Ushering in 2011

Despite the date entry on this post, it's already 2011 here in New Zealand; we had a lovely New Year's Eve. 

The morning of New Year's Eve, the girls and I (Stacey) went to a piano recital given by Angie, the pianist from the church where we went to Christmas Eve services.  The concert, given to raise funds to aid women living in Gaza, was at her home just four houses from ours.  We were served tea and a sweet, and settled in for about an hour's worth of beautiful music from Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven, Grieg, and Haydn.  Before and after the concert we met the other guests, who were primarily older retired men and women, but also one of Angie's students, Mika, who is eight and a half, and his mother, Ximena.  One of the women, Pam, asked the girls if they had a grandmother at home whom they missed, to which they both said yes, and she said, "If you like, I can be your 'other' grandmother while you are here," prompting Katy to give her a big hug. 

Angie, who'd already offered and lent several children's books to the girls, pulled out a tremendous box of Legos for us to borrow, as we still don't have our shipment from home.  So we lugged the Legos home and invited Mika to come and play for a while.  Before long the girls and Mika were playing together as if they'd known each other for years.  Ximena came to collect him a bit later, bringing with her sun hats (as the sun here is very intense) and inviting us all to go for a walk to Henley Lake.  It was delightful to chat with her as we walked along, and the children climbed a tree at the water's edge.  After three and a half hours of walking, we returned home, collecting Glenn at the end of his day of working at the hospital.  Along the way plans were made to get our families together for New Year's Eve, which we did after supper.

Glenn went to town and brought back pizza for our dinner, munchies for the night, and sparkling grape juice; the Tobias family arrived around 9:00.  Peter, Ximena's husband, is a bit quiet like Glenn, and interesting to talk with.  Mika came of course, as well as his brother Sven, a delightful thirteen year old.  They came in with all sorts of goodies to share.  Sven took one look at all our musical instruments and said, "I should have brought my guitar," so he went back to their house (two doors down) and brought it back.

The younger children watched movies while the adults talked.  Sven, typical of his age, was caught in that between-world of early adolescence: he wanted to talk with the adults, but he also sort of wanted to see the movie, so he navigated between the two.  Actually, Glenn did that as well.  At midnight we watched the New Year celebration in Auckland and enjoyed a toast.  No ball dropped, but there were fireworks at the Sky Tower, and we gave "Auld Lang Syne" our best effort--Ximena in German.   

As with all New Year's Eve parties, especially those with tired children, things wound down quickly after midnight.  Before they left, though, Sven came to me to ask if I would like to borrow his guitar.  It wasn't the one he usually played, he said, as he has an electric guitar at home.  This one is a classical guitar very similar to the one Mom and Dad gave me when I was in high school--the guitar I have played in Bennett Jams and for tiny sleeping babies.  His offer nearly brought tears to my eyes, as I have missed having my guitar.  Of course, I accepted his offer, and as soon as our guests had departed, I went into Beth and Katy's room to play the old familiar bedtime tunes for them.  They fell asleep gently and contentedly.

If you've noticed a recurring theme here, it must be one of tremendous generosity.  Quite unsolicited, people here have brought us things to make our house more comfortable and homey: books for the girls, games, a wok, and now a guitar.  With such warm and gracious people, we are sure to have a memorable 2011.  Hope yours will be, too.

Castle Point

Boxing Day we drove to Castle Point.  Though we are well inland, the drive took only about forty-five minutes.  No point in NZ is farther than 70 miles from the sea:  Pacific on east coast, Tasman Sea on west.  Castle Point is about 65 km from our home.  The drive was predictably curvy; there don’t seem to be any straight roads in the country.  And beautiful:  I was reminded of Northern California, brown sere hills in summer and vineyards.  Much of the North Island is like that.

