The Great Pacific Photo Dump

Aha!  I've finally crossed the most perilous frontier to date: putting pictures from the past 2 months' travels on the blog.  Navigating the countless barriers, obstacles, and demons (mostly in the form of questionable excuses) in my path, I've entered the procrastinators' paradise - that mythic threshold between to-do and done.  In your faces.

Wellington

The much anticipated, thoroughly enjoyed four day reunion with some of our favorite humans - Cole and Kristin.

The View from Mt. Victoria

The Botanical Gardens

Indian food and beloved hot towels

Hanmer Springs

A weekend getaway to picturesque Hanmer Springs with Dave and Caitlin - old and new friends. Who knew when we parted ways after graduating that we'd be reuniting, nearly a decade later, in the far corner of the world?

 

Due to Dave's remarkable photography skills, we were a bit gun-shy with our own camera.  If you'd like to see more pictures from this trip (you should), Facebook is the place you'll find them.  

Christchurch

Several weeks after our Wellington extravaganza Cole and Kristin joined us on the South Island.  They swung through Christchurch for the weekend and we got to show off our new home.

The Dunes of New Brighton

Riccarton Farmers' Market: lots of goodies, live music, and delicious breakfast

Gap Golf: A self-guided tour of the city

The Cardboard Cathedral

Sardines: Hilary loses

Hosting a dinner party gets a bit creative in our current set-up

Kaikoura

At the 3-month mark we struck off on our first camping experience.  All that extra gear we hauled over here finally came in handy. 

Okiwi Bay - Seal Colony

The Peninsula Walk - wearing my hat for my mommy

Dinner outside the public restrooms.  We opted for the luxury of having running water nearby to cleanup after our meal.

Our first time camping on a beach.  I thought waves would be peaceful, but instead they were a constant reminder that I know nothing about reading or predicting tides. 

Our trusty playing cards.  Go nowhere without them.

We woke up before dawn for some breakfast, coffee, and sunrise.  The clouds ended up blocking most of the it, but it turned out alright.

Fyffe Palmer Bush Walk

On the way home from Kaikoura, we stopped into an idyllic wildlife reserve for a picnic lunch.

In late October, we went to an event called Canterbury Tales.  It shaped up to be this cool night parade filled with live music, sculptures, lights, and theatrical performances.  By the time it finally got going, we headed home for night manager duty.  A good night, nonetheless.

Good, good stuff.  These parts of the story sure help me get through the days spent chipping paint off windows with a razor blade. 

We love and miss you all,
Mike and Hil

Weekend in Akaroa

About a month ago, we needed a break from the hostel.  A break from the city, the life we were slowly growing accustomed to.  One whole night of uninterrupted sleep. Off we drifted to the sleepy, picturesque French-style village of Akaroa.

 

 We checked into a little B&B run by a charming old British woman.  Immediately upon arrival, she set us down on the porch (overlooking the bay) for coffee, biscuits, and chit-chat with her neighbors who'd dropped by.

Then we strolled along the seaside shops and cafes.  No agenda, no scurrying.  We headed back to the house for some afternoon reading, resting, and tea.  We popped back into town for dinner and called it an early night.

 

The Scenic Drive

Free book.  Funny book.

 Enjoying the last tastes of the land before heading back to the city.

One of the many selfies we resorted to taking

Maybe we're getting old.  Maybe we're boring.  But I'll be danged if it wasn't an extremely enjoyable weekend.  One of those times that left us counting our abundant blessings.

Love and miss you all,

Hilary and Mike

Mike's Mistake

What the heck are we doing here? (and other thoughts)...

As those who know me know: my mistakes are many.  Today, however, I'll only address one: I've been in New Zealand for pert near eight weeks and have failed to mention to many friends and family what exactly we are doing here.  Further, I've spent many parts of the eight weeks wondering the very same thing myself.  I'll attempt to answer that question now in the ways I am able.

Pictured below is our home.  It is the room at a backpackers' hostel designated for the night manager, which we are.  We are on-call six nights a week from 10 pm until 8 am, fielding late night check-ins, fire alarms, and rowdy, drunken travelers.  Most nights are uneventful, but there is enough action to keep us on our toes.  In addition, Hilary is also one of the receptionists here.  During the day, I work as a general laborer on construction sites through a temp agency.

