pharmacy was 60 km away).
After having our car dented by a mountain guide backing her Land Cruiser (with hitch) into us (glad we got that extra rental insurance…), we headed for Christchurch in the afternoon and arrived in the early evening at The George (where Hillary Clinton stayed a few weeks ago, along with all her Secret Service detail).
So we had the entire next day to leisurely wander around Christchurch’s city centre – from climbing the cathedral tower to the botanic gardens to the arts district.
We found a Belgian beer pub housed in a historic building. We sat on the back terrace overlooking the peaceful willow-lined banks of the little Avon River where people sat drinking in the sun on their lunch breaks. After enjoying some Chimay and more food than we needed, we glanced inside the pub and saw a sporting event on the tv, and glanced a splash of teal. They definitely don’t wear teal playing cricket. And it’s not a rugby color. Could it be…..it was! The Bears beating the pants off the Dolphins!
Most people in this part of the world find American football boring, but the bartender said he plays with some friends a little on weekends, and is a big fan of Brian Urlacher and Devin Hester! We enjoyed another Chimay and watched the first and part of the second quarters.
We had dinner reservations at a restaurant on the river, about 15 minutes’ walk from the hotel. After a lovely dinner (couldn’t taste anything, though, due to the cold), we figured that a quick walk back and a long rest overnight would cure the cold. We sauntered back..or so we thought. It took us several blocks of interestingly-dressed women on every corner and the Salvation Army soup van to realize we had missed a turn and were wandering north on Manchester Street, which is apparently the seedy side of Christchurch after dark. Nice to know it’s not Disneyland! Ken doesn’t agree, but I thought they were much better looking than the former North Avenue Bridge crowd.
After having our car dented by a mountain guide backing her Land Cruiser (with hitch) into us (glad we got that extra rental insurance…), we headed for Christchurch in the afternoon and arrived in the early evening at The George (where Hillary Clinton stayed a few weeks ago, along with all her Secret Service detail).
So we had the entire next day to leisurely wander around Christchurch’s city centre – from climbing the cathedral tower to the botanic gardens to the arts district.
We found a Belgian beer pub housed in a historic building. We sat on the back terrace overlooking the peaceful willow-lined banks of the little Avon River where people sat drinking in the sun on their lunch breaks. After enjoying some Chimay and more food than we needed, we glanced inside the pub and saw a sporting event on the tv, and glanced a splash of teal. They definitely don’t wear teal playing cricket. And it’s not a rugby color. Could it be…..it was! The Bears beating the pants off the Dolphins!
Most people in this part of the world find American football boring, but the bartender said he plays with some friends a little on weekends, and is a big fan of Brian Urlacher and Devin Hester! We enjoyed another Chimay and watched the first and part of the second quarters.
We had dinner reservations at a restaurant on the river, about 15 minutes’ walk from the hotel. After a lovely dinner (couldn’t taste anything, though, due to the cold), we figured that a quick walk back and a long rest overnight would cure the cold. We sauntered back..or so we thought. It took us several blocks of interestingly-dressed women on every corner and the Salvation Army soup van to realize we had missed a turn and were wandering north on Manchester Street, which is apparently the seedy side of Christchurch after dark. Nice to know it’s not Disneyland! Ken doesn’t agree, but I thought they were much better looking than the former North Avenue Bridge crowd.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Too Many Cooks - No Such Thing
After paragliding over Queenstown (and landing on a school's rugby field - the kids didn't even notice) - we headed to Mt. Cook (Aoraki), the highest peak in New Zealand and where that intrepid beekeeper, Sir Edmund Hillary, trained before knocking off Everest.
Every road is a scenic road here, but this one was extra spectacular as we drove into the Southern Alps. Burbly streams surrounded by acres and acres of lupins
And then Mt. Cook was in view, along Lake Pukaki, which is a brilliant shade of aqua, but opaque, both from the silt off the mountains.
Over the next day and a half, we got all sorts of views of this mountain...at dawn from our room::
Complete with rainbow:
From a helicopter:
From another mountain where the helicopter landed...
And we were fortunate to catch it reflected in a glassy Lake Pukaki as we drove to Christchurch
The New Zealand part of this trip is almost over...so sad.
Every road is a scenic road here, but this one was extra spectacular as we drove into the Southern Alps. Burbly streams surrounded by acres and acres of lupins
And then Mt. Cook was in view, along Lake Pukaki, which is a brilliant shade of aqua, but opaque, both from the silt off the mountains.
