Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Christchurch for a Day
My brother Mike went to teacher's college in Christchurch, and I visited him there in 2006. We went on a road trip around the south island on NZ, which was great fun and, dare I say, was the beginning of the end for the silent (and sometimes no so silent) war my brother and I seemed to have been waging since childhood.
When Karl and I decided we wanted to see NZ together, we decided to fly into Christchurch (or ChCh) because I was already kind of familiar with it, and because we were flying in kind of late in the season and figured we stood a better chance of getting any sort of decent weather if we first saw the south and then headed north ( we're flying out of Auckland).
Earthquake and all, we were warned there was not much left to see (unless you wanted to gawk at the wreckage, which to this day, is extensive). During our one full day there, we headed into the CBD and gawk we did.
Damage throughout most ChCh is extensive. The people we stayed with told us they went without power and a functioning sewer system for over 2 weeks. I think you can imagine that's not exactly fun in a urban area. Walking through their neighbourhood, we could see cracks where other peoples homes were pretty much split into two. Many homes have been abandoned. Some are slowly on the mend. Few look like they have escaped the wrath.
I am not sure if the top picture above means anything to many of you, but for those of you who know what you are looking at - the whole "red area" is basically a write off and still not accessible to the general public. We stuck our heads over the fence and took the picture below. That's kind of what it all looks like. The central bus station is gone. So is pretty much the whole shopping district. The arts quad is also closed off. In the last week or so, the anglican church finally reached a decision. The Cathedral will be torn down.
Having never actually lived in Christchurch (or NZ for that matter), I am trying to understand why, but I am actually really sad about all this.
"This is the new normal"
It's a slogan I have seen and heard all over Christchurch many times during our two days there. Despite the reminders of tragedy all around, the whole city seems to "just carry on", somehow even cheerfully so. We sat and ate our PB and J sandwiches on a bench in the middle of the re:start project. Being there, you can't help but feel like everything is going to be alright. It's down right cheerful.
The whole area is rather small, about 4 city blocks or so, but we really enjoyed it and spent quite a bit of time here just exploring the many different ways shipping containers have been re-purposed into banks, coffee shops, retail stores etc. Since leaving re:start, Karl and I have spent many of our idle moments dreaming up a shipping container space of our own. We may never get around to constructing one, but it sure is fun (for us) to dream.
I was very glad to see that the botanical gardens (although not the Curator's House restaurant) are still open and in good shape (if you mind the odd gap in the ground), the cafe and the Canterbury Museum has actually expanded and includes a really well done exhibit about the earthquake - featuring among other things a skateboarding video shot on the torn up and oddly undulating roads of the city (all three of us really liked this), and a quote from the Mayor of the city using the word "MUNTED" to describe state of the cities sewer lines. I like the word so much it's now officially part of my vocabulary.
Watching local families enjoy a day in the park or working together to put up the front fence again, touring re:start or the gardens - spending a couple of days in this city served as an excellent reminder that we should never take a single day for granted, but also that no matter how "munted" things get, it's all life. And it's all pretty darn great.
Cheers,
M
When Karl and I decided we wanted to see NZ together, we decided to fly into Christchurch (or ChCh) because I was already kind of familiar with it, and because we were flying in kind of late in the season and figured we stood a better chance of getting any sort of decent weather if we first saw the south and then headed north ( we're flying out of Auckland).
Earthquake and all, we were warned there was not much left to see (unless you wanted to gawk at the wreckage, which to this day, is extensive). During our one full day there, we headed into the CBD and gawk we did.
Damage throughout most ChCh is extensive. The people we stayed with told us they went without power and a functioning sewer system for over 2 weeks. I think you can imagine that's not exactly fun in a urban area. Walking through their neighbourhood, we could see cracks where other peoples homes were pretty much split into two. Many homes have been abandoned. Some are slowly on the mend. Few look like they have escaped the wrath.
I am not sure if the top picture above means anything to many of you, but for those of you who know what you are looking at - the whole "red area" is basically a write off and still not accessible to the general public. We stuck our heads over the fence and took the picture below. That's kind of what it all looks like. The central bus station is gone. So is pretty much the whole shopping district. The arts quad is also closed off. In the last week or so, the anglican church finally reached a decision. The Cathedral will be torn down.
Having never actually lived in Christchurch (or NZ for that matter), I am trying to understand why, but I am actually really sad about all this.
"This is the new normal"
It's a slogan I have seen and heard all over Christchurch many times during our two days there. Despite the reminders of tragedy all around, the whole city seems to "just carry on", somehow even cheerfully so. We sat and ate our PB and J sandwiches on a bench in the middle of the re:start project. Being there, you can't help but feel like everything is going to be alright. It's down right cheerful.
The whole area is rather small, about 4 city blocks or so, but we really enjoyed it and spent quite a bit of time here just exploring the many different ways shipping containers have been re-purposed into banks, coffee shops, retail stores etc. Since leaving re:start, Karl and I have spent many of our idle moments dreaming up a shipping container space of our own. We may never get around to constructing one, but it sure is fun (for us) to dream.
