Feb 11

Sunday, February 11

Around 2 am, I told Josh to get in bed. I set the alarm in the guest bedroom because the master bedroom didn't have a clock. I was paranoid about oversleeping though because check out was at 10 am and I didn't want to have to pay if we checked out late. The next morning at 9 am, Josh called the front desk and got us an extended check out for noon. That's more like it.
I had my traditional breakfast and Josh ate the last of the KFC. Josh made a call out to the Huka Falls ("who-ka") jet boat company but after he called, we were both like, we don't want to get wet today. So, we decided just to go out to the Huka Falls and look around. We checked out at noon-nothing to sign and no receipt-that's the way to do it.

Driving to Huka Falls, I saw a sign for the Huka Lodge. It is a really upscale place to stay in the area. I looked at it before leaving the states but it's really expensive. I have to say, I can't imagine the rooms being nicer than where we stayed...except there is a chef on the lodge premises...so no KFC !
When we entered Huka Falls area (free), we read a hand written note in the gift shop window that said someone's cds were stolen from their car. Then, when we reached the Huka Falls bridge, there was a sign that said volunteers watch the cars so make a donation to support them-interesting.

The Huka Falls, while not having a big drop, are still impressive because of the color of the water and the speed at which it falls. Josh and I took a walk from Huka Falls to Spa Pool (about 2 hours round trip). It was a really nice walk and although it's summer, it was really nice temperature wise. There's zero humidity!

The clear water of the Waikato River was so inviting! Josh and I could have gone for a swim despite our saying we didn't want to get wet earlier that day. We saw some people floating down the river with snorkle gear on so we decided we'd come back with snorkles ourselves. The walk concluded at Spa Pool which is where hot water from the geothermal areas pours down a waterfall into the Waikato River. Side note: People had their dogs swimming in the river by the hot water and it's so disgusting to me to have big dogs swimming around with people. Ugh. I'm not a dog person.

We made the walk back to the car and all of our stuff was still there and the car was still there so that was good. We hit up the McDonald's for an ice cream (again!...McDonald's ice cream tastes the same here as at home). The ride home took about three hours (the same as going up to Taupo). We did have to stop for a bathroom break in the military base town of Waiouru.
I saw the weirdest sign in the stall in the ladies bathroom and I should have taken a picture of it...it was a stick figure person crouching with both feet on the toliet seat and a big red X was drawn over the picture. Next to that drawing was another stick figure person sitting properly (in the Western sense) on the toilet with a green check mark drawn over the picture. Does someone need directions?

Actually, I did a Wikipedia search and I think this sign had to do with Japanese and other Asian tourists who are used to squat toilets...here's what Wikipedia said, "In Japan, being clean is very important, and some Japanese words for 'clean' can be used to describe beauty. This may explain the continuing success of squat toilets without any physical contact. Occasionally, even a western-style toilet is used as a squat toilet by a self-conscious (or ignorant) user that squats by standing on the toilet seat." My cultural knowledge grows!

The bathroom stop then turned into an ice cream stop. I had the Hokey Pokey and Josh was boring with chocolate. About an hour outside of Palmerston North, the check engine light came on in the car...uh oh. We made it home safely though.

Back home, we unpacked, sent some emails (I need to meet with one of Lyndsey Chadwick's contacts at International Pacific College), and took it easy. What a great weekend trip. We were glad we went!

Feb 10

Saturday, February 10

I fell asleep with the blinds left intentionally open so that when the sun came up I could look out across the lake and see the two volcanoes in the distance. Around 6:30 am, the sky was clear and I could see the volcanoes clearly without any clouds around them. I tried to get Josh to wake up and take a look since the clouds would roll in later in the day, but he would not budge. Of course, I couldn't take a picture of the volcanoes because of the dead/charging batteries. Curses.
I went back to sleep unil 9 or so and then made my breakfast for one (because Josh was still sleeping) to have out on the patio. Toast, yogurt, fruit, cereal, orange juice...pretty good stuff. I even got ambitious and tried to make coffee rather than going for my usual hot tea. Mistake. Is coffee supposed to be gritty? Down the drain with that stuff.

