Farmer's Market Fresh

You cannot beat this for fresh - fish right off the boat!

 

The Rugby

Headed off to our first rugby match this weekend.  Mallory got us a few tickets to see the Wellington Lions take on Hawkes Bay.  Thankfully the tickets were box seats and we had a nice view looking down upon the field - the wind was very gusty and we suspected that we would not last ten minutes outside although many hearty fans did just that.  As for the  game itself, it was a nice excuse to hand out with friends and drink a few beers.

Otaki - Our First New Zealand Holiday

Finally! We headed out of Wellington for our first trip in New Zealand.  Granted it was not all that grandiose but it was a whole lot of fun.  We went to a small town and nearby beach called Otaki (o-tack-ee).  We rented out this really nice Bach for two nights. The first photo is of the Bach itself, a nice little one room unit with a bathroom and kitchenette.  The second photo is our backyard view.

The town of Otaki was sleepy at best but we did manage to find a few good places to eat and shop.  Below are photos of us at the Oasis Cafe.  If anyone is headed out that way we would recommend the Curry House, which did not serve very much curry, but was our favorite place to eat. We also shopped at the outlet stores which where nice but do not fair well against the larger American outlet malls.

Here is a shot of Mallory with her scarf in her long black.  I am not sure if it helped with the flavor.

After spending Friday walking around town and talking with a few delightful locals - we had great fun with two hilarious older women at the local community thrift store discussing buttons and badges - the following day we walked to Otaki Beach. 

On our way there we stopped of at one of the oldest churches in New Zealand and there saw a statue of Jesus high up on a near by hill,
so of course we decided to get as high as Jesus. 
Here is what we saw:

Yes, that is Mallory who had a sudden urge to climb a tree!She did not get too far but she was up
a good 10 feet.

From there we headed to the beach for a nice walk along the coastline.  It was pretty rustic which  made it great for finding things.  We found some cool shells as long with large fish bones as well as a dead sheep that somehow must of got caught in the water and drowned.  Still to cold to go swimming but I can not wait to jump in the sea! 

That is is Kapiti Island off in the distance. Kapiti is one of New Zealand’s most valuable nature reserves,
and is an island sanctuary for birds.

We are definitely looking forward to our next trip, where ever it may be!

Kell and I at Cape Cod

Kell and I had a great two weeks on Cape Cod. The first weekend there we spent time catching up with Matt, Cara, Kevin, Emma, Lauren, Auntie, Grandma and Grandpa.  Here is a picture of the kids on the beach along with some random kid who wanted to join in on the photo. In the bucket that Kell is looking at is a crab that the boys caught on the beach.

It was Kell's wish to eat the Holy Trilogy of food while on the Cape: shrimp, clams, and lobster.  I am such a proud parent and know that I will be able to go to seafood restaurants with him in the future!  Here is a shot of him with his steamer.  He did all the work himself pulling the clam out of the shell, washing it and dumping it in butter, but what he did not like was the clams necks which he gave to me to eat - no complaints there.

On Grandpa's suggestion we all took a trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts home of the Plymouth Rock and the replica of the Mayflower.  It was fun to be back there ( I lived there in the early 90s) seeing the sights and having Kell learn a little about our country's history.  He was most intrigued by the ship's cat, Felix.  

Oh yeah, during our vacation we both got haircuts!

The trips back and forth from NZ to USA were fairly uneventful although I met a number of people living in or being from Australia - odd.  Also had the quintessential windy Wellington Airport landing.  With strong winds and the plane rocking back and forth it seemed cause for alarm but you would not have been able to tell from the cool and collected passengers who seemed not even to notice.