Only 6 weeks left in NZ.

It's hard to believe we only have 6 weeks left in beautiful Bay of Islands. (In our life now, 6 weeks doesn't seem long enough, how our view of time has changed when remembering those precious 2 weeks of holiday!!). Although the pace of life is gentle, time seems to have gone by faster this year; or is it true that time goes quicker as you get older? We're trying not to get sad about leaving, but it's hard when the place is so wondrous and serene. We love our house with a view, the sunsets, the town of Russell.

Also, we can now look out on what could legitimately be called a garden.... A 'slightly' more rainy summer has encouraged plant growth and Brian has managed to swing the pick-axe for another round of planting. It's not completely finished, but from some angles it looks pretty good. Final jobs before we leave are laying gravel on the path in the lower garden and wood shavings to cover the soil to try to limit weed growth. (Do I hear snickering from the expert gardeners).

Brian is still amazed at how much he enjoys working in the garden. Dawn is amazed at what Brian has achieved with his "power tools" (as he calls them). Dawn has included before and after garden photos, one of which includes Brian with his "power tools". Yes, that's all he's used, pick-axe, spade, rake, hammers, hand-saw and his one actual power tool - a small rechargeable drill. Claims he wants to use gardening as part of his fitness routine.....

Spring 2009

Spring 2011

Spring 2010

Spring 2011

Other than gardening, Brian's played golf two or three times a week so it's no wonder he's content with retirement life. Besides the activities mentioned in the last blog, Dawn has been active with the local cinema. She has introduced some structure to what was a haphazard venture (typical Dawn) and it's starting to be well supported. Dawn has also got approval from the NZ Teacher's Council to teach so we're now into the next phase of getting a work permit to allow her to do part-time relief teaching. What busy lives we lead..............

This time round in Russell has also been one of discovery for us. Unfortunately, we decided that neither of us has the gene in our body that creates "boatie people". We tried: Brian went sea fishing, but was not inspired. The picnics on the boat or secluded beaches were good, but not something we wanted to do often. We love being on the water, but not in a motor boat that we have to launch, control (not a bit like driving a car), take out the water, etc, etc.

So we sold Habibi to a lovely family from Auckland, who have renamed the boat Black Pearl, (their children are at that age)! Being aware that some of the boat was paid for by wedding gifts we thought about the best way to use that part of the proceeds from the sale of Habibi. Dawn has been going Kayaking with a friend using a spare kayak, so will now be getting her own using the wedding money. Brian has bought a 200cc motor cycle for touring around the country roads etc. We hope all the people who gave generously at our weddings approve of this change of use of the funds.

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year. Our guests, Susan, Tamara, Dominique and Sara added splendidly to the event. With the different nationalities and family traditions much discussion was had on when the presents should be opened, but this was sorted in the best democratic way, Dawn decided. With the mixture of carnivores and veggies, Christmas pudding lovers and haters and too many cooks, getting meals on the table to satisfy all was a challenge. We created a cooking roster. I won't say which meals were most looked forward to, but age of cook seemed to be a factor....... During our guests' visit we had the annual tall ships and classic boats race, so we went up Tapeka Point to view the lack of action/excitement, it was a very calm day......

In February Jennifer and Aidan visited from San Francisco. Aidan had his 12th birthday with us. One treat was to sail out to the islands and have a picnic. Capt Aidan did very well and the Dolphins came alongside the boat to wish him happy birthday.

Picnic spot in the Bay of Islands

Aidan at the helm Dolphins playing on the way home

On 3rd May we sadly leave Russell, but on the bright side we will see Esmee-Rose and Brian's daughters and other family before we head over to Spain on the 10th, where to be honest life isn't too bad for retired people. There we will stay until end October, except for a three week visit to Ireland in August (with Dick and Gitte) and a trip to UK for Eloise's wedding on the 24th Sept.

