really? it's pretty basic

Sorry - we have a constitution with a bill of rights. We don't get to decide people can't build Muslim Community Centers in certain places. We just can't. It's not really a debate... it's the law. I can't believe everyone's getting all wimpy over this!!!

Everyone else was coming out with statements, figured I should :-)

Seattle

Hey so Connor and I went to Seattle! That was fun!

Laura's working there for the summer, interning for the Government Accountability Office (incidentally, the office that wrote the report that caused the congress to draft the bill that may ruin my school... but that's not Laura's or the GAO's fault).

She works in an impressively tall building with an impressive observation deck that also reports the traffic. She lives in a beautifully picaresque apartment in a charming neighborhood (Queen Anne) with a breathtaking view of the Puget Sound and a dangerous (but hilly) proximity to delicious donuts. She has met lovely and friendly people out there thanks to her cousin.

In conclusion: living the dream! And we got to come share the dream for a long weekend... very fun! We watched salmon jump up a salmon ladder, took a ferry to Bainbridge, hiked up Rattlesnake Ridge, checked out Pike Place market, and saw the space needle from every conceivable angle.

pics

If you'd like to see the pictures in their entirety, you can see them here. The password is ENZED, although I guess posting it here kind of defeats the purpose of the password.

I'm pretty much back in the swing of things now... although I've been doing some really bad procrastinating wedding-wise. You didn't really want to come to a wedding, did you???

back to the grind (which really isn't a grind)

After the longest Thursday possible (literally, not figuratively), I got home to Connor and the kittens Thursday night. It was good to be home. I have to say, as fun as traveling is, it's nice to have your own bed and shower. We saw Laura (who takes off soon for Seattle) Friday night. Then, this weekend Caitlyn and Mairead came up to visit & swap cars with Connor - so it was nice to have visitors to share all the candy bars I brought home.

Today was my first day back to work (I'm still there, actually). I started the day with a last-minute re-scheduled IEP meeting: fun fun! Once that was out of the way, though, it was really nice to be back and see all the kids. I guess I'm pretty lucky that coming back to work after a month off is a happy occasion.

As you can see from the picture, my co-workers are HILARious. :-)

the last day

Today we flew from Wellington back up to Auckland in preparation for our flights home tomorrow. I can't believe this was our last day. This trip went SO fast... and it really wasn't very much time to try and see a whole country, although it sounded like a lot of time in theory. That said, I feel like I managed to see a lot. And I really, truly enjoyed every minute of it. This has been a fantastic experience, both because of the place I visited and because of the way I did it. I'm so glad I've traveled on my own a little... I proved to myself that I can do it and enjoy it, and that's an excellent thing to know.

On the upside, I am VERY excited to come home to Connor and the kittens.

Turns out, Auckland is as warm as it was when I left it more than 2 weeks ago. We stepped onto the plane in Wellington in wind and rain and stepped off it in Auckland to warmth and sunshine. I bet Mom wishes she'd been along for the Northern bit of the trip. We checked into our lovely B&B, then took a long walk around Parnell, a suburb of Auckland where we're staying. We walked down to the harbor, through a park and an old graveyard, up to Parnell Street, where we had a VERY yummy farewell dinner.

Now just trying to finish up putting the pictures up and organize for the LOOOOOONG flight ahead.

backlog - more wellington

The next day in Wellington we took the cable car up the hill and walked around the botanical gardens, which were *beautiful*. We felt like we were a million miles away from the city but we were right there. It's amazing how fresh the air smells here... too bad we can't take a picture of that.

For dinner, we went to the grocery store and got ourselves a feast of bread, cheese, veggies, and wine. Yummy.

backlog - wellington

We took the ferry from Picton to Wellington on a dreary, rainy day. The ferry is ENORMOUS! It's like a floating mall -it even has a movie theater! Then...

Day 1 Wellington: We walked up and down Cuba Street, got fish & chips (my 5th time, mom's first), FINALLY found the third installment of "Tales of the City" at a used bookstore called "The Ferret," and then went and checked out the natural history and Maori exhibits at the huge Te Papa museum.

backlog - kayaking

Hi -

Never got a chance to post these pictures: Mom and I went kayaking to a seal colony in Kaikoura. It was lots of fun. The seals were HUGE and sleepy, although a few jumped in teh water and got playful. We had a lot of fun in the kayaks - the waves made it especially interesting!

wellington

Hi! Sorry we've been out of contact for a few days. The internet situation here isn't perfect... we've decided to wait until Auckland to post more pictures to the blog. But we're having a great time in Wellington! It's a very cool city - we spent a lot of time walking around town yesterday and today. We also checked out Te Papa, an excellent museum, and learned about earthquakes and Maori culture. Today we took the cable car up to the botanical gardens on the hill overlooking the city - it was beautiful! The weather is windy and cool here... we are excited to come back to almost-summer!

Today was our last full day of just being somewhere/visiting. Tomorrow we fly back to Auckland, and the next day we fly back to the US. I can't believe this trip is over!! It felt so short!

whale, it was a pretty good day.

We saw a Sperm Whale! And Dusky Dolphins! Then we walked and walked and walked until we reached grilled seafood and a seal colony. Cozy night in - made pasta & watching a DVD.