Over the next day and a half, we got all sorts of views of this mountain...at dawn from our room::
From a helicopter:
From another mountain where the helicopter landed...
The New Zealand part of this trip is almost over...so sad.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Christina Screams Like A Girl
Capping off a few fantastic days in Queenstown, the Nevis Bungy - supposedly second-highest operating at 134 meters high over the Nevis River. This was NOT the audio I was planning.
More about our other activities soon... Unfortunately, our paragliding trip this afternoon is not possible due to wind conditions so we have to figure out something else to do...ATV tour? Horseback riding? Boogie boarding down a river? Learning to fly and loop-the-loop an acrobatic 1930s biplane? Ziplining? Luging? The possibilities are endless around here.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
I knew I shouldn't have had that big omelette this morning...
...since we spent the day hiking around the Franz Josef Glacier. And when the guide tells you to hold your backpacks over your head and walk heel-toe as you squeeze through a crevasse that was slightly narrower than me. I will definitely had bruised thighs, but at least they've been on ice most of today, to stop them from bruising...
Glowworms
We headed to the small town of Charleston, NZ, which used to be a gold mining boom town in the 1860s - the Glowworm Cave tour operates from there. We went to a clearing, andthe staff took their little train out of the garage.
We rode the train for about 10 minutes through incredible rain forest - then disembarked, got suited up in wet suits and other gear, and then hiked for about 15-20 minutes, including up 130 stairs to the cave entrance. Along the way, we picked up huge inner tubes. For a while, we explored the cave and formations, and then put our inner tubes in the cave river. There were three of us plus the guide - we made our inner tubes into a chain, and floated backwards on our backs, looking above our heads to see an incredible display of glowworms on the ceiling and walls of the cave. It was like seeing the Milky Way, or a ceiling covered in Christmas lights, while in the completely quiet and beautifully isolated environment of a cave. Once out, we rode the tubes over some gentle whitewater down the river - the river was low, sowe got what ws described as a "river spanking."
Friday, November 12, 2010
Top Five
Top five mistakes while driving a right-side drive car:
5. Reaching across your body with your right hand for the non-existent seat belt
4. Banging your right hand against the door while reaching to shift into Park or Reverse
3. Hugging (and sometimes driving off) the left side of the road rather than the center line on a two-lane highway
2. Turning on the windshield wipers (left hand) whenever there's a need for a turn signal (right hand)
1. Looking at the wrong mirrors when trying to back up in a parking lot. With poles.
5. Reaching across your body with your right hand for the non-existent seat belt
4. Banging your right hand against the door while reaching to shift into Park or Reverse
3. Hugging (and sometimes driving off) the left side of the road rather than the center line on a two-lane highway
2. Turning on the windshield wipers (left hand) whenever there's a need for a turn signal (right hand)
1. Looking at the wrong mirrors when trying to back up in a parking lot. With poles.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
There are Worse Ways To Spend a Day....
....than riding around the beautiful sunny Marlborough, NZ countryside on bicycles, tasting wine all day.
We've heard that NZ is serious about trying to do something about drinking and driving (there is currently a proposal to make the legal alcohol limit 0.5), so we opted for wine touring by bicycle. We were picked up in the morning, got outfitted, and conferred with the oeprator as to the best route and stops....and off we went!
We visited everything from powerhouses like Cloudy Bay (which brought the world's attention to NZ's Sauvignon Blanc) to small family-owned wineries, including one that grew just 6 acres, all planted, tended, and harvested by hand, and only producing Pinot Gris, and another with a French winemaker that only makes sparkling wine (we definitely enjoyed this - and were pleasantly surprised!).
We stopped for a light lunch - this is your brain....and this is your brain on wine!
Seven hours of riding and sipping go by quickly, even in a horrible headwind (at the end of the day, naturally), and the thrill, if you can call it that, of riding along state highways (yes, 100kph) with virtually no shoulder (to be fair, people in the area seem very accustomed to cyclists on the road and whiz by giving you a pretty wide berth). We experienced this from the other side of the coin today, as we drove for hours, trying just to keep our car within the lane of the two-lane highway with no shoulders, and then coming upon cyclists!
Then back to our hotel in Blenheim, the D'Urville. Which used to be an early 1900s bank, which is now converted with about 10 rooms. Apparently, we're so precious that our room (and several others in the area) have two doors - the door to the room, and a 6" thick vault door! Apparently our rooms all fed into what was the central vault.
It's a gorgeous hotel, and great room - each one is different, and the historic building is fantastic!