I was very glad to see that the botanical gardens (although not the Curator's House restaurant) are still open and in good shape (if you mind the odd gap in the ground), the cafe and the Canterbury Museum has actually expanded and includes a really well done exhibit about the earthquake - featuring among other things a skateboarding video shot on the torn up and oddly undulating roads of the city (all three of us really liked this), and a quote from the Mayor of the city using the word "MUNTED" to describe state of the cities sewer lines. I like the word so much it's now officially part of my vocabulary.
Watching local families enjoy a day in the park or working together to put up the front fence again, touring re:start or the gardens - spending a couple of days in this city served as an excellent reminder that we should never take a single day for granted, but also that no matter how "munted" things get, it's all life. And it's all pretty darn great.
Cheers,
M
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Choo Chooooo
Could we possibly visit Australia and NOT ride a steam train? I doubt it very much.
Within half an hour of checking into our Melbourne hotel, Hudson sniffed out and was clutching onto a stack of "Puffing Billy" promo cards. His excitement could hardly be contained. By nighttime, he was so revved up I ended up tearing a card into tiny pieces and throwing it into the garbage. He threw a kicking and screaming fit when I did that, however it expanded that last tiny bit of energy and he passed right out. The first words out of his mouth the next morning...
" I want to go see Puffing Billy.... "
A ride on a steam train in Australia can be an expensive affair (AUS $44 for an adult ticket), so I nominated Karl to do the chaperoning while I ran around the town Belgrave and took care of some errands. A kiss good-bye and off they went.
Within half an hour of checking into our Melbourne hotel, Hudson sniffed out and was clutching onto a stack of "Puffing Billy" promo cards. His excitement could hardly be contained. By nighttime, he was so revved up I ended up tearing a card into tiny pieces and throwing it into the garbage. He threw a kicking and screaming fit when I did that, however it expanded that last tiny bit of energy and he passed right out. The first words out of his mouth the next morning...
" I want to go see Puffing Billy.... "
A ride on a steam train in Australia can be an expensive affair (AUS $44 for an adult ticket), so I nominated Karl to do the chaperoning while I ran around the town Belgrave and took care of some errands. A kiss good-bye and off they went.
By the time the train was scheduled to arrive, I had booked our accommodations in New Zealand, checked into car rental options, chatted with my mom, bought new toothbrushes for the whole crew, had a divine sushi lunch and managed to loose the car keys. But that's another story.
I arrived back at the train station just as Puffing Billy was starting to chuff in. Hudson was all smiles. He had a wonderful time.
AND... it would seem Hudson did not miss his mommy. At all.
Cheers,
M
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Visiting PB and J
Sorry to have dropped off the radar like this...
Like I mentioned about a month ago, we went without the internet, and often with out electricity for a little while there. Weeks went by, and all of the sudden there was so much blogging to catch up on I got a little overwhelmed. And decided to put it off. And off. And off......
I am doing my best to catch up now, so here goes...
After our trip to the caves we went and stayed with my friend Jay for a little while. Jay works for a wonderful organization called Outward Bound and through a long list of circumstances and twists of faith, he's come to live here. That's right... kind of in the middle of nowhere, but right on the Snowy river. It's completely wonderful.
We spend a couple of days doing exactly what kids should be doing in a place like this, namely...
getting really dirty....
then getting kind of clean....
and getting lots of exercise.
A bit of a confession;
When we set out on this trip, we wanted to answer a couple of questions for ourselves.
For several years now, Karl and I have been having the city vs. country debate. Both have aspects that appeal to us, and we have been "on the fence" for a quite some time now. Jay's place became an interesting case study for us. As much as Karl and I loved being away from it all, Hudson seem to miss it all. Mostly I think he missed his routine, something we struggled to provide him with so far away from anything familiar. The closest playgrounds were 30-40 minutes away in either direction. Even there, children his age seemed to be scarce. We did our best to entertain him around the clock, but it just was not the same as having other kids around. Much too often he would retreat to a couch, curl up with his iPad and watch movies. At times, he actually became quite difficult to deal with, which he generally is not.
When Jay's girlfriend Clare came home from a trip she was leading, we all headed off to do some camping at Wilson's Promotory. Australian campgrounds are actually called "Holiday Parks" and they are a bit like tiny villages. The one at Wilson's Prom had a small store and a Take Away spot, a playground, even an open air cinema. There were lots of beaches within walking distance. And tons of children everywhere. Hudson perked up almost instantly, and Clare and Jay (or "PB and J" as he came to call them) became his BFF's.
Having a beach nearby was great, because it provided us with a destination for a morning trip. I am not sure why, but Hudson much preferred being near the ocean then being near the river (despite the fact that the river was much warmed and a whole lot less intimidating to get into). I suspect that, throughout this trip, the beach has become familiar grounds for him. He can spend hours there. Which is alright with us, because so could we.
A neat feature of this campground was the Tidal river, which as the name implies rose and fell and changed its current with the tide. It was a great spot to play and run, and we spend our entire second day there.
Thanks to PB and J for showing us such a great spot, and for being such wonderful hosts! We really enjoyed our time together, and look forward to seeing them back in Canada soon :)
Cheers,
M
Like I mentioned about a month ago, we went without the internet, and often with out electricity for a little while there. Weeks went by, and all of the sudden there was so much blogging to catch up on I got a little overwhelmed. And decided to put it off. And off. And off......
