yup- that's us

interviews, running and wedding news

So I am headed to Vancouver on June 9th for a couple of things
1. to have my medical exam *yes, that's correct, there are only 3 doctors in all of Canada that are approved by the U.S. government to perform the exam.
2. I have an interview at the American consulate to prove my legitamite love for Andrew (and I am assuming America too)

Please wish me luck

other news....the wedding is coming along (and fast approaching I might add!)

I have made a wedding website for all of you to peruse through

www.andrewandchristine.com

Oh and I am running a half-marathon next sunday ( I could use some luck here too) and Andrew will be back up in Canada to act as my personal cheerleader ( i really do love that guy)

Another letter from the US Government

More progress today! The State Department's National Visa Center received our approved I-129F visa petition, and is going to send it along to a visa issuing post in Canada within a week. Christine's supposed to get a packet in the mail soon with instructions on applying for her K1 visa (that's the one that gets her in to the states so we can marry). She'll have to go for an interview and has to complete a few other steps, but this is still good news. I'm so pleased that in this time of budget cuts and workforce reductions that the US Customs & Immigration Service seems to be operating as we should expect.

The only interesting part of this letter: it says her case will be processed in Vancouver. Christine lives near Calgary. We noted Calgary on our application as the processing center of choice. Vanvouver is 972 km from Calgary, according to Google Maps. Hmmmm.... I may have to make a phone call to figure this one out...

3 years and counting

Here's to 3,000,000,000 more.

Progress!

On Sunday, I opened a letter from US Customs and Immigration Service stating that they'd completed their review of our fiancee visa petition. This doesn't give Christine her visa, but it's one step closer. Once USCIS finished their review, they sent the application along to the National Visa Center and we're supposed to hear from them in 2-4 weeks. Then, it goes along to the US consulate in Calgary where Christine will have to sit for an interview- presumably, they ask all about our relationship and make efforts to verify that we're actually marrying for love and not convenience (which we are- living apart from my partner and fiancee is actually really inconvenient, for a host of reasons I won't go into here).

It was great to see the letter in the mail. I played it cool when I opened it but it did get my heart rate up a little because you have to just wait for the government to contact you during this process. They certainly have thousands of various petitions to review at any given time so that's reasonable I guess, but it makes the waiting a bit longer.

But, we have played by the rules 100% in everything we've done during this process and know that our fairness will be reciprocated throughout the rest of the petition process. And we're excited for the next letter, whenever it comes (please, come soon).

Aw man, I did it again

I've noticed a behavior pattern. I consistently leave huge gaps in this blog, then swear I'll improve at posting, then move right ahead by continuing to suck at posting. And so here we are again with an update of semi-currant news:

- Christine came to Seattle for a week in February, just in time for my birthday. It was the first birthday I've been able to spend with her and it was very cool to have her in my sphere. Plus she made a great designated driver after I got "tricked" into drinking more than I planned, and took very good care of me the next day. Other than that, we had a rightous time together- wedding planning, bike riding, trail running, wine tasting, sleeping in, and an awesome afternoon in West Seattle punctuated by a picnic on the beach. Plus, Horizon Airlines bumped her off her return flight home, so we got one more unplanned night together. We went to Whole Foods, bought beer, went home to watch the Oscars and eat pizza, and laughed so hard our that arms wouldn't work for quite a while.

- Christine's Subaru has a new right side mirror, fog light, some suspension pieces, a bent roof rack, and a really custom paint job after she hit black ice on the highway while going to work and became a passenger in her own car as it went off the road and up on its side. Thank Buddha she wasn't injured beyond general muscle soreness, a result of a mild case of whiplash. She's been receiving physical therapy and theraputic massage, and was back running on the treadmill just over a week later.