We've heard that NZ is serious about trying to do something about drinking and driving (there is currently a proposal to make the legal alcohol limit 0.5), so we opted for wine touring by bicycle. We were picked up in the morning, got outfitted, and conferred with the oeprator as to the best route and stops....and off we went!
We stopped for a light lunch - this is your brain....and this is your brain on wine!
Seven hours of riding and sipping go by quickly, even in a horrible headwind (at the end of the day, naturally), and the thrill, if you can call it that, of riding along state highways (yes, 100kph) with virtually no shoulder (to be fair, people in the area seem very accustomed to cyclists on the road and whiz by giving you a pretty wide berth). We experienced this from the other side of the coin today, as we drove for hours, trying just to keep our car within the lane of the two-lane highway with no shoulders, and then coming upon cyclists!
Then back to our hotel in Blenheim, the D'Urville. Which used to be an early 1900s bank, which is now converted with about 10 rooms. Apparently, we're so precious that our room (and several others in the area) have two doors - the door to the room, and a 6" thick vault door! Apparently our rooms all fed into what was the central vault.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Day 2: Dolphins and Scenery
If you have to be somewhere at 5:30am, it's probably best to do that when you're jet-lagged and your internal clock is all screwed up anyway.
This morning, while the sky was getting pink, ready for sunrise, we were at Dolphin Encounter, getting equipped and briefed for our swim. Clad in wetsuits, we boarded a boat and went in search of pods of wild dolphins along the coast. When we spotted one, the guides waited to see how they behaved - were they interested in the boat at all? Or did they act as if they didn't want to be disturbed. We waited, in all our snorkeling gear, in the back of the boat, poised to slip off quietly, sitting mostly in the cold water, which was at about 53 degrees.
When we found a pod that wanted to play, off we went, shocking our systems with the cold. Did I MENTION that the water was 53 degrees? Within moments, my face felt like a block of ice, and I couldn't feel my fingers (apparently, they save the gloves for when they go in the winter, when the water is in the 40s). What the hell were we doing? Then the dolphins came around and we forgot everything else.
Now, these dolphins are completely wild. There is nothing done to feed them or train them or otherwise entice them to hang around the boats or swimmers. It's their choice, which is wonderful. It's up to us to make it entertaining enough for them to stick around. We were instructed that we can help this along by swimming along with them in whatever configurations they try, diving down, making eye contact, and singing or making other interesting noises. We must have made for interesting sights and sounds, about 20 people swimming in circles while whistling and singing (one person hummed the Star Spangled Banner).
What fun! I had several playing with me at once, while I swam as fast as I can, zig-zagging and in circles while trying to emit high-pitched calls and whistles. (Boy, I'm out of shape, aerobically - that was exhausting). Ken dove down to follow one and ended up with one below him and one arcing above him. The water was murky, so you never saw dolphins until they were right alongside, above, near, or under you.
After about 20-30minutes they got bored and we went back to the boat. We found another group, and swam with them for a while, same experience. At this point, though, I couldn't feel my toes, and it was definitely time for the on-board hot shower and changing into warm clothing. Fifty. Three. Degrees. Have I mentioned that? We spent more time just observing from the boat - mothers with babies, and other groups showing off, leaping and somersaulting out of the water, or running alongside the boat at top speed.
After a lovely lovely lovely long hot shower, and hot breakfast, we started to thaw out (did I mention that the water was 12 degrees Celcius; about 285 degrees Kelvin), and after a stop at the used book store in town (of course), headed north to Blenheim.
It's a picture perfect day - not a cloud in the sky, the ocean is a beautiful milky aqua. Rugged coastline, winding hilly roads perfect for a Porsche, which apparently Hertz doesn't rent. Mountains in the background, vineyards and fields. Pulled over whenever possible (this is harder than it would seem - roads here don't have much shoulder, and there isn't a "scenic viewpoint" turnoff every few miles like in the US. Apparently scenery is much taken for granted, and rightly so.) to admire the view or look at seal colonies.
Just another day in New Zealand!
This morning, while the sky was getting pink, ready for sunrise, we were at Dolphin Encounter, getting equipped and briefed for our swim. Clad in wetsuits, we boarded a boat and went in search of pods of wild dolphins along the coast. When we spotted one, the guides waited to see how they behaved - were they interested in the boat at all? Or did they act as if they didn't want to be disturbed. We waited, in all our snorkeling gear, in the back of the boat, poised to slip off quietly, sitting mostly in the cold water, which was at about 53 degrees.