Josh joined me on the patio as I was finishing breakfast. He ended up eating leftover KFC...now that's a hearty breakfast! Josh called the Zorb place to see if we needed a reservation before we drove 2 hours round-trip. Nope, just show up. Then, I started getting nervous. What if zorbing made me feel sick-I didn't want to pay money for that. Maybe we should do this some other time. But Josh wasn't having any of that. We called about getting massages on Sunday but all the places were closed (as is typical of a lot of shops in New Zealand on Sunday).

On the road again...this time we were wearing our bathing suits so we wouldn't have to change when we reached Rotorua. You can do a wet zorb or a harness zorb (strapped in inside the ball). We were going for the wet zorb! First, we had to stop for gas and buy batteries. If only Josh would follow the rules on the pump, getting gas would be a lot faster.

Gas is expensive-$1.43 NZD per liter and there are 4.6 liters in a gallon and the current exchange rate is 1 NZD = 0.682896 USD -Can someone else do the math? That's $4.49 USD/gallon if my math is right (and it's probably not). So, basically double what we were paying in the states. YIKES!!! Uh, maybe fewer road trips in our future! But, we were going to Rotorua.

When we paid for the batteries and bottles of water inside the gas station, the young store clerk asked us if we were American. We said yeah, we're from Arkansas. He asked if that was by California. Interestingly enough, Hurricane Katrina has helped us put Arkansas on the map when we speak to people. We'll usually say Arkansas is by Texas but if that doesn't work we'll say it's north of where Hurricane Katrina hit. While New Orleans isn't technically close to Fayetteville, it's a lot closer than California!

We made the drive to Rotorua passing lots of geothermal places and touristy sites like Puzzle World, mini golf, and mazes. We made it to Rotorua without any problems (it was only when I came back from the weekend trip that I learned that Rotorua has the 2nd worst gang problem in New Zealand after Auckland...apparently two of the gangs are named the Mongrel Mob and Black Power). It seemed like a nice town to visit and the Zorb place was right outside of the city.
When we drove up, I was definitely nervous but we were going to do this. We walked inside the building and it was a bit chaotic. A sign on the wall listed prices ($30 NZD/person-we had a 10% off discount coupon in our brochure too), people were walking around in their bathing suits, it wasn't clear how you signed up or paid but we figured it out. The girl who took our money had clearly done this before because she spoke a mile a minute, told us to read a waiver of our rights if we were injured, and stamped our hands to indicate we had paid.

Josh and I were going to do the zorb together but the weight limit was 250 kilograms. We were like, do we weigh more than that? Turns out, an easy way (though slightly off numbers-wise) to convert pounds to kilograms is to take your weight in pounds and half it to get kilograms. Done. We were safe to go together.

When you go to zorb, you have to leave everything behind in a plastic bin (glasses, camera, clothes, shoes, etc.). A safety nightmare but what are you going to do? We left the camera in the car but still had our wallet/credit cards in the backpack we were carrying. Next, we waited in a short line to catch a white truck up to the top of the hill that we were going to zorb down. The guy driving the truck was crazy fast taking us up the hill...BUMP, JOLT...vomit!

Surviving the winding ride up to the top, made the zorb seem like a piece of cake. Josh and I let two other couples go before us to see what happened. Basically, there is an enter/exit hole in the zorb that you jump into to get inside the ball. I got stuck trying to jump head first into it. Once you're inside, the worker guy zips up the window you just climbed in through with a plastic cover. The inside of the zorb is humid, slightly claustrophobia-inducing, and more or less terrifying. Each time someone gets into the zorb they fill it with fresh water.

Then, it's time to go down! The worker guy will hit the zorb on the outside to signal to you that you need to push the zorb down the hill (usually by standing up inside). Once you start rolling, it's anyone's guess on how you're going to flip and flop around inside. When Josh and I rode together, I screamed the entire way down because I was afraid with our extra weight we were going to roll off course or hit a fence at the end of the ride or something. You can't really see out of the plastic.