I am doing my best to catch up now, so here goes...
After our trip to the caves we went and stayed with my friend Jay for a little while. Jay works for a wonderful organization called Outward Bound and through a long list of circumstances and twists of faith, he's come to live here. That's right... kind of in the middle of nowhere, but right on the Snowy river. It's completely wonderful.
getting really dirty....
then getting kind of clean....
and getting lots of exercise.
A bit of a confession;
When we set out on this trip, we wanted to answer a couple of questions for ourselves.
For several years now, Karl and I have been having the city vs. country debate. Both have aspects that appeal to us, and we have been "on the fence" for a quite some time now. Jay's place became an interesting case study for us. As much as Karl and I loved being away from it all, Hudson seem to miss it all. Mostly I think he missed his routine, something we struggled to provide him with so far away from anything familiar. The closest playgrounds were 30-40 minutes away in either direction. Even there, children his age seemed to be scarce. We did our best to entertain him around the clock, but it just was not the same as having other kids around. Much too often he would retreat to a couch, curl up with his iPad and watch movies. At times, he actually became quite difficult to deal with, which he generally is not.
When Jay's girlfriend Clare came home from a trip she was leading, we all headed off to do some camping at Wilson's Promotory. Australian campgrounds are actually called "Holiday Parks" and they are a bit like tiny villages. The one at Wilson's Prom had a small store and a Take Away spot, a playground, even an open air cinema. There were lots of beaches within walking distance. And tons of children everywhere. Hudson perked up almost instantly, and Clare and Jay (or "PB and J" as he came to call them) became his BFF's.
Having a beach nearby was great, because it provided us with a destination for a morning trip. I am not sure why, but Hudson much preferred being near the ocean then being near the river (despite the fact that the river was much warmed and a whole lot less intimidating to get into). I suspect that, throughout this trip, the beach has become familiar grounds for him. He can spend hours there. Which is alright with us, because so could we.
A neat feature of this campground was the Tidal river, which as the name implies rose and fell and changed its current with the tide. It was a great spot to play and run, and we spend our entire second day there.
Thanks to PB and J for showing us such a great spot, and for being such wonderful hosts! We really enjoyed our time together, and look forward to seeing them back in Canada soon :)
Cheers,
M
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
On the Road Again
Hi everyone! I realize we have been getting a little sparse on our posts. Sorry - we have been going mostly internet-free for a few weeks now.
We have a few moments of internet time now, so we wanted to share some of our pictures from the Coff's Harbour to Jindabyne drive. Which was long. But scenic. Very scenic.
We have a few moments of internet time now, so we wanted to share some of our pictures from the Coff's Harbour to Jindabyne drive. Which was long. But scenic. Very scenic.
We should be back to more less regular access next week, I will do some catching up then :)
Cheers,
Mira
Friday, February 10, 2012
Buchan Caves
After winding our way through the mountains and along the Snowy river via Barry Way, we emerged in the small town of Buchan, Victoria.
Sure, it was scenic enough, but if Jay had not told us to make sure and stop there, we probably would have driven right through it. Instead, we got a motel room, went out for dinner at the Buchan Hotel (where Karl had what he swears was the best burger, ever. It had pineapple as a garnish.) and in the morning we went to see the Buchan Caves.
Actually, we only saw one of the two (the Royal Cave), in part because the Fairy cave was closed on account of the crazy storm the area had the night before. It would seem we brought that with us from NSW, because until we got to Victoria it apparently was warm and sunny for weeks on end. Also, the tour through each cave is about an hour long, and we were not sure if Hudson could bare it.
It turned out that he loved it. He was extremely good even as other children were giving their parents a hard time. He even looked as if though he was interested in what he was seeing, but I am never quite sure about what is going on in that little mind of his.
A few days later, our "suspicions" were confirmed. While staying at Jay's place, we built a "fort" using some camp chairs and our sleeping bags, something we do from time to time to entertain him and our selves.
This time Hudson grabbed a basket of clothes pegs converted the fort into a cave!
It was really neat to watch him do that, and to know that at least some of what we are showing him on this trip is sinking in.
In all honesty, there had been occasions when both of us have wondered out loud whether taking this trip really is the "best" thing for Hudson. Knowing that he is processing at least some of the new things around him makes me a bit more confident in knowing that we are.
Cheers,
Mira
Sure, it was scenic enough, but if Jay had not told us to make sure and stop there, we probably would have driven right through it. Instead, we got a motel room, went out for dinner at the Buchan Hotel (where Karl had what he swears was the best burger, ever. It had pineapple as a garnish.) and in the morning we went to see the Buchan Caves.
Actually, we only saw one of the two (the Royal Cave), in part because the Fairy cave was closed on account of the crazy storm the area had the night before. It would seem we brought that with us from NSW, because until we got to Victoria it apparently was warm and sunny for weeks on end. Also, the tour through each cave is about an hour long, and we were not sure if Hudson could bare it.
It turned out that he loved it. He was extremely good even as other children were giving their parents a hard time. He even looked as if though he was interested in what he was seeing, but I am never quite sure about what is going on in that little mind of his.