When we found a pod that wanted to play, off we went, shocking our systems with the cold. Did I MENTION that the water was 53 degrees? Within moments, my face felt like a block of ice, and I couldn't feel my fingers (apparently, they save the gloves for when they go in the winter, when the water is in the 40s). What the hell were we doing? Then the dolphins came around and we forgot everything else.
Now, these dolphins are completely wild. There is nothing done to feed them or train them or otherwise entice them to hang around the boats or swimmers. It's their choice, which is wonderful. It's up to us to make it entertaining enough for them to stick around. We were instructed that we can help this along by swimming along with them in whatever configurations they try, diving down, making eye contact, and singing or making other interesting noises. We must have made for interesting sights and sounds, about 20 people swimming in circles while whistling and singing (one person hummed the Star Spangled Banner).
What fun! I had several playing with me at once, while I swam as fast as I can, zig-zagging and in circles while trying to emit high-pitched calls and whistles. (Boy, I'm out of shape, aerobically - that was exhausting). Ken dove down to follow one and ended up with one below him and one arcing above him. The water was murky, so you never saw dolphins until they were right alongside, above, near, or under you.
After about 20-30minutes they got bored and we went back to the boat. We found another group, and swam with them for a while, same experience. At this point, though, I couldn't feel my toes, and it was definitely time for the on-board hot shower and changing into warm clothing. Fifty. Three. Degrees. Have I mentioned that? We spent more time just observing from the boat - mothers with babies, and other groups showing off, leaping and somersaulting out of the water, or running alongside the boat at top speed.
After a lovely lovely lovely long hot shower, and hot breakfast, we started to thaw out (did I mention that the water was 12 degrees Celcius; about 285 degrees Kelvin), and after a stop at the used book store in town (of course), headed north to Blenheim.
It's a picture perfect day - not a cloud in the sky, the ocean is a beautiful milky aqua. Rugged coastline, winding hilly roads perfect for a Porsche, which apparently Hertz doesn't rent. Mountains in the background, vineyards and fields. Pulled over whenever possible (this is harder than it would seem - roads here don't have much shoulder, and there isn't a "scenic viewpoint" turnoff every few miles like in the US. Apparently scenery is much taken for granted, and rightly so.) to admire the view or look at seal colonies.
Just another day in New Zealand!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sometimes it Helps to have Extra Padding
This is where we'll be swimming, hopefully with some pods of dolphins in the open ocean. Looks cold, doesn't it? The air temperature is in the 40s as we speak...
Honeymoon - Step 1 (and 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d....)
Five hour layover at LAX before 13 hour flight to Auckland and then another to Christchurch. What to do, what to do?
Become Judy Jetson and have dinner at Encounter, just across from terminal 6!
LA folks apparently take their kitsch seriously.
(though I'm sure Judy Jetson never had serious gastric distress from having her body reject the premise that it's Christmas in November by violently rejecting the celebratory Starbucks Eggnog Latte consumed at O'Hare).
Become Judy Jetson and have dinner at Encounter, just across from terminal 6!
LA folks apparently take their kitsch seriously.
(though I'm sure Judy Jetson never had serious gastric distress from having her body reject the premise that it's Christmas in November by violently rejecting the celebratory Starbucks Eggnog Latte consumed at O'Hare).
Friday, July 2, 2010
We're FANCY
Look! We used some of our new china! (to eat spring rolls once they arrived via delivery, though)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Quotes to Prepare - Mars vs. Venus
Some quotes by favorite authors to get in that wedding frame of mind:
- "...to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with" - Mark Twain, Following the Equator
- "Love is triumph of imagination over intelligence" - H.L. Mencken
- "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - R.W. Emerson
- "There is no remedy for love but to love more" - H. D. Thoreau
- "Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but of looking outward together in the same direction" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
And then, Ken's friends are sending him these:
- "A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished."
-Zsa Zsa Gabor
- "A wedding is just like a funeral except that you get to smell your own
flowers." -Grace Hansen
- "Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with
a car battery." -Erma Bombeck
- "Do you know what it means to come home at night to a woman who'll give you
a little love, a little affection, a little tenderness? It means you're in
the wrong house, that's what it means."
-Henny Youngman
- "Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the
suffering."
- "I never knew what real happiness was until I got married. And by then it
was too late." -Max Kauffmann
- "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language.
Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?
- Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't, they'd be
married too.
- If variety is the spice of life, marriage is the big can of leftover Spam.
- Always get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn't work out,
you haven't wasted a whole day.
