Checking in

I know we've been bad about posting lately, so wanted to pop in and let you all know what's been keeping us. Sadly, it is not because we've been too busy having fun - the truth is that March is our "busy season" at work over here. This is nothing compared to what busy season meant back in the States, but it does mean that we work late a couple nights a week and generally work a bit on Sunday.

It hasn't been all work and no play though - my Vespa was dropped off on Tuesday and I've been scootin' around Devonport whenever I can.  Rob doesn't have a helmet yet (and we never, ever, ever ride without a helmet), so it's been just me for now, but we're hoping to remedy that this weekend.

We have a lot scheduled for April -so stay tuned!  Until then, check out my new commute!  Not too shabby.

Vespa to ferry to city - best commute ever!

Coromandel weekend

Last weekend we rented a bach (Kiwi for "rental house") with a couple of friends on Cook's Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, which is a 2-3 hour drive from Auckland.

Unfortunately, I caught a pretty terrible cold a couple days before we left, and was still in pretty bad shape by the time the weekend rolled around. I tried to take it easy, but did manage to get a few adventures in - we did some boogie boarding at Hot Water Beach (in some of the biggest waves I've ever seen) and I tried sea kayaking for the first time. We forgot to bring our waterproof camera, so we don't have very many pictures from the weekend, but we did kayak into a cave, which was pretty neat.

Funnest grocery run ever - short (2-3 minute) ferry ride to Whitianga, then rented a bike car for the 1km trip to the grocery store! Also stopped at a cute produce stand for some fresh avocados and tomatoes. We introduced our Kiwi friends to American-style taco night. They loved it!

Sea kayaking, Cook's beach, and a traffic jam caused by cows

Valentine's Getaway

I have always had a strong dislike for Valentine's Day - it makes single people feel bad about themselves and makes couple people feel weirdly obligated.  But this year I realized something - if life hands you an excuse to celebrate, take it!

So this year, Rob and I used Valentine's Day as an excuse to go back to Rotorua! On our way we stopped at the Big Sheep, which is something I've wanted to see for a while. Their yarn selection was disappointing (and nearly nonexistent), but it was a good place to stop for lunch. They also have the Big Dog next door.

While we were there, we thought we'd give sledging a try as well. To some people, sledging is the same as sledding. To Kiwis, it is white water rafting on a one-person sled. It's one of the more extreme sports I've ever tried, and I'm proud to say that I escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises (although I did hit one rock so hard that it scraped my knee through my wet suit - owwww).

Above: Pictures of sledging I stole from google images. They are not messing around!  Below: A much-deserve post-sledging beer flight at Rotorua's only brew pub (cleverly named "Brew")

And then Sunday was luging! As some of you may recall, we went luging during our Christmas travels and had the best time! We kept making jokes that it was like Mario Kart, and so I had the oh-so-brilliant idea of making Rob hoodie of his favorite Mario Kart character, Yoshi (I bought a green hoodie and added red spikes) and dressing up as my favorite Mario Kart character, Toadette.

If you know nothing about Nintendo, you may find these pictures confusing and slightly disturbing, but rest assured - they are awesome.

Our inspiration

To the left: Another excellent eHarmony picture for Rob. To the right: Bowser

Just in case you forgot that this is also an absolutely breathtaking area to spend a day (on the luge ski lift)