Hope you are all keeping well and looking forward to your summer. Let us know how things are for you as we love to hear from you.

Brian and Dawn

Rainy Day in Bay of Islands

Oh well, I expect it had to happen sometime. The rain has come to the Bay of Islands, which actually has pleased most people as it was needed by the gardens and fills dwindling water tanks. For Brian it provides the opportunity to sit at the computer and update the blog; for Dawn she stands behind radiating joy while doing the ironing......

The adventures for Brian of riding Harley's around California and Nevada with his brother, are now just memories, wonderful memories, especially visiting backstreet bars, meeting the locals and staying at a hotel that could have inspired the song Hotel California (there are some stories to be told, but not in this blog!!).

When we finished the last blog we were in UK "waiting for the Grandchild to light up our world". Well, Esmée-Rose arrived safely on 7th Nov and our world was well and truly lit up. We had as many hugs as we could in the time before we had to leave for NZ, but it could never be enough. As with most Grandparents we now proudly bear the title of besotted.

















Getting back to NZ we found the house in perfect condition and a garden where the weeds had successfully made a take-over bid. Brian's first month has therefore been spent outside pulling weeds, or on the golf course recovering from pulling weeds. Dawn has been pulling weeds and going shopping, yoga, kayaking, visiting old friends to recover from pulling weeds. As you can see we've quickly settled back into life in Russell, which now has a cinema!!! A local film buff shows films projected onto the wall of the village hall and Dawn's volunteered to help.

After some hard work you may be surprised that the garden is shaping up, slowly....










Daughter Dominique and her lifetime friend Sara arrived in Russell 2 days after us. They have been well behaved and respectful of us elders, although they have not lived up to the expectation of "slave children". Tinkered at weeding might be a good description. Dominique practices yoga while Sara trots on the treadmill. They have now both found jobs so I expect they will soon be coming in exhausted from hard labour. To be honest, they're great to have around and no trouble, cough. They have also been adventurous and bought motor-cycles, which Brian may play on while they are at work....



Christmas and New Year will be hectic because as well as Dominique and Sara we have Susan and Tamara coming to stay. The youngsters have to give up their rooms and will probably sleep on the covered deck. Brian will have 5 women to amuse and make smoothies for, more time in the garden and at the golf course perhaps.....

We wish you all a joyous Christmas and that you achieve all you aim for and desire in 2011.

Bavarian and British beer

Having fun most days seems to make time fly; we can't believe it's been 3 months already since the last blog. This one will cover up to Oct 9th, how precise is that, but you'll see why.

We left Marbella at the end of July, just as the hoards of British and German holiday makers were arriving, and went to the peace and quiet of Munich (all the Germans were in Marbella getting up early to place towels on sunbeds, funny thing for a nation to be famous for, but it is true).

At the Chinese Tower in the Englischer Garten

We had the pleasure of house sitting for Dick and Gitte, who'd chosen to go to Bali for August. What fun we had riding bikes through the Englischer Garten with the compulsory stop at each Bier Garten we passed, walking the streets of the lovely town centre with the compulsory stop for Kaffee and Kuchen. (Now you know why Dawn fasted before leaving Spain!!!!)

Oh boy! Another GIANT pretzel:)

Having the use of Dick and Gitte's new Volvo convertable (what lovely people they are) also meant we could travel further afield in luxury. Dawn's birthday was spent at a Spa in Bad Leonfelden, where we got used to being naked with other people. It took a couple of hours to shake off our staid British and American approach to nudity, but we grew to love sauna-ing several times a day!

Brian enjoys the Knudelfest in Bad Leonfelden, Austria

Our 4 days of pampering included yoga, massage, sauna and trying both Nordic Walking (can do) and Skiking (can't..) and attending the town's "world famous" Knudelfest.

Knudel - fruit and a chocolate filled one. YUM!