A few days later, our "suspicions" were confirmed. While staying at Jay's place, we built a "fort" using some camp chairs and our sleeping bags, something we do from time to time to entertain him and our selves.
This time Hudson grabbed a basket of clothes pegs converted the fort into a cave!
It was really neat to watch him do that, and to know that at least some of what we are showing him on this trip is sinking in.
In all honesty, there had been occasions when both of us have wondered out loud whether taking this trip really is the "best" thing for Hudson. Knowing that he is processing at least some of the new things around him makes me a bit more confident in knowing that we are.
Cheers,
Mira
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Barry Way
Barry Way - the road that snakes through the Snowy Mountains between Jindabyne, New South Wales and Buchan, Victoria is now officially my favourite drive - possibly EVER.
(Think "Death Road" in Bolivia but less tropical)
According to mapquest, the drive should be about 3.5 hours long. We took all day. If we were smart, we would have camped at one of the designated spots along the way and set aside 2 days for this.
The valleys, the mountains and the river are truly beautiful. There is a wonderful of calm when you get out of your car and go and sit down by the water. It's almost eerily quiet. During the entire day we passed or met no more then 10-15 other cars.
Aside from from fellow tourists/campers we did see a couple of wild kangaroos, as well as Brumbys (wild horses).
The most surprising thing about our drive along Barry Way? The part where Hudson decided he wanted to swim across the river. And he did. About 4 times.
Should you ever have the opportunity, we highly recommend this one!
Cheers,
M
On Top of Australia
 |
| Hudson (maybe just a little bit scared) and the two of us on the chairlift from Thredbo. |
When we picked Jindabyne as a place to visit while in Australia, we had no idea how nice it was. We picked it for completely different reasons;
1. It was close to the road we needed to continue on to meet up with our friends Jay and Clare.
2. It was close to Mt. Kosciuszko, which Karl really wanted to visit.
So in the morning after we arrived, we packed our jackets, made up some sandwiches and headed off for Thredbo so to catch a lift partway up the mountain. From there, it was a 6.5km (each way) hike to the peak.
13 kms is kind of a long hike for a 3 year old, and I have to admit that it was not always easy convincing Hudson to march along with us. To make things a little more bearable, we played one of our new favourite games - "I Spy".
We "spied" all sorts of neat things like lizards, rivers, lakes, flowers and birds.
In the end, only Karl made it all the way to the top. Hudson and I turned back about a kilometer from the summit - the going was getting tough and at the pace we were moving we would not have been able to catch the lift back down the mountain.
Cheers,
M
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Jindabyne
Four nights ago we escaped the rains of north eastern NSW and headed south. We drove, and drove, and drove…. over 1,300 kms in total.
Today we arrived in Jindabyne, a small alpine town about 100 km south of Canberra. As soon as we saw the town, Karl and I agreed that we probably should have come here instead of heading north in the first place. Jindabyne looks a whole lot like Kelowna (minus the crowds) AND it has not seen any considerable rain in close to a month. Should've, could've, would've…
Alright, that's not fair to say. Despite the rains, we did have a great time in the north, especially in Bangalow, and especially on Australia Day :), but heading north and then coming back down south has simply been way too much driving and it has taken a bit of a toll on us all.
We thought we learned this lesson in Hawai'i, but it seems we are quick to forget our lessons. Going forward, we are adopting a "less is more" approach to this trip. Less driving around, less worrying about all the awesome spots we might be missing. Less packing up. Less setting up. Less taking town.
More time to enjoy "US"
Cheers,
Mira
Today we arrived in Jindabyne, a small alpine town about 100 km south of Canberra. As soon as we saw the town, Karl and I agreed that we probably should have come here instead of heading north in the first place. Jindabyne looks a whole lot like Kelowna (minus the crowds) AND it has not seen any considerable rain in close to a month. Should've, could've, would've…
Alright, that's not fair to say. Despite the rains, we did have a great time in the north, especially in Bangalow, and especially on Australia Day :), but heading north and then coming back down south has simply been way too much driving and it has taken a bit of a toll on us all.
We thought we learned this lesson in Hawai'i, but it seems we are quick to forget our lessons. Going forward, we are adopting a "less is more" approach to this trip. Less driving around, less worrying about all the awesome spots we might be missing. Less packing up. Less setting up. Less taking town.
More time to enjoy "US"
Cheers,
Mira
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Gone Camping
Hi Everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that you will not be hearing from us for quite some time (10 days or so I think), as we are leaving NSW, driving down to Victoria and going camping :) Again.
At least we are going to try to go camping. Not sure how things will go because with all the rain we have been having some of the spots we thought we might want to check out are being evacuated as we speak - but that's a whole other story. We will try to check in on FB from time to time, but no panicking if you do not hear from us for a few days. Mom, I am talking to you now, :)> .
I guess you could say this is our absence alert - for "Absence Alert"
Man, I am such a dork!
Anyways, speaking of camping, we have been meaning to share this little story with you for over a month now, but to be perfectly honest, we both needed some time to sort of process things. I don't mean to be dramatic, it actually wasn't that big a deal but...