Although this whole situation really sucked, there was a fun part: We turned her parents' garage in Calgary into a bodyshop, and spend an entire Saturday (and $64 at Canadian Tire for materials) sanding, masking, priming, painting, and clearcoating parts of the car. And we had a great time doing it together. Christine was in there with me the entire time sanding away and getting dirty, and is definitely better at presicion masking tape work than me. Once we unveiled our work the next day, it was still sort of ugly (our paint match wasn't right) although way better than bare, rusty metal. For working in an unheated garage with one quartz work lamp and a space heater on a ladder to make the primer dry quicker (it was -20 C and blowing snow outside that night), and for doing all the work in about 14 hours, we did really well.

- Wedding planning is a bit brutal right now- we're just not that into it- but we're trying and have regrouped and gotten ourselves back together and on track. We need to pick a caterer really soon, and are doing the best we can while being in different countries. After the catering part is out of the way, I am going to be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Going through all these quotes is mind numbing; you can't directly compare any one to another, and they vary by as much as $7000 depending on the complexity and foofiness of the caterer. Mostly, we're just trying to ensure that we get good food for all our guests, and good service so our families don't have to pick up the slack. If we can accomplish that then we'll be in good shape.

I like words with two ff's in a row

Such as Banff... which is where Christine sneakily reserved us a room last Saturday night in a cool old house that's been converted to a bed & breakfast. After a half day of snowboarding at Sunshine on Friday (and getting stuck in the gondola due to high winds for nearly 1.5 hours), and a great concert in Camore (http://www.myspace.com/brasstronaut - tell a friend), and a badass session of ice skating at the Banff Springs hotel, I thought our weekend was pretty well done for. Little did I know that Christine had bigger and better plans, and guided us to the B&B under the guise of trying to find a shop where we could buy her brother a birthday gift (sorry, Thomas). It was a great surprise; we were able to get a good dinner in Banff that night, and just had a super fun time together. Plus, since every second person in Banff is from the UK, we got to practice our BBC World Report accents after a couple drinks...

Change we can believe in

This is off-topic for our little blog, but I just want to take the time to note that yesterday was a very remarkable day in America because of the inaguration of Barack Obama as our new President. There's a bombardment of hype and editorializing, and I admit that am hard-wired as a skeptic, but it just feels great and I for one am so glad and honored to have that man as our leader. My boss Charlie said it well: our economy runs on perception. Even if that's all that Obama can bring to the table (and I certainly believe he has a heck of a lot more to offer) then as a nation we're already in better shape than we were on Monday.

Another reason I know Christine is awesome

She can cook. Period.

Baked tuna with grapefruit salsa on soba noodles.

Thanks babe!

New Year's Eve

New Year's, while it can be fun, isn't really all that exciting in the broad array of holidays. So instead of trying to party like the rock stars that we are not (yet, anyway) we had a few friends come around to Christine's apartment and kept it mellow.

Mellow... that is, until the Baby Duck came out. Hilarity ensued, including a mission to accomplish some garbage bag sledding. All I can say is mission accomplished. Bear witness:

Gearing up for extreme sledding

Me, smiling, before I sledded my crotch over a rock

I have no idea who these people are...

The Lynch who stole Christmas

After Christine's indoctrination into my family's Christmas celebrations (moderate amounts of food and drink supplanted by a mink bowtie wearing grandfather and a cadre of female relatives who don't care for using indoor voices = fun) last year in Seattle, we decided to shift our yule-ness to the great white north of Calgary. I was very excited to spend my first Christmas with the Lynch family, and even with Seattle's snowy weather I was able to fly to Calgary on Christmas Eve with only a short delay.

Christmas was a very fun affair. I had not seen Christine in about three weeks, and we were so happy just to be together in the same country again. That, in itself, would have been enough of a present for me. However, since other gifts had already been tagged with my name and put under the tree, I would have been foolish to stop there. There were a number of lovely gifts, but I must highlight two in particular: hockey skates, and a down jacket. Receiving those certainly carried my Canadiazation another small step forward.

