On Blogging, the process and how I do it…

I started blogging three years ago, as an experiment for work... now, three years later, I increasingly find blogging enjoyable… particularly when traveling.

I blog about where I am going or what we are doing… where I or we (aka the wife and I, or the daughter and I, or where the daughter, the wife, and I have been, occasionally add the son, or substitute a friend… its all good…)

I carry my laptop when traveling… and increasingly an IPad… a gift from a friend… A gift I didn’t expect, and would have said I didn’t want, but am increasingly addicted to… I am trying to travel with just the I pad, but so far it doesn’t work… so I carry the IPad all the time, in my back pack… write the blog, then email it to myself, then pick it up on the laptop, edit it (those of you who read it now I don’t edit enough… but yes, I do edit at least a little… you don’t want to see it before I edit…) Sometimes I let my wife or daughter read it before I post it… (those posts can be identified by their lack of spelling or editing errors… )

Increasingly I make notes, that become the blog post during the day… sometimes just a notable quote or a location or a note of something done… sometimes when inspired by the place, sentences, even paragraphs… almost but not quite literature… but almost…

So, the IPad is light, easy to carry, and so spontaneous. So far, I have not found it to have enough editing capability to be used for the blog directly… but wow… it is wonderful for most of the blog… So, what I write on the IPad gets emailed to the laptop (I abandoned my last desktop a year ago… so far so good…)

I sometimes travel to places where internet connectivity is limited… for various reasons… Cruise ships for example… their (satellite) connections are slow, and expensive… I buy minutes, but find myself creating posts, editing posts off line, then signing on and posting (or occasionally not… sometimes connections are so slow that nothing works, made more complicated by the need to use email to transfer from the IPad to the laptop)… On land, I have used public library connections, public internet connections… free airport internet connection, and have been known to drive down a street slowly, looking for stray wifi from a house… I once blogged from a camp ground in Mesa Verde from a camp ground… they had wifi at the store, but I used a ranger’s home wifi… Sometimes blog posts are delayed while I go in search of a connection. My newest "smart phone" can serve as a hot spot... so free internet is less important if, in the US and in a place with cell phone coverage...

One issue is difficult to handle is privacy… I have to self censor… On the most recent cruise, my sister in law got sick, scary sick at the time, but once home, ok… I couldn’t, wouldn’t post anything about this until she was home, safe, and her Dr had said so… family members read the blog, and I needed to make sure all was OK… Her sons should not hear about mom from a blog… I need to be careful about blogging about work… people at work read the blog… I work for a city… I am not an official source of information… no city information will go out via the blog… While I don’t expect to ever be looking for a new job, the blog is a reflection of who I am, and I need to be sure that anyone possible future employer who read it would be comfortable with what might appear here. So, sometimes, I sit on posts until I can review what is written…

Time is an issue… I may make notes, even blog posts as I go, but when slowing down, later in the day, I may not feel like reviewing them, editing them (we admit that this is sometimes not as high a priority as some may like, nor is enough care taken) and posting them…

Sometimes the experience gets in the way… I don’t travel to blog… I blog while traveling… but if the traveling demands time, the blog loses…

Increasingly, I am blogging every day, then posting as time allows… on the last trip this meant that sometimes I posted three separate daily posts on one day… after three days of not posting.

I try to post photos… either including one in a post, or uploading an album to Picasa Web, then setting it as a slide show in the little box on the right... this limits the times I can post… photos take more band width… the result has recently been posts without photos… When on a ship, or in a remote location, it is likely that I am depending on satellite based internet connection, and posting photos is an exercise in futility…

So, I blog on...

Home at last...

We arrived home Wednesday afternoon… somewhat later than expected due to weather delays…

We were upright, but tired, but not done…

Home… at least the dog was excited… we love the dog… she loves us…

Drag suitcases in… dump them out… piles of laundry… a few things hung in the closet.

While we had been gone, the son had returned home… He was in dive school, in Florida… While in school, he was using my truck, formerly my dad’s truck… He stopped and visited the sister in law, emptied out the storage locker with our stuff from mom and dad… and fully loaded, headed west Jacksonville to somewhere near Tampa (sister in law, brother, brother not home… he is in Alaska, fishing… fish fear him… they should) to empty the storage locker… to Laffette Louisinana, sleeping in the truck, but the truck seats don’t recline, Mom and Dad and the dog (not Emma, Cleo, Mom & Dad’s late dog) are behind he seat… On, on again to just beyond El Paso… a motel this time… On again… to near Phoenix Arizona… to stay with a cousin, Jay… Brian is Navy, Jay Army… they connect in ways we can’t… Then on again… home… to San Mateo… and now, the stuff, Mom, Dad, the dog… tools (Brian’s) silver, papers, (I now have nearly 60 years of pigeon breeding records… there is a pigeon museum… they may be a match made in heaven) Some is in Brian’s room, other piled in the living room… We have returned to chaos… In the middle of the piles, set apart, are Mom, Dad, and Cleo the dog… not all just ashes… (ashes, ashes, we all fall down)

Home… laundry in the washer… all T,I and Steph to lunch , joined by Brian and Lauren… then to work… Patterson House… emails, phone messages, a meeting… What time is it???