We made it safely to the bottom, however, and there was a worker there to take our picture. I hate when tourist sites take your picture...I had a bad experience at the Empire State Building in 2004-I did not want to have my picture taken and I kinda got in an argument with an employee! (Although this time we did end up buying the cd of prints).

Josh and I decided that we couldn't go down just once after coming all the way out here, so we paid to go down in the zorb a second time. This time, Josh and I would go down separately. I would go down the straight path and Josh was going to take the zig zag path down. Up the hill in the white truck, this time the driver wasn't on a death mission and drove a lot slower.
We let a group of pre-teen guys go down 2 zorbs with three guys in each. Then, our turn. I got stuck a second time trying to get into my zorb. It wasn't quite so terrifying the second time because I knew what to expect. The ride is definitely FUN and everyone should try it. I got to see Josh go down the zig zag path. Josh said you go slower on the zig zag but you catch more air time when you make the turns.

After our rides, we dried off and bought the cd of pictures after looking at them. Josh almost didn't want to get them, but I reminded him of the time we didn't buy the cd of pictures from our snorkel tour of the Great Barrier Reef which in hindsight we should have bought.

Driving back into Rotorua, we bought a McDonald's lunch from the largest, nicest looking McDonald's we'd ever seen. It looked like a house/lodge you'd see in the Australian outback. Good food but I forgot to get my cheeseburgers with only meat and cheese...gross pickles...but Josh ate those. On the way back to Taupo, we drove out to two different geothermal spots. The first place wanted $28 NZD/person to take a walking tour of their different sites and the second place wanted $25 NZD/person. Basically, their hot spring pools look like those in Yellowstone so we were in agreement that it was a lot of money to go on a nature walk to see things we've seen before in the states (used the free bathrooms though). We'd rather spend our money on things we couldn't do at home (like the zorb and the jet boat).

Except, in actuality, you CAN zorb in the states. Or, you will be able to at some point. According to one of the Zorb staff members, they're building a course in Tennessee (and here I thought I was being special) but Rotorua has the only zorb in New Zealand.

Anyway, we did look at the boiling mud pools which were free to view. The hot, gray mud looked so tempting to touch. The texture was so smooth and you could imagine how relaxing it might be to put on your skin (if it didn't burn your flesh off first). We then drove on to the Aratiatia Dam where, by a fluke of fate, we made it just at the right time (4 pm) to see the opening of the dam. We even got front row parking right next to the bridge-weird! It was very cool to see the water level quickly rising to cover the rocks below.

Next, we drove down the road to the jet boat place but they had closed for the day. Maybe we'd do that tomorrow. For now, it was back to the apartment to enjoy that more. The maid had restocked our breakfast supplies so we were set for the following morning. Onto the plunge pool!

This time, we set up the laptop to listen to some Kelly Clarkson and David Gray while we enjoyed the lake view from the plunge pool. Drinks in hand, we were living the life. It just goes to show that you can never count yourself out from having a certain experience in your life. I mean, I never thought I'd been sitting in a million + dollar place watching sail boats go by on the lake, but here I was. The thing is, that if this type of lifestyle becomes common, not to ever take it for granted. We certainly appreciated having this experience!

Josh and I planned to go out for dinner tonight. By the time we were ready to go out, it was 9 pm. The first place we went to was an Irish place. The girl at the counter said they were still serving dinner, however, after we paid at the bar, she found us at our table and said the kitchen was closed and that she'd give us cash back for our food purchase. Josh had bought a beer already, so we sat and people watched while he drank that.

We went next door to a place called the Shed. The outside dining area was crowded (and Josh noted the smokers) so we got a seat in the back corner of the restaurant inside. It was quiet and we had it to ourselves. It looked promising...for awhile. However, once the food arrived, it started going down hill.

