A new chapter: New Zealand: Finally another post...

Auckland is filled with rainbows

Time has been flying by with fun filled adventures here in New Zealand. JC and I had planned a trip to New Plymouth since JC was on school holidays, but this quickly changed when his professors loaded him with work and projects. We think they were mad to not have a break and therefore wanted JC to work work work instead of play. Anyways, Thursday was "memorial day" for New Zealand and our friends Marianne and Bryan invited us to join them for a day at Pahi Beach. We enjoyed the day walking around and joining in on a memorial ceremony on the beach. On the way home we stopped by other beaches and found an incredible waterfall. Bryan's family came to our home to finally see where we lived and to have dinner. It felt great to have his family in our home as they feel like family to us. Saturday we went to Matakana which is an hours drive from Auckland. The market was lovely with a down home kinda feel. We grabbed a slice of pizza from the wood oven pit located next to the river stream. JC also bought me some beautiful flowers which I am still enjoying. After the market we decided to make the most of our trip with of coarse... wine touring. Our second stop was to Heron's Flight. We were met outside by the Italian pizza maker and his wife from the market. The vineyard was owned by an American and Kiwi lady. We got to taste some of the best red wine which was made with their Italian variety of grapes. I don't really like red wine but this vineyard changed my perspective! We were invited to hang out as the Italians made pizza on an outside oven at the wine maker's home. We had an amazing time hanging out and talking with the owners and Italians. The oven was a work in process as it took awhile to heat, but the end result was a great pizza lunch with incredible red wine! We met others who came by the vineyard and it was a fun filled afternoon that we surely had not planned on. Sunday JC stayed in to finish up projects and I decided to go on a little road trip. I have heard so many great things about Howick which is 30 minutes away from Auckland. So... I went to check out the area. I enjoyed my road trip and loved the town. Sunday night I put JC up for a putt putt challenge. We played a round of putt putt and yes... the winner was JC! We finished our date night with eating at one of our favorite restaurants in Mission Bay called, Mama Mia. After dinner we walked Mission Bay to find the "BEST" frozen yogurt place ever! As you never know what you might find in the city, we walked along the coast to find an ice skating rink! We decided to pass on the opportunity as I could see JC getting a nice chiropractic adjustment. This week has been back to normal as JC is in school. I have been enjoying going to yoga everyday and working out. Schools have been on holidays so my search will begin again next week. It has been nice to have a break from the almost impossible job journey. But as Aerosmith sings, "Life's a journey, not a destination."