New Zealand, here I come - back

When I visited New Zealand the first time, back in 2010, I started this blog.  The hope was that it could be a way for people back home, friends and family wherever, to come along with me and enjoy the adventure.  Little did I know how many people would participate and follow.  Little did I realize how much fun it would be to take the photos, write the stories and share them.

In past years, before the internet, and before digital photography, I always carried a camera, and wrote a journal of each day's activities in the evening while it was fresh in my mind.  As soon as the pictures were developed, I carefully documented what each one was about, so that my daughter and I could enjoy them again years later.  And it has been wonderful to look at those photos and stories again, bringing back memories that time had faded.  But the reach of that was limited.  We are so blessed to be able to now record so much of our memories so quickly and easily with the use of digital photography and blogging!

Since then, I have also worked hard, and continue to work hard, to step up my game and learn how to better capture the scenes that I visit.  As an apprentice in The Arcanum - a "Magical Academy of Artistic Mastery" - I am learning so much about light, colour, art, and the craft of photography from the master that I'm working with, +Laurie Rubin and learning almost as much from other masters and the other apprentices.  My goal is to become completely comfortable and confident about shooting my next adventure.

And my next adventure will be......ta da da da.... New Zealand!  Back where it all started.  And this is a little story in itself.

My friend Linda was one of those original tagalongs - virturally - on my first sojourn over to the other side of the globe.  It has been a lifelong dream of hers to visit NZ, and when I returned, she said - 5 years, give me 5 years and then I'll go.  Would you come along?  Of course I would.  So a couple of months ago, she reminded me that the 5 years was up, and we needed to go to NZ.  Yes, that's right.  Need, not Want.  Kiwi country calls loud and clear for those who listen, and when you answer, it's like a rope connecting you, and it just keeps pulling you in.

So, planning has commenced.  This blog will now be part of our way to track those plans, and then the trip, and hopefully pull some more people in and along.  No tickets yet, but dates are tentatively set, and we are sooooo excited!

Right now it looks like 2 weeks (not nearly enough), and hitting:
Wellington, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Stewart Island, Te Anau, Fjordlands, Queenstown, Twizel, and Middle Earth.

Can't wait to see the sky set ablaze over The Remarkables

Thank goodness for a little extra income from +Rodan + Fields !!!

The last leg

Well, dear diary, I'm home again.  Didn't post yesterday but I don't want to lose the experience.  Even though it seems a bit mundane, the last few hours of driving from an outlet mall (essentially) to the place I usually call home, was all part of this particular road trip Peter Pan adventure.  So....

First, now that I have a good connection, I need to upload my photos from the Friday drive through North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Wow, did I really drive through 4 states in one day?  Sounds like a movie.  Whatever.

  Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, where the guy was sleeping in his jeep.  At least I think he was sleeping.  There was no blood dripping down from the bottom of the door like you would see in Criminal Minds.  But you never know...

The New Gorge River bridge that I drove across that felt like it was a bridge across the sky.  The first picture is taken from the top of the stairs at the adjoining visitor center (I didn't go into the park, now on the bucket list!) looking toward the bridge.  After descending the stairs, which only go down about 200 ft - the bottom of the gorge is 600 ft down - I took the second shot looking left.  600 ft is a looong way down.

  

Young's Monument, WV, where a scenic lookout provided a lovely non-snowy winter vista, with the sunlight highlighting a distant rise.  

Now for the drive home.  When I left on Dec. 24, it was in the high teens Celsius, and the forecast was for the temps at home to be around the freezing mark.  So I had packed what I thought was enough warm clothes.  But it's cold here (in Grove City), the temperature has dropped (for me) about 25 C in the last 24 hours.  Savannah was hot and sticky when I left early Thursday afternoon, and I had been driving with the windows down and sunroof wide open most of the way to Winston-Salem, where it was about 9 C when I arrived.  That's chilly enough, but now... well, a windbreaker and sweater are just not going to cut it, and as it turns out, I've had a blowout in my favourite gloves.

So it's a good thing that there's an outlet mall just down the street and on the way to the highway, and they have a 75% off sale on just about everything.  Old Navy, here I come.  I find a lovely winter wool jacket for $13.99 (yes, you saw that right), and a warm fuzzy pullover for $3.99 (yup) and a couple of other goodies.  Next stop is G.H. Bass & Co., where I find two pairs of leather gloves at $14.99 a pair.  I know, right?

Off I go up the highway, and it looks like I might even be able to pick up the cat a little early.  At 11 a.m., little miss GPS (have to come up with a name for her, like Queen GPS) tells me that I should arrive at home about 3:15.  Cool.  I can take my time, maybe even stop for lunch, although the hotel included a hot buffet breakfast.  