My sirloin steak was impossibly tough. I couldn't even cut it myself! and the mashed potatoes were cold. Josh had to cut my steak for me. His ribs weren't any better. He said they were just the bone...no meat! Although they were piled about 20 high, there was nothing to eat. Then, a loud group was seated next to us. Then, the bar music cranked up so loud that by the end of our dinner I had to shout to "talk" to Josh. Get me out of here.

Well, that wasn't the kind of dinner I was hoping to have by going out to eat in town. At least that was the only disappointment of the weekend. Back to the apartment, (after grabbing McDonald's ice cream...we should buy stock in this company). I put some laundry in because getting to use the dryer here wouldn't cost anything. The same thing with washing dishes in the dishwasher...I might as well use it while I had it! Josh and I fell asleep on the couch watching a cricket game on tv in the living room.

Feb 9

Friday, February 9

The morning began early enough around 9 or so. Josh and I started packing but I wanted to let the camera batteries charge up before we left...well, that took forever and they didn't charge up very well....stupid charger.

Josh and I were loaded up and in the car by noon. We brought some groceries and drinks with us since we'd have the kitchen in the hotel suite. Driving out of town, windows down and 80's music on the radio (Queen's "I Want To Break Free" was especially inspiring) now we're going somewhere.

Well, we had the tunes on the radio for a little while at least. Either our car doesn't pick up radio frequency well or NZ is too rural to pick up radio frequency in the countryside. Leaving Palmerston North, you drive through a town called Bulls to get to Lake Taupo. Bulls is themed out to the max since it is named after this animal. Example, the police station is called the "Consta-Bull." There are bulls painted on everything. Cute.

We left Bulls (passing the best billboard we've seen so far..."Peach Teats-Cows Love 'Em") and headed northeast on Highway 1, the main north-south highway on the North Island it runs from Auckland to Wellington. And by main highway, I mean what we'd call a two-lane backroad at home. Apparently, the only four or six lane highways are outside of Auckland and Wellington. This means that all travel in the middle of the North Island takes place on a road that is like the old Highway 71 going to Fayetteville, Arkansas. If there's an accident on this road, it's over for your travel plans.

Fortunately, there were no accidents while we traveled. However, it was close on our part a couple of times. Especially, when we left the flat plains of the Manawatu region and reached the central volcanic plains where Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe are located. Mount Ruapehu is the tallest mountain on the North Island and it's always covered in snow and people ski there from July to October. It's an active volcano. Mount Ngauruhoe is the volcano that stood in as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. It was AWESOME to see such a recognizable volcano...yet somewhat terrifying as well if any of them go ka-boom!

Oh, and the road north of these volcanoes is terrifying for sure! We're talking about twists and turns without guardrails over steep cliffs covered in Jurassic Park like vegetation. Crazy that THIS IS THE MAIN ROAD TO AUCKLAND! I originally thought we could drive to Auckland from Palmerston North (it's 6-7 hours drive). But that's not like driving 6 hours in the states on a flat, major highway. I think we'll be flying to Auckland...and that means a lot coming from someone who hates to fly!

We made it to the town of Taupo which is located on the northeast shore of Lake Taupo. This lake is huge and is actually the largest lake in New Zealand. Our hotel, Clarion Suites Sacred Waters was easy to find-just off the main road and on the lake shore. As we turned into the parking space at the front of the hotel, the car made a horrendous noise. Was that us? I asked. It was. We'll at least we made it to the hotel.

Check in was easy. The guy said, "So, you cashed in some points?" I don't think they like that because they don't get revenue from your stay. He didn't take a credit card imprint and all I had to do was sign a piece of paper. I tried to see if our room number was listed on the page I was signing because I'd requested a lake view room on the highest floor. I don't like people walking above me when I stay at hotels. Clunk, clunk, clunk.

Well, I didn't see our room number, but the guy gave us a key with garage opener on it and told us to pull around to the side of the building. We drove downhill in the driveway and pushed button 1 on the key chain to open the garage door. Josh parked the car as the man, now with a luggage cart, met us in the parking garage. I hoped the car would not squeal as we parked this time.