Christmas day was great- all of Christine's family in Calgary came over to open presents and tuck into the huge feast Bev cooked for us. It was what Christmas is supposed to be- catching up with family, having a few laughs, and enjoying time together. Oh, did I mention that there was snow on the ground? It's rare to have a white Christmas in Seattle, and it was energizing to go for an afternoon walk in the snow before dinner.

If all goes well with Christine's visa application to move to the states, we'll be having Christmas in Seattle again next year, but I for one am looking forward to many more holidays to come in Calgary.

Get down and stay down

Future-wife knows that figure skates are for sisses.

Christine & sister Stephanie

Moving West

So I'm moving west. But not until June/July. We're at the mercy of USA immigration here, so patience is a must.

Andrew went back to a snowy Seattle on Sunday and I started work again on monday (FYI it's in a Provincial {that's state for you Yanks} Park). My job basically consists of educating and entertaining youngsters about the environment. Not a bad gig. But, I am will be leaving in June (I know thats a long time from now, but humour me here)

I'll be moving to Seattle in June & am trying to warm up to the idea of rain and microsoft traffic. I live in a small town. When the train passes I consider it rush hour. I laugh when I watch the Washington State news and hear that schools are closing due to a "threat of snow". Hilarous.

But, I am excited to spend a winter without hitting minus 40 C on the mercury, I will be happy to grocery shop at trader joes, & the idea of green grass year round is appealing.

So I will say goodbye to Alberta- the rusty pontiacs and big trucks. I will say see ya later to the park and my high-waisted uniform pants ( I don't even need to wear a bra). I will say ciao to Canmore with outdoor pond hockey, and expansive mountain views and expensive groceries.

And I will get in the subaru and start my new life as a latte drinking, rain-boot wearing, market-shopping, sea-kayaking, p-patch growing, seahawk loving seattle-lite. But I promise you this. You can take the girl out of Alberta, but you can never take the Alberta out of the girl.

Seriously- is it Christmas already?

So, it seems that when you're traveling back and forth between the US and Canada a lot, working full time, and having fun, blogging is about the least important thing in the world. Hence, the lack of blogging. Oh, did I mention we are getting married? Everyone who might read this already knows about that, so I guess it's old news (but still newsworthy.)

Since the last blog post, Christine has been down in Seattle for our parents' first meeting (it went smooth- no great stories, much to our chagrin), as well as my last vintage race of the year (I waited for nearly five years to get my first win just so I could dedicate it to her.... riiiight...) She's been a few other times as well, including a visit with her friend Ali along as well. I've been up to Canada for Christine's first triathalon (and she made a strong finish, especially with the nagging illness from a particularly rough thyroid infection), and for my first Canadian Thanksgiving (cooked the turkey upside down in for about four hours before we figured it out, but damn was it ever good. Christine's feast was amazing.)

We hiked and jogged our way through summer and fall, and now it's winter. Right, that must mean Christmas. Which just happens to be in two days, and I'm headed to Calgary tomorrow to be with Christine and her family. I have been mired in a packing frenzy for the past two nights, even foregoing poker with all my friends! What dedication. My bags have been packed and balanced using the latest scientific methods, and I am ready to face the huddled masses at Sea-Tac airport tomorrow. Light a candle for me.

It ain't easy being American

Blogging, which I suck at anyway, is even more difficult when Christine and I are doing the "living apart to be together" scenario. She's in Canmore, working and playing hard; I'm in Bellevue, working and playing hard. We can't be together in the same city, same house, same bed right now and it's tough. Adding the blog-o-sphere (I heard that term on CNN) to the multitude of layers we're already dealing with has been one step too far. But don't fret because here's the good news:

1) We are still together.
2) We have some very challenging days, but also some very good days.
3) I've been in Canada twice in the past six weeks, and Christine was here in the states two (or was it three?) times just before that.
4) When we do get to see one another, we still really like it. A lot.
5) When we have to seperate, we still get really sad. A lot.
6) We'll be together in under two weeks (although, we always say something like we'll be together "in 32 minutes" just because it makes it an easier pill to swallow and makes our situation sound momentarily funny.)
7) We have the unconditional support and love from a lot of great friends and family on both sides of the border.

