Happy Holidays from the Harris-Coughlin Family

In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens described the Harris family’s 2008 to a tee. He wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…” Maybe in retrospect that describes every year, for everyone, but it seemed especially true this year for us.

So that we can end on a happy note, we’ll start with the worst of times. Jim’s dad died at the age of 78 on April 1st after having been diagnosed with lung cancer in January and suffering a collapsed lung three days before Carolyn and the kids went away for a “little trip,” (more on this later), from which he never really recovered. All of his children got a chance to see him to say goodbye before he died, and that has helped Jim to plod through this grieving time. Enough about that…

The best of times was truly that….an amazing and life altering trip to New Zealand. Jim was awarded a sabbatical after ten years of working at the Peddie School; not wanting to fritter away this rare time off, we packed up the kids and moved to the most beautiful country in the world for four wonderful, relaxing, reinvigorating months. Our dear generous friends, the Garvey Bergers, welcomed us with open arms, helping Jim to secure office space at the New Zealand Center for Educational Research, helping the kids get settled into the small Paekakariki School, providing us a place to live, and most importantly, providing all of us with unconditional friendship and a lifetime of memories. Jim learned a bit about experiential education in NZ, but truthfully, what he really learned about was BIRDS! He took over 6000 pictures and identified over 300 birds, culminating in a professional quality slide show that he’s shown to friends and loved ones alike! The kids learned that kids in NZ are a lot like kids in the U.S., enjoyed going to a small school where playing on dangerous playground equipment is required, homework comes in sane quantities, and shoes are optional at best. Carolyn learned how to relax and to live without cell phone or blackberry. While the kids were at school, Jim and Carolyn spent long leisurely days together, bike riding, walking, and just hanging out. As a family, we went on several very cool trips, did lots of biking and hiking, lived in the outdoors, and generally got reacquainted with what it is like to live a life that’s not filled with hectic schedules and consumerism. In short, it was pure bliss. If you have the time and the wherewithal, feel free to read on in this blog for more details of our NZ adventure.

And then there’s the not best and not worst of times….just life as it is. Some highlights follow….

It has been amazing watching the kids grow. Abby, the consummate entertainer, now in 5th grade, is really becoming a young woman, rather than a girl. Becky in 2nd grade, the ever observant one, has gained a lot of confidence in herself and is constantly analyzing the world around her. David, also in 2nd grade, is our passionate and intense child; he has discovered that he can run really fast and that is all he wants to do. Fortunately, Jim has convinced him not to expect his father to run with him all the time! All of the kids read voraciously, all of them love to sing, all of them love to be outside, and all of them live and love life to the fullest. Needless to say, all of us sleep really well, too. What we really see in them is three great kids whom we love dearly. The independence we have been teaching them sometimes comes back to bite us, but they so want to do things on their own, and often do those things well that we can’t help but encourage them.

Speaking of running, this year saw a very particular “best and worst time” for Jim. With the support of Carolyn and his two best friends at school, and fresh off of many months of more than usual physical activity, he ran a sprint triathlon in September. It was a ¼ mile swim (in Peddie Lake, yowza!), a ten mile bike ride, and a 5K run. The swim felt like the most difficult part, though it shouldn’t have been. He got kicked early, tightened up, and never gained on anyone. The bike ride was fine, but the roads were slick from the rain. The run was killer, with his right calf cramping up about halfway in. In the standings he didn’t fair very well, but the victory was in the finishing!!!

The last exciting thing (we hope) to happen this year was the addition of the adorable Pango (pronounced Pon-gu…it means “black” in the Maori language of NZ), a 3 month old Golden Doodle puppy, to our family on Election Day 2008.

Returning to normal, American, high stress life has been challenging for all of us, although Carolyn has had the hardest time readjusting. Must be her Wyoming roots!! Mostly, though, we’re grateful for the chance to have done something incredible as a family and to have created lifelong memories. We are truly blessed.

We wish huge blessings for each of you, as well, this Holiday Season.
Jim, Carolyn, Abby, David, Becky, and Pango

Pictures are of the family near Milford Sound in NZ and of David, Becky, and Abby with Pango at the Lake

The Simple Things

Hi this is Becky.Inthe first picture is Abby,David,Pango,and me.In the second picture is Laz,Dad,Mom,Becky,Abby,and David.

In the last picture is our new doggy Pango.The other one is David and Abby and me down by the Lake last night with Pango. David has his wet suit on because he dared himself to go in the water but he ended up only getting his feet and his head in! There is ice on the Lake!

OK, now me, Carolyn. It doesn't take a genius to notice that it's been nearly 6 months since our last posting...back then we were fresh from 4 lusciously relaxing months in New Zealand. We're so grateful for that time we had...what a gift. Life back in the US happened to us gradually, thank goodness! Being at our Lake house for 2 1/2 months was a perfect transition. It all seems so long ago now.

Seems like life has been moving at 100 miles per hour since the second we set foot back on Peddie School soil in September. Of course, we arrived home from the summer at the last possible minute, as is my style...why face the unpleasant now when you can put it off for a couple more days??? Is it possible that I once thought of myself as a fully organized, fully planned, fully together sort of a person? If ever I did, I've liberated myself from that story at last! But I digress....

Most of the fall was the typical busy-ness of a family with 3 elementary school children and two working parents...soccer practices, soccer games, girl scouts and cub scouts, Princeton Girl Choir for Abby. For the first time I felt full on the reality of how hard it is to live at a boarding school when you have multiple school-aged kids and a working spouse. Night-time dorm duties, twice weekly mandatory family style dinners, football practice and games, Saturday classes--these all made it very hard for Jim to participate in the kids' daily lives and when we layered on my being out of town working for a full 3 weeks plus many odd overnights over the course of two months, it was chaos. So we are (or rather I am) feeling a bit torn about whether this life is sustainable. Juxtaposing it against life in NZ makes it hard to be objective, but then again, NZ has given me a new standard against which to measure....I vacillate between telling myself that this is reasonable and knowing that it's unrealistic and going back again to the notion that realistic is just another way of saying "limited". And feeling limited is not a good place for me to be. So we talk and wonder and who knows what's next. Perhaps more of the same, perhaps not.

Just as things were promising to calm down (around the beginning of November), we got a few surprises. The first is pictured in two of the three photos above. Pango, pronounced Pongo [ go here http://translator.kedri.info/ ] with a soft G sound (which means "black" in the Maori language) joined us rather suddenly on election day. The kids briefly talked about naming him Obama, but we figured that would be a very popular name, so we thought again. Pango is a 3 month old Golden Doodle (mix between Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle). He's adorable and also takes up LOTS of time. Jim does most of the heavy lifting, but I'm still trying to get used to things like not being able to set anything on the floor without the fear of it being chewed up! Pango is, however, one of the "simple things" I refer to in the title above. He's anything but easy, but supremely uncomplicated.

On November 7th, 3 days after we got Pango, a not so simple thing happened. I got a call from my step dad saying my mom was in the hospital for the third time this year. After being released several days later with no diagnosis, she was back in a week later with slightly different symptoms. A week and two trips (for me) to the DC area to visit her in the hospital, she is back out, still with no satisfactory diagnosis. This, of course, has been both tiring and evocative of all kinds of emotions for me. Aging parents (but wait, my parents aren't old! really, they aren't), how to approach increasingly complex medical issues, dealing with my own and other family members' emotions and ways of coping with it, wanting my mom to be upbeat and hopeful when that's really hard. Anything but simple.

So, we quickly threw together an uncomplicated Thanksgiving. First, Jim's lifelong friend, Tom Lasley, who now lives in Grand Cayman, came over for a short visit (he's also in Princeton with his aging mom). Picture above with weird hats and marshmallows in mouths is a long tradition with this crazy friend! We ate dinner with Jim's sister's family and his mom, then came up here to our favorite escape...our Lake house. It's cold, so we have a fire, around which we've eaten most of our meals and played simple board games. We spent much of today outdoors raking leaves, throwing rocks onto the iced over lake to see how far they'd go and how much they'd crack the ice, and watching our new puppy marvel at life outside of Peddie. I do that, too.