Castle Point is a steep promontory overlooking a long, sandy, gentle beach.  A castle should be perched there, but, no, just a lighthouse.  The wind coming off the Pacific was fierce, and signs were posted warning us to hang on tight as we climbed the stairs.   Stacey’s camera case fell open and out flew a number of our address cards, scattering on some of the fishermen below like holiday confetti.  She climbed down the rocks to retrieve them, since she didn’t want to be accused of littering!   People were having Boxing Day parties along beach row, beer and grilling, and there were a couple of ocean kayakers too.  No ships were anywhere on the horizon.  The beach was almost empty.

The water was cool, but not uncomfortable, and the wind blew the tops off the breakers in swarms of foam.  Then Beth, Katy, and I waded in to about our waists, and of course the girls couldn’t resist smearing themselves with sand once they got back on shore.  This seems to be a necessary ritual whenever they go to the beach!  Stacey took some neat pictures--check out her posts-- and Frisco seemed to have a good time, too.

Christmas Down Under (And a Little Over)

Let me say first of all that the cooking Stacey mentioned in her most recent entry was the best Christmas meal I’ve ever had.  The menu consisted of Marinated Sundried Tomato Salad, New Potatoes with Caper Sauce, Onion and Mushroom Tart Tartan.  Stacey googled “vegetarian,” “Christmas,” and “New Zealand,” coming up with hundreds of recipes among which to choose.  She chose admirably, and she assures me she’ll make this menu again.  It was a real treat.

Last night we went to Christmas Eve services at Lansdowne Presbyterian Church down the street from our house.   No sooner had we walked in the door than the minister, the Rev. Joan Ross, invited Beth and Katy to light the Advent Candles for the night.   Katy was delighted to be asked.  The hymns were the familiar ones, but with a difference.  Silent Night used the tune we're used to, but the words were the translated from the German, “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.”   “Away in a Manger” used the familiar words, but the second tune, which I like better, actually.   And “O Little Town of Bethlehem” used Phillips Brooks’ words, but a tune I had never heard.

The “sermon” was actually a Christmas pageant, with the players recruited on the spot.  (Stacey and Katy were shepherds.)   The pageant focused on the sleep-deprived, put-upon innkeeper, who kept being roused, first by Mary and Joseph, then by Joseph alone to ask for swaddling cloths, then by shepherds, then by the kings, and finally—the last indignity—waked once more by the singing of the heavenly chorus.

Beth and Katy both went to the Chancel for a children’s sermon in which they constructed a blanket for the Baby Jesus in a manger at the front of the church.   The tone of the entire service was so welcoming, and at the end of the service we were invited to the Minister’s house for tea on Christmas Day.

We watched movies Christmas Eve after the service, Santa Paws and Christmas in Wonderland. Santa Paws was about Santa and his dog Paws and their misadventures in New York City, with a villainous orphanage keeper (who makes Miss Hannigan in Annie look like a saint), talking dogs, and a transformation of the new owners of the Hucklebuckle’s Toy Store.   Christmas in Wonderland was a pale reminder of Home Alone.  All Christmas movies that I can think of seem to be derivatives.  Stacey points out that even It’s a Wonderful Life relies on Dickens.

This morning we opened presents.  Noteworthy for the girls were scooters, a cosmetics chemistry set for Katy, and some tiny dolls for Beth.  The piece de resistance for the girls, however, was a spinning wheel, which Stacey won on Trade Me, the NZ version of eBay.  Stacey received a Cuttlebug, an embossing machine to help with her scrapbooking, an ivory colored jewelry box from Katy and a singing bowl from Beth, both from a neat Masterton store, Trade Aid.  For me there were a red and black glass tray of Maori inspiration, representing a wave, now perched in our bedroom and books Presenting New Zealand, a history, a history of the Waiarapa, a geology of New Zealand, A Continent on the Move, and a field book of New Zealand Birds.  We also got a printer.

 I was mortified, though.  I forgot to fill Stacey’s stocking.  There were stockings for me, for Katy and Beth, and even for Frisco.  But Stacey’s stocking stayed in lonely isolation on the mantle.  The most important thing about this gaffe, though, was her reaction:  no moping, no damping of her good nature.  I’ve certainly been fortunate in both my marriages (though undeserving) to have found such understanding and forgiving wives.