Meeting convened… Steph at the end of the table… studying phyisics or maybeO chem…

Home… I wanted time on the computer… to blog… to write… to think (many of you reading this may question the idea that I think… get over it, please.)

I blogged… (time and the trip) then wrote some (this) then went to bed… Up early… the alarm went off at 6:30 am pdt…(for once, I am pretty sure its Pacific Daylight Time… the nearby clocks say so…)

To bed, nearly midnight local time… (we have established local time… see above)

Nighty night… for now…

Home…

We arrived home Wednesday afternoon… somewhat later than expected due to weather delays…

We were upright, but tired, but not done…

Home… at least the dog was excited… we love the dog… she loves us…

Drag suitcases in… dump them out… piles of laundry… a few things hung in the closet.

While we had been gone, the son had returned home… He was in dive school, in Florida… While in school, he was using my truck, formerly my dad’s truck… He stopped and visited the sister in law, emptied out the storage locker with our stuff from mom and dad… and fully loaded, headed west Jacksonville to somewhere near Tampa (sister in law, brother, brother not home… he is in Alaska, fishing… fish fear him… they should) to empty the storage locker… to Laffette Louisinana, sleeping in the truck, but the truck seats don’t recline, Mom and Dad and the dog (not Emma, Cleo, Mom & Dad’s late dog) are behind he seat… On, on again to just beyond El Paso… a motel this time… On again… to near Phoenix Arizona… to stay with a cousin, Jay… Brian is Navy, Jay Army… they connect in ways we can’t… Then on again… home… to San Mateo… and now, the stuff, Mom, Dad, the dog… tools (Brian’s) silver, papers, (I now have nearly 60 years of pigeon breeding records… there is a pigeon museum… they may be a match made in heaven) Some is in Brian’s room, other piled in the living room… We have returned to chaos… In the middle of the piles, set apart, are Mom, Dad, and Cleo the dog… not all just ashes… (ashes, ashes, we all fall down)

Home… laundry in the washer… all T,I and Steph to lunch , joined by Brian and Lauren… then to work… Patterson House… emails, phone messages, a meeting… What time is it???

Meeting convened… Steph at the end of the table… studying phyisics or maybe O chem…

Home… I wanted time on the computer… to blog… to write… to think (many of you reading this may question the idea that I think… get over it, please.)

I blogged… (time and the trip) then wrote some (this) then went to bed… Up early… the alarm went off at 6:30 am pdt…(for once, I am pretty sure its Pacific Daylight Time… the nearby clocks say so…)

To bed, nearly midnight local time… (we have established local time… see above)

Nighty night…

Airborne (A blog about time, and eventually a rant about airline customer service…)

The alarm went off at 4:30 bloody a.m. ... Too damn early.. A quick shower, followed by stuffing the last few item in the suit cases...checking the weight again... One last shuffle to make sure the checked bags are not over weight... Then downstairs, check out, and walk across the street, into the terminal, to check in, check bags, clear immigration, security, then the hike to the gate... They had warned us when checking in, that the walk to the gate took 40 minutes... They were not kidding, gates 15 & 16, used by Virgin Australia, at Auckland International airport are located at some distance from the main terminal... General Sherman covered less ground on his March to the Sea... I believe we may have walked half way to Australia... at one point they sent out a golf cart to search for passengers for Melbourne stranded, lost, between the main terminal and gates 15 & 16...

Now seated aboard flight DJ 187, for Brisbane, Australia... Bound for California... For Home... the IPad is on, music on, blogging again. the 10 rows ahead of us are filled with a Chinese tour group... The flight attendants are having a hard time getting them to stow luggage under their seats, buckle seat belts, and raise seat to their full upright and locked position... They are resisting taking to their seats... It appears that there are both language and cultural misunderstandings... Finally, everyone is seated and buckled and they are closing the cabin door... IPad off for now... I have a book for situations like this...

I turn the IPad back on once we reach 10,000'... music on... still reading... blogging occasionally... sitting... Tina and Karin are napping... The cabin attendants are working their way down the aisle with the beverage cart. An airplane trip, particularly a long flight is a unique experience (beyond the curiosity that comes from being strapped in an aluminum can which is hurtling across the sky at 35,000' above earth at 600 miles per hour...) You are voluntarily trapped, mostly sitting for an extended period of time... There are diversions available, particularly on very long flights, but for most of us this is the longest time that will find us sitting... In one place without responsibilities. It's not like anyone is going to complain we are being lazy, and suggest we really should consider taking the trash out, or maybe mow the lawn...