The Ones That Didn't Get Away

Today was a fantastic day! I woke up at 3:30 to get ready to go to Barnegat light to go fishing. Yes, 3:30 AM! It was a little painful but, in retrospect, well worth the bleary eyes. As you can see, I brought home two Stripers (Striped Bass), which were feeding on (hitting on) Bunker fish. I caught one and Dick caught the other. Bunkers are bait fish that jump in the water as they move from place to place. Under normal circumstances they are unhurried and are seen by the leisurely splashes they make as they travel. When they are being chased by fish, however, their splashing looks entirely different. As my friend Dick said, they look like they are being chased by something. So that's what were looking for, stressed fish.

We got on the water at 5:10, motored out through the inlet, and by 6:15 we were out into the ocean. It was an incredible morning - crisp, light breeze, and the sunrise was pink and orange, as the sunsets were in NZ. (A side note, anyone who knows me knows that I love NJ. It's not NZ, which is much more beautiful from top to bottom, but NJ has mountains [they just happen to be part of the Appalachians which are millions of years older than many of the mountain chains of the world], beaches, and an internationally known pine forest, known as the Pine Barrens. I know, I know it also has Newark, Camden, and Trenton, as well as the industrial port complexes in Elizabeth and other difficult scenery to observe, but it is still a place to be proud of. The not so nice places are here so those of you who are not serious about NJ will see them, turn around, and leave.) Not until we were getting off the water at noon or so did we see clouds. It was a good day to be alive.

So anyway, when we saw the schools of Bunkers, we would take the boat to them, cast out a line with only a hook on it and then yank that hook through the water. At first, I was not pulling hard enough. I got the idea when Dick said I should not be afraid of pulling their lips off. That made sense. I didn't pull any lips off, but I was then able to catch my own bait to attract Stripers. Pretty simple, really, but not always successful. Still cool to do.

So when we hit our first Bunker school, I yanked the line, hooked a Bunker and then 30 seconds later I caught my first Striper ever. I'm thinking, I'll go back home with five years worth of fish at this rate. I didn't really, but it was amazing how fast it all happened. It turned out to be 40 pounds and 44" long. That's a lot of fish. It also turns out to be my only keeper, but there is more to tell in a minute. A few minutes later, Dick got a hit, but it came off the line (called a run-off because the fish runs with the bait and then comes off the line). He then got another run-off not long after and it wasn't even 7:30 AM yet. At about 9:00 AM Dick hooked a Striper that turned out to be 35 lbs. and 42" long.

Then we stopped getting hits from the Bunker, as did most of the other fishermen in the area, and decided to troll for awhile. This is when you put line out behind the boat and let the boat move the line through the water (as opposed to casting the line out and waiting for the fish with the engine off as we had been doing) and in a short time I caught an estimated 6.5 foot, 125 pound Thresher Shark. We wanted to throw it back from the beginning, but almost had to keep it because we couldn't get the hook out (in this case a Bunker spoon, which is like a huge spinner if you do lake fishing), which, if left in, would kill it. As we were pulling the shark up the hook popped out of its mouth and it went free. It was an awesome sight, unfortunately we don't have any pictures. No, this is not one of those fish stories. If you look at a picture of a Thresher Shark you will see that it has a really long tail. It uses that tail to bash its prey. When we were bringing it up we had to be cognizant of that tail or it would have bashed us. Three or four times it bashed the side of the boat and it sounded like a gun going off. It made for an especially exciting experience.

Finally, and most importantly, you see a picture of my friend Dick. He was a chemistry teacher at Hightstown High for 30+ years, retired from there and then worked at Peddie for a couple of years. In my life, he is one of those people who, when I met him, felt like a life long friend and compatriot. He is one of the nicest guys I know, he is also a great teacher, a great friend, a great husband, and great person. He is one of the people I missed the most while I was gone. I am really glad I had the chance to catch up and go fishing on his boat with him. This was an awesome day!!

Time Spent

As I sit wondering what happened to the time spent in NZ, I am reminded that all of our time is precious and special. Even the stressful times we have (I didn't really have many [any?] in New Zealand) are a chance to be introspective. I hope I can remember that sentiment when school starts back up and I am coaching, teaching four classes, doing dorm duty, getting the kids to their own practices, trying to be a good father/husband/friend, and all the other things that take away our time, which is life at Peddie.

I feel especially introspective tonight for a few reasons: 1) I haven't written a blog in a while, though I have given thought to a few different ones, 2) We are back from our home away from home and life feels different (or is it just me?), 3) The whole family went to see my late father's wife, Carol, for two days, so the end of time was apparent (not for me, but for him), 4) other things, but I can't think of them right now. I'm afraid that I will also not take much time for the blog tonight, but I do have more in the works.

There's a small thunderstorm outside tonight. It is the first thunderstorm I have heard and seen in four months. It seems like such a long time ago. I didn't realize that I hadn't seen one in NZ, though there is plenty of rain and there are plenty of storms.

One of the first things that struck me when I got back was how much time it took me to cross the street. There were so many cars on the little main street of Hightstown, I wondered where all the people were coming from and why they were seemingly trying to compress so much into so little time. In Paekakariki, if more than two cars passed by at any one time it was a lot. Still, Paekakariki is only 1700 people. It was also a blistering hot day here in America, so I think people were coming back from or going to the beach.

It also takes a longer time to get things here. More people, bigger stores, farther distances, and longer lines. It makes sense, but it is another thing I will have to readjust to. It does take less time to travel from place to place (without traffic) because the roads are MUCH faster. The highest posted speed limit was 100KPH (62MPH), with construction zones being 30KPH (18MPH). If you're trying to get from point A to point B, those faster speed limits are better. However, the trucks go that fast, too! By the way, if you are concerned about the price of gas here at $4.00/gallon, when converted the price of gas in NZ is USD $6.06.

It took no time for our friends to find us, and that felt really good. It always nice to find that the people that are most important to us will take the time to spend the time. One might say that because summer is here it is easier to spend the time (true), but it is really about the friends prioritizing their time. We found that to be so true of the people down under, and I am happy to have friends here who feel the same way. In fact, the kids had a play date not far from here, and the pace was as relaxed as NZ, no worries. Thanks Shani for the conversation and lemonade!

Unfortunately, because Carolyn didn't work, really, for four months, she is finding that time didn't stop just because we were away. She has so much to do, with so many balls in the air, that her time, and my precious time with her, is limited. It will settle, and I will get used to it, but it still feels like a shock and like an unfair robbery of my time.

Finally, if I had done half of what I did, both professionally and personally, in twice the amount of time, I would still feel like it was all time well spent. I really have a better understanding of myself, that's not always a good thing, I feel like I know my kids and Carolyn so much better, and I feel like I will be better with my time in all that I do.

I made so many friends in the short time I was there. I saw so many things, and, to be corny, I had the experience of a lifetime and won't be able to process fully for a long time. I will have so much to add to this blog as time goes by. I look forward to learning more about myself and what it means and to taking the time to try new things in the classroom. Unfortunately, I am now out of time because I am still tired from the trip and must sign off.

I miss it heaps, but I am happy to be home to see my friends and family.

Winding Down

Those of you who regularly follow our blog may have noticed that we’ve been strangely silent as of late. I’ve noticed it, too, and I can only say that, for me, it’s been a case of my being firmly planted in a state of denial about the impending end of our beautiful journey. I have been quite sure that if I sat down to write anything at all these last two weeks, sooner or later the topic of our leaving would pop up…..and I’ve been determined to live the last few weeks as fully as possibly, not focusing on the huge hole I feel developing in the pit of my stomach and not wanting to write something that would feel like a huge bummer for all of you to read! And yet, it’s been creeping in anyway. I’ve also not known exactly how to express the joy I’ve had, the love I’ve developed for this place (and exactly why, because it’s hard to put into words), and just why it is that I feel such sadness and confusion about leaving. But it’s time. The last two mornings I’ve lain in bed, wide awake, listening to the waves, the wind, and the birds, thinking….it’s time, and so I might as well let it in.