During our Bavarian stay we also went up the Zugspitze to play in the snow (highest mountain in Germany),and travelled the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse through a spectacular alpine landscape. Grossglockner is the highest mountain in Austria and the Pasterze Glacier at the foot of the mountian is the largest glacier.

View from top of the Zugspitze

Brian can't believe there is snow here in the middle of August!

View from the top of the Zugspitze


The Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier

Hiking along the Pasterze Glacier valley

The Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier

Other Austrian adventures included spending nights in B&Bs in the Alps (including the village of Heiligenblut (Holy Blood)) and walking around picturesque Salzburg.Bavaria is one of our favorite regions in Europe and Munich has moved higher up our "Best Places to Live in the World" list!

Salzburg, Austria

From Germany we went to England and visited family and the bump in Eloise's tummy from which will come the first Grandchild. As part of Dawn's "getting to know UK" we spent three nights down in Devon where we hiked along the coast and on the moor. We stayed one night in a CAMRA endorsed pub to sample fantastic real British ale and a 4 poster bed, for Dawn's first time.

Hiking past a reservoir on the Dart moor

Hiking on a coastal path in Devon

A real 4-poster bed:)

Next stop was San Francisco, with Brian's brother David tagging along. We stayed a few nights with Jennifer (another of Dawn's many worldwide friends) and behaved like tourists, going to Alcatraz and riding the cable car, with David and Brian feeling like 10 year olds hanging off the side/back.

Alcatraz

The very cold and bleak exercise yard at Alcatraz

David hangs on the side of a cable car

Brian and David then said goodbye to Dawn, picked up a couple of Harleys and rode off into the sunset, or at least away from the rain clouds, for 3 weeks of riding around/getting lost in California and Nevada.

Day 1 of the Big Road Trip

Fog rolls across the Golden Gate

Lake Tahoe is incredibly clear

Yosemite - always spectacular!

Virginia City (normally a wild west town) hosts the Silver Run event for bikers

Too much fun and many, many adventures later it's impossible to cover them in the blog, but if ever you meet up with David or Brian they will be happy to spend numerous hours regaling the stories for you, especially riding along Route 66 (David's dream) and through Death Valley (Brian's dream). In the meantime just look at the photos.

Death Valley - 114 Farenheit on this day!

Along Hwy 101 in Southern California

"The Rock" in Morro Bay

Sunset over Monterey Bay

Dawn spent the 3 weeks rushing around in Seattle meeting friends/family and sorting out paperwork necessary for her to work when in NZ, Brian's cracking the whip!!!!!

On the 9th Oct David returned to UK with wonderful memories and Brian went to Seattle for a hug and to bore people with his tales of adventure staying in such wonderful places as Barstow and Fillmore (Englishmen abroad with only a free map for guidance!!!!!).

Next blog soon as we're now in England for 3 weeks, where it's likely to be cold and wet, waiting for the Grandchild to light up our world.

From NZ to Japan...UK...&...Spain

Hello readers. Seems ages since the last blog, but it's only 3 months. We've been so busy doing not much at all, the time is flying by... We sadly left the beauty of the Bay of Islands at the end of April, but were excited to be on our travels again.

First stop was Nagoya, Japan, to visit the family of Brian's ex secretary (Sonomi). They met us at the airport with fun welcome sign, which can be seen hanging at the back of the meal photo. We stayed two nights and were treated to the very best of Japanese hospitality. The visit reminded us of all the great things about Japan, most of which are no longer practised by people of other countries.

We met Shiori, candidate for most beautiful baby in the world, seen below being held by Nachan, 92 years and still in control of the family. Also, you'll notice that Brian took the opportunity to get some baby holding practice for when he becomes a granddaddy in November.

After Dawn, who had visited before and was kind of adopted by the whole family during our year in Japan, Brian was the second foreigner Nachan had met in her 92 years. She charmed him with her vitality, powerful humility, love of life and wit. The whole family couldn't have been more welcoming and we were fed a banquet at each meal.

