family – Page 2 – Destination NOW

Kiwi Hospitality

Lonely Planet has proclaimed that Auckland is one of the ten best places in the world to visit in 2014. Although I concur with their choice, I would have moved Auckland to the number one spot. But then, Mike and I had something Lonely Planet didn’t– New Zealand’s best tour guides, Norman and Davina, which definitely influenced my rating.

It’s hard to believe that we spent only four days with these very gracious hosts, because we saw and did so much. It was all wonderful: breathtaking scenery, with beautiful beaches, but what made it extra special was the time we spent with their wonderful family, which gave us the opportunity to experience Kiwi culture and daily life.

This post is my way of saying thank you to Davina and Norman for a fantastic visit. I can’t capture ALL of the high points of our time together–there were just too many, so I’m limiting myself to 10 memories. Here they are, not in any particular order.

1. One Tree Hill

The Auckland area has more than 50 extinct volcanoes. This is a relatively young crater, a mere 500 years old.

2. The “Bach”
According to Wikipedia, the term originated from “bachelor pad”, but it has now come to mean a New Zealand summer home for family vacations. We stayed at our hosts’ family bach.

New Zealanders welcome drop ins, (or at least Davina, Norman and their friends do. I really shouldn’t generalize that ALL New Zealanders are like them, because they are rather special). Anyway, we got to see yet another bach, in Whitianga, right on the beach, when we popped in to visit their friends.

3. Whangamata
No only did we visit this lovely seaside resort, we also leaner how to pronounce its name. The Maori way sounds like this: Fong-ahh-mat-AHHH.

I’ve never used a public toilet that had piped in music and recorded instructions for locking the door, including a warning that you had best be done within 10 minutes. I thought it might be a New Zealand thing, but no–so far, it has only been a Whangamata experience.

4. Farmers’ Markets
Had I known that I could get a haircut by the side of the road, I wouldn’t have been in such a rush to get a trim before we left.

Farmer's market,on the way to Whangamata — Farmer’s market,on the way to Whangamata

5. New Chums Beach
I don’t know if this is the most beautiful beach in New Zealand, because EVERY beach I’ve seen so far has been rather wonderful. I think we just TOLD ourselves that it was the most beautiful because we had to walk over rocks and through rain forest growth for about 30 minutes to get to it.

It DID have a rather nice swinging rope, though.

6. Saturday Night at “The Club”
In the USA, we don’t have anything quite like a New Zealand club. Take a casino, a restaurant, a pool hall, a sports bar, a cocktail lounge, a dance hall– mix it all together, but make it family friendly and voila, you’ve got yourself a New Zealand club. Best of all, members of one club can use any other club. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

7. Lost Spring Thermal Pools, Whitianga
No photos for this one. We sat in a natural hot spring surrounded by lush foliage and beautiful flowers. You’ll just have to take my word that it was quite glorious.

8. Waihi Picnic
We were only in Waihi a short time. Just long enough for us to have a great picnic lunch atop a hill, check out the gold mining operation, and for me to buy a Kiwi cap.

9. Karangahake Gorge
A bike path runs through this area. Biker chicks, take note!

New Zealand - Clean and green — New Zealand – Clean and green

10. Family, Friendship, Fun
Spending time with Norman and Davina’s family made our time before the start of our Road Scholar trip extra special.
I had a chance to see how “socialized medicine” works, when I accompanied Davina to Taylor’s visit to the dentist. The offices are located on school property, and there is no charge for the visit. Brig, clean offices, a short wait, at no cost. What’s not to like.

This is the "walking school bus" — This is the “walking school bus”

So what do you think…Auckland #1 spot?

Off to The Grand Canyon

Colin Fletcher called the Grand Canyon a “huge natural museum of the earth’s history”. Okay, so I didn’t know who Colin Fletcher was either, until I signed us up for this Road Scholar trip. Now that I am a retiree (excuse me, “lifestyle manager”), I have time to actually READ the suggested background materials.

Colin Fletcher wrote “The Man who Walked Through Time: The Story of the First Trip Afoot Through The Grand Canyon”. Given that the canyon was inhabited by Native Americans for about 10,000 years before the first Europeans arrived, it isn’t hard to imagine that one or two of them might have sauntered from one end of the canyon to the other before he did, but then again, THEY never published their adventures and thoughts. I shouldn’t be too hard on Mr. Fletcher, though. After all, his book was written in the early 1900’s; half a century later, when I was in school, we still were being taught that Columbus “discovered” America, as if it were completely devoid of human inhabitants when he arrived.

So, now that I’ve gotten beyond the title, what did I learn from his book? Other than that I would never, ever even CONSIDER hiking through the canyon, I learned that you can tell the age of the rocks from their colors. I created this little chart so I’d know what I was looking at when we get there, starting from the rim and moving on down to the bottom:

Rock	Color	Thickness	Age
Limestone	White	400 feet	225 million years
Sandstone	Pale brown	350 feet	250 million years
Shale and Sandstone	Red	1,000 feet	275 million years
“The Esplanade”, Limestone	Blue gray, stained red	800 feet	450 million years
Bright Angel Shale	Layered greenish gray and purple	600 feet	475 million years
“Tonto Platform”Tapeats Sandstone	Brown	225 feet	500 million years
Schists	Dark gray with granite	Depth is unknown	Almost 2 billion years

Okay, so I have no concept of what 400 feet (or any of the other number of feet, for that matter) looks like–but when I get there, and take photos, and post them, well, then we’ll ALL know. And we’ll also know how long those bloody rocks have been plopped there.