As I got to this point in the blog entry, I had to take a break and go out for what has become my regular morning walk on Paekakariki Beach and through Queen Elizabeth Park. This morning there was a strong Southerly (a wind that comes form the south and, as a result, carries very cold air!) and a storm was coming in, but I could still see the moon in one direction and the colors of the sunrise in the other. Yep, it was beautiful even on this less than perfect morning. When I finished my walk, I stopped to contemplate the sea, the end of our journey, and the ways in which these four months have touched my life so beautifully. I noticed how through the mostly gray, cloudy sky, there was a place in which the sun was illuminating a rock face on the South Island, making it look as though it was glowing. Pretty cool, I thought. As I got up to head back to the house, I saw that there was yet another rainbow out over the sea and the tears started to flow again. How will I manage without my morning walks and my rainbows? How will I manage to feel my soul filled up when I don’t have all the sources of beauty around me to which I’ve become so accustomed? Why right now, when we are beginning to feel like this is a place we really belong, do we have to leave? In some ways it seems so wrong. In others it is what has to be for now. There is so much I love at home as well.

The last few weeks have been all about living the Kiwi life as best we can. We have taken long walks and bike rides on the beach; gone to hear our dear friend, Melissa’s band play at a birthday party at Memorial Hall in Paekakariki; taken the family to Friday night Kapahaka dancing (traditional Maori singing and dancing held every Friday night at Memorial Hall); gone to a local cinema to see a NZ movie called “Second Hand Wedding,” featuring our very own Kapiti Coast and co-starring our very own yoga instructor, Tina; gone to a going away dinner thrown by some new Kiwi friends of ours where we ate, laughed, and played pool; helped our dear friend, Jennifer celebrate her 38th birthday among heaps of friends; and attended numerous weekend soccer games for our kids. All of this has made us feel a real part of this community, making it ever harder for me to leave. I’m so grateful for the love, warmth, and welcome that everyone has shown us here. I’m grateful for what I’ve been reminded of----that life doesn’t have to be a rat race and that the most important things in life are the simple things. Family, time to relax, being close to the beauty of nature, and spending time with loved ones.

While I know that it’s up to me to create and nurture the things that feed my soul, I also know that it will take lots more work to find and keep connections with those things back in our wonderful, but busy and relatively far from nature lives back home. I am coming face to face with a basic fact of life----that in order to experience joy, we must also experience sadness and loss. I’m grateful that I am brave enough to seek the joy despite the knowledge of the sadness that will surely follow. I’m grateful to my loving and supportive family and friends for loving me through it all.

So that’s the blog I was avoiding writing. There you have it. And now we put our chins up, enjoy the last few days, and begin focusing on all the wonderful people and things we have to go back to. Did I mention our life there isn’t half bad either?


Pictures in the entry are of 1. family last sunday morning on a beach bike ride near our house, 2. one of the many rainbows we've seen from our front door, 3. inside the cinema where we saw the local Kiwi movie last weekend, 4. friends at Jennifer's birthday party last weekend, 5. sunset over the sea--view from Jennifer and Michael's front window

Abby's First Blog Entry!!!

Hey everyone!! This is Abby!! I just wanted to say, I am so excited about going home but I will really miss this place!! I am so looking forward to coming home to my friends and family! I also have lots of friends here!! Some of them include: Ohaora Smith, (Aholda) Mya Packman, Tess Packman, Naomi Berger, Jennifer, Finlay Harris, (she is a girl) Jasmine G., Jessica Armstrong, Jaimie, Alice, Maggie, jazzy fizzle, (jasmine), and so many others that I will miss when I leave here. My school only has 150 people in it. There are 2 different schools inside of the Paekakariki School. There is a junior block and a senior block. The junior block includes years 1-4. The senior block includes years 4-8. I am a year 6. ( so I basically skipped 2 grades when I got here.)

My teacher's name is Mr. Reid!!! He is really nice!!!!!!! I love my school and I will miss it here!! P.S. if Mrs. S. is reading this, I know that you try your hardest to make things fun for us and you often do. I know that if you could, you would let us do even more fun, but educational things!! They don't have as many rules here in NZ. I love all of the special things in New Zealand and I hope that sometime in your lives you too will get to live this amazing experience! I hope you guys liked what I wrote today! Bye guys!!!!

Desolation and Pinnacles

For what is likely to be the last of our travels outside the Paekakariki/Wellington area during this particular stay in New Zealand, we decided to keep it relatively close to home and relatively unpretentious....so on a whim and with very little planning, we took off Saturday around noon, after gallivanting around the Kapiti Coast to various soccer games (yes, they call it soccer here). By now the rental car guy in Paraparaumu knows us by first name, so that part was easy. Finding a place to stay at our destination, Cape Palliser, was also easy...there's about only one place to stay, and it turns out we were the only ones staying at the Gateway Motels and Holiday Park in Lake Ferry on Saturday night. I (Jim) guess it is a gateway to something, maybe the Cape? Even the owners weren't there, they having decided to get away for the weekend to the far more glitzy town of Napier and leaving the almost empty motel in the hands of their friend, LeAnn, who happens to be the former owner of the Gateway Motel and Holiday Park. But she doesn't live there and so we were, in fact, the only people there. "Just stay as long as you want tomorrow," she said. "The owners won't be home till late and you're the only ones here, so make yourselves at home. Call me if you need anything," she said, handing us a little piece of paper with her name and phone number on it. "I love this country," I replied. And I do. She left us saying that if any one knocked on our door looking for a room we should give her a call.

This all transpired at about 2pm after our 2 hour drive over windy roads to get there. Only 37 more kilometers to our real destination (a place without hotels or even campgrounds)....Cape Palliser, the southernmost point on New Zealand's North Island, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, where hardcore surfers come to catch some of the best waves in New Zealand, and where, reportedly, more fur seals choose to breed than in any other part of the North Island. The scenery ain't half bad either. After much oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing as we drove the (again) narrow, windy road from Lake Ferry (population about 300) to Cape Palliser (population around nil), we finally arrived at the famous Cape Palliser lighthouse perched high up on a cliff, a perfect vantage point for keeping a watchful eye on boats sailing upon both great bodies of salt water. This lighthouse is famous for its 250 steep steps leading up to it...which of course the kids counted as we climbed just to see if it's true---it is! The view from the top is magical...particularly at sunset, which is when we were there. On one side the sun was setting as high in the sky the nearly full moon was rising. Apparently someone else thought it was magical, because during the short 15 minutes we were up there, a young man got down on his knee and asked a young woman to marry him. Abby was thrilled by this dramatic moment, needless to say!

We ate dinner back at the Lake Ferry Hotel, the only watering hole for many kilometers around. Good food and back to our solitary little self-contained unit, which wasn't half bad for the US$77/night we paid for it! It even had a wood burner in the "master" bedroom, which we promptly lit to keep us from freezing our little toes off. Among the many things we have loved while here in NZ are the many cozy nights we've had together as a family in one accommodation or another...usually very clean, inexpensive, cold, and always providing togetherness. Last night was pure luxury, as the kids had a TV at their disposal with shelves full of movies to choose from. They watched Jurassic Park until David got scared and then he and I headed into the other room to curl up in his bed and watch Racing Stripes (much more my speed) on my computer. Simple pleasure.