Your options are the on board entertainment system if offered (it was on the SFO to LAX and LAX - Sydney flights, but not on Sydney - Uluru and return, or on this Auckland to Brisbane Flight, but will be on the Brisbane – LAX (at least I hope)) Alternately you can nap, read, or listen to music.. I also write, mostly this blog, but I have been working on a couple of history pieces one on a Hawaiian railroad car, the other a technical piece on how 19th century wooden railroad cars work. It is a wonderful time to listen to music... I loaded the IPad before leaving with a number of albums many recently acquired, and it is a chance to listen to them straight through without interruptions. I find I keep going back to John Hiatt, including his new album "Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hyhms" and "Ghost of Good Manners" by the Good Time Thrift Store Outfit... The Waifs, Simon & Garfinkel, Mark Knophler, and Towns Van Zandt all seem to be getting a bit of air time as well...

Now near 10:00 NZ, 7:00 Australian, still over the Tamzin Sea... blue water, broken clouds... We are turning, seemingly in circles... first left, then right... land in 25 minutes or so... They are asking us to turn off electronic devices... I will have to make do with a book…

On the ground, through immigration… We have checked in and have boarding passes through to SF…I had a chance to check email and blog in Brisbane...

Now 10:30 Australian... Who knows what NZ or Pacific Daylight time... Time is beginning to be a flexable concept which I chase but never catch… Onboard Virgin Australia Flight 7, headed for LA, but for the time being sitting at gate 81, at the Brisbane airport, loading... This Boeing 777 has 52 rows (we are in row 51) up to 9 seats across with 2 aisles... (fewer if not seated in the back, in steerage). It is close to full... Time to power things down...

I have a window seat..this is important... I like to see out... Of course crossing the Pacific, the view is limited... Dark blue above, lighter below... Clouds, mostly white, but occasionally grey.... of course, for half the flight it will be dark, mostly black with occasional stars... followed by blue and white… Now, 30 minutes out, it is mostly cloudy

A bit later... 6:25 pm NZ... 3:25 pm Australian... 9:25? am in California. If so, it is roughly 9 hours to LA... Outside, we have just climbed out of a heavy cloud layer... With another layer above us... Finally in clear air for the first time in an hour. It has been a rough flight... Not scary rough, just constantly rough... tea splashing out of the cup rough… we need more napkins… there is spilled tea.

We are racing towards sunset... It is bright outside... But sunset will come somewhere west of Hawaii... My strategy is to stay awake until about then, then try to sleep until we approach LA... If my plan works, my internal clock won't be too out of whack... Just moderately out of whack…

I managed about 5 hours of sleep, in 1 and 2 hour blocks... Finally waking, walking around, eating at about 4:30 am PST.... The sky brightened... Below, I can see one of the channel islands... (its not blue or white… it is different… ) The seatbelt light came on, seat backs locked and in their full up right position, tray tables up, carry on luggage stowed... We come in, San Pedro off to the north, cross the coast at Seal Beach, then line up and land at LAX, wheels down at 7:10...

After that everything went to hell... (and the blog reverts to a rant about airline customer service… we have been here before… it is low lying fruit… but, this is where we are…)

We taxied... Past the Delta terminal we expected to arrive at... (LAX has 9 terminals, plus a couple of weird remote terminals... A previous trip to Peru took us to one... Apparently, eventually, today we may see the second, but I digress)... Back to our plane... We continue to taxi, then turn, and taxi back to the expected Delta terminal... (Virgin Australia has partnered with Delta for LAX operations, including baggage and customs clearance, our Virgin Australia flight also carried a Delta flight number, and some on board were ticketed as Delta passengers)... We park, or at least stop on the tarmac, just past the expected Delta terminal (on the taxi way) .We si ...(again) for a few minutes (5, maybe 10)... They attach a tugger, and push us backward, then pull us to the gate we passed some time ago... At the Delta terminal… Finally, we begin to disembark... But this is a big airplane... And we were in the back... Aisle 51 of 52, so we wait...

Now moving, now off the airplane… We have to clear immigration, so we pass through a maze of hallways, some glass walled, alongside the terminal, others internal, with stairways and doors... we may be in the basement… Eventually, we find US immigration… We, holding US passports are in a different, much faster line than those who don't, and most of our fellow passengers don 't hold US passports... Aren’t we special…

We beat most to the luggage carrousel... They are using two carrousels today, one for first and business class (and crew), the second for steerage, or “economy” as they chose to call it on airlines... (I note that most of the steerage passengers on Titanic sank with the ship… most survivors were from the first class area… )