We parked, and then re-parked to fit, in one parking spot only to be told by the guy when we got out of the car that both parking spots next to each other were ours. Luggage onto the cart, we caught the elevator upstairs. I couldn't see what button the guy pushed but it didn't seem like we'd gone up that far.

But, I guess we had. When we got to the door of our room "B," the guy told us they gave us the room we'd asked for. The highest floor rooms at this place were the Penthouse apartments! The guy didn't fail to tell us that the room rate is normally over $700 NZD per night. Nor did it escape my attention that the apartments in this hotel are for sale and the penthouse we were spending the weekend at was for sale for a cool 1,950,000 NZD. That's 1,335,396.54 USD!

Well, our credit card points have granted Josh and I access to some pretty nice places in the past: 4 nights over New Year's Eve in New York City, a room with a view of the Opera House in Sydney, but this place takes the cake! Not only was it the best place that our points have given us but also it was the best hotel we've EVER stayed at...a title previously held by the Barcelona Princess Hotel.

No doubt about it, one day I am going to build a house based on this floor plan and buy the same smooth, soft carpet that felt like walking on fine sand and the same smooth slate floor in the kitchen. There were skylights in the bathroom, down comforters and pillows on the beds, flat screen tvs in every room, a fresh water plunge pool on the deck...and did I mention this was FREE!

Josh and I started feeling guilty about having all this space for just the two of us. If anyone comes to visit us in New Zealand, we will definitely have to book this place again. Even if we don't get Penthouse B (Penthouse A and C have already sold), we could still book a two bedroom apartment downstairs if it was available. Also, we noted that if you had so much space in a place like this, you'd have to entertain. The home was designed for it.

The only negative was that there was no air conditioning in the unit. There were two fans provided, however. With the lake breeze, it was cool outside but warm inside the apartment so we got the fans going. We unpacked and decided to go for a swim in the lake. Once we walked down to the lake front, less than 100 yards from our door, we realized that this part of the lake was manky and there were ducks all around (fine to look at but not swim with). Plan B.

We walked back to the hotel and swam in the outdoor lap pool. It was very nice but soon those dang bug bites on my feet started itching so I wanted to go upstairs and put calamine lotion on them. Well, the thought of sitting in the plunge pool and having a glass of wine must have over-ridden the itchy feeling on my feet because as soon as we got upstairs, it was plunge pool time!
Sitting in the plunge pool, having a drink overlooking the lake view, I told Josh it was wrong to be in such a nice place. Then, I came to my senses and said if this was wrong, I didn't want to be right!


Next, we had to decide what to do for dinner. We looked in our guide book and brochures but Josh made a valid point: no restaurant would have as good of a view as the view we had from our balcony. True. So, we were off to KFC to get a bucket of chicken for Josh (strips for me-I don't like to see the bone) and some sides. After standing in line, F-O-R-E-V-E-R, it was back to the apartment for a KFC picnic on the patio. And that's when the stupid batteries in the camera stopped working because the stupid charger doesn't work right anymore...so, no pictures of dinner that night!

The chicken strips tasted the same as they do at home, but the instant mashed potatoes were different. And that's how a lot of food here has been. I have an expectation for how something should taste, like KFC mashed potatoes or a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. And the food here doesn't taste bad, it's just a different taste than what I am expecting. So, I'll have to get used to these different tasting versions of things I am used to.

After dinner, Josh and I planned out what we wanted to do the next day. We decided to drive about an hour north to the town of Rotorua and go zorbing...something I've always wanted to do. Think, human in a giant plastic ball rolling down hill. Then, we said we might do the jet boats up the river rapids and check out some of the geothermal pools and nature walks. Maybe get a massage since Josh offered me that as a graduation present last May and I still haven't cashed in!

With a plan in mind, we ran another plunge pool around midnight to sit out and look at the stars. It is amazing how many stars we could see because the lake didn't have any lights on it that blocked out the view. Awesome! This place rules!

