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.