For Karl's birthday (so yes, this is well over a month old) we decided to go camping. (See .... it kind of relates to what is going on now) We were still in Hawai'i, and originally we were supposed to be staying on the farm, and not that things were not great there ('cause really, they were) we decided we wanted to go check out the volcano. From where we were, this was a little too far for a day trip with a toddler, so we worked out bit of a deal with Steve and he loaned us all his gear for two more nights. The first night, we camped at Punalu'u - the black sand beach we already mentioned.
The thing about camping on a beach in Hawai'i is that you encounter a lot of homeless people. Some by choice, some by way of choices, some by circumstance. I think (I could be wrong but I am pretty sure I am not) that in Hawai'i the beaches are "public" lands, meaning you can not be kicked off of them the way you can be if you are a homeless person sleeping under a bridge in New York city.
At the parking lot on our way to the beach, Hudson and I stopped by a beat up old Astro van. The main attraction was a small little black puppy that was milling around. The owner of the van, I would later come to find out was Dolly. Dolly makes her living (she lives in the Astro van) by making and selling shell necklaces to the hordes of mainly Japanese tourists who come on to the beach in these huge two storey buses, get out for 15 minutes, snap some photos and then get back on. But I digress. I chatted with Dolly for a brief moment, asked her and her partner about the pup, where to set up our tent, made some small talk...
Off to set up our tent we went.
Once that was all done, it was time for dinner. I had made a stew the night before, so really all we were going was heating up some left overs. The beach has two shelters with picnic tables in them, one was already being used, so I started setting up in the other.
"You know you can turn on the lights in here when it starts getting dark" a heard a voice from behind me.
"And this here bucket has some soap water in it if you want to wash your dishes afterwards, you can use it. There is no sink here or anything so you'd have to walk all the way over there" the woman went on to tell me.
"Right. Soap" I thought to myself. We forgot to buy some. "Thank you"
We proceeded to chat a bit more. It turned out she that she, not Dolly was the owner of the small black dog. She drove a very well used 1980's (by the looks of it) Subaru hatchback. The back window was no longer a window, just a black garbage bag taped to the rusting frame of the car. The pup had obviously claimed the back as her domain a had chewed several holes right through the upholstery of the seat. She woman was from (I have no idea where, all Hawai'an places sound so strange to me I forget them almost instantly), but comes down to this beach most Fridays to meet her friends and have a little party. As we chatted a bit more, the party guests were starting to arrive. Most people came on foot, mostly from the direction of the more permanent camping spots further down along the shore.
Dinner was warm, and my boys came in from the beach. When we were done eating, I looked into the pot I had used to warm up the stew. About one serving left. This was our second night eating stew already, and I really did not want to have it for lunch the next day again. I emptied the content of the pot into a bowl, stuck a spoon in and walked from our shelter over to the one next to it.
"I made some stew the other night," I announced from " I have some left over if anyone would like it"
I felt a bit like an idiot. "I hope they don't take it the wrong way" I thought to myself as I looked around. No one seemed to pay me any attention. The woman I spoke with earlier was nowhere to be seen. Finally, a set of eyes met mine. I sat the bowl down on the picnic table next to a man with a long beard and thin, spindly fingers raising and lowering an unlit cigarette from his mouth. I did not hear a thank you, but maybe I was just peeling it out of there a little too quickly.
A few moments later, our eyes met again. This time, the eyes were smiling, his mouth was working away and his left hand was giving me a big "thumbs up".
" Thanks girl, that was really good. And, now, I mean that, I am not just sayin' "
Both Karl and I went on to swap stories with the party goers. Some were pretty funny, some kind of sad, some made no sense to me at all. Hudson chased the puppy around, gave high fives... When it was time to put the little man to bed, we said good night and headed off to our tent.
"Hey ehmmm..." we could hear someone walking down behind us.
"You don't want have your tent there" Fred went on to explain "When the tide comes in, it swoops around right here" he drew and imaginary curve around the bushes we thought indicated dry land "and comes all the way back here" Fred was not standing way behind our tent.
"What about those guys?"
I pointed to a tent less then 20 meters to the right of where ours stood.
"They'll be alright because the water kind of curls around this here" Fred was pointing to that bush we thought we were hiding behind again.
Saved by a local. Nice.
After picking out a "Fred Approved" spot we started to settle in for the night.
"Hey"
"Hey.... excuse me. Excuse me but are you that girl. Is this the girl with the red car?"
So that person WAS talking to us. Karl unzipped the tent, and a slightly intoxicated Dolly stuck her head inside our door.
" I did not want to give this to the wrong person, 'cause you guys are good people... "
In her hands Dolly held a heaping full plate of food. Rice, chicken, a salad... and sashimi.
"One of the guys caught that today and we have just cut it up. You don't have to eat that part, I don't know how you feel about raw fish... "
Karl and I were at a loss for words. And caught completely off guard. This was WAY better then our stew.
"Thank you" we finally managed to studder out, "It's completely unnecessary ... "
I don't even know what all we said to Dolly. We were kind of taken aback. Were homeless people really offering us food?!? And, like... really good food at that!
After Dolly left, we both just sat there in our tent and stared at each other. And then took pictures of each other with the plate. I don't know....
