Old dog, new tricks

Almost have been here a week, and it still is fantastic.  Have figured out most of the answers to my questions/doubts so far.  Of course, we all know now that the house worked out great and Brett has conceded that my decision to rent this house was a good one.  And, they do have peanut butter here and it is not bad.   The car the clinic gave us is not a manual (thank god), and it is not super small.  It is a Toyota. I think it is called a Vista, seems kind of like a Camry - nothing fancy.  Works fine, except we can not figure out how to get the child lock offs and we have no manual.  The real interesting part has been learning how to drive on the other side of the road.  Have to admit it was a little more difficult and intimidating than I had imagined.  It took a couple of days before I got up the courage to take the car out for a spin.  The first night I just drove around the neighborhood and for a quick mile or two on the highway.  I felt alright about it so the next morning I headed into town (as I found their REI equivalent store and the big sale was starting).   My second turn of the morning was right into the wrong lane.  Scary.  Still, getting better everyday.  Still need to really think about looking to the right, turning on the blinkers with my right hand, changing gears with the left hand, and walking to the right door to get in.  I also hear myself repeating a lot - "the center is to your right, the center is to your right".  It very much feels like an "old dog" syndrome.

The car (of course, that is the passenger side you are looking at)

Some of the other new stuff for me includes the hanging the laundry out to dry and the rain barrels.  Apparently most people here do not have clothes dryers because the climate is so good.   I also get the feeling that people are pretty into having a low impact on the world and into conserving energy and water.  The water we are using for all of our needs (including drinking) comes from the rain.  Our roof is metal and the rain all gets siphoned off into our gigantic rain barrels.  The neighbor told me that each one holds 5,000 gallons (I'm pretty sure he said gallons, not litres) and we have 3 barrels.  It is possible to run out of water, in which if have to pay to have them filled up.  Of course, I have no idea how much water one usually uses.  Never had had to think about it before.  I have asked several people and they just say "be conscious, don't leave the tap on, take quick showers, do full loads of wash".  So, now I am scared to bath too much or wash my clothes too often.  It really is fascinating and somewhat refreshing to make yourself think about how much water one uses.  What a great lesson.  Liam, of course, sensed my worry about the situation and told me one day that maybe we should just buy a lot of hand santiizer so we wouldn't need to turn on the faucet.  I am starting to realize that we don't need to be that extreme and that this will all be fine.  Rain sure does bring on a different meaning all of a sudden, and after the tail end of Cyclone Wilma came through the other night, sounds like we will be set for at least another 10 weeks.

Our Water Supply out back

and, my first load of wash on the line

As for the traveling with my children and what three weeks of it would do to us, I'll tell you, it has made them despise getting into a car.  They are done with any sort of sight seeing or driving.  I was so excited that we would be traveling without diapers, strollers, pack n plays, or diaper bags.  Why did not anyone warn me about the car fighting? Of course, I remember it from my own youth now.  But, prior to this journey, I do not remember our children instantly start fighting with each and whining as soon as we enter a car.  I don't even feel like we did that much car traveling.  I hate to break it to them, but we just moved to one of the more isolated cities in New Zealand and going just about anywhere else entails a day's drive of windy, hilly land.  Oh, Crap!!

Livin' the Dream

After Fiji came 4 nights in Auckland.  We really only stayed 4 nights as Brett had to meet with the Medical Council on Friday morning and our new lease on the house didn't start until Monday.  I think by the time we arrived in Auckland, we were all pretty much ready to be done traveling.  Getting the kids to leave the hotel room was not easy and they were not at all fans of riding around the city in the rental car.  The rain and cool weather in Auckland that weekend didn't help the situation either.  We were all pretty excited to get back on the plane and get to our new home in Gisborne.   The plane ride (number 5 on this journey) was pretty interesting.  Just a small 20 seater plane, 10 rows, one person on each side (so we all got window seats).   One of the pilots as acted as flight attendant.   And, only a 55 minute flight.  We were even greeted to a rainbow during descent.  Not a bad trip at all.

We were picked up at the airport by one of the other M.D.s and one of the clinic staff.   They drove us and all of our luggage just out of town to our house on Wainui Beach.  When we arrived, I was overjoyed.  The house was great and the view was everything that had been advertised.  All of the months of packing, moving, repacking, wondering, and doubts - finally my head was clear.  Suddenly, there was nothing else to worry about - and I felt absolutely exhausted.  It was hard to do anything except stare out of one of the many windows.  I have always told Brett that all I really need in a house is ton of windows and a view, and I now have it!!!  And, the view is of a gigantic beach.  This really is a dream.

Many hours later, when I finally started doing some unpacking, we realized that we had left one of the suitcases at the airport - the one with the nice camera, video camera, and a bunch of other really good stuff!!  So much for no more worries.  Brett was able to retrieve it but he was gone on errands for a couple hours so that left me here wondering and stressing - first time, and only time, I have missed the cell phone.

So, yes, the house is good.  And, we really do have a basement walk out apartment with a king sized bed, a bathroom, small living area, and small kitchen that we really are not using.  So, please feel free to invite yourselves here for a stay.  We would love to have you - and, we really do have the room.   Just be prepared to wash some windows while you are here.  And now, for what you all have been waiting for, some pictures of the house.....