Now, time slows down... (and the blog enters too familiar, airlines don’t do a good job rant) We arrived at the carrousel at 7:50. The 1st bag (1 bag, only one bag...) appeared at 8:05. About 8:15 three more appeared...At 8:20 a cart load arrived. The bag started arriving for real at 8:30, about 8:40 Karin got her last bag... (This is not normal… baggage handlers tell us… the Virgin Australian air employee in the room is on the radio… he is ranting… he is not making progress, but is trying… something is up… maybe a labor action, maybe the weather delays are affecting staffing… who knows… no one is talking…) Then, with bags (finally) we pass through customs with a couple of questions and a wave, and we went in search of the transfer desk to check our bags through to SFO... We were there by 8:43... There was a line... Said line was not moving... There were several Virgin Australia staff present... I spoke to one who told me she hadn’t heard of any issues… then a second, asking for help… she said it was Delta's problem, take it up with Delta... I said I was traveling on a Virgin ticket... She said I had to deal with Delta and walked away... (this more than any part of the process pissed me off… it is probably letter to Branson time… I have always liked the Virgin Brand and this woman is trying to change my mind… ) At 9:00, Raymond, a Delta employee saw what was happening, and walked us (and another couple) upstairs and checked our bags through for SFO... Thank You Raymond. (a note to Delta is in order… If we note and complain about the bad, we assume the responsibility of praising the good… and Raymond represents the good)

There is a lesson here... Our Virgin Australia flights were great... Until LA... When they let someone else take over... And with VA employees present, that other organization blew it... And the VA employees did not assist, and worse, defaulted to "It is someone else's problem"

Then we had to clear security... The TSA was not playing their best game... Lines were long and confused... People were getting frustrated... We cannot blame the airlines, but can blame the process… Once through security, we found our gate, then retreated to a bar for a beer and a glass of wine...

Beer and wine consumed, we go back to the gate, where they were boarding a flight… a flight to Orlando?... Our gate had been changed... To a bus, or at least a gate where you board a bus to a remote terminal. At the new gate, the agent knows the flight has been transferred to her, but doesn't have any other information... Staff is getting flustered (but not rude) We find seats, and wait... They have announced our flight is now delayed... Due to weather...

Finally, a little before 11:00 we board our bus (the second of 2 or 3, who knows.... once aboard, the pilot announces "It is a fluid situation..."). Our plane is parked in a hanger area, away from the passenger terminals... We walk up the stairs and into our plane... They refuel the plane… we move to a holding area… we move to another holding area… I nap, I think Tina naps (but I was napping so you shouldn’t trust my observations).

We were scheduled to leave at 10:45... But, are now on a ground hold due to weather in San Francisco... But are currently slotted to take off at 12:30... But could be moved back or forward, based on the weather outlook at SFO...

I have faith that I will get home eventually... Maybe even today.

Ultimately, the 12:30 takeoff time held... Tina and I both slept through the delay... Eventually we took off, sometime afterwards we landed… We recovered the bags… then to the street and… Home... Steph picked us up... she drove… We got home “today” The dog was excited... We love the dog.

We dumped the suit cases... I went to work... I was tired, so had the daughter to come to drive… she studied, I worked…

It was a good trip...

Auckland

Dawn found us docked in Auckland... Here cruise ships dock downtown... Far away from the commercial port with its containers and wood chips...

Our cruise ends here... we have breakfast one last time... We gather our carry-ons, and make our way down the gangway, pause at the bottom to let the dog smell our bags, find our bags among the "Yellow 1" group, the outside to find Tony, our driver and guide..

We load bags into his van, and set off... Once in the van, it doesn't yet feel like we have left the ship... More like another day tour... We head west, through suburbs, into the hills, climbing, headed for the Tazmin Sea on the outer side... New Zealand is quite narrow here... In places a short walk from the port, which opens onto the Pacific, and several shallow bays, near the airport, which open onto the Tazmin..

We climb hills, leaving the city and shops behind, now starting to glimpse a view of the breakers to the west... below we can see a cove, with a large rock... The beach where the movie The Piano was filmed...

We descend to a canyon need the beach... There is a water fall... A short walk takes to a second larger waterfall... The path is easy... The foliage is thick, most of the plants are unfamiliar... As wild as it is, it feels strangely safe... Unlike Australia where ever spider is poisonous, where a great variety of snakes, all apparently deadly, where man eating crocodiles lurk... New Zealand is safe, home of flightless birds, no snakes, and only a couple of lizards or skinks, not of them a threat... It would take hours and a sharp machete to break a trail through the forest, but man eating spiders would not be an issue.

Back to the van, then down to the beach... And a community comprised of houses, a caravan park, a surf shop, a kindergarten, and a small general store... at Piha, for all else it is a 20 mile drive across the mountain... We get a coffee, and walk the beach...

Back to the van, back up hill away from this beach, up towards the divide... But turning back towards the beach, to a cliff above a different beach, the headlands home to a breeding colony of Gannetts... We were told the numbers were greatly reduced as this was the end of the season... There were still lots of bird present... Adults, white with wings marked in black... Many flying, or properly soaring, riding the updrafts as the winds collide with the cliffs. In the rookery are the babies, as large as their parents, in dark brown... Testing wings, and begging for a meal... Occasionally a parent returns, and the two birds, parent and baby lock bills as the baby is fed.

From the rookery, we descend steps and wooden walkways to shoreside rocks to the beach, back to the van, to a seaside cafe for lunch...

Back to the van, back up and over the hill... we stop to walk down a path to a lone large Kiri tree... Then on to a winery for a tasting...

