The long trip home

We are all packing up getting ready for our long journey home. We check out of the hotel at noon and will get some lunch. From there we get picked up from our hotel at 1:50 to go to the Queenstown airport. Our flight is to Auckland and we leave at 3:20. The LA flight is around 7:00 something. Arrive in LA at 10:00 a.m. and then off to Phoenix at Noon arriving at 3:00. I think it works out to about 24 hours of travel time. I'm exhausted already.

I had a wonderful trip but I am excited to get home to see my family and sleep in my own bed. In Queenstown, Helen, Jennifer and I have all been sleeping in the same room. A little too small for all of us.

Peter - Didn't you know I had super powers? I can do practically anything I put my mind too. I look forward to seeing you and TR when I get back.

Lord of the Rings

I only have a couple minutes but I wanted to give you a quick update. Today we went on the LOTR Tour and it was awesome. We were in a 4WD vehicle and got to see some romote locations. Awesome. At one point I was almost moved to tears. Maybe I'm just tired but I was moved by the beauty of what I was seeing. I have to bring my family back. I am already mapping out the locations in my head.

A fun point in the trip was when we were panning for gold. Helen was really into it. She found a fleck of gold loved it. She carefully wrapped it up in a kleenex to bring home. The whole rest of the trip she was asking about gold. Pretty cute.

The Downes and Rosier/Giff were split up for the tour today. We went in opposite directions. Sounds like theirs was good too.

Tomorrow is our last tour (Boat ride to a farm) and then we have a long trip home the next day. I think we will be travelling almost 24 hours until we get back to Phoenix. I have a couple good books lined up. So far I think I have read 5!

It is pouring in Queenstown

So I didn't go with the jet boat crew. I slept until 9:00 and took a nice long shower. Jennifer and the Downes went on a jet boat. Around 9:00 I woke up b/c of the rain! I could hear it pouring outside. I went down and got my coffee and got on line. You should have seen the crew coming back from their adventure. They were completely SOAKED! They were all laughing hysterically. It looked like fun but I think I made the right choice.

I'm getting ready to exchange a little more US cash for NZ cash. We have two and half days here and we are trying to map out our possible expenses. We don't want to have too many NZ dollars in our pockets when it is time to leave.

I'm glad we are on the real bus today and not a convertible bus. It should be pretty even in the rain.

I miss my family terribly but I am enjoying every minute of this place. I feel very fortunate to be able to go this trip with some of my best buddies.

Poor Bambi!

Today on the convertible bus tour we saw beautiful sheep farms and deer farms! Poor Bambi! The deer were in a field fenced in like we would cows, pigs and sheep. It was sad to see. Deer are supposed to be running around wild and free. I guess it is just how you look at it. Brad had some Bambi the other night for dinner. He said it was very good. Maybe I should give it a try?

After the bus tour we went up on the gondola. It was pretty. The highlight was the luge. It was so fun we went twice. I had to comfort Jennifer. She was scared to ride the ski lift. Good thing I'm so brave!

Tomorrow is Lord of the Rings tours. FUNSVILLE! The rest of the crew is going on a jet boat in the morning but I think a sleep in day is just what I need. Only a couple more days until I can see my family!

The convertible bus was nice

Today we saw Queenstown on an old convertible bus. It was nice. It makes me want to get convertible and cruise around town. We went to 3 art galleries, wine tasting and to lunch in a cute town called Arrowtown. One of the art stops was a jewelry maker. We each got some nice items. Wait until you all see Jennifer's beautiful ring. It was a nice slow day. We are taking a quick break and are going to go up to the top of the mountain on a gondola. We may luge down. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Our final stop - Queenstown

We are at our last location - Queenstown. I'm very excited that we are here. We have a small room but it overlooks the beautiful lake. It is a nice way to end the trip. As we were driving on the bus today we saw waterfalls, lush forest mountains, and beautiful lakes. It was a very nice drive.

Tomorrow we do an art and wine tour in a convertible bus. I am really excited about it. I think it will be a fun way to see the city. The next day is Lord of the Rings tour. FUNSVILLE.

We are all getting tired. I'm glad we have some time to relax.

We will report back soon.