One woman's journey through the world
The weather at Fox Glacier is fickle: clouds and rain give way to bright blue skies within minutes but then roll back less than an hour later. The tourism industry in this area depends on clear skies with helicopters and small planes only able to safely provide good views and the experiences customers seek when the sun shines. When we arrived in town, rain had blanketed the ground for
If you stay perfectly still, don’t speak, and sit quietly, what do you hear? Voices from the office next door or desk nearest yours? The tick of a clock? The hum of your computer? Perhaps you’re outdoors and hear insects buzzing, birds squawking, waves lapping, or leaves rustling in the breeze. Wherever you are, imagine you’re here: Standing near the bow of a boat with its engines off, the passengers
Queenstown, New Zealand is dubbed the adventure capital of the world. I knew that I HAD to do some sort of extreme activity here, and I had my eye on bungy jumping. The summer after I graduated college, my friends Abby, Neil, and I went tandem skydiving in Ovid, NY (near Ithaca). I had a little fear of heights and this seemed a way to conquer it. Skydiving turned out
Although Jen and I were both certified as Open Water Divers in climates that required multiple wetsuits, all of our diving thereafter was in warm water. We’ve worn 3mm wetsuits on a regular basis but since certification, no hoods, gloves, or socks inside of booties. Earlier this month, that changed. Milford Sound is a well-known tourist destination on the South Island of New Zealand reached by a single road. Stretches
Penguins are cute. Watching one work its way across the beach, waddling one step at a time knowing it has a long climb up a steep hill to its nest is downright adorable. Observing this on a beach surrounded by lush green bluffs with fewer than 10 people in sight was awesome. Doing this then walking down the beach and seeing sea lions playing, another penguin heading to a nest,
“These are our four ingredients: roasted malt, lager malt, hops, and sugar.” Rod went on to discuss where each is from and the role it plays in brewing. I attempted to withhold judgment but any brewery that identifies sugar as a key ingredient in all of its beer is suspect. At the end of the tour, we sampled 6 of the Speight’s line (and even got to pull our own
One year ago I was working in a tall office building in the Financial District of Boston while Jen worked in a shorter building near Boston’s Government Center. Out of my office window, I could see the Capitol in one direction, the harbor in the other. From time to time, cargo ships went through and if I happened to be facing out at the time, I’d find myself temporarily mesmerized.
It’s a long way from the east coast of the U.S. to the south island of New Zealand and there are many ways to make the trip. Our way is long. New York City to Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore to Christchurch (JFK-LAX-HND-SIN-CHC) leaving on January 21 and arriving on January 24. 16,471 miles over 46 hours and 41 minutes, including layovers. Our layovers vary in length and we