Now, back into the City... We walk the waterfront... The America's Cup is everywhere. The last of the mono hull boats sits in a cradle, now outdoor sculpture... This once industrial area is now public space... The America's cup was the catalyst for the transformation... This may have been the example, that lead to the vision of how the race might transform San Francisco...

Back in the van, now to One Tree Hill (sadly, the one tree is now missing, the victim of a protester) site of an overlook and monument to Sir John Logan Campbell. The hill a (hopefully) extinct volcano, with sheep cattle grazing in the two craters. From the top you can see inlets of the Tamzin sea and the airport to one side, the Auckland's harbor, opening on to the Pacific... We head towards the airport, and our hotel where we will spend the last night of our vacation...

The hotel, for tonight our hotel is located on the airport, across from the International terminal where we go at dawn to catch our flight... We check in... Tina and I walk across the street to the terminal... To scope things out... We return to our room to rearrange the stuff, moving things from bag to bag, making sure the two checked bags are less than 50 lbs each... We go downstairs, have dinner in the hotel... Then back upstairs... I log on to the Internet and put up a couple blog posts... I start this one, but it isn't done in time to post... I check emails... No particular or unexpected news from home... I put the computer and IPad on charge and go to bed...

For tomorrow, we fly...

Tuesday evening

It is our last evening aboard... We are in the Crows Nest as we have been known to have been before occasionally on the cruise. Tonight, the ship is "scenic cruising" through some of the islands off Auckland... But I digress, for the real entertainment is not "hole in the rock" just off the starboard bow, but instead, a couple of our fellow passengers sitting nearby...

They are maintaining a commentary mostly about their fellow passengers... "they are all so rude" They are reminiscent of Monty Python (they have a Englishesk accent... But could be Aussie, Kiwi, English, Indian, Pakistani, or from any of many former bits of the Empire) crossed with Grocho Marx, when making fun of the Catskills... The speak in stage whispers, making it difficult to believe they don't know they are being overheard... They have arrived in the bar recently, and are angry that the chairs have been taken... They have plopped themselves on the seats against the window... They have loudly announced to all "these cannot be saved" to no one in particular... (no one was trying to) and seem to be upset people are drinking champaign (in a bar, who would have thought)... If they are to be believed the the other passengers are all drunk... She would like a glass of champagne... Everyone on this ship is so rude...

He is using her camera, and wonders out loud why she would take a picture of such a thing, she would like her cameras back, but he is using it to take photos "he wouldn't waste his camera on". She would like a glass of champagne... He is busy reading their ship's expense account... "I can't believe they are so rude, We paid up our fare and can sit here if we want". We are to see Hole in the rock... There is a commentary which they are ignoring... They have spyed a small hole, and have mistaken it for Hole in the rock... Discussing what a disappointment it is and the NZ propensity to name everything... "wouldn't a glass of champagne be nice?" The real hole in the rock is visible to starboard, but invisible to our special friends... having decided that the scenery wasn't worth it, they retreated to the stern, she concerned it might be too cold...

I expected him to launch into a tirade about endless hotels Bel-view and Miramar, Bloody Whatney's Red Barrel beer, and the German tourists by the pool making pyramids and scaring all the children... But instead, his tirade was about people drinking in bars, While she thought a glass of champagne would be lovely...

Of course it is possible that the couple was right, and everyone in the Crow's nest including yours truly was drunk, and I made the story up... But I don't think so.

Tina has retreated downstairs to nap or pack... I am finishing a beer, eating peanuts and watching islands go by... It's not as much fun without the alternate commentary...

Now, near 8:00 and our last supper... we are mostly packed, ready to put the suitcases out by the midnight dead line... with appropriate stuff out for tomorrow... (a standard cruise joke, frequently repeated involves a passenger who pack at the last minute, put their suitcases out wearing the cruise line provided bathrobe, on to the pier, through customs and immigration in search of something to wear...)

Dinner complete, I am in the library posting a couple of additional blog entries... This one will wait until tomorrow...

We are now some 189 knts from Auckland... Several hours ago we were 43 knts off Auckland... We, the ship, is wasting time, sailing by the same volcano 5 or 6 times, now doing slow loops in the bays off Auckland... It will soon be over, we will disembark and we will start the journey home... A day and night in Auckland, the a flight to Brisbane, a layover, a flight to LA, a short layover, and a flight to San Francisco, Home...

One last day at sea, Monday, 26 March

Today is our last day aboard Volendam... Tomorrow early, she will dock in Aukland, we will disembark, with too much luggage in tow... We have a car and driver waiting, will tour, go to an airport hotel for the night, then early Wednesday, will start (and end) our journey home.

This morning dawn found us off White Island, an active volcano... The ship spent a full hour and a half passing, turning, and passing again, and again (and yes, again). I have a vision, of a passenger, still in bed, stirring, opening their eyes, seeing the volcano, falling a sleep, awakening later, seeing the volcano again, as we pass again, falling asleep once more, awakening again, and going away with the impression of many islands, each with a volcano... We are now, at 9:30, passing for the 4th or 5th time...