Most of all right now, I miss waking up and going to sleep with my best friend. I can't wait to see her again but I will wait (mostly) patiently until I do.

New Year: Thai-style

Just a reminder that Songkran is only a month away... I can hardly wait to throw water at unsuspecting tourists-and then smear menthol powder all over their innocent faces! This is a photo of Andrew and I celebrating the new year Thai-style 2 years ago. Hard to believe we have sustained living in Asia, camping in Canmore, Christmas-ing in Seattle, beaching it in Australia, living in a van in NZ, and doing the back and forth between Canada and the US for 2 years! Guess it must be love.

Web albums for New Zealand & Australia are up!

http://picasaweb.google.com/morrisonandrew
We invite you to have a gander at these selections from our photo stockpile.

It's about Seattle!

Okay so I haven't yet posted our holiday photos- but they are on Andrew's camera, which is with him in Seattle. So next time he comes to visit (FYI March 25th) we will load them on.
Speaking of Seattle, I just got back from yet another visit out west. I can honestly say that Seattle is starting to feel like a second home. I know where the kids suffering from "hip-ititis" go for their coffee (The Bauhaus), I know where to see a fun all ages show with lots of awkward teens (The Vera project), I know where to get the mini donuts at the market, I frequent Nemos and (before it was closed) the Croc, and I can drive like any Seattlelite- although my first time downtown on a super steep hill in Andrew's car I may or may not have "rode the clutch".

I look forward to Seattle: The green grass, the art museum, the Market, the coffee and the prices. In Canmore where I live, A box of Emergen-C (Vitamin supplement) costs...wait for it..... $27.99!! The same box (without french labeling) in Seattle costs....$8.49! This same formula can be applied to clothes, skis, books, tea, chocolate etc. Needless to say, everytime I leave Seattle I am carrying about 15lbs of vitamins which I dole out to a bunch of near-scurvy Canadians!

The only thing I cannot love about Seattle is the rain. I have seen Seattle in the sun and it is gorgeous, glistening, sparkling, vibrant and happy. However the rest of the time it is perpetually in gray...drizzing, dark, damp, mouldy gray. How do you people do it? Even with an umbrella- how do your pants stay dry? How about your feet....? Are you wearing gore-tex socks inside your dress-shoes? When I am down town in a down-pour I wish I was wearing a rain-suit, but I never see anyone in a rain-suit. How come? Do your offices have clothes dryers that you can use? Do you spray your work skirts with a waterproof technology that isnt yet available in Canada? All I can say is Seattlelites are tough. Sure the roads and schools close when there is more than an inch of snow. And yes, if the temperature goes anywhere below zero (32) the city is pratically in a state of emergency. But to live through 35 days of straight rain is a feat. A feat no true Albertan would know how to achieve.

Has it been over 3 months already?

I realize that the blog has run cold. But I can't be entirely blamed since we aren't really traveling anymore (unless you count going back and forth between the US and Cananda) As you most likely know, Andrew and I have both arrived home - although home for me is not home for him. I am living in Canmore and Andrew is back in Bellevue. We are working on a solution to this little problem and will keep you posted when we finally solve it. For now, we are enjoying the hour long flight and detailed customs questioning.

We spent Christmas together with Andrew's family-there were 15 of us for Christmas dinner...it was a blast. There was an impromptu pageant, delicious food, Andrew's Nepalese sister and of course, plenty of wine! Boxing day (note: I'll explain the origins of this Commonwealth holiday in my next post for all you Americans out there) was spent driving from Seattle to Calgary , a feat which we accomplished in only 13.5 hours! We arrived in Calgary just in time to surprise my family for dinner. I could see the little wheels in my mom's head turning as she realized that she didn't have a bed made up for us, towels laid out, and that she had cooked (gasp) leftovers! After the initial shock and after about 24 hours they were glad to have us back!