I-79 North is mostly barren of traffic, or any life at all.  Still haven't seen any snow, anywhere, on this trip, although that's been largely due to the planning of my routes to avoid precipitation.  I'm about 15 miles south of Erie, PA when I start seeing a bit of white, just a dusting really, and still nothing in the air.  Hop on the I-90 toward Buffalo, start seeing a bit more, but nothing serious.  Then about 10 miles out from Buffalo, there's a sign that reads "Lake Effect snow ahead, reduce speed", and it starts to snow.  Not just snow, but sleet.  It's been a while since I've HEARD snow hitting the car, but this snow was downright noisy.  Not freezing rain, little white pellets (not hail either).  And traffic slows.  Good thing I have extra time!

But not really, although it gets worse and worse the closer I get to the city, and at one point I see a tractor trailer across the median, with the back tires of the trailer on one side of the median and the front tires of the tractor on the other side of the median, and not much underneath, and a lot of skid marks.  A bit further on, in the collectors lanes, there are two vehicles smashed into the guardrail, facing the wrong direction.  Traffic slows a bit more.

As I approach the city proper, the weather doesn't just clear up, it becomes almost dry.  Awesome!  The remainder of the trip is completely uneventful, and I have arrived to pick up Simba about half an hour early, and feeling like I've just had probably the best vacation ever.

Next blog post - interesting things seen on the road (that didn't make the daily post), and tips for making a road trip safe and enjoyable.  Home again - and planning the next one already.  Sigh.  

Historic Savannah

Wake up in Savannah GA with no fog, and only five hours of driving ahead of me.  That means if I get my butt out of bed quickly, I can take in a trolley tour.  A number of trolleys (many of them refurbished from days gone by) tour the city driven by knowledgeable guides, following specific routes and stopping at specific points, and they run at 15 minute intervals.  You can hop on and off, take in the sights, shop in the market, take photos, have lunch, then jump back on the next one and continue the tour.  Fabulous, and reasonably priced.

The tour I take is Old Town Trolley Tours, for two reasons.  The first is that they have a nifty GPS tracker system, just scan the QR code on the tour map you get, and it connects you with a schedule for the next trolley at your location, even gives you updated changes to the route.  This was important today as the City Market got blocked off for traffic for this evening's New Year's Eve festivities, and the tour route changed by a block or two.  The second reason is that they also operate tours in a number of other cities, many of which I would love to visit some day (and almost did on this trip).

The tour guides are very entertaining, and provide great details about this very old city with a rich history.  Rich for sure.  Historical, wow.  And I finally get some decent photos of some of the historical and Victorian homes of the south (note that all of these are SOOTC).

  

  

There are so many other wonderful pieces of the city, and if it wasn't for the cars, it might seem like you were stepping back in time, with the brick roads, cobblestone streets, old cotton warehouses, markets, and parks.

      

   

After a light lunch on a patio (how did I manage to find a patio table?) on the riverfront, Blackened Tuna Bites with a chipotle sauce and avacado mash, I finish the tour and fire up the GPS to take me to Winston-Salem, NC.

The first leg of the journey takes me over a very high, very long suspension bridge - of course I can't grab pictures because I'm driving - that is gorgeous.  Here's a stock photo from waymarking.com to give you an idea of what it was like:



Once on the other side, I find that I am no longer in Georgia, but in South Carolina.  Thank goodness I bought this GPS - it is talking me through the entire trip.  If I'm hungry, I ask it for restaurants, it remembers the ones I choose for faster navigation later, and tells me important things like to slow down in school zones.  It shows me little icons where gas stations are, including what brand (if it knows it).  Love it.

The drive is easy all the way to Davidson, NC, just north of Charlotte.  There is a large lit sign by the highway indicating an accident ahead at exit 30 that is blocking both lanes.  Traffic slows to a crawl a couple of miles later, and after about 20 minutes, a tow truck and ambulance passing on the right, and no change to the crawling pace, my trusty GPS suddenly announces that I-77 has been closed and that it was calculating a new route for me.  Love it.  So I inch across to the right lane and take the next exit (which is before the accident), and little Miss GPS guides me around Davidson to the second exit after the accident and I'm on my way.  I tried giving the GPS a high-five but it just kind of bobbed on it's little stand.

Arrive in Winston-Salem, and it's much bigger than I expected.  There's a very tall building with a rounded shape on top that is brightly lit.  It will be interesting to find out what it is (Wells Fargo Center).  The hotel that I booked is really a conference center, The Hawthorne, and it's quite nice.  After the last couple of nights, my fondest hope is that I get decent wi-fi,  My wish comes true when I see that the WAP unit is attached to the ceiling in the hall - right above my room door.  Wonders never cease.