Feb 8

Thursday, February 8

Josh was scheduled to have an 11:00 meeting with Dr. Openshaw and Dr. Edwards today. About 7:45 am, Dr. Openshaw called to say that the meeting was canceled because Dr. Edwards was in Auckland. Well, that opened up the day.

But first, the trash had to be taken out. Josh lost rock, paper, sissors so he had to take the recycables out to the curb. When you're paying $1.00 per trash bag (special for Palmerston North residents) why throw out a trash bag if it's not completely full. This week we didn't have a full bag of trash, so Josh just put out the cardboard, glass, and plastic bags.

The phone rang again and it was Bernice checking in on us. She asked if we were going to the Rotary club meeting that night (Josh said no because we'll be presenting on the 22nd). She also wanted to say that she and David would be leaving for their trip to Queenstown on the South Island on Saturday the 10th. They'll be back on the 17th. Josh told her we were thinking about heading up to Lake Taupo in the center of the North Island since we had a free weekend. Bernice said that they have a family home that we can stay at if we give her more notice when we go up to Lake Taupo again.

So, Josh and I had a decision. Lake Taupo on Thursday and Friday or Fri.-Sun. We decided to go up on Friday because it was getting late on Thursday if we still needed to pack and all.
I looked at the resort on Lake Taupo that we could cash in our credit card points for a free stay. It was 10,000 points per night and we had almost 80,000 points. The hotel suites looked nice and had a kitchen and patio, however, part of me said that Lake Taupo is just a lake and I've been to lakes before, maybe we should save the points for a resort north of Auckland at the Bay of Islands or in Queenstown. Josh said we should wait until the following weekend for his birthday but the rooms were not available that weekend. Anyway, if we were going, we should go this weekend while we had the time available. I cashed in 20,000 points and made the reservation.

We spent the day hanging out watching the Angel DVDs...they're so good. I applied for a part-time job at Universal College of Learning as a part-time International Student Co-ordinator (a bit ironic being an international person myself but it's a job I'd like to have back home).

Later that night, Josh and I took a walk in the Victoria Esplanade to feed the ducks the remaining piece of bread that was getting slightly moldy. We love the walk across the cricket fields (large, flat green space) into and through the trees to reach the rose gardens that lead to a palm tree lined street that takes you to the duck pond. I made the walk barefoot to try to pass for a local.

By breaking up one piece of bread, Josh and I were able to coax a large number of ducks out of the pond and onto the grass at our feet. Another couple showed up and they had a tiny gray kitten which I really wanted to take home with me. No such luck. Back to the house to get ready for Lake Taupo tomorrow.

Feb 6-7

Tuesday, February 6

Waitangi Day so everything is closed. Well, almost everything. Josh and I take the time this morning to write out various thank you cards to all the Rotarians who have hosted us and to the Openshaws too, although we will not be going over to the BBQ today.

Josh arranged to pick up a television from Lyle, a Rotarian, around 2 pm. He came home with a 21 inch tv and we get about 5 free channels. Today was a lazy day although I applied for three different part-time jobs at the various campus libraries in town this afternoon. We'll see how that goes.

We took a walk in the Victoria Esplanade and found the coolest playground ever! There is a flying fox for people to use. You climb up into what looks like a tree house (minus the roof) and you sit on this rope before sliding down at an angle to the ground...it's like a zipline for kids (and adults). I had to do it and it was so fun, I went twice! There are trampalines built over holes cut out in the ground and human size hampster wheels. It is awesome.

We then walked along the river walk back to the house. However, Josh had to climb down the steep bank (so I had to follow) and the view was really nice as the sunset. We walked back home and called it a day.

Wednesday, February 7

I started off the day by doing laundry. It was a hot, sunny day but little breeze. The clothes dried quickly though. Next, we went to mail the thank you cards and Josh wrote a postcard to his parents to see if that makes it to the states. After that, we went to Kmart to get a few more things like hangers and flip flops for Josh (he forgot to pack those at home along with his cologne). We looked at buying an electric jug and coffee set but Josh as the "Treasurer" couldn't see justifying the expense when we can boil water in the pot. I had to remind him, however, that we only have one small pot so if we have company to dinner, it might be complicated to cook in, clean, then boil water for tea in our one pot. Ah well, onto The Countdown grocery store to compare prices to other grocery stores in town. The cheapest place we've found is the Pak N Save.