After New Years (which we spend working at one of my brothers 'parties- see www.thomaslynchevents.com Andrew made the solo trip back to Seattle (crying the whole way there no doubt) Which brings us to my 25th birthday - which I celebrated with a low-key dinner sans Andrew...

I spent Jan. 25th - Feb. 2nd in Seattle (where I was reprimanded for abandoning the blog - this post is for you Carol!) And started work at the gym in Canmore a few days ago.There you have it- Andrew and I are indeed still alive, and still dating! I hope to put some holiday photos on soon.

Labour weekend in Duntroon

This weekend is Labour weekend in NZ, and we and our flatmates spent a night on Blair's family farm near the town of Duntroon in central Otago. We hadn't been there for 30 minutes before Blair coaxed me to let him pull me through a pasture while sitting on a plastic bucket tied to the back of an ATV. While it's hard to beat that kind of excitement (when you get pitched off the bucket, you go sliding through sheep poos at about 45 km/hr on your back), Blair made a worthy suggestion: hunting pidgeons and rabbits with their shotgun. I won't embellish my shooting skills, except to say this: Andrew -1, Pidgeon that used to live in the hayshed -0. Christine had a go as well, and handled the 12 gauge recoil like a pro. We also had a chance to go boating and enjoy a picnic on the shore of a nearby lake the following day. All in all, a great escape from Queenstown for the weekend.

Chef Christine

We have a problem: we both love food. This might not sound like a problem to most, but for us it's compounded by two things: our budget (food ain't cheap in Queenstown!) and my lack of talent in the kitchen. But I am a blessed man, as Christine enjoys cooking enough that even after putting up with my bullsh*t she still cooks for two. I cannot lie about it- she cooks 98% of the meals (I do the other 2%, but admit that this includes takeaway as well as microwave popcorn) and does a consistently incredible job at it. Our food is always good, always healthy, and I always go back for seconds. I like to do my best to help out though, as evidenced by this photo take by our flatmate Blair. Judging by the utensils I'm holding I'm at least proficient in peeling and stirring, and as all good cooks know that's at least half the battle. Oh, and I'm quite handy at washing dishes too...

Good old Mark

Andrew's buddy Mark from back home is out in NZ on a surfing venture and crashed out with us in Queenstown for a week or so. Since we pretty much have about 3 friends in New Zealand (including ourselves) it was great to see another familiar face, even if he does look a bit handicapped in some (well, all) of the photos. We still love 'im though.

Parental visit!

Christine's parents took their summer holiday in New Zealand this year; after winding their way down the North and South islands, they arrived in Queenstown to spend nearly a week with us. It was so good to have them! Here are a few pics from their time here.

The blog runs cold!

Just because we haven't made a post in two months doesn't mean that we aren't doing anything... it just means we aren't doing much. Actually, that's hardly even a half-truth: we've been very busy with all sorts of diversions, from snowboarding, to visits from friends and family, to a few good parties, to work. However, the past two months have proven one of traveling's most desparaging maxims to be true: that you cannot escape life's routines and drudgeries, no matter where you go. We still have to buy groceries, and pay bills, and put gas in the car, and find time and energy and money to have fun with whatever time is left over. It's been a good lesson though, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Additionally, spring has sprung in New Zealand and the days are getting longer and warmer, and that alone has buoyed our outlook on life a fair bit. It turns out that cold, damp weather is not the best environment for Christine- could this prove to be the final undoing of Andrew's ongoing persuasions for her to move to Seattle someday? Stay tuned...

Kick, Push, Coast

And later that evening... Lupe Fiasco at Snow Park in Wanaka. OK, so sure it was below freezing outside with no hot drinks and nowhere to warm up, and sure there was no vegetarian food at all (which especially sucked if your name is Christine), and sure Christine may have developed frost nip on her left hand... but we saw Lupe do his thing on stage on the side of a mountain in New Zealand and it was awesome. It was just too good an opportunity to miss.

