Tag Archives: Travels

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Daytrip to Queenstown

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With Alys’ husband due to fly into the Queenstown airport, the 7 of us piled into two vehicles and drove the 68k into the city.

Can you guess who my seat mate was?

Along the way, we passed Bradrona, the famous “bra fence of Cardrona”.  The collection of bras started around 1999, when four bras mysteriously appeared overnight on a fence along the Cardrona Valley Road.  It wasn’t until an unknown bra thief began cutting them away under the shadow of the night that the fence gained its notoriety.  Every time they were cut away, even more were added, and the bra count has reached over 7000.  The infamous fence was rebranded to “Bradrona” in 2015 to raise money for breast cancer and $30,000 has been raised by people leaving donations in a box at the site.

What a powerful monument to say the least.  While we did not leave our bras, we did make a monetary donation.

We weren’t on the road long before, unable to resist the incredible view, we stopped at the top of the mountain.

What a thrill and what a chill!

Check out that road down the mountain!

Our first views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu took our breath away!

One of the fun things about New Zealand is the ever present cafe with ourdoor seating.  We found a table and enjoyed the view, the buskers, and the coffee.

A quick walk through the Queenstown Gardens revealed old growth trees, more beautiful views, and quiet time for reflection.

Then it was off to ride the Gondola!

Absolutely incredible!

After oohing and aahing over the view, and taking many a photo, we settled into the lounge for drinks.

Photo Credit Alys Milner and her selfie stick

The clouds began to roll in.  Check out the difference between these next two images.

We took the trip back down and after dinner in the Queenstown city centre, we hit the road for Wanaka.

Tommorow: Kayaking!

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Morning Walk on Lake Wanaka

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Waking up at 6am on vacation means that I am back on Virginia time, and that is a good thing in terms of making the most of the day.  I slipped out of the house at 7:15 and took the 15 minute stroll to Lake Wanaka.

It was such a peaceful morning with just a few runners, walkers, and photographers out and about.

And a few ducks …

It was a slightly overcast morning, but slowly the sun began to peak through the clouds.

I could see the town off in the distance, and knowing that we’d be visiting later in the day, I turned around for home.

After putting my feet in the water, of course.  Look at that clear water!

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Three Days in Dunedin

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Please take a moment to read Alys’ take on our journey thus far ❤

Born To Organize's avatarGardening Nirvana

I’m having the time of my life!

In some ways this journey began two years ago.  During a Skype session, the Blogging Babes, as we’ve come to call ourselves, dreamed out loud of a trip to see Pauline in New Zealand. In 2015 Pauline joined us on our side of the world for an incredible trip to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Our time together deepened the friendships and expanded our hearts.

Now here we are three years later, meeting up with Pauline and her two lovely daughters in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Mike drove me to the San Francisco airport where I connected with Laurie. Though I dreaded the 13 hour flight across the Pacific, I was in for some lovely surprises.

SFO at Joe & the Juice Putting our heads together at Joe & the Juice, SFO (This one’s for you, Joe)

We got our sillies on five minutes into our journey, before boarding the…

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University of Otago

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After a wonderful day Experiencing Dunedin and Otago Harbour, we slowed our pace with a lovely walk around the University of Otago.

With the first students being accepted in July 1871, it is the oldest university in New Zealand, and the third oldest in Oceania.

With over 20,000 students, the University offers Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in Health Sciences, other Sciences, Business, and Humanities.

I’m not sure which was more impressive: the architecture or the trees!  The stone, while of a darker color, reminded me of Hokie Stone.

The walk was peaceful, offered wonderful scenery, and was the perfect way to end our day.

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St Clair Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand

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At the end of a low key day spent recovering from travel, we took the short drive to see the ocean from St Clair Beach.

Those who know me may remember that when I see any body of water, I soon have my feet in it.  The water was chilly but I was thrilled to be feeling the water of the Pacific.

The images speak for themselves, don’t you think?

As the sun began to set, we found a coffee shop and warmed up over coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

It was a lovely way to end our first day in Dunedin.

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Dunedin: Rest, Recovery, and Pauline’s World

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When we finally went to bed, I can honestly say that I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow.   Eight solid hours of sleep later, I was wide awake and feeling pretty good.  Even still, it takes more than 8 hours to recover from that long day of travel, and I was glad that we had a low key day spent exploring Pauline’s world, including her family.

We awoke to see Danella’s patio garden.  Even though the day was overcast, the flowers beckoned and my camera was soon put into action.  I’ve never taken my laptop on a trip before but I knew that I would want to share photos from the camera, not just the phone.

Danella provided coffee and toast (perfect with fresh tomotoes!) and soon Pauline and Siddy joined us.  That Siddy! He is adored by everyone that he meets.  What a sweet puppy!

After a quick nap, we took the short ride to Pauline’s home.  After a lifetime of seeing the driver in the front left seat, it was odd to see just the opposite.  Siddy, on Alys’s lap, enjoyed the fresh air!

Fans of Pauline already know what a talented artist she is.  It was wonderful to see her space and all her creations, and of course, the illusive Orlando!

 

We enjoyed an assortment of snacks accompanied by New Zealand wine, and after being joined by Joanna and Steven, a delicious dinner.

Dessert was the traditional Pavlova, prepared by Pauline and served by Joanna.  Evidently, New Zealanders and Australians disagree over who created this yummy dessert.

Before heading back to Danella’s for the night, we took a drive to see the ocean.  See the next post!

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The Journey Begins

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The 40 hour travel day was worth it!  And we’ve only been here 2 days.

Often times blogging equals journaling and the posts from this journey will definitely serve that purpose.  I want to look back when I’m 80 and be able to remember this trip of a lifetime.  Join me as you like, and of course, feel free to comment, too.