Tomorrow is a long drive up to Grove City, PA, and tonight is New Year's Eve.  Tomorrow is the beginning of a New Year, one which promises to bring many wonderful opportunities.  I hope that I am able to see them all, and grab all of them and make the most of each one.  I hope that more travel is in the future, and more photography, and more precious time with children and grandchildren, family, friends, love and life.  

The scent of Magnolia

In the true spirit of a journal...

Dec. 26, 2015 - Charleston SC

7 a.m.  - Awake feeling refreshed and ready to explore.  Great bed for a hotel, and that's what matters when you're traveling, not whether the wallpaper is peeling in the bathroom.  The fog has once again taken over (what's with me always managing to find places with poor visibility when I travel?) but it's supposed to clear.  Hope to get out to one of the plantations.

9:30 - finished breakfast, still so foggy that the "riverview" restaurant on the 15th floor shows only pure white outside.  Plantation tours run all day, so will take some time now to clean lenses, backup SD cards to the laptop, and recharge batteries.

10:30 - fog starting to lift, so I make a reservation for one of the plantation tours.  20 minutes later the swamp on the other side of the road is visible from the hotel room window, and I can see several ibis grazing in the marsh grass.  Another 10 minutes later and the sun is shining, the fog should clear completely soon!  I get down to the lobby to meet the driver, and step outside into - omg I should have worn shorts and a tshirt!  It's very humid so good thing it's only about 75 F.  But wow does it ever feel great to be in the warm sunshine.

12:00 - At the Visitor Center, downtown Charleston, getting on a shuttle to the Magnolia Garden Plantation.  My pass includes a tour of the house and a train ride through the Audubon Swamp, where hopefully we will see a couple of alligators and other wildlife.  It's about a half hour's drive, and the driver promises I will get lots of pictures.  On the way, I see the odd small tree loaded with large red or dark pink blooms, but the driver does not know what they are.  The other shuttle passengers think it might be camellia, which I've never seen before to my knowledge.  Gorgeous.

12:30 - Arrive at the Magnolia Plantation, 500 acres of the original 2000, where the Drayton family (who still owns it, the only original owner left in the area) to explore.  I start in the garden as my ticket for the train tour is for the 1:30 train, and the house is at 2:30.  Yes, they are camellia and there are several varieties here at the plantation garden.  And other flowers blooming too, azaleas and magnolias (I think, they smell wonderful!), pansies, snapdragons, sweet william, those are just the ones I recognized.  If I let myself daydream for a few minutes, I could easily be a southern belle walking through the garden with my beau, with a parasol on my shoulder to keep the warm southern sun off my delicate face.  Bahahaha!  Ya right.  Ok, back to reality.  Camera comes out, and catches this little beauty, among others.

There are probably an hour's worth of pathways through the garden, plus a conservatory, but have to get back to catch the "train".

1:30 - The "train" is a tractor pulling a couple of trolley cars typical of tourist attractions.  Find a seat and we pull away.  The driver is chatty and informative, and it isn't long before we start seeing some critters, including large turtles (too far away to get a good shot), ibis, great blue heron, ducks (cinnamon teals), and alligators.  Lots of them.  By the end of the train ride, the driver admits he has never seen so many alligators in one tour.  A couple of dozen at least, all sizes, all sunning themselves on little platforms provided, or swimming about lazily.

   

This one was pretty chill.  A couple of turtles joined him on the platform, although smaller turtles are sometimes gator gourmet.  All in all, a lovely ride, although we didn't stop very often, nor long enough when we did, to get many decent pictures.  

2:30 - House tour.  Interesting, but this isn't a true plantation home as I was expecting.  The current home was the third on the property, and the first one was 13000 sq ft.  Now that's a mansion!  The second was only 11000 sf.  The current one was probably less than half of that.  Very historic, and beautiful, but the wraparound porch probably makes it look twice what it really is.  Still, you could have a party on that porch...

4:00 - back at the hotel, trying to find a decent restaurant that has "southern" or at least local food and that I can still get a reservation for at the last minute.  Stars Rooftop and Grill Room looks awesome, and has availability.  And it's only a 5 minute drive.... score!!!  Reservations at 6:45 so better go clean up...