In the afternoon, we went to Tea at the munster.  They were really friendly people.  Joan Ross has been the minister there for five years.  Her husband is James and her son is Adam, a superb woodworker whose work reminded me of Stacey’s Uncle Guy’s.  Also there were the innkeeper from the previous night, Ronco, who was not at all crotchety, as well as his wife Jenny.  They also had a dog Amber, who did agility drills through a training tunnel.  The girls and I learned to play Bowls.  Beth was loaned a Louisa May Alcott book, Good Wives, and Katy borrowed children's adventure stories from the 1940s, the Famous Five.

Christmas Day is winding down.  Tomorrow is Boxing Day—whatever that is.   I’ve enjoyed playing with the girls, going around to the Ross’, and, yes, watching the movies.  Time to nosh. 

Cooking for Christmas "Down Below"

In an effort to make this Christmas especially memorable for our family, I have been doing some Christmas meal preparations, including the traditional Christmas baking.  I’m finding, though, that traditions are somewhat location-specific; some don’t easily translate to another hemisphere.

It began with the shopping for ingredients.  I’m the sort of shopper who frequents a handful of grocers, and I know which aisle holds the catsup in any of them.  I also have my favorite go-to recipes for which I always keep the necessities on hand, and I can find tortellini, chick peas, and canned tomatoes in any store in Tulsa.  Here, though… well, here it’s a bit different.  At the store the other day I looked for canned pumpkin on the baking aisle, then on the canned vegetable aisle.  Nothing.  So Katy took over and asked a clerk.  “Canned what?” she said.  “Pumpkin.”  “What’s it for?” she asked.  Then, “Wait, I’ll go ask my manager.”  He came over and said he used to work for the canned food company and he’d never seen anything like canned pumpkin.  “Would this work?” he asked, trying to be helpful, but holding out a can of cream of pumpkin soup.  Hmm.  No pumpkin bread this year.  No green bean casserole, either, as French fried onions are equally as exotic to the Kiwi palate.  Next item was molasses for gingerbread.  We found it, but not without some quizzical looks by store clerks, and an offer of molasses granules instead of syrup. 

Once I had the ingredients I needed for the remaining items still on our holiday menu, I had to figure out how to get around in the kitchen.  Knowing that our moving crate will be here in a week or two, I don’t want to buy duplicates, so I’m trying to get by with as little as possible.  The kitchen came with a handful of gadgets, and I bought a hand mixer, some cookie sheets, a large mixing bowl, and a spatula.  Sifted flour?  No problem—I can use the colander.  Egg whites?  OK, I can separate eggs using the shells.  Rolling pin for gingerbread?  Hmmm….  Beth solved this problem by suggesting we use a wine bottle.  Brilliant!  Next: oven won’t turn on?  No pr… WHAT?!!  Oven won’t turn on?  Aaaack!  This hurdle resulted in a tearful phone call to Glenn (“How can we have Christmas with no Christmas baking, no yeast rolls, no dinner!”).  I considered figuring out how to use the wood-burning oven, but that would have made the house unbearably hot.  Thank goodness Janine Bacon, physician liaison at the hospital, was able to tell me that I needed to reset the timer.  Huh?  Yes, it’s a safety feature on the ovens here: if the power goes out (or your nine-year-old jiggles the dials), you have to reset the clock/timer before the oven will go on. 

So now the oven was on and ingredients were on the counter, and it was time to start putting things together.  Recipe calls for ½ cup of butter; I had a kilogram of butter, marked in 50 gram segments.  Ask.com told me that the metric equivalent is about 110 grams, so I cleared that hurdle.  Bake at 350 degrees F?  OK, so the iPod conversion app tells me that’s about 175 degrees C.  Thank goodness for technology.  And fortunately, we don’t have to make adjustments for high altitude cooking, too, or I might have thrown my hands up and said, “We’re going out to dinner.”

