This will be a quick posting and sorry, no photos on this travel day. We have arrived in Wellington, the "middle of Middle Earth." All the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movie stuff is here. I did yell out "Gandolf!" thinking I had a sighting of the Grey, then White Wizard, but it was just a random, old Chinese man with a long beard and a floppy large hat. One of many of those; we are in the Pacific Rim, after all.

We were annoyed that Air New Zealand charged us extra for our carry-on bags. Our US domestic and international bag behaviors do not apply here. An additional $170...ouch! At least it was New Zealand dollars, which is slightly less than US dollars. G was more burned up about it than me because she is a planner and she didn't plan on this extra expense. Until she gets over it I expect a diet of bread and water. Maybe I'll lose weight...looking for a bright side.

coast to coast run

We just returned from the Coast-to-Coast Run in Auckland. It is a 16km (~10 miles) run across Auckland from one coast to the other. The Waitemata Harbour and Pacific Ocean on one side, to the Manukau Harbour and Tasman Sea on the other.

G took it easy on me by letting me set the pace. It was certainly slow going at first as we stopped a lot through the intersections in Auckland. I didn't want to risk running through the intersection as I continue to look the wrong way (the traffic is coming from the opposite side). It took us through several  city parks and neighborhoods. We were able to find some sheep. G took the pictures and I navigated. We got lost a few times, but the New Zealanders seem to be very helpful.

We ate lunch and then took an 1hr bus ride back to the hotel. G wanted to run back, but I insisted on the bus. 

G totally annoyed having to wait for wifi at the airport

I am seeking a voice on this blog. If this is going to happen, I will have to wait until she is asleep, in the bathroom or seeking out snacks.

So far so good, we arrived on time. I became a little antsy with having lunch a little late. I am disappointed not to have eaten one last Qdoba burrito, but I am sure the other passengers will consider this an act of God, a miracle or one of God's mercies. We certainly don't need to have the captain perform an emergency mechanical stop and then find out it was me. When are the airlines going to invent the smell absorbing seat? Air New Zealand, Gayle will pay extra.

Oh by the way, the skype name is gayle.zorrilla.

This shot of our very full storage unit is for everyone who said we didn't have any stuff in our house. Clearly we had stuff. Lots of stuff. We made one last trip to the unit Tuesday after another great run on Apex with Kristin and Sandy (R was scared to run with the girls this morning, apparently, and went for a swim instead). Then Bobby and Stef drove us to DIA to start our adventure.

Living room full of stuff

After R took the plunge and accepted an assignment with NZ Locums, Step One of our New Zealand adventure was to decide what to do with our house in beautiful Golden. We really like Golden (and especially our friends in metro Denver), but after 5 years I was ready to move on from White Ash Drive. The house sold very quickly (under contract in less than one day) so we (ie, I) started to pack. Being a certified boxaholic finally came in handy--no hunting for boxes necessary; all I had to do was access my flat box pile and get started. That house and location will be hard to beat, but I'm confident we'll succeed. First we must travel to NZ....