7:00 - 9:00 - Dinner.  Unbelievable.  Must go back, Stars is amazing, fantastic food, impeccable service, perfect atmosphere (for me), great wine...  As usual, I try to eat local and drink the house specialty.  So, started with a cocktail called an Aviation (how fitting) and it was ah-mazing.  Gin, lemon, maraschino cherry liqueur.  However, this place also added a bit of lavender cordial.  It was actually really good.  Appetizer:  Baked Oysters, with sauteed spinach, Asiago cheese, fresh garlic and brandy.  Phenomenal.  For the main course I chose another appetizer and a sharing plate which was actually exactly the right amount.  The appetizer was "Bacon Tater Tots", so, fluffed potatoes and bacon bits coated and deep fried (like croquettes) and served with a bacon aioli.  The sharing plate I selected was more like a small entree, so perfect.  Rare grilled bluefin tuna, crusted with pecans, served with a spicy mustard, a honey-almond sauce and a mixture of vegetables like heirloom carrots, purple cabbage and mild radishes in a wonderful creamy sauce - they called it Vegetable Slaw but it was the best Slaw I've ever had.  Then dessert, which was Smoked Chocolate 'Smore Pie.  Words do not do it justice.

Fog and rain - better than snow!

Started the day with an odometer reading of 313969.  Umm, "my" numbers are 1, 3, 6, and 9.  Wonder what this day will bring!

When I first wake up and check the weather, Harrisonburg is getting a "Dense fog advisory", but I look out the window, and the sun is out, so it can't be that bad.  5 minutes later, I understand, because I can no longer see the end of the parking lot.  Better be on my way and take it easy.

In the hopes that the fog will clear, I opt to take Highway 11 down through the Shenandoah Valley, rather than the busy interstate that runs parallel.  It might be possible to stop and take some pictures?  However, the fog only lifts a little ways, and doesn't provide any interesting fog, just haze and of course when it clears a little, the shoulders of the road are too narrow to pull over.  I really must come back down here again some time though, because there are signs everywhere for interesting things to see and do, like caverns and historical landmarks and antique shops....

It strikes me that I am driving through the Bible belt on Christmas Day when I pass by a beautiful country home with a life-size nativity scene on the front lawn.  I snicker when I see the next house adorned by a much larger-than-life-size inflatable dachshund in a Santa suit on the front lawn.  Seriously.  Or maybe not so seriously...  The roadside signs identifying points and locations of historic interest are also intriguing, although many of the references are to events with which I am unfamiliar.  One or two jump out, such as the site of Sheridan's last raid, and the Original African-American Cemetery (no stones are visible from the road however).

Finally, as I approach the point where Hwy 11 will merge with the interstate, I start seeing signs towards a village called Natural Bridge.  I have to wonder if there is indeed a bridge formed by nature in some way, thus the name.  Cool, the hwy actually passes right through there, and the fog has mostly cleared!  And there is a large building with a huge parking lot, boldly announcing the Natural Bridge Park.  So of course, pull in and get out to read the plaque and see what I can see from the parking lot (nothing).  As I'm reading, I hear a vehicle pull up beside me, and a gentle voice with a dontcha-just-love-southern-drawls-kinda-drawl saying "Hi there!".  A kindly gentleman explains that there will be admission to the site in about 20-30 minutes, and he highly recommends that I stay.  He suggests I go over to the historic hotel and get a complimentary coffee while I wait, convinced it will be worth my time to hang around.  What the heck, it's a chance to stretch my legs and maybe get some cool pictures.  Here are a few, please note these are not the best ones photographically, but I haven't had time to do any touch-ups yet.  It really was worth my time.

And.... that was the end of the clear skies for the day, until sunset.  As I headed down the rest of the Valley, the fog rolled in yet again, and there was a sign indicating "fog ahead, adjust speed according to the weather", and yes, drove across the top of the mountains with fog and cloud below and above and all around.  Shortly after coming through the fog, the rains started coming down heavy enough that I was glad I was on the mountain and not in the valley.  Everyone was slowing down and putting on their hazard lights, it was really hard to see.  Like a snowstorm.  Sort of.  And it didn't let up until I was almost in South Carolina.

Then the sun went down, the rain stopped, the roads were dry, the full moon came up, and it was about 22C.  So the sunroof opened up, the tunes went on, and the rest of the drive to Charleston was largely uneventful.  Except for almost running out of gas.  But I didn't, I probably could have driven another 8 - 10 miles before going completely dry.  (Phew)  The forecast here for the next two days is partly cloudy and high of 73 F, which to me sounds like it's time to stop for a day or two and take in the sights in this area.  I'll see what's on the nightside table...

Highlights of the day:
1. Driving through Staunton, VA, and see a whole bed of yellow pansies in full bloom, on Christmas Day.
2.  Interesting road names, like "Rockin Way" and "Possum Hollow".  For real.
3.  Several log cabins that appeared to be still habitable, and inhabited.