In the end, the girls and I made gingerbread men and kiwis, icebox cookies, cocoa snaps, and pretzels (Katy’s idea—and pretty good, too).  We put together a plate of goodies to take to the hospital in Lower Hutt, and the nurses there were so appreciative and gracious.   We’ll make up a couple more trays to give away and deliver on Christmas Eve.  We’ll have egg casserole, fruit, and cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast, and Christmas dinner will be asparagus, yeast rolls, new potatoes with caper sauce, marinated sun-dried tomato salad, and an onion and mushroom tart tartin.  I’m excitedly looking forward to the holiday—even if it is going to be 26 degrees on Christmas Day (80 Fahrenheit). 

Kiwi Hospitality

Last Friday was our final night on the South Island.  Since we had a 1:00 reservation for the ferry on Saturday, we decided to stay in Picton that night.  We found a Bed and Breakfast, the Echo Lodge.   The owners really showed us some Kiwi hospitality.  When we said that we’d like to take a walk, our hostess Sharon pointed out a walking trail that would take us to the wharf and some nice restaurants for dinner.  Then she gave us her card and told us that when we finished eating we could call her and she’d drive over to collect us so that we wouldn’t have to walk back.   When she did collect us, Sharon stopped by a bank so Glenn could use the ATM.  Then back at the B&B, she offered us tea and sweets, and she and Russell visited with us and treated us like family.  The next morning as we departed for our ferry, she even gave us some homemade muffins to take with us!

While we were at the B&B we had a strong and reliable internet signal (not always easy to find here), so we arranged for Katy and Beth to have a Skype session with their classmates.  The class seemed excited to talk with us, especially when the girls told them about swimming with dolphins.  They had lots of good questions about New Zealand, and it was fun for all of us to be able to touch base with home.  Although Skype sometimes freezes up, it’s pretty amazing that we can have a video call—for free—from halfway around the globe. 

The return ferry ride was on the largest in the Interislander fleet.  It even had a small playground for the children, where Katy and Beth met a pair of sisters from Malaysia.  It doesn’t take kids long to make friends, so they entertained one another throughout the three-hour passage.  The girls’ mother and I exchanged email addresses so that we could share pictures we’d taken on the boat.

I also met a very interesting woman from France.  She didn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak much French, so we conversed in Spanish.  She told me that she has been travelling around the world since August 2008, and that the trip would be three years in all.  She’d been all around the South Pacific, South Africa, some of South America, and would be visiting Australia and—I think—Greenland before returning home to France.  Some of the place names may have been confused in the translation, but I thought we communicated pretty well considering we were both using a second language!

We got back to our house Saturday evening with just enough time to do all the laundry and repack so that Glenn could go to Lower Hutt (just north of Wellington) on Sunday evening to begin his two-week supervised practice there, which he has to do before he can work in the hospital in Masterton.  He is staying there all week and will come back to Masterton late Friday night.  Since we only have one car, he’ll come back up on the midnight train so that the girls and I won’t have to drive over Mount Rimutaka late at night.  Meanwhile, Beth, Katy and I are spending this week getting the house organized and making Christmas decorations, since I didn’t bring any ornaments from home.  We’re having fun making God’s eyes, cinnamon dough ornaments, and anything we can think of using the materials at hand.  And though it’s hard to think of Christmas when it’s summer outside, we’ll make it look festive and have a nice holiday together.

Glenn Wrecks the RV

Yes, it's true.  We were driving in the South Island on the way back to the ferry at the end of our mini-vacation and we came upon a series of ski mountains just west of Christchurch (or "Chch," as some Kiwis put it).  Naturally, we couldn't resist having a look.  Stacey and I were reminded about the time in 1999 when we made a similar trip up a ski mountain in Stowe, Vermont.    It's summer now, so snow wasn't an issue in trundling the RV up the unsealed road to the top of the mountain. 

As in much of New Zealand, the scenery was eye-boggling.  We could look out on the plains of Cantrerbury (the region in which Chch is situated) and see its vineyards, pastures, and neat fence rows well into the distance as we rocked around each harrowing hairpin.  The girls were sitting in the back of the RV reading and we kept rousing them to look out at the amazing panorama below.

