Christy's first post

I should probably point out that as I type this I am overlooking one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. I think there will probably be descriptions of it coming. I can tell already that this trip is going to be a good one.

I arrived in Auckland at 5-something on Halloween morning, fumbled my way through customs... forgot to declare my tent, they saw it on the x-ray, pulled me aside and asked if I was aware that it was a 200 dollar fine to not declare something they so clearly (they did) spelled out as one of the must-declare items... I had to wait an hour past all the other passengers to get it figured out. All for a tent that my dad couldn't believe I was taking the effort to bring because it cost (10 years ago when we bought it) something near 50 bucks. We'll keep our loyal blog followers updated on whether or not our little tent proves itself as worthy in the coming months. In the end, I wasn't charged the lying fee and the girls were late to the airport anyway so everything worked out.

We left the airport with me very confused about which side of the road we were driving on. I understand the basic left side of the road while you're driving stuff, but where it get's tricky is intersections, roundabouts, or (the worst of them all) u-turns. Basically every reflex I've been programmed to drive with is backwards. I haven't driven yet. We'll also keep our followers updated on that topic.

We are currently staying in Whangarei with friends of Lauren's older brother. Their house is a marvel. Within minutes of getting here Danielle and I were walking our laptops around the house showing our mothers the view(s) via Skype video chatting. Danielle (timidly pronounced Dani-ell now that we're in a place that is nationally confused by the name) also gave her mom, an interior designer, a tour of the beautiful house. Surprisingly I skipped it for my real estate agent mother... sorry Mom, another time. For what it's worth, we could be staying in a dungeon and still be happy with this family, Suzanne, Paul, Emily (12) and Louis (9). They have been very welcoming and have handled the daunting task of playing host for four girls to an impressive degree. They have been very patient in letting us get our game fix by playing cards with us. I taught Emily the only card trick I know, which she in turn wonderfully showcased at our dinner last night. I'm really pulling for breaking the Bananagrams out today, Emily is fighting for Monopoly, but between our hiking, slacklining, and surf lession plans (Danielle teaching Louis) I'm not sure when we're going to have the time. Tough life.

We got to meet their American neighbors,Vic and Trisha, who sailed to New Zealand 20 years ago after previously living in Morro Bay (12 miles from San Luis Obispo) and Port Townsend (home base for my mom's side of the family), and somewhere close to where Danielle and Megan are from in Washington. We were pretty excited about those connections. Trisha and Suzanne showed us how to weave flax, maybe comprable to reeds used to weave baskets, and we've become so good that I'm sure everyone can expect flax laundry hampers from us as Christmas gifts. Vic and Trisha came to dinner last night with their sons, Simon and Justin. We had a FEAST of freshly caught something-or-other fish that I didn't quite catch the Maori name for but I think it loosely translates to deep sea bass. Paul made ceviche, a favorite of ours from past travel experiences in Latin America. We've been working out caving plans with the boys for tomorrow (I'm telling you, it's a tough life here) and made sure to get contact information for as many future connections as possible from Vic and Trisha. We also had some very inspiring converstaions with them about possible future plans (working on a boat, anyone?)