Bike tour pics

Surprise birthday trip

At Pacifica restaurant

View from Te Mata Peak

One of the Art Deco style buildings in downtown Napier

Waterfront at Napier

I knew Kris had been planning something special for an anniversary/Christmas/birthday present, but he let me think we were going into Wellington on Wednesday the 29th for a shopping day. Well, Tuesday morning we woke up to torrential rains and fierce winds. Kris suggested we go to a coffee shop, so I loaded up a few things. We stopped by the church, but as we left, he turned the wrong way for the cafe. Here is our conversation:

Megan: "Where are you going?"

Kris: "Oh, I wanted to stop by the pharmacy first."

Megan: "It's a bit out of the way."

(We pass by the pharmacy)

Megan: "You passed it."

Kris: "I know; I just thought we could go on an adventure today."

(thinking that was code for 'I made a wrong turn') "It's not really a great day for an adventure."

He started to drive out of town, so I said "Do I need a camera for this adventure?"

Kris: "Yes; I brought it."

Megan: "But I need batteries."

Kris: "I know, I brought them too."

Megan: "What's going on??"

Finally he told me he was taking me away to Hastings and Napier in Hawke's Bay for a few days! He had everything packed, and I had no idea! Meanwhile, it continued to downpour and blow, and we were forced to turn around due to the pass being closed about 45 minutes into the drive. It was a long detour, but it took us along the stormy, wild ocean! It rained most of the way there, but we enjoyed seeing new parts of the country as we headed north and east. Hawke's Bay is known for its fruit and vegetables, and its vineyards. We stayed at the very dated Angus Inn in Hastings.

We did some shopping (part of my present was shopping for a new outfit), then drove in to Napier and walked along the waterfront and the main shops. The city was destroyed by an 1931 earthquake and fire, and much of it was rebuilt in the Art Deco style.

The next day, my 28th birthday, Kris had booked us a bicycle tour through wine country, which I have wanted to do for years! They set us up with bikes, helmets, a box lunch, water, and a map, and off we went. There were 8 vineyards along the 25 km route, and we stopped at all but one of them. Most of the ride was on paved roads, but occasionally it took us off the roads and through olive groves and apple orchards. We enjoyed tasting the wines and seeing the different styles of tasting cellars, eating our picnic lunch; by the time we hit the last one we were getting a bit "puffed" as they say here. We bought 3 bottles of wine, which the company picked up for us and brought back to their headquarters. It was a perfect day!

After that, we drove up to the summit of Te Mata Peak, which gives 360 degree views of the entire area; it would have been even more spectacular had it been a clear day. For dinner we ate at Pacifica, Napier's "Best Restaurant". The portions were small, but beautifully presented and tasty. After dinner, we spent awhile in the Ocean Spa pools, a nice end to our day of riding.

The next day we walked through the Centennial Gardens near the beach, and discovered a really cool waterfall and pond. We walked down the street to the St. John the Baptist Anglican Cathedral. It was really interesting to see pictures of it after the destruction and rebuilding after the quake. We did some more shopping, visited Opossum World (complete with possum sweaters and a history of possums in NZ), and ate lunch at an Irish pub. On the way out of town, we stopped at the Silky Oak Chocolate Museum, "the only chocolate museum in the southern hemisphere". Unfortunately it wasn't worth paying the admission, so I just ate some chocolate instead! We also stopped at a couple of the many fruit stands along the highway for some fresh cherried and broccoli.

It was a wonderful trip and I loved being surprised! In our travels so far, we have always enjoyed the places but come away with a renewed appreciation for Lower Hutt as our home.

Kiwi Christmas

We initially had a hard time feeling like it was almost Christmas, for several reasons--warm weather, no family, not buying Christmas gifts, few decorations (though we did receive a lovely tree!). It did help when I found a US radio station to stream live Christmas music to my computer. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I really was able to turn my attention more to "the reason for the season", the fact that Jesus is with us. For that reminder, I am thankful.

Knox had a Christmas Eve service, a family service focused on the kids. They played a funny video of the Christmas story acted out with Legos, there was a song and dance routine, some Christmas carols (2 of which were sung differently than we know them), and a silly skit put on by Kris and one of the other children's leaders. That evening, the four of us had a nice meal of ham, asparagus, sweet potato casserole (people here can't imagine sweet potatoes with marshmallows and brown sugar!), creamy veggies, and brandy snaps for dessert.

On Christmas morning, a beautiful sunny day, we attended church again (another new thing for us), with more carols and a message about Jesus. After the service we went home and Skyped our families, though it was still Christmas Eve for them. We had Christmas lunch at the pastor's house--lamb with mint sauce and gravy, potatoes and sweet potatoes, cranberries, peas, asparagus, and strawberry spinach salad. The best part was the dessert--a yummy pavlova with ice cream, hot raspberry sauce, and chocolate shell syrup! We had a lovely afternoon with them, and we are blessed to be well taken care of by them. All in all, though it was a different Christmas than we are used to, it was very special!

The day after Christmas is Boxing Day, which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. For some crazy reason, we decided we needed a few things from the mall, so we braved the traffic downtown and in the parking garage, and then braved the foot traffic in the mall. I have to say that rivals the Black Friday madness in the US!

NZ (500 photos), by Megan Longenecker

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Gone Tramping

Top 2 pics are from the hike on Saturday, the bottom 3 are from Friday's hike in Eastbourne.

Fridays are Kris' day off, so we usually sleep in a bit and then go to a cafe for breakfast. This week we went to Petone, which is at the south end of town along the waterfront. It's a cute area with lots of cafes and boutique shops. After walking the length of Jackson Street, we settled on Mr. Bun...bad decision! Greasy eggs and bacon and really bad coffee. But that's all part of the adventure, finding a new place to go every week! From there we drove around the harbor to Eastbourne, across the harbor from Wellington; it only takes about 10-15 minutes. It was a gorgeous day! We took a short hike up to the trail that runs along the ridge, with great views of the Hutt Valley, Welly, and the Strait. After that, we drove out beyond Eastbourne til the road ends, and we walked the gravel path along the beach that eventually leads to a lighthouse at Pencarrow Head (we're saving that for another day, when we can go out with bikes). We really love the Eastbourne area!

Saturday morning we went to the big farmer's market with Matt & Ang; you can buy everything there, it's kind of overwhelming. Way cheaper than buying from the grocery stores. From there we drove out past Wainuiomata, about 30 minutes to Rimutaka Forest and the Orongorongo Trail. This was a 10 kilometer round trip tramp along a stream, through all kinds of trees and ferns, opening up into a big river valley. We have had unbelievable weather, apparently much warmer for longer periods of time than usual for this time of year. Being outdoors like that nourishes my soul and reminds me how awesome our Creator is!

P.S. "Tramping" = "hiking"

An update on jobs: I had an interview at a women's gym last week, for a position of fitness consultant. It's very similar to a personal trainer: assessing new members, learning about their current level of fitness and their goals, designing an exercise and nutrition program, regular coaching/training sessions, and some small group exercise classes (5-8 people). The interview went really well, and I have a second interview tomorrow morning. I think this would be an enjoyable job, a way to combine my experiences in the health industry with my passion for helping people get well physically.

On Sunday, Kris preached his first sermon at Knox, about taking hold of God's vision for our lives. Call me biased, but I think he was awesome!