Australia Trip (via New Zealand)

As are most things in life, it's not about the end result but the journey you took to get there.  The trip we have been waiting for so long has finally happened. 

It took us on the longest trip we've ever done together in both distance and duration.  It included flights across the US and over the Pacific.  It also included quite a few other flights, van rides, boat rides, and hikes within The Sunburnt Country. 


Let's just say that the trans-Pacific flight, Gillies highway in Queensland, and the fast boat ride back from the outer Great Barrier Reef almost got the best of us (one of us more than the other).

While there were those few challenging pieces, the majority of our travels were a breeze as Jolene did the majority of the coordination.  There is something about traversing a country where everyone speaks your primary language, has a solid infrastructure, and is full of helpful, pleasant, outgoing people that makes everything seem nearly effortless.

We decided to be clever and take advantage of the long travel by utilizing a long layover to cross another country off our list.  We had about 12 hours in between our morning arrival in Auckland, New Zealand and evening departure to Sydney so we made the best of it. (I had read about someone taking advantage of long layovers to enhance a trip so I made an attempt at it).  While our bags stayed at the airport, we were able to take a bus downtown early that morning and enjoy a day in the city.  While the day started with a little bit of rain it quickly cleared after breakfast and we were able to go to the top of a Sky Tower to get a great view of the lay of the land and the harbor.  We also visited Albert Park, Kia Ora (Art Gallery), the maritime museum, and had a great lunch at Degree on Hobson Wharf where I got to cook my own meat out of all local ingredients.

After Auckland our route was a clockwise journey through Sydney, Melbourne, Uluru, Cairns, and then back to Sydney.

Let the journey begin.

Accidental Rock Collection (Part 3)

As usual, a few extra rocks have snuck into the collection.  There are definitely a couple honorable mentions in this group as their story differs from what has become the norm. 

The first is from the Black Hills of South Dakota.  I don't usually keep rocks that I didn't get myself but in this case it was sent to me from my parents from their travels accompanied with an endearing note tied to the history of Native Americans and that area.

The second is a rock that is NOT part of the collection.  As requested by the Anangu people of the Northern Territory of Australia I did not climb Uluru nor did I keep a rock.  Respect.

1. Auckland, New Zealand (wharf)
2. Cairns, Queensland, Australia (Barrine Crater Lake)
3. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Blue Mountains)
4. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (near St. Patrick's)
5. Seattle, WA, USA (Eagle's Peak near Mt. Rainier)
6. Black Hills, SD, USA (fragment of rock created when working on the Mount Rushmore / Crazy Horse Memorial)

One Year... Who's Counting?

 

We made it!  One year of marriage! It's been a great year and we look forward to at least one more year of happiness :)

We celebrated our Anniversary weekend by relaxing at a local vineyard and sampling some wine yesterday, followed by dinner at Chauhan Ale & Masala House (a fantastic Indian Fusion Restaurant in our old hood).  My mom did an excellent job at preserving our wedding cake topper, so we'll be keeping that tradition by sampling it tonight.  Here's hoping it still tastes good!

Seattle, WA

 

Mike has been working on a new Cloud Project for work which has had him traveling between Nashville, Chicago and Seattle recently.  Since he had two scheduled back to back weeks planned in Seattle, I flew out to see him to spare him another long trip home.  We caught Seattle in its best possible conditions. Three days of 75 degree weather and no rain in sight.  We stayed by Lake Union downtown allowing us to cover all the famous sites those of us who grew up in the Northeast have heard about.


We made it to the fish market, the first Starbucks, and of course the Space Needle.  Mike quickly jumped into his first break from work in the Pacific Northwest and wore his new Space Needle t-shirt everywhere.  There were also quick stops at the zoo, aquarium, science center and a boat ride through the Puget Sound.

The trip was topped off with a trip out to Mt. Rainer National Park and an amazing but strenuous 11 mile hike up to Eagle Peak.  The views were incredible and the final trek through the deep snow to the peak really did solidify the accomplishment of the long, steep climb to the top.  There was a 71 year old couple that also did this climb that day and they try to do it every year.  I've decided that it's a goal of mine that Mike and I have a similar tradition in the years to come.  I will start looking into what will be "our" hike shortly...

Kris Visits The Volunteer State

Nothing is more of a roller coaster than a visit from the little sister.  I'm not going to lie, it took some arm twisting to get her to finally visit.  After she arrived at 6am (I picked the flights!), we took her to the infamous Pancake Pantry for breakfast, then quickly jumped into the full Nashville scene.

We started off with the Country Music Hall of Fame followed by some live music and beverages downtown.  As has become a pattern with guests, I snuck out for an hour or two and put Jolene in charge of showing Kris the rest of downtown.  This of course led to more live music and a break at Jackalope Brewery in our old stomping grounds.  I captured a moment that I'll remember forever known as, "Get off my red couch!!!". 

To round off the trip we threw in some classics.  We hit the Nashville zoo where Kristina got to pet her first kangaroo followed by some super competitive family trivia.  There was some name calling that I'm not proud of as we raced for all the trivia wedges but a win is a win.

 

 

 

To completely take advantage of our guest I also had her help me prep for my big presentation coming up two days later.  Her advice hopefully kept me from making a complete fool of myself and was much appreciated.
 

Monday Night Football (Nashville, TN)

In what became the coldest game ever played at LP Field the Steelers beat the Titans 27-24.  The theme of the second half was Le'Veon Bell running right down the middle.  He ran for 196 yards between the tackles which was a season high for all running backs through week 11.

It was definitely nice to get a taste of Pittsburgh in the South and we even got to attend a tailgate with one of Jolene's coworkers.  The opportunity to pregame with some ribs and lobster in a group of warm tents made the evening go even better.

Although we did pretty well dressing in layers of clothes I will still seriously consider dressing like Chewbacca for my next winter game.  I didn't even know that was an option until now!





 

Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom (Business Trip)

Another example of how the world is a small place.  I had the chance to head back to Ipswich for the week to meet with a group I had worked with in the past.  More importantly it gave me the chance to hit all my favorite pubs (Ploughman's) and restaurants (Zaika) and to stay at one of our favorite hotels (Salthouse Harbour Hotel).

It was definitely interesting to wander the town, a place that had only a couple years ago seemed so foriegn no longer felt strange at all.  Below is a re-creation of an infamous picture taken originally two years prior.  Something about this giant gold scorpion tells me this is a place I could live long term.