The man is a lyrical genius:

Not at all nervous as he dug to the surface

Tarnished gold chain is what he loosened up the earth with

He used his mouth as a shovel to try and hollow it

And when he couldn't dirt spit... swollowed it

Working like a.. hmm.. reverse archaeologist

Except.. his buried treasure was sunshine

So when some shined through a hole that he had drove

It reflected off the gold and almost made son blind

Freshies at Cardrona

There's nothing more s*** hot about snowboarding than a morning of fresh tracks under blue skies. Our first visit to Cardrona two Saturdays ago treated us well.

4th, not 5th!

It turns out Christine actually placed 4th overall in the banked slalom- the person scored in 1st place was actually not a woman but a man! He had a Japanese name and the judges thought he was a she- which he was not. Sweet!

Lib Tech Banked Slalom at Coronet

We both took part in this great event last weekend. It was based in concept on the world famous Mt. Baker Banked Slalom, but like everything in NZ it was smaller. Significantly smaller. The course was good- tricky snow conditions- but we both rode well. Christine took 5th in the +18 women's division, and Andrew took 14 in the +18 men's (although I'm convinced my time placed me 9th. Oh well.) Good times for all though- if they hold another event this season, we'll be there in force to uphold North America's honor.

The way home

Our trusty Beagle was simply not built to properly handle roads like this, but it's still our favorite way home after snowboarding or work.

Early Morning from Coronet Peak

Another cold, clear morning above Queenstown. This was taken about two weeks ago. Our house is down there somewhere!

Yeah, we're still alive!

We're working like slaves/dogs/banshees (or insert your favorite colloquialism here) right now as it's school holidays in New Zealand and Australia, so the mountain is jam packed with vacationers. The past week was so long that we couldn't bear to go to Coronet to snowboard on our day off, but we're making up for it with riding during the night on Friday and Saturday nights. Hoping to get some good snowboarding photos up here soon!

Brrrrrrrr.....

A Kiwiland travel tip: if you're planning on coming to New Zealand during winter, be sure to pack warm clothes, a thick duvet, a hot water bottle, and an electric blanket. It seems that no houses in New Zealand have central heating, even here in the mountains where it's been below freezing every night for over one month. While it's true that part of the fun of travelling is experiencing the things that you might view as unusual from the perspective of your old life at home, this particular one is not so fun- especially when you get out of bed in the middle of the night and have to walk across the tile bathroom floor to go for a pee. The novelty is wearing off...

Snow!

A quick update to the previous post... the snow did indeed start falling last week and while we could still use more, the season is still in its early stages. The snowfall also coincided with Beagle's battery dying an untimely death as we tried to leave the house to get to work on time. That, combined with the snowfall (Queenstown is like Seattle in that when it snows, everything closes and cars are abandoned all over the place) made for an interesting couople of days. Oh, did I forget to mention that once it was repaired, Beagle was still snowed in, with no chains? G-o-o-d times! Anyway it's all sorted now and life goes on.

June is for... snowboarding?

We logged our first day on the hill this past Saturday. It's nothing like riding in WA or Alberta- no trees and not much snow either! It's pretty much all man made for now but Coronet Peak is the only area open within 5 hours of Queenstown so we're feeling lucky to be able to ride at all. It's still quite a lot of fun and we're praying that (real) snow will fall soon. Yes, I had to pirate this photo but at least it was taken at Coronet! We'll get our own posted soon.

Working at Coronet Peak

Since we've bedded down in Queenstown for the winter, we've also both managed to secure jobs at nearby Coronet Peak ski area for the winter. As we both have a fair amount of professional experience as well as univeristy degrees, you might think that we landed great administrative or manegerial jobs, right? Guess again- Christine works in The Brasserie and Andrew now calls the West End Cafe home. The work is not challenging, glamorous, or well-paying, but we came to the realization that a job is a job and even if it sucks we only have to do it for a few months. And so far, it's actually pretty fun. The job's biggest benefit is that it comes with free season passes to Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, and Mt. Hutt so we'll certainly get our fair share of snowboarding in this winter (or is it summer? I can never remember.)