About halfway up Mt. Hutt it became apparent that the summit was covered with clouds, and a helpful driver on the way down suggested that we not try to reach it because of road hazard and, of course, the fact that if we did make it to the top we wouldn't see much except clouds.   So we decided to turn around.

Having driven since we left Oamaru that morning, Stacey was tired, and I reluctantly agreed to take the wheel.  We found a broad area to turn around and started to wend (yes "wend") our way to the main highway.  The scenery was wonderful, not least the lush foliage which grows right up to the side of the road.  The view was stunning, as was the telephone pole concealed in it.  I moved left to avoid a rut and sideswiped it.  The RV was dented, and the side door was stuck, but otherwise it was drivable, and no one was injured.  So on we went to Chch.

When returned it to the Maui rental company, we were treated cordially, and since we had full insurance, no harm was done to our finances, but still, if swimming with the dusky dolphins was the trip's high point, I know my personal low.

From Fossilized Whales to Playful Dolphins

We stayed overnight in Kiakoura, a town halfway between Picton (northern end of the South Island) and Christchurch.  It has a deep undersea trench that provides a unique environment in which seals, dolphins, and whales thrive.  At the southern end of town there’s a large seal colony; you can just drive out and see them sitting on the rocks 100 yards or so from shore.  The place also has a large number of seabirds that feed on the small fish that get stirred upward from the trench by schools of large fish.

So today, we swam with the dolphins! It’s a fairly involved process.  First, we had to get into wetsuits and be fitted for hoods, flippers, masks, and snorkels.  I had a sleeveless suit and then a jacket that went over it, giving me two layers for warmth; the girls had a long-sleeved and long-legged suit, then a short suit over that to keep their core body temperature comfortable.  Katy said she felt like a huge rubber band.  Next, we watched an orientation video while sitting there in our gear.  Then we took a bus to the dock and boarded the boat.  They had suggested that we might take some ginger tablets to prevent seasickness, so the girls and I each took one, but Glenn was OK without.  Perhaps I should have considered taking more. . .

Within only about ten minutes of leaving shore, we could see the dusky dolphins leaping and playing in the distance.  Within a few more minutes, Katy, Beth and I made ready to get into the water with them—Glenn wanted to watch and take pictures from the boat.  The water was shockingly cold at first, but the wetsuits soon insulated us from discomfort.  Katy, Beth and I had ever snorkeled before, so we were slow to put our masks into the water.  But when we did—unbelievable!  The dolphins were swimming right under and around us!  We had found a pod of 300 to 500 dusky dolphins, and they were quite amused by us.  The orientation had shown us that these were wild creatures, and they were only going to come swim with us if we seemed to be entertaining; so we needed to swim in circles with them, or sing through our snorkels, or try to be as dolphin-like as possible.  I think this amused the onlookers on the boat as much as the dolphins.

I made the mistake of taking out my mouthpiece to say something to the girls, and when I put it back in, I got a bit of seawater in my mouth.  That, combined with the rolling motion of the water, did me in.   While all the swimmers came back to the boat, I made friends with a bucket.  There was a second opportunity to swim, so Beth and Katy got into the water again, but I stayed onboard with my bucket close at hand, and Glenn took lots of pictures.  When I recovered a bit I took as many pictures as I could, but I was trying to focus on the horizon while aiming the camera in the general area where the dolphins were, hoping to catch them on film as they leaped and flipped out of the water.

After that swim everybody shucked off the wetsuits and dried off, and the boat stayed near the pod so that all of us could watch them and take pictures.  The dolphins swam right up to the boat and sometimes raced alongside.  Looking across the water, I could see hundreds of dorsal fins.

We were told that because dolphins have to be awake to breach and breathe, they rest half their brains at a time.  Apparently they rest midday, so the boats have to leave the area between 11:30 and 1:30.  It was an experience we will never forget, and even though I was seasick, I’d do it again in a heartbeat—though maybe with a bit more ginger first!