The morning dawned quiet, cold, and clear as a bell and, as we often are, we were greeted by birdsong (this happens at our own house in Paekakariki as well). Jim woke up really early (for here)to see if he could find some birds at the Lake Ferry spit. All he found was some fisherman who had been there for hours and some really cold weather. Cool desolation, too. After a special breakfast of bacon and eggs, we piled on the layers, piled into the car, and drove back toward Cape Palliser to go on a tramp to a place called the Putangirua Pinnacles. A steep, 1 hour tramp up a streambed and then up the side of the deep canyon led us to a spectacular overlook where we gawked at the unusual and spectacular rock formations....not hard to see why they call them pinnacles. Tall, skinny towers of all shapes and sizes were apparently formed by the rain pounding down on and then running down through the limestone for the past several million years. I (Carolyn) have seen formations something like this in Southern Utah, but those were made of reddish sandstone. These looked like piles of rubble more than anything and it's hard to see how they don't just come tumbling down at the slightest wind or rain. Nature is amazing.

The day ended with a good laugh and lots of talk about things New Zealand as we took what we thought was going to be a way home that was a bit shorter and less winding than the way we'd come over....only to find ourselves on a 30km (posted at 70) one lane road that wound up and down through mountains and valleys, precarious curves with no visibility, no guardrails and no shoulders between you and the vertical drop off into the canyon below. Quite often there was no second lane, either. It was getting late in the afternoon and so we didn't have much time to stop at the Staglands Wildlife Reserve we'd wanted to visit along that road. No big deal, we thought...we'll come back next weekend. By the time we were safely down on the Sea side (our side) of the mountains and back onto two lane roads, we both decided that we can skip that wildlife center....we're not going back on that road anytime soon. We're (or I am) turning gray fast enough, thank you...no need for more help with that. As I (Jim) said to Carolyn, "the locals must think that they can see through rock the way the fly around the corners." Honestly, if I hadn't stopped on the side of the road we would have no back of the car or a very, very close view of the cliff face or both!

As our time of departure draws near, we're all struggling not to feel sad. After all, we have 2 1/2 more weeks and have had the most fabulous time. I feel quite certain we are all changed by it in our own ways. Stay tuned for our planned trip to Manawatu, an estuary that is world renown for its birds. I wonder who suggested we do that trip!

So What's the Big Deal?

As of 5/15/08 there are some new thoughts at the end!

I imagine that when reading these blogs, that many/most/all who read it have a hard time believing that what we are expressing can be true. Is this just simply about being in a new place and away from the normal stressers of life? Certainly the pictures are beautiful and the stories interesting, but is it really all it's cracked up to be? I guess I don't know, for sure, but there are a number of differences that make what we are experiencing both wonderful and irreplaceable. So, with this difference in mind, Carolyn and I began to make a list of these things that are things we've taken to calling "typical Kiwi." The following list is not exhaustive nor in any particular order and will be added to periodically, so you may want to come back to this blog once in awhile. Some have already been mentioned in other blogs.

1) Language - Yes, they speak English, but a true Kiwi is sometimes very hard for me to understand. Although I have been told here that I talk too fast (that's also true in the states when I'm excited, for sure), I cannot, for the life of me, understand more than 50% of a phone message. In fact, there have been a few that I have given up on because it is just too frustrating.

2) The Toilet (Carolyn things that bathrooms in general are a good place to begin when trying to get a feel for a new culture) - We call them bathrooms. They are everywhere in this country. They must have more public toilets per capita than any other place in the world. They are clean, always well-stocked, and in virtually every town we have come to. If a town doesn't have one you are welcome to use one in the restaurants and cafes. One that I used today in Paraparumu Beach had a check list of the things that were cleaned and when. They cleaned the toilet at 6:00 AM. The items checked were commode, wash basin, floor, walls, and CEILING. Yes, they washed the ceiling. I should have taken a picture of the check list for this blog, but didn't. You'll have to trust me. In case you are wondering, the toilet paper was stocked in the PM, no specific time given. Oh, the toilet flushed automatically, the sink came on automatically, the soap came on automatically, and the hand dryer came on automatically. Their were no paper towels, it's a waste. They can also flush in two ways. One side of the button is to flush pee, it uses less water, the other uses more water. It makes a lot of sense.

3) Playgrounds - they have what I consider the most dangerous playground item ever invented. We think it's called the flying something-or-other, but I would name it the child decapitator. It is dangerous in itself because the child is raised above the ground and spinning around, but the real danger is that little kids seem not to be able to see the decapitator coming as they gleefully race closer to the thing to see what the other kids are doing! I have seen at least two children get hit so hard by this thing that I couldn't understand how they got up. I exaggerate, but it scared me to watch the hits happen. The picture speaks for itself. Kiwis in general are more sensible and less PC about things that could cause injury, and in most ways this is refreshing. Playgrounds still have seesaws, for example (read...fewer lawyers and less lucrative lawsuits). I loved those growing up. We sue, they don't - therefore we no longer have the seesaw, they do (you can see one end of one to the left in the picture.

4) Driving - they are on the left, as you know. This is the easy part. The more challenging thing is the abundance of windy roads with no guardrails. I'm pretty sure Kiwis simply don't believe in them...wimpy. No lawsuits is probably another part of it! Every now and then, on a REALLY windy road, you may see something that resembles a guardrail, but it's really made from fishing line and bamboo poles or something very much like it! We believe these rails are probably designed to keep the sheep (not the people) from getting killed.

5) Electricity - there are switches on the plugs so you can turn them off is you are not using them. They look just like the light switches here, so there is no confusion. It's also 240, so if you get something stuck in one of those you're pretty much dead. Guess how many times we've thought we were making toast only to come back from making something else to find that the bread is still bread.

6) Food - a friend of ours calls this the a-la-carte country. You have to order everything separately. For example, in order to get fish and chips, you must order fish and chips. If you order fish you get fish, if you order chips you get chips (French fries). In most of the places you pay before you get your food. There is no tipping, unless you get incredibly exceptional service, and there are no added taxes. So, if you order fish and chips for 12.5 (12.50), that is exactly what it costs. So, when you first come here it seems like food is expensive, I'll write about that in a minute, but it isn't really when you add up what it would have been in the U.S. (they call it America, but they can't tell you why). Did I say you usually have to pay for ketchup (which isn't good anyway, so you really don't want it) and things like plastic ware? Once you get used to it, it's really quite sensible (see, there's that word again), as it keeps you from having 5,000 extra ketchups and salt packets shoved in your food bag that you then throw away! Kiwis tend to be pretty conservation focused as a lot.

7) Grocery stores - there are only really about 3 store chains, Pak-N-Sav, Woolworth's (no, not the dime store), and New World. Although there isn't any scarcity of items, there is the mentality that if they are out of an items this week then come back next week if it is important to you. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Produce is very fresh and very affordable. Other items are variable in terms of costs. Mostly, when I first came here, I thought all the food was outrageously expensive. Now I've rethought it. First off, it's so much fresher and wholesome than we get. I believe they don't actually stuff all of their foods with corn additives (read "fill them up cheaply"!) like we do. You get produce that's in season, so it's always good, but not always available. Did I mention "sensible"???

8) Gas - Wow, I figured out today that it is about $7.00/gallon NZ. That's just under $6.00.gallon U.S. We don't drive very often if we don't have to. In fact, we borrow a car from some friends once in awhile, but don't use one more than once or twice a week. We rent a car for the other occasions when we need one at about $40.00 NZ plus gas. When we shop (read Carolyn ,thank you dear) we try to get enough for the week or we have friends pick items up for us as we do for them. It's a great way to go, I think. Sensible.

9) Sports - Rugby, Rugby, Rugby, Cricket, Soccer and Netball. Did I mention Rugby? I'm sure they have basketball, but I have not heard anything about it. Last Friday night we went see the Wellington Hurricanes rugby team play in the second to last regular season game (last home game). It was a must win for them. If they won, they were assured a semi-final spot in the playoffs. It was a blast, though very cold, windy, and raining, which is pretty typical this time of year. We sat in the family seats, which means we were sort of under cover but not really. Layers and waterproofing were the name of the game. WestPac Stadium seats 35,000, but there weren't more than 20,000 there. The Hurricanes are a pretty good team. They beat their opponents, Western Force from Perth, Australia. I'm used to seeing 60 guys on the field or on the sideline in American football, but these teams only carry 22 players. Interesting, too, for this league, is that each team is made up of hometown boys. It is not made up of recruited players who get traded around as it is for our pro teams.