Moving in and moving up

Let it be known- I no longer force my lovely girlfriend to sleep in a van. Although Beagle has served us well for months, we finally found a place we wanted to stay and as of about two weeks ago have been living in a beautiful home about 10 minutes from downtown Queenstown. The Remarkables mountain range is just outside, so we can moniter the snowfalls from the front door. Our room is spacious, light, and unlike the van, the ceilings are tall enough for me to sit up straight while on the bed. Such luxury! We share the house with a young Kiwi couple, both from Canterbury, and it's a great match. My new roommate Blair and I have discovered that having two women in the same house who both love to cook is only to our benefit.

Hooray for Moms everywhere!

Mother's day was a good one this year as my mom Julie and her friend Carol did 99% of the work. First, they flew to New Zealand to see the country and visit with Christine and me. Second, they took us along for a two day trip to Te Anau and the Milford Sound and this was something that we never expected to do with them! Frankly, we'd wanted to go to Milford for a while but it was a little bit cost prohibitive due to our, ahem, lack of income. I suppose that's just one more thing that moms are there for.

Milford Sound was incredible. Sheer schist cliffs rise vertically hundreds of meters out of the water while waterfalls intersect the landscape. It is very harsh, very dramatic, and although it's a very touristy thing to do (what in New Zealand isn't anway?) our South Island venture would have been very incomplete without it. Thanks again to the moms for taking us along.

Julie and Carol's visit to Queenstown was peppered with plenty of good food and wine, and we shared a few days of great stories and lots of laughs. If anyone out there needs advice on how to maximize your fun while traveling, my advice is to ask your nearest United Airlines flight attendant and they should be able to get you on the right track.

p.s.- if you want to know how to instantly gain a mother's sympathy, try sleeping in your van-which you pretty much live in- on the streets of Queenstown while the mothers rest comfortably in a hotel room two blocks away. That seemed to do the trick for us, anyway.

Netting: It's got to come down

When internet costs up to 8$ an hour, it's easy to let your blog slide...

Where are we now? At a vineyard just outside Queenstown. We've decided to WWOOF (see the link on the side bar) for a few days. Despite our vast differences (Andrew is systematic and..um one could say anal retentive and Christine is somewhat of an organizational disaster) We have managed to work together and bring in hundreds of metres of vineyard netting. Our hosts Russell and Glenda have been most welcoming and gracious, and we are sad to go.

Only in Texas... and NZ

Pink Cadillac, 60" lift, bullhorns on the hood, my girlfriend, enough said.

Rally time

Our visit to Dunedin a little while back "just happened" to coincide with the Rally Otago, which is the first round in the New Zealand Rally Championship. They ran two special stages in the city itself, and the final stage was run around the outside of a horse racing track. While the venue itself was a bit lame, it gave a great view of all the cars without having to hike off into the forests to watch them run. Plenty of modern cars were entered- Subaru STI's, Mistubishi Evo 9's, etc., but the classics were even more fun to watch. A Mk.4 Ford Escort 1800 RS- fully sideways- is Andrew's idea of what rallying is all about.

Inspiring times

A winding drive past Lake Wanaka's north shore delivered us to Mt. Aspiring National Park, one of the south island's most famous wilderness areas. From the road's end, a hiking track took us across a valley floor bordered by dramatic peaks on both sides and inhabited by miscellaneous cattle and flock upon flock of sheep. We never did actually get an opportunity to see Mt. Aspiring as close as we hoped due to cloud cover, but numerous glacier, waterfall, and Kea (the world's only alpine parrot) sightings more than made up for it. Our trails also led us across some of the longer swing bridges in New Zealand, which can be a little unsettling- but fun.

Up high

We did a hike the other day from Queenstown (more on Q-town later) Here are a couple of photos from the top.