I do better with visuals. So here’s a picture of where we will be for the week, starting and ending in Phoenix.

This trip will have an added element of adventure. The original plan was that this trip would be my father’s day present to my dad. He and Mike were going to room together, and I would be rooming with my “childhood” friend, Augusta. My dad’s knee became uncooperative, causing him to have to cancel out. Well, I notified Road Scholar and told them to change my roommate to Mike. I then learned that doing so would mean that Augusta might be assigned a female roommate, which wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind. So, Mike being an all around wonderful guy, decided to ‘take one for the team’ and agreed he’d be the solo traveler. No, that doesn’t mean HE gets the female roommate. He will only be matched up if there is another solo male traveler. The adventure part? We won’t know how this will shake out till we arrive tomorrow night.

Just think of the possibilities… Mike’s assigned roommate is a Sean Connery look alike, who gazes upon the lovely Augusta and is immediately smitten, causing us to swap roommates faster than your average college freshman. Beautiful sunsets, the canyon as a backdrop..could this be a made for TV movie, or what? Lifetime channel, perhaps?

More likely, Mike will be roommate-less. Hmmm. Maybe we shouldn’t mention that we’ve been married for 37 years. That way, if I am spotted doing the “walk of shame” out of his room some morning, it might liven up breakfast discussions.

So, which part of the blog did YOU find more interesting– rock colors and ages or the possibility of “seniors gone wild”?

Day Trippin – Sunfish Pond

Our son Greg recently spent 10 days on the Appalachian Trail, hiking through Virginia. Yesterday was a beautiful day, so the three of us decided to wander along a small portion of the trail where it crosses from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. After the Delaware Water Gap, the Appalachian Trail passes through Worthington State Forest, and intersects with those trails near Sunfish Pond.

Greg and I had read Bill Bryson’s book, “A Walk In the Woods”., which describes his Appalachian Trail Endeavors. Unlike Bill (and Greg on his solo trip across Virginia), we did not experience the silence of the forest. Instead, Bollywood music from a parking lot party accompanied us part of the way, and when that sound faded, it was replaced by a hiking family’s boom box playing Asian music. Sometimes you get a multicultural experience when you least expect it.

We're off. only 1,500 feet up, and 2.5 miles to go! — We’re off. Only 1,500 feet up, and 2.5 miles to Sunfish Pond!

It was the perfect day. Not too hot — not too cold, with only one small stream to cross and just a few feet of muddy trail on either side.

It took about an hour to get to Sunfish Pond. At first we were admiring the view of the lake while we watched the huge blue dragonflies whipping through the air, doing their best to keep the mosquito population under control.

Darn dragonfly was moving too fast --but at least the lake is pretty — Darn dragonfly was moving too fast –but at least the lake is pretty

These guys really move--it was hard to get a clear shot. — Finally one stopped for a second so I quickly (and unsteadily) shot.

Then we noticed what initially looked like bumps on a log. These guys were basking in the sun, right by the shore.

It took a while for us to realize we were being watched by lots of eyeballs. Once we started looking though, we saw them everywhere!

The hike down was actually trickier than the way up, because loose stones can cause you to lose your footing. One advantage was it forced you to go more slowly and look more carefully. I hadn’t noticed these tiny mushrooms on the way up.

I am in awe of the through hikers that tackle the trail — including, and especially, my son. After yesterday’s five miles, Mike and I’d had quite enough, and were glad we would be returning to a full refrigerator, indoor plumbing, screens on windows and comfy beds!

Living the Dream in Lucca

I’ll never be rich (at least not in monetary terms) or famous, but for the next two weeks, I’ll be living as if I were.

Our villa in Lucca is exquisite. Because of bed type and bathroom preferences among the other villa mates, I ended up with this fantastic room. I’m so glad Sandy is joining me here on July 4th, to share this amazing experience with me. Get ready, everyone–once little sister arrives, the blog will likely become much more exciting (or maybe not, so it can keep its PG rating.)

Check out that terrace, right outside our room.

I’m quite proud of myself. I actually figured out how to use the shower on my own. Usually Mike does all the hard stuff. This shower has knobs galore to control overhead, side and hand sprays. The door reminds me of Star Trek, except it has a seat, so you can be comfy while being beamed up?

Ours is the only shared bathroom, (with the “twin bed” room) but there is also a bathroom on the first floor. The three other bedrooms (two on the third floor) have their own, equally magnificent bathrooms. So, five bedrooms in total, and five baths.

There is also a large, shady terrace on the first floor.