After we had finished our, at that point second dinner, Karl went back to the party to thank everyone. He came back with one of Dolly's necklaces - a black shell on a silk black cord.
"Dolly asked me to give this to you" he said as he handed it to me "She said it's a rare one around here"
We were both floored.
It was simple stuff, the stew, the kind hearted advice, the plate of food, the shell necklace... but it was an exchange unlike any other Karl or I had ever been a part of. One where we thought we were being the benefactors, but then...
The party went on late into the night. Actually, it went on early into the morning. And it was loud, and at times annoying. Quite annoying. But Karl and I did not dare to even attempt to get out and hush it. They were not exactly friends, but we knew each other now, there was a context, they were celebrating ... and that was alright with us.
The other family, the ones that set their tent up near our original spot did not, in fact, get wet but they packed up and booted it out of there first thing in the morning. We took our time, had breakfast, shared some coffee, chatted some more.
We have met a lot of great people on our trip thus far, experienced a lot of fantastic things and yet for many reasons, that night in Punalu'u still stands out for both of us. Throughout this trip, the idea of "community" keeps popping up. We've discussed it over many a dinners, card games or glasses of wine...
Weird as it may sound, for us, that night at the beach was probably the best example of what a community ought to be about. Sharing, teaching, tolerance ...
Have a great week everyone!
Cheers,
M
At least we are going to try to go camping. Not sure how things will go because with all the rain we have been having some of the spots we thought we might want to check out are being evacuated as we speak - but that's a whole other story. We will try to check in on FB from time to time, but no panicking if you do not hear from us for a few days. Mom, I am talking to you now, :)> .
I guess you could say this is our absence alert - for "Absence Alert"
Man, I am such a dork!
Anyways, speaking of camping, we have been meaning to share this little story with you for over a month now, but to be perfectly honest, we both needed some time to sort of process things. I don't mean to be dramatic, it actually wasn't that big a deal but...
For Karl's birthday (so yes, this is well over a month old) we decided to go camping. (See .... it kind of relates to what is going on now) We were still in Hawai'i, and originally we were supposed to be staying on the farm, and not that things were not great there ('cause really, they were) we decided we wanted to go check out the volcano. From where we were, this was a little too far for a day trip with a toddler, so we worked out bit of a deal with Steve and he loaned us all his gear for two more nights. The first night, we camped at Punalu'u - the black sand beach we already mentioned.
 |
| Our tent, by the moonlight. The red light is from a headlamp, white is too bright and would have woken Hudson up. |
The thing about camping on a beach in Hawai'i is that you encounter a lot of homeless people. Some by choice, some by way of choices, some by circumstance. I think (I could be wrong but I am pretty sure I am not) that in Hawai'i the beaches are "public" lands, meaning you can not be kicked off of them the way you can be if you are a homeless person sleeping under a bridge in New York city.
At the parking lot on our way to the beach, Hudson and I stopped by a beat up old Astro van. The main attraction was a small little black puppy that was milling around. The owner of the van, I would later come to find out was Dolly. Dolly makes her living (she lives in the Astro van) by making and selling shell necklaces to the hordes of mainly Japanese tourists who come on to the beach in these huge two storey buses, get out for 15 minutes, snap some photos and then get back on. But I digress. I chatted with Dolly for a brief moment, asked her and her partner about the pup, where to set up our tent, made some small talk...
Off to set up our tent we went.
Once that was all done, it was time for dinner. I had made a stew the night before, so really all we were going was heating up some left overs. The beach has two shelters with picnic tables in them, one was already being used, so I started setting up in the other.
"You know you can turn on the lights in here when it starts getting dark" a heard a voice from behind me.
"And this here bucket has some soap water in it if you want to wash your dishes afterwards, you can use it. There is no sink here or anything so you'd have to walk all the way over there" the woman went on to tell me.
"Right. Soap" I thought to myself. We forgot to buy some. "Thank you"
We proceeded to chat a bit more. It turned out she that she, not Dolly was the owner of the small black dog. She drove a very well used 1980's (by the looks of it) Subaru hatchback. The back window was no longer a window, just a black garbage bag taped to the rusting frame of the car. The pup had obviously claimed the back as her domain a had chewed several holes right through the upholstery of the seat. She woman was from (I have no idea where, all Hawai'an places sound so strange to me I forget them almost instantly), but comes down to this beach most Fridays to meet her friends and have a little party. As we chatted a bit more, the party guests were starting to arrive. Most people came on foot, mostly from the direction of the more permanent camping spots further down along the shore.
Dinner was warm, and my boys came in from the beach. When we were done eating, I looked into the pot I had used to warm up the stew. About one serving left. This was our second night eating stew already, and I really did not want to have it for lunch the next day again. I emptied the content of the pot into a bowl, stuck a spoon in and walked from our shelter over to the one next to it.
"I made some stew the other night," I announced from " I have some left over if anyone would like it"
I felt a bit like an idiot. "I hope they don't take it the wrong way" I thought to myself as I looked around. No one seemed to pay me any attention. The woman I spoke with earlier was nowhere to be seen. Finally, a set of eyes met mine. I sat the bowl down on the picnic table next to a man with a long beard and thin, spindly fingers raising and lowering an unlit cigarette from his mouth. I did not hear a thank you, but maybe I was just peeling it out of there a little too quickly.