The Fossil Trail

What a great day of exploring!  We drove to Oamaru, a Victorian-style town with many limestone buildings, interesting shops, and beautiful seaside scenery.  It also hosts a large colony of the world’s smallest penguins, the Little Blue Penguins.  At dusk the penguins come ashore to find their nests and feed their young, and it’s said to be quite a sight.  Although we didn’t get to see the penguins, one highlight for the girls was riding a penny farthing—the old-fashioned bicycle with the huge front wheel.  Fortunately, the bike was stationary, as neither the girls nor I could fully reach the pedals!

Just outside Oamaru begins the Vanished World Fossil Trail, a long stretch of road along which many fossil sites are located.  We spent the afternoon wandering along this trail and stopping to look at some of the fossils, including a 26-million year old jaw of a Baleen whale that was preserved right in the limestone cliffs.  Glenn remarked that he’d never seen a fossil out in the open like that (though it had a protective case around it).  Most fossils are brought into a museum setting, so seeing it where it was actually found put it and the area around it into a different context.

At the Vanished World Center, the docent talked with us about how common whale fossils are in New Zealand, and then told us where we could go to pick up some limestone to dig in for our own small fossils.  It’s a place about 6 kilometers from the Center called Earthquakes.  As we were walking along the trail, I couldn’t help but question the wisdom of hiking under huge limestone boulders in a place called Earthquakes, but the sheep seemed to get along there OK, so up we went to view another whale and get some sample rocks.

We haven’t broken the rocks apart yet to see what’s there, but we can see plenty of tiny fossils on the surface.  The docent at the Center also gave the girls each a nice sized chunk of limestone with some larger fossils visible, so we’ll have a fun time excavating those when we get back to Masterton.  

Fortunately, we have jettisoned our plan to go all the way south to Dunedin.  Though that would have been a fun destination for me, it would have meant much more driving and much less meandering around looking at things that interested us.  I'm glad that we've allowed this trip to be agenda-free and have just enjoyed what each day has brought.

Quaking and Shaking

Yesterday we felt an earthquake in Christchurch.  It was an aftershock, actually, that measured about 3.2.  The sofa I was sitting on simply rolled a bit underneath me, a gentle rocking motion much unlike the major quake they had here earlier in the year.  As our 16-year-old hostess, Melanie, told about that early-morning quake, I couldn’t help but notice the glisten of a tear in her eye.  It must have been quite a traumatic experience.

The city of Christchurch has been cleaned up fairly efficiently, but one can still see the aftermath of the tectonic movements: churches that have been enclosed in chain-link fencing with “Do Not Enter” signs, blocks where buildings have been razed, and the notable lack of chimneys everywhere.

We picked up our RV in Christchurch and headed out for Dunedin, a Scottish town along the southern end of the east coast.  Yep, RV.  It’s about the size of a mini-bus and sleeps four, though as with any RV, “sleeping” is only achieved after contorting oneself to make up the upper loft and then converting the dining space into a bed—all with two nine-year-olds who are eager to help.  Then it’s a night of trying to get comfortable on a two-inch foam pad that rests on multiple wooden planks.  But it’s an experience requested by Katy and Beth, so we’ll have two more nights in it before we return to Christchurch.  The best thing about it is that we don’t have to keep repacking; though it’s a small space, so there is a fair amount of juggling involved. 

We camped at Timaru, a town about 200 kilometers north of Dunedin.  The big attraction there for the girls was the playground and the big jumping bubble—sort like a big rubber ball set into the ground.   It was also a big deal to be able to settle into the RV and experiment with how everything works.  Though it was too drizzly to do any trekking (hiking), it appears to be clearing this afternoon, so we hope to see some sites and/or trek along the way.