Time to ease on down the road

We decided to forego Little Rock in favor of more time in Memphis. Although Bill Clinton’s library would have been interesting, we opted for a trip back to the 60’s via Stax Museum, but first we needed to sample another fine Memphis eatery, Huey’s.

Those toothpicks, blown into the ceiling by customers, will all be taken down and counted. Huey’s is sponsoring a contest for the benefit of the Memphis Zoo. For $1 per attempt, customers can guess the number of toothpicks, with the three closest to the correct number winning gift certificates. The ceiling gets cleared, and it starts all over again. Pretty creative, no?
Huey’s encourages it’s customers to leave their marks on the walls, so of course, I did. Why didn’t I think to bring along markers, like Aunt Stacy?

Next Stop, Stax.

The introductory video was well done, and truly was a trip down memory lane for me. Growing up, I boogied to Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and the MGs, Sam and Dave.

The museum included memorabilia from other artists, including Ike and Tina Turner.

I would have had trouble WALKING in those shoes, never mind dancing in them!

Greg particularly enjoyed Isaac Hayes’ Shaftmobile. Don’t know what was the best part–the shag carpeting inside or the sign in front.

There was still lots more to see in Memphis: The civil rights museum, Sun Studio, the Rock and Soul Museum, the art scene, but we needed to move along.

Here’s what was noteworthy enroute to Fort Smith.

To end on a positive note, the view got progressively better.

Next up, Oklahoma City.

Family ties, reinforced with duct tape

What better way to celebrate the completion of five months of retirement than with a Cinco de Mayo (5/5) celebration with five of your favorite relatives. And since we are on a roll with fives–after we all got together, it took my sisters, cousins and me approximately five minutes to get into the party mode. For one weekend, we were carefree–no husbands, kids, grandchildren, parents to take care of, no work or responsibilities. To paraphrase Cyndi Lauper, we were girls that “just want to have fu-un”.

Although my sisters and I have always been close, we cousins recently rediscovered how much we enjoy each others company. I’m sure Grammy was looking down at her six granddaughters, watching us raise our glasses of Bloody Marys in a toast to her, the original “Proud Mary”, and wishing she was there with her flask of blackberry brandy.

The Wyndham Resort in Hancock, Ma. was the perfect setting for our weekend together. It had it all–beautiful scenery, two bathrooms, not too many other guests, and just the right level of activities. We managed to take full advantage of everything the resort had to offer: Pool, sauna, hot tub, karaoke, exercise room.

But the activity that was the most fun, or at least produced the most laughs, was the duct tape wallet caper.

Even after seeing the craft room, and the bemused looks on the faces of the two (age appropriate) little boys in the class, we were NOT dissuaded.

The instructor, on the other hand, felt we should move to a larger table (and to larger chairs). Was it because my sister laughed hysterically at the sight of me sitting with my knees touching my ears or was the instructor worried that SHE might have to extract me from that seat?

Once we stopped laughing, we became intensely focused on the task at hand. Who knew duct tape came in so many varieties? This was clearly an educational weekend.

We were rightfully proud of our finished products! What’s next? Duct tape evening gowns? Duct tape sombreros?? Duct tape canoes??? The possibilities are endless. Whether the folks back home will be equally impressed is questionable…

Not content to depend solely on the resort for activities, Lissy and Lindy created their own. I don’t think the Wyndham expected pinatas to be suspended from their balcony. Fortunately, we had that area all to ourselves.

You can see from the blur, that Lindy gave the pinata a mighty bash, but it STILL held together. Doesn’t she remind you of Luke Skywalker wielding the light sword (or whatever it was called)?

But wait. Look at Sue and Sandy in the photo below. Could there have been some cheating going on? I count two hands on that pinata stick…and one hand belongs to someone who is NOT wearing a blindfold!

“The Sombrero Sisters”, as we were affectionately dubbed by Paul, the Karaoke master, had worked up a powerful hunger with all that activity, so off we went to the local restaurant. Looks like the seating plan was blondes (Lindy, Kristy and Sue) on the left, brunettes (Lissy, me and Sandy) on the right.

Time for me to bid my sisters a fond farewell, as the Massachusetts contingent heads home on Sunday morning. (How did Lindy manage to escape this photo-op?)

The Jersey girls were determined to make the most of what was left of the day, starting with a visit to a local winery, which was also a cider mill and an apple farm.

What goes with wine? Why ice cream, of course. Sundaes, to be exact, from Gardiner’s Ice Cream stand, coffee shop, miniature golf course and driving range. Places in the Hancock area appear to be multifunctional.

They didn’t have the kind of nuts that Lis wanted so our new friend made up for it with extra toppings. Yikes.

The Hancock area is truly beautiful, and we were fortunate enough to have wonderful weather. On a day like that, even dandelions looked amazing!

Kristy, the “baby” of the group, and mother of three, returned home, leaving me and Lis to experience one last activity–a property walk up the ski slopes with Paul, the karaoke master and snow board instructor. Like the businesses, the people are also multifunctional up here.

What’s left to say, except:

What about you? What do you do to reconnect with family and your childhood?

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