The ship has a very different rhythm on sea days. The rush to go ashore is replaced by a much slower, relaxed sensibility, with time marked not by tour schedules, but instead, by food opportunities, drinks consumed, and announcements, ignored, for art auctions and disembarkation lectures...

The seas are calm, with just enough of a swell to remind you that you are at sea, aboard a ship... People are on deck, some sunning themselves (against medical advice) while others while in the sun, are covered, swaddled... Taking the safe route... There is a slight breeze, which when combined with the ship' motion, is just sufficient to launch a cafe umbrella airborne.

With the end of the cruise come the passenger surveys... And please, groveling even, asking for a good review of the service provided... Apparently, the bar has been set so high that the only possible positive answered is a 9, denoting excellent, and anything else represents failure, and with failure comes longer shore time and un-renewed contracts... This means that most passengers simply mark all 9's... And the line misses the possibility of productive suggestions...

For us there is not an issue... The cruise has been wonderful, the service excellent...

Now sometime after noon, but not quite tea time... We are sitting at the stern pool, in the sun, but well covered. I have had one beer, and am wasting time working yesterday's blog posting (and occasionally this post as well) until I order a second (beer).

At some point we need to pack, fill out our surveys, and plan tomorrow's debarkation plans.

Being our last day aboard, there is a Internet special... 30 minutes for $12.00.... Internet access is precious aboard... Expensive... And very, very slow... I bought 30 minutes this morning, and used 10 of it posting the blog posts from Pictin, Wellington and Napier... I also checked email from home... Brian has finished with Dive school, has loaded out our Florida storage locker and is headed for California... My dentist appointment has been moved... Apparently the cats are well... Presumably the dog misses us, but she never emails.

Sunday, 25 March, Tauranga

The day started gray and rainy...

We walked off early, for a independent tour ( no little flourescent stickers with a picture of a ship, and a number so you knew which bus to board) rain gear ready, but ultimately unneeded...

We wanted to see the geothermal area at Rotorua, 40 miles or so inland...

Off the ship, find our guide, with sign with list of names, through a warehouse to our bus (not the regular routine, normally it was through a gate to a beach area, but today they were holding a triathlon, and the beach exit was blocked... So we got a chance to view the interior of a cold storage warehouse, thankfully, not cold)... Into our van... (there were 11 of us)... I got lucky, and was offered the seat next to the driver... Tina and Karin were in steerage, in the back of the bus.

Being touists, on a bus, we of course should expect to visit tourist sights... This part of New Zealand is known as the Kiwi Fruit center of the country, so of course would visit Kiwi fruit 360 , aka Kiwi Fruit world, with its 20 meter tall slice of kiwi fruit, demonstration kiwi fruit growing area for us to explore (Did you know the Kiwi Fruit was originally known as the Chinese Gooseberry, that the plants are male or female, and they plant one male for every five females, that they are harvested once a year, in April (at least in NZ) and held in cold storage, There are three kinds cultivated... Etc... Etc....) a chance to taste kiwi fruit wine and of course, a gift shop, a large gift shop, mostly a gift shop... Of course, there were other tour busses visiting Kiwi 360, and little flouresent stickers could be found in abundance...

Having visited Kiwi Fruit 360, we headed off to Rotorua, New Zealand's geyser belt, with geysers, mud pots, terraces and vents. It is said to be the largest geothermal site in the southern hemisphere... )

Compared to Yellowstone, the basin was compact, even tiny, and unlike Yellowstone, is in a relatively developed area, with hotels and motels ringing the canyon that contains the geysers and mud pots... The three major geysers are in a terrace area, the mud pots a short ways away... All were active while we were there. This central area is owned by the local Mauri, and is operated as a combination park and cultural center, Te Puia, so in addition to the geothermal features, they have Kiwi birds (being nocturnal, they are indoors, in a dark environment, lighted artificially at night, so they can be viewed while active (which they were...) They were bigger than expected... Very cute... Tina thinks they are penguin like, but I didn't make that connection.

The site also includes a recreated Maori village... Where tradition ceremonies and dances are offered on a regular schedule (for tourist... (Who would have thought...). I was chosen to be the chief of the visitors, stepping forward to receive the challenge, standing stoically, while a warrior waves his war spear, sticks his tongue out, chants and advances. He drops a fern leaf, which symbolizes peace, then retreats, allowing me to advance, pick it up, then retreat, keeping eye contact with the warrior at all times... The group is then invited into the marae (meeting house). I lead, sit at the front, too be called on stage, to grasp the hand of each of the men present, then touch noses twice, all while maintaining eye contact, and keeping a serious face...

Having responsibilities, I handed Tina my camera and participated, rather than observed. In reality, it was just a tourist show, and I was just the rube chosen from the audience, but participating was very different than observing...