Deeper and Deeper South

We've thrown much of our excess luggage into the house, repacked, and headed out for more adventure on the South Island.  After motoring over Mount Rimutaka to Wellington, we boarded the Interislander ferry bound for Picton, South Island.  It's about a three-hour journey through breathtaking sounds.  The mountains pop right up out of the water and are covered in green foliage.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast a couple of hours south of Picton.  It was adjacent to a vineyard and the entire back side of the house was made up of picture windows that looked out at the mountains.  I awoke Saturday morning just before dawn and slipped outside to take photographs of the mountains as they awoke; they didn't disappoint me.  Their pink and purple hues gradually filled the horizon, and I snapped away until I noticed a little gurgling sound coming from the swimming pool.  It turns out that a hedgehog and fallen into the pool sometime overnight and was paddling away for its life.  After pondering several ways to rescue the creature, I settled on the most logical one: wake up Glenn.  He immediately scooped the hedgehog out of the water and softly tossed him onto the deck.  Our little quilled friend stayed on the deck quite a while, likely exhausted from its ordeal, so Katy and Beth saw it when they awoke.

Our next stop was Christchurch, and Beth chose the B&B partly for its grand piano.  We stayed there Saturday night and will stay one more night before renting a motorhome and going "RVing."

Last night Glenn took the girls to the swimming beach to try out their new wetsuits.  Even though it's late spring here, the water temperatures stay fairly cold, so regular swimsuits just don't cut it.  They had a ball at the beach and came home covered in fine grey sand.

Today (Sunday) we went to the Antarctic Experience Museum.  It's an international exhibit with cooperation from New Zealand, the US, and Italy.  Quite a place!  We watched a penguin feeding, saw a 4D movie about travelling to Antarctica, and rode in a Hagglund all-terrain vehicle.  We also experienced a simulated Antarctic storm with winds over 26 mph and wind chills of -2 F.  Brr!  At least they gave us parkas before we entered the exhibit!

I'm looking for the best way to post up photos of our travels.  If anyone has suggestions for an online album, please email me.  I look forward to sharing pictures of some of the beautiful things we are seeing.

We Made It!

So we left LAX 13 hours later than our original departure time, meaning that we flew in the daytime rather than at night.  The 12-hour flight seeme d much longer than the night flight had seemed back in May, as we slept through most of that flight.  Since we missed our connection to Wellington, we had to stay in yet another hotel in Auckland, but AIr New Zealand was again generous with the meal vouchers and the transportation. 

Next morning (Monday) was our connecting fight, but we had to wait a long time for the shuttle, and we barely made the flight.  Four of our bags didn't make it on that flight, so I spoke with an Air New Zealand agent about it.  She told me that they were on the next flight, due in about 15 to 20 minutes, so I said it was no problem; we'd have a cup of coffee while we waited.  So she offered us snack vouchers--even though it was our fault that we checked in so late!  The bags arrived before the girls had even finished their ice cream.

 

We'd made arrangements for the van we're buying to be delivered to the airport; that went smoothly, though we couldn't fit all our luggage in as we could in our van in Tulsa.  No problem: Matt from the car dealership (who brought down the car) took the extras in his car and delivered them to our house for us.

 

In Wellington, Glenn had an interview with the Health Board, so the girls and I spent some time at Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand.  We thought we'd get a year-long membership, but it turns out that the museum is free.  It's a wonderful museum, and I'm sure we will spend lots of time there. 

 

When we arrived at our house in the early evening, Janine, administrative liaison at the Wairarapa Hospital, had stocked our fridge with a few items so that we could have dinner at home. 

 

We have only encountered helpful, cheerful people, and I can't say enough positive things about Air New Zealand.  The power outage wasn't in any way their fault, but they went out of their way to make passengers comfortable.  Can you imagine what some American airlines would have done in the same circumstances? 

 

When we arrived at our house, we found that Janine, the administrative liaison, had stocked up the refrigerator for us with enough goodies to last a couple of days, so we were able to eat at home and settle in--quite a treat after so many hotel meals.  Such a very thoughtful thing to do! 

 

 

Travel and Travail

We awoke at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday to begin our travails.  After cramming five 50-pound bags, a keyboard, a cello, two violins, four carry-on bags, and two messenger bags into the car, we headed out to our Southwest flight to LAX.  Thanks goodness Southwest still allows two bags per person to fly free!  We didn't even have to deplane in Denver, so all in all, the morning travel went smoothly.