- Marriage is nature's way of keeping us from fighting with strangers.
- "...to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with" - Mark Twain, Following the Equator
- "Love is triumph of imagination over intelligence" - H.L. Mencken
- "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - R.W. Emerson
- "There is no remedy for love but to love more" - H. D. Thoreau
- "Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but of looking outward together in the same direction" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
And then, Ken's friends are sending him these:
- "A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished."
-Zsa Zsa Gabor
- "A wedding is just like a funeral except that you get to smell your own
flowers." -Grace Hansen
- "Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with
a car battery." -Erma Bombeck
- "Do you know what it means to come home at night to a woman who'll give you
a little love, a little affection, a little tenderness? It means you're in
the wrong house, that's what it means."
-Henny Youngman
- "Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the
suffering."
- "I never knew what real happiness was until I got married. And by then it
was too late." -Max Kauffmann
- "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language.
Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?
- Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't, they'd be
married too.
- If variety is the spice of life, marriage is the big can of leftover Spam.
- Always get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn't work out,
you haven't wasted a whole day.
- Marriage is nature's way of keeping us from fighting with strangers.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Top Five
Top Five Positive Things About Getting Married in Your 40s:
- That "til death to us part" rest of your life thing is a LOT shorter and actually seems achievable.
- You're probably older than most of the people you have to deal with in setting up the whole procedure, including vendors, coordinators, psychologists, counselors, etc., which, if handled correctly, can lead to endless amusement.
- People are probably not going to start harrassing you about when you're going to start producing children.
- You probably don't need standard household goods so you can dispense with the whole bridal shower concept.
- You can call those mid-life crisis purchases (like vintage cars or beauty treatments) "wedding presents to selves"
Top Five Negative Things About Getting Married in Your 40s:
- Bridal shops have NO IDEA what to do with you.
- You realize that when you'll be celebrating your 25th anniversary, you'll be in or close to your 70s, if you make it that long. An argument to buy silver knick-knacks NOW.
- Your tastes in terms of throwing a party are more expensive.
- You wonder if you'll be able to stay up late enough to enjoy your own wedding reception.
- It's harder to learn how to dance.
Monday, April 5, 2010
We TOTALLY Get Along!
Preferred Vehicles
Ken: Chevy Camaro
Christina: Ford Mustang
Ken: Manual transmission
Christina: Automatic transmission
Ken: Coupe
Christina: Convertible
Preferred Porsche
Ken: Cayman
Christina: GT2
Driving Style
Ken: Boy Scout
Christina: A hair's breadth away from road rage at any time
Drinks
Ken: Pepsi
Christina: Coke
Motivation
Ken: Process-oriented
Christina: Goal-oriented
Baseball
Ken: Cubs (though, if pressed, he will say neither, he's a hockey fan)
Christina: White Sox
Beer
Ken: Dark ales and stouts
Christina: Light wheats and pilseners
Watching Music
Ken: Bobs head up and down
Christina: Moves head side to side
Color
Ken: Orange
Christina: Anything other than orange
Weather
Ken: 62 or cooler
Christina: Sunny, humid, and at least 87
Ken: Chevy Camaro
Christina: Ford Mustang
Ken: Manual transmission
Christina: Automatic transmission
Ken: Coupe
Christina: Convertible
Preferred Porsche
Ken: Cayman
Christina: GT2
Driving Style
Ken: Boy Scout
Christina: A hair's breadth away from road rage at any time
Drinks
Ken: Pepsi
Christina: Coke
Motivation
Ken: Process-oriented
Christina: Goal-oriented
Baseball
Ken: Cubs (though, if pressed, he will say neither, he's a hockey fan)
Christina: White Sox
Beer
Ken: Dark ales and stouts
Christina: Light wheats and pilseners
Watching Music
Ken: Bobs head up and down
Christina: Moves head side to side
Color
Ken: Orange
Christina: Anything other than orange
Weather
Ken: 62 or cooler
Christina: Sunny, humid, and at least 87
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Story So Far - Part I
So, that cold summer we had in 2009? Hell freezing over. Ken and Christina actually got engaged in the spring No, really!
How did we get here?
The past couple years, usually after we've had a bottle or so of champagne, we'd talk about marriage. Trust me, we've talked about it the whole 7 years or so we've been together, but it was usually my talking about why I never wanted to get married - too big a promise to make; too many unknowns; too easy to get lazy about whether you really wanted to be with the person you were stuck with; so much more fulfilling to know that your partner is with you by choice every day.