The view from our room

The view out one of the side windows - and the culdesac we live on

The view from our main living room/kitchen

The view from our deck

The TV area (also an extra bed here too) and our funky blue floor

Kitchen/Dining 

Just another view

WE MADE IT - but first I need to tell you about Fiji

We have arrived!! and internet is up and going - time to tell you all about what we have been up to.  First, let me say that the big plane ride from LA to Nadi, Fiji went just fine.  We left LA on the night of Jan. 13th, at around 10:00 pm, and arrived 10 hours later, 5:00 A.M. on Saturday the 15th.  So, yes, the 14th (Liam's B-day) completely disappeared.  I had packed a present for him in my carry on but both the kids fell asleep before take off.  They slept for about 6-7 hours, which is much more than their parents (aka pillows) did.   Needless to say we were all pretty wore out by the time Liam actually received his gift, which was when we were hanging out around the baggage claim carousel.  Unfortunately, we really had no idea how "rough" our day was about to come.

And, that my friends, brings me to the most terrifying part of our trip to date.  THE BOAT RIDE.  So, we decided to experience a part of Fiji a little more remote and booked a stay at the Octopus Resort.  This resort was on Waya Island, a small Island in the Yassawa chains of islands off the main island of Fiji.  All that was on this island was this small resort and a small village on the other side of the hills.  To get there you could take the Octopus resort boat (which was a smaller, but more direct route).  Or, you could take a large boat that made stops at many different islands, or you could take a helicopter.  Of course we thought the direct route would be the best, and also, cheapest.  So, after 4 hours waiting in the LA airport,  a 10 hour flight, another 4 hours in the Fiji airport waiting to be picked up, another hour to get to the marina and wait for the supplies to be loaded,  we finally boarded this boat for what was supposed to be a 55 minute ride out to the resort.  When we got on the captain said the words I did not want to hear - "it's a little choppy out there, but no worries, we will make it."

I wish I knew how to describe the boat.  Or that I even had a photo of it.  There were probably 15-18 people on it, including the crew and that was about max capacity.  We also had luggage (thankfully we decided to store 6 of the 8 bags in the Fiji airport) and resort supplies.  There were life jackets, but they were wedged in between two rows of seats, and I couldn't pull any out for the children, not that they were going to fit anyways.  I also thought "how bad could it be?"  Well, it was bad.  Huge swells, little boat, spine crushing jolts as we speed through the waves.  The kids were hanging on to us for dear life, and we were bracing ourselves inside the boat as good as we could.  Thank god I forced Dramamine into the whole family.  Have to admit the thought "maybe Fiji wasn't such a good idea" went through my head a few times.  At one point Brett gave me the "check mark sign" - which later he told me was the "chalk this one up to as a bad idea.  I had given him the "helicopter sign", as in,  "there is no way I'm taking this boat back again".   Well, after an hour an half, and half dozen times when the motor sounded like it was going to quit, we made it.  The kids, besides the death grip and a few "slow down" screams, did amazingly well, they even fell asleep at one point.  We had to maneuver into a little rickety boat to get ashore (no docks on the island) and I promptly fell on my a** getting into this one.  But then, as we were driven ashore, we were greeted by singing on the beach. After landing, one of the Fijian ladies scooped Phoebe up and gave her a big kiss and carried her all the way up the beach and then we were given refreshing tropical drinks.  It really was paradise, and after a good night sleep, I was happy we came.
The resort we stayed at was a whole other experience.  It kind of reminded me of summer camp, with really good food.  It was made up of a variety of accomadations, ranging from backpacker dormitories to deluxe (air conditioned) bungalows on the ends of beach.  We went for the midrange Bure (traditional Fiji hut) in the garden. And, it was not at all frilly.  Very basic, no airconditioning, bug nets,  thatched walls and grass roof, and, my favorite part, no roof in the shower.  However, this meant we had shower guests in the form of little lizards and slugs.  There were some activities daily, such as hermit crab racing, jewelry and basket weaving, beach parties, volleyball games, and walks to the village.  The beach was stunning and the shell collecting was out of this world.  I found some huge intact shells.  Never have been a fan of shell collecting, but now I am an addict.  The water was warm and the air temperature was sultry.  That part was a little hard without air conditioning - especially when you are sleep deprived and crabby.  And, as I said, the food was excellent.  We ate our meals in a large open aired dining room with a sand floor.  I never put a pair of shoes on all week.   The room was made up of large tables, so you got to sit with the other guests.   It was such a friendly place and we got to know many wonderful, interesting people - from the crazy german backpackers to the wealthy Aussie family who took the helicopter off the island.  There was Jim, from Oregon, who was staying at the resort for 6 weeks and even an American MD and her husband who were on their way home from working in New Zealand.  The best part was the children were running completely free and playing with the local children.    We had no TV, internet, phones, roads.... it was fantastic.  And, then we decided to take the upgrade to a beachfront bure on our last night and life got even better.  As you can tell, I could go on and on about Fiji - it was just pretty darn cool.  My only regrets (besides the boat), was that we didn't take more photos (it just felt too weird carrying a camera around), and that we didn't take a day of rest after the plane ride before we attempted the boat ride.  Brett's biggest regret was playing sand volley ball in the noon sun and thinking he was going to die of heat stroke (otherwise we all stayed healthy). And, if you are curious, the resort paid for us to take the big Yassawa inter-island ferry back, and, of course, that day the seas were calm and we got stuck on a very slow, very crowded, and hot boat.  Oh well, you can't win them all.

