The Road to Whangerei

Old Stone Store and Mission House in Kerikeri



Finally arrived here on the morning of Nov. 26 after the all-night flight from Honolulu. Picked up the car and drove up the coast of the North Island to Kerikeri, where we had our first stop.

Spent a relaxing 4 nights in a River cottage on Takou Bay - in the Bay of Islands district north of Auckland. The setting was idyllic. Even the weather cooperated for the most part - sunny and warm except for one rainy day. The countryside here is as beautiful as we remembered it, and no probs so far with driving on the left.
The view behind our cottage

Front door of our cottage on the river

Had a chance to take a couple of short, scenic hikes in the surrounding hills and on the beach near our cottage. The place we rented came equipped with a canoe & 2 person kayak, so we made use of those to paddle down river to the mouth of the river where it empties into the Pacific. Lots of critters, and even a couple of waterfalls along one of the hikes.
The view across the river from the front of the cottage

We departed on the 30th for the Coromandel Peninsula near Auckland - which is where we are at the moment. The Falls at Kerikeri

On Our Way

First Stop: Kauai

Well, our long-awaited trip to New Zealand is finally underway. We departed Vancouver yesterday morning and flew to Kauai to spend a few days with Kevin before he relocates back to the mainland in a month or two. We'll finish up with a few days on Oahu before we actually leave for Auckland the evening of the 24th.

The trip has gotten off to a rather soggy start. We were greeted at Lihue airport with heavy showers which continued all across the island as we drove to Kalaheo - near where we used to live from '94-'98 - to stay at a local B&B. Was raining about as hard as we've seen it do here...which is saying plenty for Kauai. Started to clear up a bit last night though, and there's actually sun today although it's still very windy. Forecast is for it to stay unsettled for the next several days. We're hoping for it to clear enough to be able to hike up at Kokee and head over to Mahaulepu while we're here.

No pictures yet, but here are a few from previous visits to NZ.


Hiking in Able Tasman National Park - South Island


Pretty Scenery Everywhere

Hiking Near Farewell Spit - South Island

Autumn Colors in Vancouver

The weather here has been terrific for the past week or so. Highs in the 60's during the day and down in the low 40's at night. The autumn colors are showing themselves to best advantage, as you can see from the attached photos taken on a recent walk around the neighborhood.

Nice time of year to live in the Pacific Northwest

Fort Vancouver

Just around the Corner from our apartment

Valdosta Visit

Shane's Chargers Quilt - Courtesy of Grandma

Just returned from a two week stay with Mike, Jennah and the grandbabies in Valdosta. It was a nice family time for us, and it was great to see how much the kids had grown since we last saw them.

Birthday boy after the cake

Had a chance to spend a lot of quality family time with the kids - even babysat with them a few times so Mike and Jennah could get away on their own. Great fun for both couples I think. We were able to help celebrate Shane's 2nd birthday while we were there. There were even a few gifts for Makenna (early Christmas & birthday for her) so she wouldn't feel left out.

Hard at work on the cake

Weather was still pretty warm & muggy - guess autumn comes late in North Georgia. Not exactly football weather at any rate.
We returned Tuesday evening (21st) to one of the prettiest times of the year here in the Pacific Northwest. Cool, crisp & sunny days with the autumn leaves just reaching their peak. Makes for pretty walks along the Columbia.
Both of the kids had colds, and Rita has been battling a bug with some anti-biotics, hoping to be fit and healthy for the trip to Hawaii & points west starting November 17.
Here are a couple more photos from the trip.



Bath Time

One Year Ago

Rita Barcelona


Watching the rain falling on a chilly autumn day in Vancouver got us thinking about where were last year at this time, which was in Barcelona and on the island of Mallorca, where there's definitely more sun this time of year than there is here in the Pacific Northwest.

We stayed in the Old Town section of Barcelona - which turned out to REALLY be in the old town part of the city. Had all of the scuzzy ambience of Southeast Los Angeles, but at least it put us close to the center of things, and was easy getting around on their Metro to see the sights. The city really is unique - you're not going to mistake it for anyplace else you've ever been, mainly due to the influence of a man named Gaudi on the local architecture. It's as if Dr. Seuss had a few and then been given free reign to design & construct some of the buildings.



One of Gaudi's Buildings

The city traces its origins back to Roman times - in fact there are still sections of the old Roman walls visible in places. Of historical note was the fact that the "Barca" from which the Roman Colony originally took its name was a family name of its principal citizen at the time...who was the father of Hannibal - the Carthagenian General who attacked Rome by taking his army thru the Alps on elephants.

We did a couple of day trips via the local rail system to some of the outlying areas near the city, one of which was to the old Monastery at Montserrat - the place was built as a fortified position several hundred years ago during the Middle Ages, and the primary way to get there is via cable car. The ride takes about 20 minutes and elevates you from the valley floor to the site of the monastery itself about 1500 hundred feet above.


Montserrat

Stayed in the little town of Fornalux on Mallorca, another ancient hillside town that must be the prettiest village in Spain. From there it was a pleasant hike down the valley to the town of Soller. From there you could hop on the local train down to the Port of Soller - really picturesque and with lots of great local hikes out into the countryside. During our travels we take special note of those places we like enough to consider a return visit someday, and Mallorca has to rank near the top of the list. Admittedly, the quality of the local Cava may have helped sway our opinion a bit.


The Port of Soller


Local Transportation to the Beach

Triple Falls Hike

The weather is forecast to turn cold & rainy for the next week or so, so we took advantage of the last day of sunshine to go on a hike on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge. The route wound its way from Horsetail Falls to Triple Falls and on up the Oneonta Trail for about 4 miles. Pretty steep in places but our feet, legs and knees seemed to hold up pretty well - a good sign considering all of the walking we plan to do on the NZ trip in November.

Looking forward to our trip to Valdosta next Tuesday to visit the Grand Babies (and their parents) for a couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of photos from the hike. The trees have just started to turn, although it was interesting to note that the most colorful plant in the forest was the Poison Oak - usually difficult to pick out from the surrounding plants but now quite obvious thanks to having turned various shades of gold & red.

Get-Together at Mom's Sunday Afternoon

Bobbi & John



Larry & Rosie arrived on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we had an informal get-together at Mom's to celebrate their arrival and to fete Bobbi - who has a birthday coming up next week. Here are a few photos:





Rita & Bob


The boys The Girls