Next stop was UK where most of the 2 weeks were spent cleaning the mess that Brian's daughter's flat had been left in by the tenant who didn't pay the rent and needed Bailiffs to prise him out. If you're a scoundrel I can understand not paying rent, but to allow pipes to leak causing condensation to occur, leading to black mould covering a lot of the walls and ceilings... who does that!!!!?? Unfortunately he was obviously so thick skinned the black mould didn't seem to make him ill.

Next stop was Marbella, Spain. Dawn's nephew Brandon had been staying in the flat for 6 weeks before we arrived and was well settled (thought I might need the Bailiff to get him out.......). Soon after we arrived in Spain it was our Seattle wedding anniversary, so after a Cava bubbly breakfast we went up to Ronda, where Brian, about 20 months earlier, had made one of the better decisions in his life. Romance is alive and well.

For our London anniversary we went to Seville and had a romantic dinner, drank Sangria in the old town and acted like tourists.

Shortly after celebrating the 8 days of our first wedding anniversary, it was time to celebrate Brandon's birthday. We took him out to one of our favorite restaurants...which was delicious...and then later (as we were getting ready for bed) his Spanish friends took him out to really celebrate! He dragged in about 7am the next day....


As our lodger Brandon was still with us (Brian couldn't work out the Spanish Bailiff system), and we'd already made him go to Ronda, Istan & Seville, we were running out of interesting places to go. So we took him to Gibraltar where the highlight, besides going across the border to the UK, is to walk across a working airport runway on the way into town. After watching an Easy Jet plane land here, the crossing opened and people and cars streamed across.

After Brandon finally had no more excuses to stay, he left with a tear in his eye and a few days later Brian's brother David arrived with his wife Bridget. A fine time was had; the photos say it all.

Next visitor was Bart, one of Dawn's best friends, currently living in Cairo. Unfortunately Brian chose the time of Bart's visit to go down with a 4 day vicious man flu. As he lay suffering in bed, Dawn and Bart went out enjoying themselves (bet you can't guess who's writing this blog!!!). Once Brian had recovered, Bart was taken on the obligatory trip to Ronda, which was great until Bart started to feel ill, leading to an uncomfortable trip for him back down the mountain, even though Brian drove at a snail's strolling pace.


Next was Sonomi, who had spent 3 weeks walking for 500kms along the pilgrimage “Camino de Santiago” with a back pack as large as herself. As you can imagine she looked fit, healthy, slim and very tired. The easiest of visitors because, besides being charmingly Japanese, she not surprisingly rested and slept for a lot of the time. A trip to Marbella old town for gifts and some fun dinners was activity enough.


Brian's daughter Katrina arrived with boyfriend Dave, a couple of days after Sonomi, so we had a full flat for a few days. After Sonomi left our attention turned to the World Cup and in view of both USA and England failing to progress very far, we quite rightly put our full support behind Spain, with stunning results. Victor's, the local restaurant/bar on the beach overlooking the Mediterranean, seemed an appropriate place to drink, eat and watch the games. Great nights were had and after the final Brian had been hugged by more Spanish women than you can “shake a stick at”!
After 14 months married, Brian feels he is in the process of getting a new wife! After all our visitors had left, Dawn embarked on a “fast” to rejuvenate her insides. For our last 20 days in Spain she has lived on broth, lemon drinks and herb teas. Pounds have fallen away and this 'skinny bird' has appeared with baggy shorts and comments of “my clothes don't fit”. Lucky for Brian she has remained beautiful and he will be accompanying her to the shops (to buy some belts....).

Finally, as you can see wherever we are is becoming a popular holiday destination, and it's not only because of Brian's great smoothies. So all you family and friends who've said you'd like to visit us in Spain (or NZ) better get your bookings in, emails accepted.......

Next blog will cover the month of August when we will be having a holiday in Munich, with frequent visits to the Alps. What fortunate people we are.