After looking at the grocery store, we went to the Warehouse to pick up more things for the house like a full length mirror, scales, and a laundry basket. Josh let it be known that he was tired of coming to the Warehouse so often because he thought we should be finished with buying things to get the house set up. We did pick up a bigger pot to cook things in, however, so that should help if we ever have people over.

After dropping stuff off at the house, we took a drive out to Himitangi Beach and the sunlight shining on the green Tararua Mountains in the rear view mirror as we drove west to the coast was incredible. Reaching the beach only takes 25 minutes.
It was interesting when we reached the beach because there was a sign that read, "The beach is a road" and every once in a while you'll see a speed limit sign going down the coast. When we reached the beach, we thought the tide must have been out because it seemed like we had to walk a lot farther out than we did when we came here with David and Bernice. It was such a nice evening and we love going to the beach. I told Josh that now we'll be spoiled and have to live near the beach in the states...$$$. But what's really nice about the beach here is that it is pretty empty and you have a lot of space to yourself.

Feb 5

Monday, February 5

Super Bowl Monday here, not Super Bowl Sunday. Josh and I thought we'd get to sleep in today as we hadn't heard from Noel Munford (the Rotarian who likes American football because he's spent some time in the states...his favorite team is the San Diego Chargers) the night before or this morning. Then, we realized around noon that we had a text message from him about coming over to watch the game at 1. We quickly got ready and packed up our Tui brand beer (a tui is a NZ bird and Tui beer is really good) and drove over to Noel's.

Noel is a photographer so his house is also his studio. It's a really big Victorian house on Fitzherbert Street (one of the main streets in town and the only street that crosses the Manawatu River if you want to get to the main campus of Massey University). Well, although Noel's house is on the main road, we drove past it and had to turn around in a gas station. When we drove back by, we parked on the street and went up to the house (the name of his business is Colour Photique), rang the bell, and Noel welcomed us in. The front of the house is part of the business with photographs that Noel has taken placed on the walls. We walked through a set of peach drapes covering an archway and entered into the back of the house where the family lives.

Noel told us to take a seat and we watched as the Colts and the Bears geared up for the game. Noel asked my name because he couldn't remember it from the Rotary meeting last Thursday. I told him Janell and he was like, that's right, I have a sister named Janet and that's how I was going to remember your name but instead I want to call you Janet.

His way of trying to remember my name is actually quite funny because I have a cousin named Brian Noel. And the way I was going to remember Noel's name was to think of my cousin...but now I just want to call him Brian! I didn't share that story with him though.
Noel ran to the kitchen and then yelled for us to join him. He had made us hot dogs to have a true American Super Bowl experience! I ran out to the car to get the beer (we had wanted to make sure it was okay to bring in) and then Josh and I made up some hot dogs, watched the game, and talked to Noel.

Noel is also an astronomy buff so the pictures in his living room were of solar and lunar eclipses, comets, and the like that he had taken in places all over the world. He must be in his late 40's or early 50's because he has two sons that are our age. One is a pilot for Air New Zealand and one is studying in Japan. As the parent of an Air NZ pilot, Noel can ride in the cockpit during certain flights.

When the game was over, the Bears lost, Josh and I headed home to change clothes and to get ready for dinner at the Openshaws (Josh's research advisor). Well, if dinner with the Openshaws was going to be anything like dinner with the Rotarians, we'd better dress nicely and have something nice to bring them. We got slightly dolled up in order to make a good impression and discussed whether or not it would be appropriate to bring wine or nothing at all. Here, Josh dubbed me the "Social Chair" of our relationship. So, we brought the wine.

