Yeah, so...we're home

Home is a relative term. It's where the heart is and usually where your bed is, too. It is weird to be "home." Perhaps it's because home requires a lot. New Zealand didn't require too much of me. No dates, or times. No hurry. Never once did we say, "Well if we dont get to insert place name by insert time/date, then we are going to be in some serious trouble." Flying by the seat of our pants was the preferred method of transportation. And it was a nice flight.

So far "Home"has just required a bunch of answers, some of which I don't have, yet. Answers to questions like, "Are you here just to visit?" To which I sarcastically reply, "I WISH!" with a laden sense of sadness, because just a visit would be great. I could see everyone I've missed, catch up on the past 7 months, then hop back on my pants seat and get back to my peanut-butter and jelly. (Peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches are the universal sign for a tight budget. Everytime I say that we ate a lot of PB&J, people just nod, instantly understanding how poor we really were. That never happens in kindergarten. PB&J is cool in kindergarten.)

It also seems everyone wants to know, "What's next?" Next? More? I have to keep going, and doing? I can't just sit around, enjoying the fact that I've taken care of the post-wedding "what's next?" I have to come up with another "What's next?"? Do the "What's Next?'s" ever end? Probably not. It seems that there is always a next house, or car, or job being sought after. Perhaps it is an american thing.

Being away from america teaches you the most about who you are, at least that has been my experience, being away from america and all. The rest of the world doesn't seem to think the same way that we do about things. The biggest difference is possibly worry. Kiwi's are always saying, "No worries." Maybe that's the way they remind themselves what they deem significant. Those crazy kiwi's get 4 weeks vacation, minimum. And they take everyday of it, never worrying about how work will ever function without them. We tried to explain the 2 weeks most americans get, and their heads almost exploded. Especially when we told them that some of us don't even use up our 10 little days. It think would just love the idea of 4 weeks of vacation. And I guarantee that we would have no idea what to do with it all. I've relayed this idea to folks here who replied, "4 weeks! I would rather work!" Really? I know that I wouldn't. But I also don't have a job right now, so everyday is a holiday. Hooray!

Maybe what I am trying to say is this: We Americans need to loosen up a little, not worry so much. So what if you take some time off and do something a little crazy. Go to Europe for a year. Rent your house while you're gone so you can make a little cash, for crying out loud. Buy a sail boat and sail down to Florida and back. Teach your kids how to swim, they can come too. If they can't learn how, teach them to put on a life jacket.

I'm sure I've forgotten some things while away, like the rewards of working hard. But I realized that the rewards of playing hard are pretty good too. Just go play a little. It's fun.

We're Baaaaaaaack

see above.

Wait, there's more....

Yep, were still moving, and shaking also, here in New Zealand. It has been a busy bunch of days since last I posted. Luckily, it has also been a bunch of days without rental car trouble. Jesus loves me this I know....

The Coromandel Peninsula was our next stop. It was originally discovered by a Coro-Man, aptly named Del, hence the name. We were really looking for a chance to relax, chill, and recover from our recent travels, since we'd been going pretty hard since leaving Te Puke (barf-town).

Our first stop was Whangamata, where they were having a "Beach Hop," which is a bunch of custom cars driving around, and a bunch of unsavory character ogling them. We didn't take any pictures because it wasn't that cool. It was actually kind of annoying. Traffic, loud engines, the aforementioned unsavories. We're old, I guess. (actually, Emily is old because she turned 25 this week. Shame on all of you for forgetting to visit on her birthday.)

We then headed to Hahia to check out Hot-water beach. Basically there is a hot spring that comes up 0n the beach. So, we just dug a hole and sat in the hot water. Unfortunately, where we dug was Boiling Water Beach, and we couldn't sit in it very long. We got 2nd degree burns on our bottoms to be able to get pictures of us sitting in a hole on a beach, and we did it all for you. You're welcome. However, I wont forget about this. Yall owe me big-time.

After 20 minutes at hot-water beach, we continued north (like you care which direction we were driving, to Whitiangi, where we got to make our own bone carvings. Fortunately, we didn't carve our own bones. They gave us some from the back.

Here's a close up action shot:

After hours of dremel-work and sanding, we proudly walked away with two 1/2 x 1/2 pieces of bone that fit conveniently around our necks, with the aid of some string.

We then trekked up and down the bumpiest unsealed road we could find, and while we tried, we were unable to destroy the rental beast. At the end of this "road" was the Coromandel Coastal Walkway. The walkway was boring, but there were these awesome ducks. As soon as we walked by the camper van they had overtaken, they all came out to say hello. They quickly realized that I was the friendly one because Emily repeatedly exclaimed, "I don't like you, ducks." Turns out, ducks know when they're not wanted.
This gang of quackers must have expected my pockets to be full of peppridge farm or something, because they gathered round like story-time at the library. They tried to follow us up the hill, still holding out hope for some rye, but we quickly distanced ourselves from them. Waddling never gets you anywhere, so don't try it.

Done with Coromandel, the Bay of Islands entered the radar. It's the great bay, dotted with hundreds of islands. We tried to research it, but were never able to figure out where the name came from. Anyhoo...

We booked a night on "Rock, the Boat" because of the double meaning layered in the name. We're suckers for irony. Isn't that ironic? No? Touche! While on board, we dined on kiwi-staples like sausages and green-lipped mussels (mmmm!) after we tried our hand a little fishing. Apparently, Emily has never caught a fish before, and I know this, not because she didn't know how to use the rod and reel, but because she told me. It's a good thing they had the sausages etc, cause we didn't catch crap.

Despite getting skunked on the fish, we did have to opportunity to snorkel, and collect mussels and sea urchins, which someone else is probably eating right now. And we paid for this. We're suckers from way back. We finished up the trip with some island/bar hopping and played all the connect-four that we could stand.






Ok, that's pretty much it for now. Stay tuned for more adventures!