The show finished, we went to the carver's and weaver's workshops, followed by a visit to the gift shop... A large, very nice gift shop, before retiring to the bus, for the short drive to a nearby lake, and lunch... The drive though town, on tree lined streets, lined with motels... for tourism is the local industry... After a nice lunch of fish and chips and a bit of time to look around, again, we reboarded the bus, and drove around the lake shore, past Queen Elizabeth Hospital (specializing in arthritis, presumably using the local hot springs as therapy). Past the Blue Pool, the local public pool, through the public park with lawn bowling, their rose garden, and the grand Queen Anne Rotorua Museum of Art and History... The Town of Rotorua is build on top of the geothermal field, and steam vent are visible everywhere... In back yards (many tapped to provide household heat) rising from storm water drains, in little fenced areas in the parks... Everywhere.... Also everwhere are tourist attractions... Mini golf, a tram way to the top of a local mountain, with a restaurant and luge runs... if this had been the US I would have expected an IMAX theater... But this was New Zealand, so none was in evidence...

Back to the ship, via a different route, through a landscape of forests (mostly Monterey Pines from California, considered a wonderful lumber tree here...) sheep farm, deer farms, Alpaca farms, dairy farms, and eventually the suburbs of Tauranga... The beaches, and our ship.

Back aboard, it was now happy hour... A couple of beers, and an hour and a half later as Tina retired to our cabin, and I went ashore for a walk... The beach was lovely... I walked about a kilometer to the base of Mt Maunganui, a local land mark nearly surrounded by the sea... then once around the mountain on a track (hiking path in American English). The sun was setting... The ocean was soothing... There were sheep grazing (fire control)... I crossed several large shell middens, presumably marking Moiri Pa s, their fortified villages tha Capt. Cook reported were abundant here, leading him to assume plentiful natural resources, and so the name, "Bay of Plenty"

Back aboard in time to change for dinner... Then wander the ship a bit before bed...

Napier

The ship docked at dawn... We arose soon after, went down to breakfast and having fortified ourselves, went downstairs, disembarked, and waited in a proper queue for the shuttle into town... Tina had arraigned a architectural walking tour on line.

The World is docked next to us... In this case the World is not a planet, but instead an exclusive cruise ship, with the cabins being owned by the ship's passengers, much like one owns a condominium. (but with much higher home owner's association fees... ). The World is just a bit smaller than the Volendam, but while we carry 14 lifeboats and tenders for roughly 1,400 passengers, the World carries only 4... Much of the talk aboard centers on the World, how much it costs, and what it would be like to be aboard... Surprisingly, most of our passengers say they don't think they would like to sail aboard the world, preferring our ship instead...

Returning to the dock, and the line waiting for the shuttle into town... A shuttle arived, and confusion has broken out, as a ship's tour crowded onto the shuttle... Beyond issues of line jumping (they were not in line with us, we're they?) people alternately assumed that they (we) had mistakenly boarded a tour bus instead of a shuttle, or alternately, the tour folks were more confused than we were and were soon to be bitterly disappointed when their pre-arraigned tour of a winery and Lord of the Rings sites became a short ride downtown... In fact, they were on a ship arraigned walking tour of the Art Deco buildings of Napier starting from the I-center...

This is the most commercial touist centric stop so far... The loo at the "information center" cost $.20 (NZ). There are Duck tours, Tricycle tours (V8 powered three wheel motor cycles), wine tours, both escorted and virtual...

We opted for the Art Deco walking tour offered by the Art Deco Trust... We had booked in advance... Napier was wiped out by an earthquake in in 1931, raising the entire town several meters, and starting a fire that destroyed everything that survived the quake... being the early 1930's, Art Deco was the style of choice, along with a bit of mission revival and Prairie style (so long Frank Lloyd Wright...) so the downtown is an Art Deco paradise... The town recognizes this, and efforts art made to maintain and preserve the buildings. The town seems to celebrate its heritage with people dressed in 1930's clothing small jazz bands and lots of antique cars to be found... Of course, following local cruise ship tradition, their was a group of bag-pipers performing as well.

We met our guide from the Art Deco Trust at the I-center downtown... (I-Center being NZ for visitor's information center)... Then worked our way from on end of town to the other... the tour ending at the Art Deco center... T and I worked our way bck through town, towards the waterfront, checking out stores, and stoping a couple of times at cafes... The second and last time at a cafe across from the I-center, and the return shuttle, with wifi, live music, to wait until the last shuttle or nearly so...

Back aboard, we found a table outside at the stern and watched as we sailed out, headed north... Meanwhile, at the pool, the crew were being trained, launching a life-raft in the pool, turning right side up, and floating about in their survival suits... Watching, I am comfortable in the knowlage that should our ship hit a reef, overturn and sink we know we will be safe, at least if the ship and reef are in a swimming pool...

The eastern coast of New Zealand is off to port... It is a rough coast, with inlets and islands, most likely explored and named by Captain Cook...