So let's look at a timeline to see if we can spot how this may have changed:
June 6, 2002: Ken and Christina's first date (drinks at Pete Miller's in Evanston; dinner at Campagnola). Christina leaves for the Scottish Isles, Faroe Islands, and Iceland next day.
June 2002: Christina returns; that Saturday, Ken and Christina go on second and third dates in the same day.
July 2002: Ken and Christina decide they are dating exclusively.
July 2002: While standing in line for hours to ride the coasters at Cedar Point, Ken brings up the idea of marriage. Christina firmly states her negative position on the idea.
August 2002: Ken gets Christina the first in a line of fantastic birthday gifts - renting a Porsche Boxster for a long weekend.
Most Fridays in 2002-03: After several strong Belgian beers at Hopleaf, discussions on why a "for the rest of your life" promise is a hard one to be sure one can make.
2002-2007: Great times, for the most part
July 2007: After months (it seems years) of looking, Ken and Christina buy a 1967 Mustang convertible; take title together. First significant thing owned jointly.
July 2007: After months (it seems years) of looking, Ken and Christina buy a 1967 Mustang convertible; take title together. First significant thing owned jointly.
June 2008: Ken gets Christina another great birthday gift: winning a charity auction benefiting PAWS (no-kill animal shelter) whereby Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick will deliver pizzas (from Piece, where he a partner) to one's home. Negotiations for pizza party date begin
October 2008: Christina goes on fantastic trip with her aunt and uncle to Madagascar. Sees many lemurs. Purchases aquamarine stones (really, there's a reason for this entry)
November/December 2008: Visit jeweler, Christopher Duquet in Evanston, to design some ideas around aquamarines - a ring and a necklace. Pick up stunning ring. Necklace needs some work.
January 2009: Visit jeweler to pick up necklace. Apparently everyone at NU got engaged over holidays, have to wait. Look at rings in cases, discuss interesting designs. Encouraged to try everything on.
Two hours later: "Are we shopping for engagement rings?" (Christina's blonde). Mr. Duquet is confused, thinks we are already married.
One hour later: "There's a process, you know. Ring-shopping is one of the LAST steps in the process." "I know, but if we do this part, the rest will be easier."
February 2009: Rick Nielsen pizza party date confirmed for March 21
March 2009: Ring and stone decisions made. Ring ordered.
March 20, 2009: Ring ready, Mr. Duquet going on vacation for a couple weeks. Ken frantically goes to Christina's parents late Friday night, has "the talk."
15 minutes later: Christina frantically puts stop to family grapevine, since nothing's official, may take months.
March 21, 2009 - morning: Ken picks up ring while Christina cleans house in preparation for Rick Nielsen/Piece pizza party at Ken's house. Upon return Christina says "it's beautiful. Now the rest is up to you" (figuring, given Ken's planning pace, it will be months until he confidently figures out the appropriate time, place, meaningful event for proposal).
March 21, 2009 - evening: Pizza party. A wonderful time was had by all. Ken showing ring privately to select family and friends.
March 22, 2009 - early morning: While Christina's washing dishes after midnight while eating leftover spinach dip, Ken proposes and slides ring on finger. The party playlist was playing the Ramones and then the English Beat.
And THAT, as they say, is the rest of the story.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
What Is A Skupulawski?
A while ago, when Ken and I were talking about the logistics of marriage in general (NOT of course, in reference to ourselves), we talked about last names and the options women have about all that. I had come across a couple who had, contrary to the traditional approach, not only both taken a hyphenated name, but also used his name first, and her name last.
I think, perhaps, we were also talking about the unusual naming sytem in Iceland (where your last name isn't that of your parents - it's typically a derivation from your father's first name).
Ken, of course, to be different, said "we wouldn't hyphenate - we would concatenate."
(Middle English, from Late Latin concatenatus, past participle of concatenare to link together, from Latin com- + catena chain Date: 15th century: meaning linked together)
And thus began our inside joke of "Skupulawski."
Which I think would be a wonderful name for a band, if we ever formed one.
I think, perhaps, we were also talking about the unusual naming sytem in Iceland (where your last name isn't that of your parents - it's typically a derivation from your father's first name).
Ken, of course, to be different, said "we wouldn't hyphenate - we would concatenate."
(Middle English, from Late Latin concatenatus, past participle of concatenare to link together, from Latin com- + catena chain Date: 15th century: meaning linked together)
And thus began our inside joke of "Skupulawski."
Which I think would be a wonderful name for a band, if we ever formed one.
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