Speaking of local sports, the kids all had their first soccer game yesterday, playing for the Paekakariki local teams. No pictures of Abby because the camera man stayed with the home team. I don't understand Cricket at all, so I won't try to explain it, even if I could.

10) T.V. - nobody has watched T.V. since they have been here, except on the few nights when we stayed in a real hotel (as opposed to a simple youth hostel type place) on our travels. What little Kiwi television I have seen has been pretty...hmmm...hard to explain. I watched Wheel of Fortune Kiwi style and was amazed by how low the money values were. There was one game I watched when the highest dollar value you could win was $500.00. I haven't watched it in the U.S. for a long time, but the minimum was $500.00. I like the lower one. There are so many things to do OUTSIDE that they kids have never felt the need or desire to watch T.V. We are seriously considering getting rid of the cable at the lake and just have movies. That's what they like the best anyway.

10) Weather and other sort of related things- Weather here is a spectator sport. It is NEVER idle conversation. When they talk about the weather, which is literally unpredictable, the meteorological talk is about lows, highs, southerlies, wave fronts, winds (which have been huge), etc. There are a number of people who rely heavily on the weather for their livelihood... and for surfing, of course. The cloudbursts are legendary, though I have not seen any here like the ones I saw in Texas, though there are more than enough stories from trusted Kiwis to know that Texas storms come close, but not quite all the way. Don't worry Texas, you still beat NZ in the tornado department. Not with earthquakes, however. I'll just say that you can go to a NZ website that shows you where all the rumbles have been for the day. Also, when you first work in a place they inform you of the evacuation area in case of a quake.

I have seen more rainbows in my time here than I can remember seeing in my life. These are not just rainbows that you can see only part of like every other rainbow I have seen. There have numerous occasions when I have wanted to stoop down and pick up the pot of gold... on both ends of the rainbow. Pretty incredible.

11) Insects and other multi-legged things- Well, not quite. First, there are no snakes here. Also, if I remember correctly, there is only one poisonous spider and it is rare. There are no native mammals, everything here has been imported. Possums, stoats, rabbits, sheep (12 million), cows, horses, rats, mice, etc. There are now lots of all of them. The first couple of species were brought here by the English so that they could feel more at home here and so they could hunt. They now spend millions of dollars a year attempting to eradicate them. It turns out that these hometown mammals are destroying the crops and the native bird species. If you recall from another entry, we have to heat our house with wood because they don't have central heat or very much insulation. We also don't have screens because, it is said, there are no insects here - besides the flies, bees, moths, and the most frustrating biting insects I have had the chance to encounter. We need screens when it is warm! Mosquito bites are not really much fun ( I haven't gotten any here), but the itching goes away fairly quickly. The sand flea bites leave what look and feel like permanent bumps that each itch in-di-vid-u-ally. Fortunately they only itch at night when your trying to go to sleep. The fleas are probably the only negative I will take away with me on this trip, though, in the grand scheme of things, that's not really that bad.

So, that's all I can think of for now, but I know there are many others to come. Of course, the themes for most of our blogs have been the incredible beauty, literally at every turn and over every hill, the kindness and the patience of the people, and the low stress life that can be led here. We thought you might appreciate a little culture this time!

Home is Where you are.

I have been thinking a lot about a lot of things, but most specifically about the memorial service for my dad. I haven't quite thought of all that I want to say yet, so that will come soon. It is amazing how far away it feels. Maybe because I am far away. I have recently been thinking about him and about the family. I'll get back to you.

Today's blog from me (Jim) is video viewing. This entry is a tour of the house as requested by my sister, Dee. I will also be entering a video of a Tui with a couple of pictures on another entry. This video is about 6 minutes, so if you are not interested in the house, don't watch. It's not terribly exciting, but it will help give everyone a sense of our nest here. I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoy this house. There is a coziness and familiarity about it that helps me (and us) to feel comfortable being in our home away from home. Today it is a beautiful, sunny day with a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius). There has recently been a bunch (heaps) of rain, which has been welcome because they were in a little drought. We also had a very cold night the other night for a house without central heat. People adjust and burn everything that should and can be burned. Here, if they can't save the wood to reuse from a demolished structure they will cut it up into burnable sizes. It seems like a great way to reduce waste, save the environment, and put less stuff in the landfills. It's a far cry from the early days here when they cut down every tree in sight, it seems, so they could pack things up to send back to England. They are slowly replanting.

Anyway, enjoy the video.

Rough Crossing

For the fifth and final day of our South Island Trip #2, I believe I'll let pictures tell the story. In a word...rough! Sick inside, freezing and blown away outside. Note the juxtaposition between David's delight and the girls'---well---lack of delight! Suffice it to say we got home after a wonderful trip with our wonderful friends. No fighting among five kids, lots of great sights, laughter, food, hikes, and relaxation. Again, we are blessed and grateful!

Pupu Springs, Tata Beach and Winding Winding Roads

Another day in paradise, another day filled with new sights and sounds. And another day with a very slow internet connection!

Morning #2 in our cozy little mountain chalet overlooking the Tasman Sea dawned cold and cloudy, but nothing that would stop us from the day's adventures. Yesterday was about one long, spectacular hike in Abel Tasman National Park under a crystal clear sky. Today was about exploring multiple out of the way places (recommended to us by our Kiwi friend Keith Johnston, who knows every nook and cranny of this country) from Abel Tasman north to Golden Bay, a route which winds its way from sparsely populated country to down right desolate country! The road began winding up over Takaka Hill from the moment we left our base camp at Marahau. Up, up, up and more up, hairpin turns like I've never seen. In the daylight hours we found this spectacular, but the return trip in the dark at day's end was mostly just a fast route to motion sickness! But the views....spectacular!

Over the 55 km between Marahau and the Golden Bay urban center (I use the term loosely) of Takaka, we stopped for two short hikes to breathe the clean cold air and take in the breathtaking views...to the East, Tasman Bay and to the West, Golden Bay. By the time we reached Takaka, we were hungry and in need of morning tea (which doesn't have to include actual tea at all, but is a catch all for the time when Kiwis stop to drink something and catch their breath and perhaps a snack sometime between breakfast and lunch). A quick trip to pick up supplies for tonight's dinner and we were off again, this time for a stop at Pupu Springs, the largest freshwater springs in Australasia and reportedly the source of the world's clearest water. I'm not sure how they measure "clearest" but I can safely say I've never seen any water even remotely that clear. And, having spent my early years hiking in the backcountry of Wyoming and Montana, I can say that I have a pretty high bar when it comes to clarity of my water! Pupu Springs, like many special places in NZ, is a sacred place for the Maori people. The thing that struck us most of all was the fact that this place is OFF LIMITS for any kind of tampering whatsoever! How is it possible that this clearest of all waters on earth hasn't been exploited for profit? New Zealand is pretty good at this stuff.

Next stop...the VERY off the beaten path Grove Scenic Reserve. The 30 minute round trip walk took us through some of the most fascinating landscape and fauna I've ever seen. Dominated by limestone, this small reserve is home to so many interesting rock formations that it reminded me of a sculpture garden. Nooks, crannies, and climbing rocks galore, much to the delight of the children. Naomi discovered that the rock walls are loaded with fossils, and the kids proceeded to identify one after the other.