P.S. Yes, Napier had a log and wood chip dock... located just beyond the World

Wellington

We docked at midnight... There is not a lot of water between Picton and Wellington, and the Cook straight is known for rough seas and wind... Rather than sail in slow circles they just sailed for Wellington and docked... I assume the Captain dismissed the watch, and went to the bed... We all slept, until 7:30 am when they announced New Zealand immigration had cleared the ship, and warning us not to take food stuffs ashore.

Again, we are docked in an industrial harbor, with containers, and cranes, and piles of logs for export (but sadly, no large pile of wood chips). While It was theoretically possible to walk off the ship and into town, the route wasn't obvious so we opted for the shuttle ($8.00 round trip). It made 2 stops (3 if you count the ship).

Stop 1 was near the Te Papa museum, at the local I-center... stop 2 near the cable car base station... We opted for stop 2... It was about a 1 block walk, then up an alley to the cable car... Tina bought a couple of "returns"... Meadwhile a ship's tour arrived (you can identify those lost souls on a ship's tour by the oval stickers in bright fluorescent colors, (in this case yellow, although, I favor the bright pink) with the image of a ship, and a number, denoting your assigned bus... ) overwhelming the station, escorted in mass through a side gate, while we scan our tickets to gain entrance... the first cable car is full, overfilled, and many are left behind to wait, including a portion of the tour group, T and I, and a gaggle of locals...

The next (other as there are only two) cable car arrived a few minutes later... We boarded, and off we went... The Wellington Cable car is not a cable car in the sense of a San Francisco cable car (although it once was much more so) instead, it is a simple counter-balance funicular, with one car descending, while the other ascends. The two cars pass in the middle. What makes it different is that the cars make 3 stops along the route... Of course, if one stops, the other stops, so the stations have to be located appropriately.

At the top, there is a residential neighborhood, a cafe, the Cable Car Museum, as well as paths into the botanical garden... of course, I was interested in the Cable Car Museum... It held two preserved cars, one of the two original, much rebuilt cars, and a second, larger car, built locally (the other having been built in Dunedin) which had been out of service for some years, and had been fully restored to its as built appearance. It shared the basement with the original (now silent) cable winding machinery. The interpretive panels, telling the story of the car's restoration were particularly well done. I took photos of each, in hopes that our railroad museum can learn from them, and possibly do something similar to tell the story of our collection and its restoration.

Having visited a train museum (much to Tina's dismay) we decided to walk back downtown though the botanical garden... The route marked on the free guide as well as with pink flowers along the way... One of the volunteers suggested a slight detour throug the herb garden instead of the official route...

We worked our way down hill, throught ferns, past trees, both native, but also Monterey Pines, the common lumber tree of New Zealand, and a redwood... Through the Hydrangea garden, the herb garden, a sculpture garden with native trees and plants fabricated out of No. 8 wire, because "Kiwis can make anything out of No. 8 wire" to the rose garden, (Where the ship's tour folks, with their yellow stickers had recently arrived via motor coach) the hot house, then still following the pink flowers painted on the ground, through the old city cemetery with wonderfull victorian headstones, now dissected by a motorway, and back into the city center...

A sign in the cemetery mentioned you could visit a preserved house nearby, but the directions were vague. Tina asked a passerby if he knew where it was... He did, having worked there for 30 years... It turned out it wasn't a house museum, but instead a preserved Victorian mansion, long used as a library, but now, becoming meeting space... He was on his way home to "Hoover the house" then work on a research paper... But expected to be interrupted and distracted by his 14 year old daughter... He told wonderful stories about the building and its ghost, as well as allegations of the ghost's sexual preferences... We stopped by the building but didn't linger... We had already gained great insight into it and its ghost.

We headed across down town, down towards the water front and its museums. There were two museums, located within a few blocks of each other... The Wellington City museum, and the better known Te Papa.

having gained the waterfront with its promenade, we located the Wellington museum, but pressed on to the Te Papa... The Te Papa is about New Zealand heritage and history, but focuses and emphasizes Maori culture. It is an imposing building... As we entered, we saw posters announcing an visiting exhibition of wedding dresses... As a special exhibit it had an admission fee (the museum does not charge an admission) We happily paid the fee... It was a wonderful exhibit, created by the Victoria and Albert museum in London...

Having viewed wedding dresses through the ages, in all their color and forms, we explored the rest of the museum as the time drew near to catch the shuttle back to the boat... We located shuttle stop 1, and a few other guests, who having found stop 1, which was unmarked, we're now concerned that they might not be at stop 1, but were comforted that others thought that this street corner might be stop 1. In fact is was, which was confirmed eventually with the arrival is a shuttle. Mean while we talk, "where are you from" one gent is from LA... Really Palos Verdes... We are from near San Francisco... "where? I, went to school at Berkeley...". My wife and I both went there, we met as students... "So did we "... (followed by a chorus of "It's a small world")

On the bus... Off the bus and board the ship... Aboard, it's soon happy hour, a short nap, followed by dinner... Then off to bed...