A few moments later, our eyes met again. This time, the eyes were smiling, his mouth was working away and his left hand was giving me a big "thumbs up".
" Thanks girl, that was really good. And, now, I mean that, I am not just sayin' "
Both Karl and I went on to swap stories with the party goers. Some were pretty funny, some kind of sad, some made no sense to me at all. Hudson chased the puppy around, gave high fives... When it was time to put the little man to bed, we said good night and headed off to our tent.
"Hey ehmmm..." we could hear someone walking down behind us.
"You don't want have your tent there" Fred went on to explain "When the tide comes in, it swoops around right here" he drew and imaginary curve around the bushes we thought indicated dry land "and comes all the way back here" Fred was not standing way behind our tent.
"What about those guys?"
I pointed to a tent less then 20 meters to the right of where ours stood.
 |
| The original location of our tent |
"They'll be alright because the water kind of curls around this here" Fred was pointing to that bush we thought we were hiding behind again.
Saved by a local. Nice.
After picking out a "Fred Approved" spot we started to settle in for the night.
"Hey"
"Hey.... excuse me. Excuse me but are you that girl. Is this the girl with the red car?"
So that person WAS talking to us. Karl unzipped the tent, and a slightly intoxicated Dolly stuck her head inside our door.
" I did not want to give this to the wrong person, 'cause you guys are good people... "
In her hands Dolly held a heaping full plate of food. Rice, chicken, a salad... and sashimi.
"One of the guys caught that today and we have just cut it up. You don't have to eat that part, I don't know how you feel about raw fish... "
Karl and I were at a loss for words. And caught completely off guard. This was WAY better then our stew.
"Thank you" we finally managed to studder out, "It's completely unnecessary ... "
I don't even know what all we said to Dolly. We were kind of taken aback. Were homeless people really offering us food?!? And, like... really good food at that!
After Dolly left, we both just sat there in our tent and stared at each other. And then took pictures of each other with the plate. I don't know....
After we had finished our, at that point second dinner, Karl went back to the party to thank everyone. He came back with one of Dolly's necklaces - a black shell on a silk black cord.
"Dolly asked me to give this to you" he said as he handed it to me "She said it's a rare one around here"
We were both floored.
It was simple stuff, the stew, the kind hearted advice, the plate of food, the shell necklace... but it was an exchange unlike any other Karl or I had ever been a part of. One where we thought we were being the benefactors, but then...
The party went on late into the night. Actually, it went on early into the morning. And it was loud, and at times annoying. Quite annoying. But Karl and I did not dare to even attempt to get out and hush it. They were not exactly friends, but we knew each other now, there was a context, they were celebrating ... and that was alright with us.
The other family, the ones that set their tent up near our original spot did not, in fact, get wet but they packed up and booted it out of there first thing in the morning. We took our time, had breakfast, shared some coffee, chatted some more.
 |
| Sunrise. And our dry tent |
We have met a lot of great people on our trip thus far, experienced a lot of fantastic things and yet for many reasons, that night in Punalu'u still stands out for both of us. Throughout this trip, the idea of "community" keeps popping up. We've discussed it over many a dinners, card games or glasses of wine...
Weird as it may sound, for us, that night at the beach was probably the best example of what a community ought to be about. Sharing, teaching, tolerance ...
Have a great week everyone!
Cheers,
M
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Apps to Keep Your Toddler Entertained
I have to admit, I fought this for a while at first.
I did not want to be one of those moms who sticks their kid in front of a computer as an easy way to get some peace and quiet. BUT, after the nightmarish flight from Fiji to Sydney, the long-ish drives on the wrong side of the road in a foreign country, and now the going on two weeks rains pretty much around the clock, I gave the green light and Karl got to work.
Finding apps for a toddler has proved surprisingly difficult.
Let me rephrase that. Finding apps that do not crash all the time, hold Hudson's attention for more then 2 minutes and are at least somewhat educational has proved surprisingly difficult. Here is our list of a few that seem to work, should you ever need them.
1. Jigsaw Puzzles
(Particularly the ones from this developer. They have lots of themes to choose from, some of them are free, some of them cost a few bucks)
We brought some "real" jigsaw puzzles along with us on the trip, however the advantage of these ones is that there are no pieces to loose or have to search for (every 2 minutes it seemed) on the floor of a plane, car, whatever. Virtual puzzles also do not take up any extra room (or weight) in your luggage or handbag.
2. MatchAnimals
We like this app for pretty much the same reasons as the one above. As an added bonus, all the animals make sounds, and when you do find a match the app reads out loud what animal you just matched. A nice thing about the app is that the lowest level starts with only 4 cards, the highest one has 30 I think. Hudson gets a little overwhelmed by thirty cards to overturn, but he does really well around the 12 cards level.
3. Doodle Buddy
This is probably the best doodle app we have come across. It has stencils, stamps (that make funny noices when applied, various backgrounds, customizable colours - and you can save or email your doodles, too) Fun for Hudson and mom and dad!
4. Zoo Train
No Hudson list of any sort would be complete without a train. We find this train app is especially nice because it's not just about trains. The app also has puzzles, a letters/spelling game, a musical game, and of course a train and a track building game.