As the grey day turned to grey late afternon, we pressed on in an attempt to cover Keith Johnston's "Best of Golden Bay" list. Five kids and a leisurely pace prevented us from seeig them all, but we ended the day on the, again very cold, but spectacular Tata Beach. The steep hills roll right down to the sea, interesting shells lie in wait for the taking, and limestone rock formations beckon to the children..."climb me...now!" Knowing that our time there would lead to a winding return in the dark, we tarried anyway. The problem with beautiful places is that they're hard to leave.

Speaking of which, David, who is always most attached to the place where is he is right now (wherever that happens to be) ended the evening crying because he doesn't want to leave this place. I think if we let him, he'd stay here in this cabin forever. But tomorrow we sail back across the Cook Strait back to that other beautiful place...the one where we currently live. Not bad.

Glass and Beauty

These last few days have been all about adding to the already amazing adventures we've had and beauty we've seen while in this incredible country. I hardly know where to begin. First, a reminder of the beautiful places we've been even before we took off on our current adventure to the northernmost part of the South Island. Mount Cook (twice), Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Kaikoura, Mount Taranaki, and of course, a healthy dose of our own beautiful Kapiti Coast. And now....we add our current trip, which so far has included beautiful glass and incredible beauty.
We've been looking so forward to our long awaited trip with our dear friends the Garvey Bergers (who also happen to be our hosts, landlords, and social coordinators!). From the time we arrived and began planning our short four months together, we knew we'd go on one family trip together, and it somehow evolved into this trip to Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park, and Golden Bay. If you look at a map of New Zealand, it's the north coast of the South Island.....land until recently relatively little visited, not quite so trumped up as places like Milford Sound and Mount Cook, and in some ways unassuming. In recent years, however, it's become one of the most popular places in all of NZ to visit, largely because of its relative accessibility, fabulous weather, and breathtaking scenery. We got a dose of all three. But I must go back to the beginning.

The trip began with a family sleepover at the Berger's lovely new house (the one they recently moved into, allowing us to move into their other lovely vacated house which we're currently calling our temporary home) because even though it was only Wednesday, we needed to leave our house spic and span for the Sunday open house--hard to do when you have to catch a 7:08am train! After delicious pizza from the wood fired pizza place where Rob works, we sat around laughing until we were too tired to laugh anymore and retired to bed. The night was filled with the sounds of whipping winds caused by a fierce, cold Southerly (they name their wind directions in NZ!!!) accompanied by torrential downpours. An ominous start to a vacation. At 6 the following morning, we dragged ourselves and the five kids out of bed, ate a little breakfast, poured ourselves into the van and drove the short 2 minute drive to the Paekakariki train station (yep...still raining). A few muffins and cups of coffee later, we found ourselves boarding the Interislander Ferry which would take us across the Cook Strait to Picton...a 3 hour tour. Although it began bleakly, the weather broke part way across the Strait and the remainder of the trip was lovely, if a bit choppy (read, can't stay inside) and cold (read, not much fun outside either).

Shortly after 1pm, we picked up our fancy rental cars (a white Toyota Corrolla and a white Mazda something or other), and were off. First stop, a lovely little winery cafe where we dined in the "Boardroom"---I think they saw the five loud children coming and promptly gave us a private room! Still a bit cold and windy, but we enjoyed a very nice lunch amidst the grape vines. Back in the car, we drove an hour or so before coming to the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, where we went on a lovely walk to a raging waterfall. When we were on the South Island just a month ago, they were in drought condition, but recent rains have changed all that! We finally arrived in Nelson around 6pm, checked into the very cool newish Accents on the Park Backpackers and off to buy breakfast and lunch supplies and to enjoy an absolutely delicious dinner of Thai food.

Next morning after my VERY hot Starbucks coffee (yep, that's right, Nelson has one), we ventured off an a little exploration of the town. We ended up having the most unexpected pleasure of the trip when we happened on a little glass blowing studio and Jennifer talked me into doing a little "blow your own glass" adventure. It was one of those things that I would never have done on my own but enjoyed so thoroughly. I've always loved looking at blown glass objects, and now I can say that I've made one myself! The owner-artist helped us take the molten glass out of the 1000 degree celcius oven, place it onto the end of a long pole, dip it into the colored glass chips, stick it all into another hot oven to melt the chips together and blow through the pipe into the colorful molten glass to form a bauble. It was really cool, and the kids loved watching us do it.

After a fabulous lunch of Mexican food (yes, that's right...fabulous Mexican food in NZ, which we've been told doesn't e(770) 455-1172xist, but we've found two of them so far!), we drove to Abel Tasman National Park and checked into our little chalets overlooking the Tasman Sound. We arrived just at sunset, and awestruck is the only word I can use to describe the scenery. I've seen a lot of beautiful places, but nothing of this kind. The mountains come right down to the sea, and looking out over the sea is to see a sea of islands and mountains shooting up out of the mist. By day the water is a clear turquoise like none I've seen before. We were lucky to wake up to a crystal clear (cold!!!) morning for our all day outing in the Park.

The water taxi took us out to a place called Tonga Bay, about a 45 minute boat ride or 7 hour hike from our chalets, where it dropped us off on a beach of golden sand. Actually, saying it dropped us off on the sand isn't quite right, because around here the tides rule, and depending on where the tide is when you arrive, the boat can't come all the way up to the shore...so off came the shoes and socks and we waded to shore. After drying our feet, replacing shoes and socks, peeling off layers of clothing, and organizing our water and food supplies, we were off....a very quiet parade of 9 people (NOT!). The day way idyllic....not a cloud in the sky all day, perfect temperatures, and 5 children who walked about 8 1/2 miles with complaining only a few times when blood sugar was low. We were all a bit tired on the boat ride back, and now I sit here in bed at 9:30, ready to close my eyes.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I'm feeling pretty happy and satisfied at the moment. I'm trying not to think about the fact that in less than 5 weeks, we'll be leaving this magical country where we've adventured, relaxed, made new friendships, strengthened existing ones, and gotten lots of perspective on our lives (or I have anyway!). I think I'll focus on today for now.....

ANZAC Day in Paekakariki

The longer we're here the more we feel at home in this beautiful little village. When we go out, we actually run into people we know enough to stop and chat with and people actually invite the kids over for play dates. It's pretty cool. On Friday, we got to have a fully small town experience when Becky and Abby participated in the Paekakariki ANZAC Day Parade. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and the day is to commemorate all of the soldiers . I've lifted the following description from a NZ web site for those of you history buffs out there.

"Anzac Day occurs on 25 April. It commemorates all New Zealanders killed in war and also honours returned servicemen and women. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders. Thousands lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders, almost one in four of those who served on Gallipoli. It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something else – a feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire. Anzac Day was first marked in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since then. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral."

The celebration here in Paekakariki began with a parade from the end our our street, Ocean Road, to Memorial Hall....all of 2 short blocks! The entire march took about 2 minutes, followed by short talks from a very cool Anglican Minister (who quoted Hindu scripture among other things), a few other local dignitaries. While the day is officially about celebrating fallen soldiers, peace is put forth almost constantly in ANZAC Day speeches, and this one was no exception. The day ended with the Showing of a documentary about Gallipoli narrated by Sam Neill and Jeremy Irons. That was to take place in St. Peter's Hall and was FREE. We didn't have a chance to go because we were fortunate enough to enjoy a Passover dinner with the Bergers and several of their other friends. As Lois (Jim's mom) would say, "it was deelish!"

In addition to it being an absolutely gorgeous morning to be out next to the sea, we enjoyed being part of the local flair and especially watching Abby and Becky participate as Girl Guide and Brownie. Abby even got to lay the ceremonial wreath (I wonder, did people ask themselves what the heck the American girl was doing laying the wreath?). It was another indication of how welcomed we've felt here from the very start. So welcome, in fact, that the local monthly paper, Paekakariki Xpressed, has included pictures of Abby or Becky or both in each of their last two issues! If you're interested, check out the link to the April Issue at http://www.gopaekakariki.co.nz/xpressed/aprilx.pdf and go to page 44. You can also find some pictures, two, in fact, in the March issue, but Jim couldn't connect to the link for that issue.