We had booked a room at the Marriott near LAX so that we could rest and swim during the day, as the flight for Auckland was scheduled for 10:00 p.m.  The girls enjoyed swimming, though it's a bit chilly in LA, but I cut my toe somehow in the hot tub, so they have to drain it to look for glass in the tub.  They took down an incident report and gave me all the triple antibiotic and band-aids I could want, and I felt fairly silly when they immediately took $40 off our hotel bill. 

Although relaxing during the day was a good plan, we were really eager to get going to New Zealand, so when 6:15 rolled around, we were quite ready to lug all our stuff (that's why they call it luggage) down to the shuttle to go back to the airport.  We gave a big sigh of relief when the shuttle finally departed for the airport, knowing that we'd soon be able to check most of these bags.  But when the driver asked us which airline and we told her Air New Zealand, the other couple on the shuttle said, "Oh, no.  Didn't they tell you?  All flights into and out of Auckland are shut down due to a power outage." 

It took three luggage carts to haul all our belongings to the ticket counter, but fortunately, Air New Zealand allowed us to check the eight large pieces overnight, then sent us back to the Marriott.  They gave us generous meal allowances, so we ordered room service.  Unfortunately, by the time the food arrived Beth and Katy were fast asleep and couldn't be roused to eat dinner.

Apparently the lights at the Auckland airport were out for about five hours, causing the domino effect of longer and longer flight delays, so our airplane left Auckland about 12 hours late; it's due to depart LAX at 11:00 this morning.  The staff at Air New Zealand were certainly accommodating, and I realized that compared to the passengers in Auckland, we were lucky: we got meals and a nice room, while they must have had to sit at the airport wondering when they lights would come back on and they'd be able to depart.

The worst part of it all was that Glenn didn't get to watch the OU-OSU game because here in California, ABC covered the USC-Notre Dame game.  Glenn wants to say "Boomer Sooner," but I still say "Go Pokes!"

One Week (and a Few Hours)

Wow!  One week from now will be our last night in Tulsa before we head "beneath down under."  Frisco, our Shetland Sheepdog, left Tulsa yesterday morning to fly ahead of us.  He spent the day today in LA being checked over by a USDA veterinarian, and then he'll fly our tonight to New Zealand.  He has to be in quarantine for a month, so by the time we have arrived, toured around for a couple of weeks, and settled into our house, he'll be through with his quarantine and can join us.

NZ is unbelievably strict about importing animals.  They don't want any non-native parasites or microorganisms to be inadvertently imported, so Frisco has undergone a demanding regimen for the last six months in preparation for his move.  Looks as if all the hoops we have jumped through have paid off; he's been given a clean bill of health by the vet in LA, so he should be back with his family in no time.

The household goods that we shipped also had to be clean--no dirt was allowed to be on the bicycle tires or in any sporting equipment.  If we had shipped a vacuum cleaner, it would have had to be scrubbed and sent with a brand new bag so that no foreign dirt would be brought in.  We shipped an entire container of goods, but we'll still be traveling in the usual Craig way--five or six large bags, two violins, a keyboard, a cello, possibly a guitar, plus all our carry-on luggage.  Good to know that if we get stuck in any airport, we'll be able to scare up some snack money by busking.

The next week will be a whirlwind of activity.  The girls sing tomorrow at Philbrook's Festival of Trees, then the "So Long" party is Sunday at 4:00 at All Souls, followed by a Thanksgiving pot-luck at University School, Thanksgiving with family, and our departure on Saturday.  Oh, yes, did I mention that there's still packing to be done? 

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family at the party, and I'm hoping that everyone will keep in touch.

We Have a Date!

It's official!  We will be leaving the U.S. and heading to New Zealand the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2010.  That way, we'll get to have one last American holiday before we head south of the equator. 

There will be a going-away "Kiwi" party on Sunday, November 21.  More details to come--but save the date!

Just Testing the New Blog Site

In anticipaton of our year in New Zealand, I have just created a new blog.  This is a test run to see how it works.