Liam on the beach with some of his new Friends

above - playing with their new friends
below - life at the octopus, the welcoming Kava ceremony, performed each night with new arrivals, Liam making his shell anklet, Phoebe getting her hair braided, hermit crab racing (mine came in 4th)

Our Garden Bure

the view from the shower

Our Beach Front Bure

Some of my Awesome shells I found - kind of sad I left them there

How we slept each night

On the path

Last day, sad to go

See that yellow boat, a woman from the village had just given birth on that boat - she didn't make it in time to the hospital - she had returned and was sitting with the newborn under that tree.  Later that day she took the big boat into town with us. 

Waiting to  leave

bye, bye Waya Island and the Octopus resort

Almost There

So, this is it.  I get to pack up one more time.  Our time in Fiji was amazing, and Auckland has been pretty good, but we have been keeping it low key.  I will tell you all more later and post some pictures.  We only get one free hour of internet a day and that is just not enough time to do it justice.  Very excited to get to our new home tomorrow and meet all the people we have been in contact with over the last 6-7 months.   I am most excited to unpack these 8 bags for good and start making a new home.   Hopefully getting internet set up goes quick.  Thanks for everyone who keeps checking in.  I promise I will write more when I can.  We miss everyone!!!

Phase 2

We have moved on. So long to home cooked meals, endless childcare, and large amounts of fresh squeezed orange juice and lemonade. Our time in Arizona was lovely and very easy as usual. Now we are sitting in a hotel room in Laguna Beach, CA and the room feels much too small for us and our 8+ traveling companions (aka the luggage).  The first night here pretty much included getting off the plane, renting the car, and speeding down the 405 south to Laguna Beach.   We thought we might get stuck in traffic so we let the kids use their little video game units.  Bad move.  Turns out we could use the carpool lane and we were traveling at about 75 mph.  About 20 minutes later Phoebe started moaning, and when we showed in Laguna Beach she ended up puking all over the lobby of our hotel, Brett, and the prized blankie.   We didn't have plans for the next day, but number on our list was now laundry.  And, we now know she is prone to motion sickness.

Our life in suitcases - and I am kind of sickened by the amount of  clothes.   The toys and the duffel bag entirely of shoes I can live with (but I will not have to hang those on a line to dry)

So, yesterday was just a a day to hang out.  Bought some groceries, did some laundry, and hung out at the beach.  We thought a picnic at the beach sounded like a great idea.  Again, we were wrong.  Turned out to be the most terrifying picnic of our lives.  Not many people were at the beach, and no one else was eating.  I think they knew something we didn't.  The Attack Birds.   As soon as we took our food out some big seagulls showed up.  And then, about a hundred started circling, and then, they started diving - I thought they were going to carry Phoebe away.  They were trying to yank a chicken leg from her handand flapping their wings in my face.  I hate birds!  And we couldn't scare these away.  We retreated (fast!!) to the minivan and had picnic in the back.  Oh well.  It was still a pretty good day.

Picni in the minivan

Hanging out at Laguna Beach

get those darn birds

 Today was the big day - DisneyLand!!  We didn't tell the kids we were going and it was fun to surprise them.  The weather was beautiful, the lines were not long, and everyone held up pretty good.  They gave Liam a button saying it was his birthday so the staff would all say Happy Birthday.   Phoebe got a little princess time and her face painted.  Liam was chosen for Jedi training and got to battle Darth Maul in a show. Only setback of the day was when someone stole our rented stroller.   You don't get charged for it but I had left my favorite water bottle in it - which I just spent two days in Phoenix searching for the matching cooler to it - darn it!  Hard to get too mad though.  I think Liam had pretty awesome birthday!

Liam in the Jedi training Show

  

So, this is it.  Our last night in the U.S.  Starting to get just a few butterflies.  The cell phones are getting tossed tomorrow.  We head to Fiji next and I am praying we stay well there.  Not sure we researched our tropical diseases enough.  Also a little worried about the boat ride we get to take after our 10 hour flight - there will definitely be some dramamine being passed out to the whole family.  The kids are starting to get a little homesick as well - wish they had a cure for that.  Well, I should probably start packing again!!  Next time you hear from us, we will likely be in New Zealand.

More of Arizona

Just some more photos of our time in Arizona.

Skiing in Flagstaff.  Turned out to be a little too much after a day at the Grand Canyon.  The kids did not last long.  Good thing skiing is so cheap.

Phoeb's spent a lot of time in her orange tree fort

Orange"fro'

Making some juice

Liam was treated to a Star Wars Birthday party and his traditional homemade chicken pot pie.   Thanks to Nana and Grandpa for a fun celebration.