As we move into our second week of the two week school holiday, we are excited about our upcoming trip (our second) to the South Island, this time with our dear friends, the Bergers. We will do much less driving this time, taking the ferry across Cook Strait and exploring the northern tip of the island....Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay. Stay tuned....

Daily Life in a Small New Zealand Village

Thought you all might like to see some of the things that go on here on a daily basis that are just....well, daily life. Things that might be happening in any house with kids anywhere in the world.

It's not all visiting beautiful places. We celebrate birthdays (see Jim with all the kids...Becky, David, Abby, Aidan, Naomi, and Ayla...blowing out candles), we take baths (see Abby posing in her towel) and hair grows back (see David showing off his ever-longer hair do!

Today is the first day of the two week school holiday that I keep calling Spring Break, but since it's autumn here, people look at me funny when I say that. A two week holiday? What the heck are we going to do for a two week holiday? I guess we'll have many moments of daily life and togetherness. We might have an adventure or two, but mostly, our plan is to experience the days together.

One little adventure to share...after school today, the kids and I went swimming in the no longer warm Tasman Sea....it's cold!!!!

Missing Fathers

As I sit here late at night before I go in and join Abby for bed (this is what we do when one parent is away), it strikes me that there are several fathers missing from this picture at the moment. Fortunately, the one nearest and dearest to me, Jim, is only missing in that he is on a plane over the Pacific Ocean on his way to San Francisco and ultimately to Charles Town, WV, for his father's memorial service. It was hard to see him go today. I miss him and the children miss their father. But they are the lucky ones.

Jim and his four siblings are missing their father in a different sort of a way. This weekend they will say a final goodbye to him......being the Harris family, there will be lots of laughing along with the goodbyes and the tears. They are wonderful that way. But all of them will now be adults in this world without one of their parents, and that is hard.

And then there's my father, who has been missing for a long time now. My brothers and I are so lucky to have had a loving father come into our lives after the original one died so young, but, still, the loss of a father is the loss of a father, and you're still a person in the world without a father no matter how you look at it. It takes adjusting and your life is never the same....it can be as good but never the same kind of good..

Jim said it so well last weekend as we lovingly and tearily looked at a slide show he put together in his father's honor. As we looked at image after image of Bart's offspring...5 children and 12 grandchildren, who could really argue that it's not the natural progression of things? A man produces such wonderful things and then, someday, maybe too soon, but someday, it's time to leave and let the next generation do its thing.

So there is sadness and there will be joy. This weekend there will be celebration of the joy Bart had in his life and the joy he brought to others. Next Tuesday there will be joy in Paekakariki when Jim returns. And there is joy for me in knowing that my father, though he didn't live long enough to see it, produced people whose lives are so wonderfully blessed.

Mt. Taranaki

Carolyn and I spent a weekend with the kids, perhaps our only weekend by ourselves, traveling north to New Plymouth, which is 4 hours from Paekakariki. NP is a rather large city for NZ with 50,000 +. They call themselves the energy capital of the country, mostly from oil wells. They must look like hills and rocks because I didn't see any. What we did see was the father of this whole area, Mt. Taranaki. Because you can look up more information than I can give to you, I will only give you the bare minimum. This volcano is thought to have formed 70,000 years ago and last erupted in the late 1600's. It is the center of this vast area that has plenty to do, especially if you want to walk.

Let me digress for a moment. We stayed in a Youth Hostel called the Mt. Egmont Eco-lodge. All five of us slept in one room that turned out to be big enough, but just barely. The kids loved it, and I liked it. It was just out of the central city district, so we had an easy trip to the beach, to coffee for Carolyn, dinner at a great burger joint, and to Taranaki. Actually, everything is an easy drive to the mountain. This bight, as the larger area is called, is circular because of the lava outflow.

Taranaki is so different from any mountain I have ever seen. It is not a range, as I am used to, because it is a singular 2500+ meter mountain in the middle of vast flat farmland, rising up all by itself. You can see the mountain from many, many kilometers away. It's really kind of cool!

As I was writing before, there are many tracks on and around the mountain. They range from 10 minute loops to a 5 day circumnavigation of the mountain, with the 8 hour return tramp to the summit being the most sought after (needless to say, with 3 youngish children, we didn't do that one, although Phil/Paca would say "what's your problem...they have two feet don't they?"). In fact, because of the diversity of tracks and its easy access, Taranaki is the most climbed mountain in the country. We chose a track called the Veronica Loop Track (that starts in North Egmont), which is supposed to be two hours return, but turned out to be three. Of course, we stopped to gape at the beautiful views, take pictures (yes, Phil and Jean, of birds, too), and complete one of the harder treks we have taken in NZ. My legs were killing me by the end, especially from the downhill. These knees are getting old! One of the interesting things about tramping (that's "hiking" to you yankees) on the trails here is that they are immaculately groomed and maintained. When Carolyn and I remarked about it on this trip, we felt like part of the reason for that must be to ensure that people stay on the trail to preserve the area around it and to ensure that people don't get lost and die. The literature on this mountain, especially, mentioned the need for ultimate preparation when hiking. If you are going to go for a long trek one must bring a certain amount of water, clothes that can get wet and will keep you warm, and you must tell someone where you are going. We didn't experience any of this diversity in weather, but the clouds were rolling down the mountain fairly quickly by the time we left. Suffice it to say, we were all exhausted by the time it ended. So, we decided to rough it even further by going to an aquatic center that had a 50 meter outdoor pool, two huge water slides, a 3 meter and a 1 meter diving board, a large indoor wave pool, a rope swing into the pool, and a hot tub. Pretty nice way to end the day. By the time it was all said and done, the kids were in bed by 8:00 PM and asleep a few minutes later, Carolyn was in bed by 9:00 PM and asleep a few minutes later, and I finally fell asleep by 9:45 PM. We all woke up after 7:00 AM. Ahhhhhh! Carolyn will fill you in on the second day.

We woke up to birds chirping outside our modest abode, I made coffee by pouring boiling water over grinds through a piece of tissue, since the place had no plunger (that's read "french press"). I'm nothing if not resourceful (Jim would say desperate), made breakfast, watched the lodge owner feed the eels in the nearby stream, and off we went. We spent the morning strolling around a city park, of which they are obviously very proud, called Pukekura Park...something of a botanical garden with lovely trails, a small zoo with tons of non-native animals and birds, two playgrounds, and even a waterfall where you could press a button to make the water flow?**! Don't ask because it's a mystery to us, although it was quite entertaining! Here, Becky and David are feeding ducks at a pond that is at the bottom of an outdoor amphitheater.

Headed home, unpacked, Jim cooked tofu (yes, that's right folks, I said "Jim cooked tofu"), we de-sterilized the house after an open house today (they're still trying to sell this house), and here we are. We are lucky....oh, so lucky and grateful for this time of adventure and being together. I'd like to say the "being together" is 100% bliss, but remember we have 3 energetic children...so it's mostly bliss with a small dose of the craziness that follows us everywhere we go because that's just who we are!

After a wonderful weekend of relaxation and togetherness, we are about to move into a time of apart-ness again, as Jim leaves on Tuesday to travel home after only 6 short weeks here so that he can attend his father's memorial service. He'll only be gone a week, but it'll be a long week for all of us. We've done all we can on this end to celebrate Bart/PopPop's life short of actually being there for the service, but we are all so sad not to be there. This is life....one I'm sure Bart is proud to see us living. More on that when the sadness of Jim's departure becomes a reality...