All you parents out there, what do you think of our list? Do you use any apps (and please don't write "angry birds" unless you can come up with a compeling case for it.) to entertain your little ones? Or are you a "purist" and are keeping your kids away form the apps altogether? Please drop us a line and let us know! Thanks :)
Cheers,
Mira
I did not want to be one of those moms who sticks their kid in front of a computer as an easy way to get some peace and quiet. BUT, after the nightmarish flight from Fiji to Sydney, the long-ish drives on the wrong side of the road in a foreign country, and now the going on two weeks rains pretty much around the clock, I gave the green light and Karl got to work.
Finding apps for a toddler has proved surprisingly difficult.
Let me rephrase that. Finding apps that do not crash all the time, hold Hudson's attention for more then 2 minutes and are at least somewhat educational has proved surprisingly difficult. Here is our list of a few that seem to work, should you ever need them.
(Particularly the ones from this developer. They have lots of themes to choose from, some of them are free, some of them cost a few bucks)
We brought some "real" jigsaw puzzles along with us on the trip, however the advantage of these ones is that there are no pieces to loose or have to search for (every 2 minutes it seemed) on the floor of a plane, car, whatever. Virtual puzzles also do not take up any extra room (or weight) in your luggage or handbag.
We like this app for pretty much the same reasons as the one above. As an added bonus, all the animals make sounds, and when you do find a match the app reads out loud what animal you just matched. A nice thing about the app is that the lowest level starts with only 4 cards, the highest one has 30 I think. Hudson gets a little overwhelmed by thirty cards to overturn, but he does really well around the 12 cards level.
This is probably the best doodle app we have come across. It has stencils, stamps (that make funny noices when applied, various backgrounds, customizable colours - and you can save or email your doodles, too) Fun for Hudson and mom and dad!
No Hudson list of any sort would be complete without a train. We find this train app is especially nice because it's not just about trains. The app also has puzzles, a letters/spelling game, a musical game, and of course a train and a track building game.
All you parents out there, what do you think of our list? Do you use any apps (and please don't write "angry birds" unless you can come up with a compeling case for it.) to entertain your little ones? Or are you a "purist" and are keeping your kids away form the apps altogether? Please drop us a line and let us know! Thanks :)
Cheers,
Mira
Scum
I love this "stage" in Hudson's growing up. Every day he is a little bit less baby, and a whole lot more.. "Hudson".
Today's step towards asserting his independence- he took a shower more or less on his own. (He started with Karl in there with him, but soon daddy was kicked out).
I just came out the washroom, and what I saw made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. It seems Hudson discovered just how much fun a bar of soap can be. The evidence is clear. Or rather, opaque. On all three sides of the shower. As tall as he could reach.
I think we may be tipping the cleaning staff here.
Cheers,
M
Today's step towards asserting his independence- he took a shower more or less on his own. (He started with Karl in there with him, but soon daddy was kicked out).
I just came out the washroom, and what I saw made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. It seems Hudson discovered just how much fun a bar of soap can be. The evidence is clear. Or rather, opaque. On all three sides of the shower. As tall as he could reach.
I think we may be tipping the cleaning staff here.
Cheers,
M
Indoor Fun
Have you ever had that feeling? The one where you can't tell one day from the next. Where you wake up and it is miraculously STILL RAINING. Maybe even a little harder than the day prior. You have probably heard the expression its raining cats and dogs, well in Australia it rains kangaroos. Whats the difference? The drops are just way bigger and faster. I have never seen so many rainclouds and lightning bolts on a 10 day weather forecast in my life. Where does it all come from?
There is only one thing to do when the weather is like this. You find the biggest indoor play zone in the area and your run wildly with arms flailing, knees all akimbo, and jump straight into the ball pit.
Nothing soothes the rainy day blues like a trip to the indoor play zone. (Note all the happy faces above). After trouncing through the ball pit, Hudson was down the big slides and into the enormous bouncy train. Around and around he went. There was a small climbing wall, tubes and tunnels and bridges. There was face painting and bubbles... the atmosphere was electric. The amount of pent up energy being released could have powered a small city. And the best part... mommy and daddy get a chance to sit back, take a deep breath and relax.
We stayed for hours until it became evident that even the brightest spark eventually burns out, and it is time to recharge with a snack and a book.
There is only one thing to do when the weather is like this. You find the biggest indoor play zone in the area and your run wildly with arms flailing, knees all akimbo, and jump straight into the ball pit.
Nothing soothes the rainy day blues like a trip to the indoor play zone. (Note all the happy faces above). After trouncing through the ball pit, Hudson was down the big slides and into the enormous bouncy train. Around and around he went. There was a small climbing wall, tubes and tunnels and bridges. There was face painting and bubbles... the atmosphere was electric. The amount of pent up energy being released could have powered a small city. And the best part... mommy and daddy get a chance to sit back, take a deep breath and relax.
We stayed for hours until it became evident that even the brightest spark eventually burns out, and it is time to recharge with a snack and a book.
All said and told we had a great day and highly recommend Lismore Play Quest if you are ever in the area and have a little extra energy to burn off. Don't wait as long as we did.
~K~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
