Settling back into the swing of things. . .

Hello, again! This blog has been an interesting experiment in communication. When I was traveling, I wasn't sure if anyone was reading it, but since I've been back in the States I've been pleasantly surprised at how many folks were keeping up with it. I'm so glad you all were keeping tabs on me while I was down in New Zealand. In my mind, I was keeping the blog fairly up to date, but after taking another look at it just now, I realized that I only really kept it updated for the first month, or so, of my trip, and then just sort of disappeared. . . sorry about that!

I arrived in Portland mid-January, spent a couple of weeks there with my sister, visited some friends in Seattle and BZ Corner, and then started working my way cross-country towards South Bend, IN. Along the way, I visited friends in Gooding, ID, Jackson Hole, WY, and Chicago, IL. Despite the winter storm that was traveling just ahead of me for much of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa, I made it safely to my parents' house on February 15th. I'll be here in Indiana for a few months before returning to the Northwest for the summer.

Here are some pictures from my stop in Jackson:

Saying Good-bye to my Van

New Year's Eve

Nelson Lakes

Sea Kayaking with Jenny and Aaron

Able Tasman

Planted a Koromiko Tree

Sheering Sheep

Moeraki Boulders

Hurinui River

Whale Watching

Maruia Falls

Safe and Sound

I'm back! I've made it back to the States, safe and sound. I arrived in Portland last night, and am staying with my sister, Mary, in Portland for a couple of weeks. Am a bit jetlagged, but doing well after a 45 hour day of travel.

I'll try, soon, to post some pictures of my last month of travel. Hope things are going well with all of you.

Alive and Well

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I have been slacking on the blog for about a month. . . sorry about that! I was getting quite homesick and road weary towards the end of November/beginning of December, so I found myself not wanting to post my feelings during that phase. I guess it would have been the honest thing to do. I was sharing all the fun and interesting things, but decided to skip the sad and sappy. I'm heading back to the States this Wednesday, January 14, so I'm feeling as if I should do at least a brief update. When I have more time, over the course of the next little while, I'll post some photos, but, for now, I'll give a brief overview.

I spent December 10-21 on Sr. Robinson's farm down in Invercargill. By working on the farm, I learned about permaculture and organic farming principles. I even got to help sheer the sheep. . . and have pictures to prove it. (Will post photos later.) I really enjoyed this time with Sr. Judith. My time with her helped me to regroup. The work on the farm gave me plenty of quiet time to think about where I've been and where I'm going in my life. It also gave me a chance to do some reading about earth-based spirituality, eco-theology, and cosmology. I enjoyed my conversations with Sister: how she decided to do what she's doing, what other Dominican nuns are doing all over the world, NZ history and culture, etc. I felt quite refreshed when I hit the road again.

After leaving the farm, I worked my way north: Christchurch on Monday, December 22nd, for pre-Christmas dinner with friends there; Murchison on Tuesday, December 23rd, for a quick paddle on the Lower Matakitaki and dinner at the pub with friends; and Motueka/Riwaka, which is near the Able Tasman National Park, on Wednesday, Christmas Eve, for Christmas weekend with Jenny (friend I met during the kayaking course back in October).

Able Tasman is on the northern coast of the South Island of NZ. It's known for sea kayaking, sailing, and trail hiking. Jenny works for a sea kayaking company there, so we had access to some kayaks and went out on the sea. . . so beautiful! I can't wait to post some pictures of that area. Beautiful sandy beaches, great weather, and lots to do. After all the river kayaking I've done, I had no idea I would like sea kayaking so much, but I did. After a few days of that, I talked to the management about the possibility of guiding for them in the future. We arranged for me to "shadow" some trips the following week.

In the meantime, I went back down to Murchison, did some kayaking and hiking (Nelson Lakes area), sold my paddle and my river kayak, and then was back up to Able Tasman on New Year's Day. Since then, I've been staying with Jenny and her flatmate, Aaron, exploring the area and setting up the possibility of work for next year.

Hope things are going well with all of you. Will post pictures and more details as soon as I can. Take Care!