A few thousand words

It has actually been busier here than I would have anticipated. That doesn't mean I haven't been taking pictures, though. Most of them of birds, but not exclusively. So here is a mix of bird pictures for you to enjoy (fingers crossed). The first picture is of an extremely rare bird, the Takahe. There are only 300 left in the world with 16 on Kapiti Island, where this one was taken. Because they are flightless, they breed on the ground. With the introduction of rats, possums, weasels, etc., who like eating bird eggs, they were nearly wiped out. NZ has worked extremely hard and diligently to eradicate these vermin from the islands in order to preserve birds like the Takahe and the Kiwi. As you know, we live in Paekakariki, which means land of the Kakariki Parrot. The second picture is of a Red-Crowned Parrot, also known as the Kakariki. It was a very dark and rainy day when I took this picture, again at Kapiti, so it is not as clear and crisp as I would like. The third picture is of a Black Swan cleaning itself at Nga Manu, a nature reserve a little north of us. The Black Swan is a very common bird here. The final one is of a Bellbird, also taken at Kapiti.

Time of Change Part III

I want to spend a very short time letting people know that my dad died tonight after a short, but valiant, fight against lung cancer. He died peacefully in his sleep with his wonderful wife Carol and his three oldest children with him. Cal and I were here in NZ, of course. Cal and his family were on their way to Rotorua on the North Island when he died. They are spending the week heading north and going to places Carolyn and I have never been. I miss all of them so much already. It was special to have such special people with us as part of the adventure here. I can't imagine going through this week knowing that my dad was on his final breaths without my two best friends, Carolyn and Cal. Though it hurts like hell to lose a loved one, it stung a little less with Cal and his family here.

It also helps when I keep in mind that dad was so happy for our trip here. He loved us as deeply as one can love and be loved and, though not always as intimate as I have turned out to be, showed his love in many, many ways, not the least of which was to let us go and demand we not look back. As Carol so aptly said tonight, it seemed fitting for my dad to die on April Fool's Day. I agree wholeheartedly! If you have a chance to think about and thank a loved one, do it now. I'll wait... I hope you feel better, because I know I do.

Thank you for your support...

Love you dad!

South Island Sojourn: Part III

So, the result of the extended family Youth Hostel stay at Mount Cook is in….it was officially a blast! Nine of us in one dorm room, eating breakfast in the communal kitchen….what could be a better kid experience? Ethan said he wanted to stay there for the rest of the vacation! We might have, if we hadn’t had other things to move onto! We woke up in the morning to a bustling kitchen, Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, yogurt and granola, checking in for the first time on the internet, and off we went on a hike up the Hooker Valley trail. It was the only day we’ve had on this trip that wasn’t punctuated by absolutely glorious weather. Instead what we had was a taste of the extreme wind that we know can be characteristic of the New Zealand weather picture. As we hiked up the valley toward Mount Cook, we were awed by the ever-changing view of the mountains that resulted from the movement of the clouds. We were also awed by the fact that the wind gusts nearly picked us up off the ground a few times! The landscape of glaciers, moraines, and glacial lakes reminded me of my earliest backpacking trip, when my family went for a 6 day trek in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana…barren, windy, beautiful, and glacial! It really brought me back. Needless to say, it was a good and invigorating morning.

The rest of the day---well, basically just a slog from Mount Cook to Christchurch. Slog is probably a bit unfair, as the 5 hour drive does take you through a plethora of different landscapes and climates, as it moves from high alpine terrain to rolling hills to lowland agricultural landscape and finally to the South Pacific Ocean. We stayed in a little town just out the Banks Peninsula from Christchurch proper, where we could stroll to the beach in about a minute. At 6:30 pm when we finally arrived, we unpacked our swimsuits and the kids took their first ever dip in the South Pacific Ocean. The adults found it a little too cold to entice them in, but the children loved it.

Jim here now. Wherever we go, the Kiwis say that this summer has been the warmest and most beautiful summer they can remember for a long time. This is also true in Kairoura, where we swam with the dolphins. In fact, the hotel manager said that they have not had any appreciable rain since October. That seems like a long time for anywhere except a desert. He also said that they had almost a meter of rain in Milford Sound today. I guess we timed that just about right.

So after a nice morning in Christchurch, we took off for our day with the dolphins. Carolyn and Lori asked me what I expected when thinking about swimming with the dolphins, and I told them I thought that there would be few dolphins around and that it would be pretty cool to be around them. I was not prepared for the incredible experience that we had. It was a beautiful day! The water was calm with no wind to speak of, and as we approached Kaikoura on the coastal highway, we had a good omen as we saw a couple of pods of dolphins not too far from shore. As we boarded the boat, I asked the skipper what the prospects were, and he said “clear, calm, and hundreds of dolphins out there today!” It actually turned out to be a pod of 300 – 400--one of the largest pods the guides had ever seen. The dusky dolphins (the type of dolphin found here) were very interested in interacting with swimmers. They would swim around and under and next to us each of the five separate times we swam with them. It was awesome, stupendous, incredible, scary, emotional, and… I can’t really describe it. Nor do the included pictures do the experience any justice.

In case you’re wondering why the dolphins flip and twist as depicted in the picture, who the heck knows? Researchers have spent decades studying these amazing creatures and still know very little about their social habits. Jim likes to think that they do it just because they can!

There is so much I will not say in this blog, so Carolyn can help. Needless to say, I had tears in my eyes from the primitive and raw feelings I got from this. I actually thought of my dad at one point, knowing how much he loves things like this.

South Island Sojourn: Part II

Prior to our coming to New Zealand, when we would frequently tell anyone who would listen about our upcoming adventure, people would inevitably say, “you have to go to Milford Sound.” Well, today, we did. This was the day we had been looking forward to for almost 8 months, and it was everything we could have hoped for and more. The thing we hadn’t anticipated was that when you talk about Milford Sound, it’s so much more than just the cruise on the Sound itself. All 120 km of the trip from Te Anau (the town where we stayed and where most people stay as a launching point for the Sound) is absolutely spectacular. It’s indescribable, really, but, having said that, here I go trying to describe it. You begin by driving north along the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the South Island. Just when you think you’ve seen beauty, you come up over a rise and look out over a vast valley surrounded by mountains. It’s all you can do not to stop at every lookout point to take pictures, but after a while you wonder if you really can do it justice in pictures (believe me, we tried!). There’s also the tension of not knowing exactly how long it will take to get to the Cruise dock and not wanting to miss your launch time, but suffice it to say, there are lots of photo ops. After a while of that, you begin to climb up over a pass called The Divide, after which you begin to drop sharply into yet another valley surrounded by yet more spectacular mountains. Suddenly, traffic stops as you wait your turn to go through the one lane tunnel through the mountain at the far end of the valley and 5 tense minutes later, come out on the other side, looking down into the deep, narrow valley that promises to end at the beginning of Milford Sound.

And then there’s the cruise through the Sound itself. Wow, is really the best I can say about it. Waterfalls tumble over vertical walls, canyons open up into glimpses of the towering peaks behind the towering peaks. All of this is especially interesting to me, having grown up in a place whose beauty can certainly hold its own in the world (Jackson Hole), because the landscape here is a combination of very high, rocky peaks covered by glaciers, but augmented by very steep, very high mountains that are covered with an almost jungle-like vegetation. In Wyoming, mostly what you get is a lot of granite with much less and different kind of flora. It’s a beautiful world. These turned out to be beautiful pictures, as well. The first is of an unknown mountain (to us) on the drive to Milford. The second is of Mitre Peak (I think).

We were all exhausted as we made the two hour drive back down to Te Anau, wondering why we felt so tired. We really didn’t get much in the way of physical activity, we thought to ourselves. In the end, we all decided that the day was such an orchestra for the senses that it was really all too much to absorb and that, mostly, our senses were just plain spent from the experience. Did I mention the 5 kids in tow? They may have a little to do with the exhaustion as well.

Tomorrow, after two relatively relaxing nights in two beautiful family cottages, we’re off to Mount Cook, where we plan to have a giant slumber party while we stay in a nine bed dormitory at the Mount Cook YHA Hostel. The kids will love it, even if the parents don’t sleep much. That’s what we do…help to make memories!