That, my friends, is the practical answer to what we are doing in simplest terms. Relaying this information to fellow travelers, co-workers, and acquaintances has drawn many odd glances and resounding "why"s.  Carrying buckets of rubbish up and down six flights of stairs 9.5 hours a day in an ill-ventilated apartment complex shoves the questions and incredulity in my face in suffocating waves.

As a result, I have spent much time and anxiety thinking about 'capitalizing on the experience,' 'making the most of it,' 'living life to the fullest,' 'finding my calling,' and other maddening cliches of self-gratification.  In the midst of my doubt, fatigue, and weakness, I chased after 'career calling' and neglected all else.  That ain't me, brah.  

A few weekends ago, I woke up to the ridiculousness of some of this scurrying.  I realized that a dream job is not my priority in life - certainly not here in New Zealand.  Above all, my priority is God.  I don't tend to talk publicly about my faith very much and still prefer discussing it in the privacy of an interaction among willing parties, but I also do not attempt to hide it.  It will always be the most important thing in my life and pursued above all else (although I repeatedly fail along the way).

After that my wife, my family, my friends.  Relationships with the people who surround me.  These are important to me, not whether I find career satisfaction.  I found myself talking about how "I'm doing temp construction work now, but I'm a writer.  I'm looking for work as a 'creative.'  I'm just making ends meet until I find the right fit."  What is that if not ego-boosting, searching for acceptance and approval in things I haven't even achieved, but maybe one day could?

Then travel.  I'm in New Zealand.  We're not living abroad because we wanted to escape the life we had in Minnesota.  We love it there.  Our family and friends there are amazing.  We love spending time with them and miss them like crazy while we're away.  The Twin Cities feel like home to us.  The foods, communities, sports, arts, events, and opportunities are mouth-watering.  But Hilary and I decided we want to see more.  To see life from other points-of-view.  To have adventures.  Experiences.  To step outside of our comfort zones and add textures and memories to our story together.  

For us, Christchurch is the right setting for this stage in our journey.  It is a base camp where we can grow in our faith, build new relationships with great people, set off on small trips around New Zealand, and work enough to pay the bills.  Many people here ask us, "Are you here for the Rebuild?"  Sheepishly, we aren't.  Folks have come here from all over the world because the quakes have left a plethora of jobs and rebuilding needs - worthy pursuits.  That isn't what drew us here and I sometimes feel guilty about that. 

The truth is - whether we intended to be or not - we are part of the Rebuild.  Literally, in the sense that we work at a hostel that hosts many long-term laborers and also that I am working on various construction sites around the city, but also differently, in the sense that we are broken and fallen and need constant reconstructing as we walk along our journey through this world.  

Despite all this talking and rambling that I'm prone to do, don't be fooled.  I've not arrived at some place of higher understanding or elite purpose.  I am the fumbling, bumbling human you all have come to know in some way or another.  I haven't learned any life lessons with any finality or discovered truths that propel me onto a richer life than the people around me.  I'll continue to forget and fail and lose my way.  But here we are and this is what we're doing.

We love and miss you all,

Mike and Hil

Taylor's Mistake

Here are a few pictures from our first attempt at exploring the pure, wild New Zealand of travelers' lore.  Easing into things as we are often inclined, we chose a close, accessible jaunt, barely off the beaten path: Taylor's Mistake and Godley Head.  A 25 minute drive from the hostel which came up often in conversations with fellow travelers, this short hike was a great little afternoon getaway.  

The sun shone, the seal snarled, and the air replenished.  It was a much needed reminder that experiencing the outdoors is one of our major priorities this year.  We're surrounded by natural wonder and forget all about it when we're steeped in the mundanity of 'getting by.'

Loose Seal

Kebab

The edge of the world as we know it

Taylor's Battery - NZ's World War II-Era defense against Pacific invaders 

Other side of the car, other side of the road, other side of the world

We love and miss you all,

Mike and Hilary