We found the Openshaw house easily enough that we drove around the Hokowhitu campus of Massey University (our side of the river) to avoid showing up too early. We arrived at 6 pm on time. Margaret Openshaw, greeted us on the lawn between the car at the curb and the house. She was casually dressed and barefoot so Josh and I looked a little fancy (me in white jeans, black top, and black heels and Josh in dress pants and a polo...but I was glad I didn't wear what I originally planned...dressy halter top).

We took a seat on the sofa along one wall and Margaret sat in a chair to our left. Across the room, still on the left side sat Roger. We were offered gin and tonics so we had that to drink and chat while dinner finished.

Dinner was ready around 8:30. So, we took a tour of the house, Margaret pointing out the built-on living room at the back of the house where she mentioned several times that it was dirty because her boys had hosted a Dungeons and Dragons party there over the weekend. The walls of this room were stacked high with books and also model ships which Roger builds as a hobby.

Out to the backyard where the Openshaws were planning to host a BBQ the following day in recogniti on of the national holiday Waitangi Day. Well, since dinner wasn't ready, we had some homemade bread and pesto dip which were very good. We also had some wine (Roger observing when he opened the bottle we'd brought, "Oh, it has a cork"). When dinner was ready (an older lamb called hogett?) and roasted vegetables. The food was really GREAT and I was happy to be eating my first lamb in New Zealand.

Josh and I mentioned that we wanted to get a couples massage at some point to which Margaret informed us not to go to the "massage parlours" because prostitution is legal in Palmerston North...whew, that could have been a close call! (looking up Massage Parlours in the Yellow Pages, you'll see a list of three places and also "See Also Sauna Baths.") So then, Margaret kept telling us about the "pros" as she called them for short. After dessert of apricot cake and vanilla ice cream, Josh and I returned home.

Feb 4

Sunday, February 4

We were up a 8 am this Sunday morning. We had breakfast with Anne and Ross instead of paying for brunch with the group (a smart move on our part since dinner the night before at Marbles was $68 or so...everyone else in our group qualified for either a senior discount or child's discount (Pauline) but we were stuck with full price). We packed up our bag and we dropped off Ross at the church, then Anne took us to the gates of the park where she told us we were >a lovely couple and were welcome back anytime. Especially, since Josh would like to talk at some of the five New Plymouth Rotary clubs when we come back to climb Mount Taranaki. Hugs and goodbye.

We found our way to the Tea House inside the park and sat outside watching the ducks before members of our Rotary group began to trickle in. Most had stayed at a motel or with family members nearby. Josh and I had water as everyone ate brunch. We saw postcards of Taranaki that we wanted to buy but we forgot to purchase them. We mainly spoke with Jon and Lyndsay during brunch since they would be driving us home.

After brunch, we loaded up in the car and headed the wrong way out of New Plymouth. I really just wanted to get home at this point. The trip was great and New Plymouth was great and we'd seen so much but I was ready to be home (sheesh, I've only been here a week and I spent two nights with the Collis's and two nights with the Smith's)! We got turned back the right way and it would have been a 3 hour return drive except we stopped to buy fresh produce from the side of the road and to have lunch across the street from Virginia Lake in Wanganui (popular place).

Well, we felt kind of awkward about lunch because Lyndsay offered to pay and we said no, so then she ordered first and told the girl at the counter to add ours to their order and Jon and Lyndsay only had quiche and coffee while Josh and I had fish and chips and a chicken burger but what can you do when someone is insistant upon paying? We said thanks many times.

So, after lunch we are really close to getting home but we detoured to view the Wanganui downtown area and library. Home at last around 5 pm, I've caught up on the journaling and I'm sleepy. I've uploaded all the pictures and am ready to really relax...except that the busy cycle continues tomorrow with an appointment to watch the Super Bowl with a Rotarian who likes American football in the morning and dinner with Josh's advisor, Dr. Openshaw, tomorrow night at 6.

We're just over one week in and everything is set up and operational....except the part about me having a job! Mail has already arrived in our name to our house. We mean to send a letter out to the states to see if it gets there!