The first leg of the trip had me leaving my home in Radford and driving to Roanoke at 4am.  A four hour layover at Dulles Airport outside of Washington, DC gave me the opportunity to enjoy the scenery and an airport bar / restaurant.

The five hour flight to San Franciso was uneventful, and soon I was having a joyful reunion with Alys.

We were both so impressed with Air New Zealand.   The plane was enourmous and new, the service from the flight attendants was wonderful, and the food and ammenities kept us occupied during that 12 hour journey.  We loved being able to order wine and snacks and play games using the touchscreen right in front of us.

 

Yes, sleep was a bit elusive, but all in all, it wasn’t bad.  There was one glitch, though. The plane had an air conditioning malfunction which led to a delay out of San Francisco.  We knew that making our connection would be a challenge and we practically ran through the Auckland airport trying to make our next flight.  Unfortunately, the Customs folks were concerned about dog treats and the possibility of fruit being brought into the country, and ultimately we missed our plane.

Always one to find the upside to a negative, the wait for the next flight gave me the opportunity to taste my first New Zealand beer.  It may have been 8:30 am local time, but it was 2:30 in the afternoon on the East Coast. Perfect time for a beer!  I ordered the Panhead (because of the motorcycle) but since the keg blew right when I got there, I enjoyed the All Blacks Steinlager, named for THE Rugby team of New Zealand.

After a long day of travel, we were greeted by Pauline and the famous Siddy.  Soon enough, we were seeing Boomdeeadda again, too.

Danella has opened up her home to us, and what a marvelous hostess she is!

Stayed tuned for Day 1 in Dunedin!

 

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Where in the World is LB and Where is She Going?

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Forgive me, WordPress Friends, but it has been 5 Weeks since my last confession … er, I mean, post!

In the almost 6 years that I have been blogging, that may just be a record.  So! Where have I been?

Inauguration

In early January, we traveled to Richmond, Virginia’s Capital City, to see the Inauguration of our new Governor.

It was a cold, but beautiful winter day and we were all so excited to be there!

As you might guess, I took a ton of photos.  Sadly, I just haven’t had time to work through them yet.  This image, though, shows the impressive sight of all 1600 Virginia Military Institute Cadets march by in the Inaugural Parade.  Our new Govenor, Ralph Northam, is a VMI Grad.

The Women’s March in Roanoke

One week later, I hit the streets of Roanoke for the Women’s March.

From the Women’s March to the Swearing-in of Delegate Hurst

We left the Women’s March a bit early and drove straight to the swearing-in of our new Delegate, Chris Hurst.

I loved catching this image of the Delegate in concentration,

and of course, enjoyed a quick visit in his office.

It was a long, exciting day and I’m so glad to have had this man to share it with.

Puzzle Time with Family

 I enjoyed a quick run to Williamsburg to spend time with some of my family,

followed by a brief stop in Richmond on the way back home.

8 weekends in a row of travel, with work in between, and suddenly blog posts take a back seat.  As much as I have loved all the road trips, some of which I didn’t include here, I was grateful to be home this past weekend.  Why?  So I might be able to plan the BIG TRIP:

New Zealand and Australia!!

I am the luckiest gal to be leaving in just 12 days for the Southern Hemisphere!  Even better, I’ll be spending time with dear blogging friends: Pauline from The Contented Crafter, (and her awesome daughters), Alys from Gardening Nirvana, and Boomdee from Boodeeadda.

I anticipate lots of laughter and love, good food and drink, gorgeous scenery and many, many photo ops.  I’ll be traveling on foot, and by car, plane, train and hopefully motorcycle, and I simply cannot wait to share it with all of you!

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Cruising: Food and Drink

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Are you ready to be done seeing photos from the cruise that I took with friends in April?  I promise, this is the last one!  If you’ve followed along so far, you’ve seen a recap of the whole experience, the birds and flowers, the ship, and the windows and doors.  You’ve read that I had my reservations about cruising, that I’m not sure I’d do it again, AND that I had a great time with friends and with my camera.

I also enjoyed great food and drink! There were 13 bars on that ship, and Kerry, from Love Those Hands at Home, asked if we managed to visit every one.  I’m proud to say that over the course of one week, we did!  In fact, I carried around the “List of 13” and we would check them off one at a time.  Several of the bartenders got into the spirit with us.

And of course, I couldn’t help but turn my drinks into photography.

Beer

Wine

Cocktails

Frozen Drinks

The best part?  No need for a designated driver!

Thanks for hanging with me through all of these posts about the cruise.  Someday, I’ll be able to look back and remember the fun.

*****

It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve been back from the cruise and I’ve been on the road, working, and taking care of civic duties.  It’s my goal to visit all of you over the next week or so.  I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve been up to!

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Cruising: Doors and Windows

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* This is the fourth post in the series about the cruise I took 6 weeks ago.  Life has moved on, but the cruise pictures keep coming!  You can see those images, and read my thoughts about cruising here, here, and here.*

Believe it or not, a cruise keeps you busy!  It seemed that my friends and I were always on the go.  We never took an elevator and instead took multiple flights of stairs several times throughout the day.  We joined excursions off the ship and participated in activities on the ship.   Even still, I never felt that I was forced to do any one thing nor eat in any particular place at a specific time, something I had worried about before starting the cruise.

I loved the contrast of in and out,

and photographed several windows along the way.  From inside the bar, of which there were 13,

from inside one of the many restaurants,

and from inside our room, looking out to the balcony where I would enjoy my coffee and book each morning.

The doors of Mexico were intriquing, and so narrow!

Many of the buildings were old and in need of repair,

except in the tourist area, of course.  I definitely enjoyed my cold beer at Woody’s.

In order to avoid the near constant panhandling, cruisers are able to visit ports of call created by the cruise lines.  This was one of the disappointments for me.  I didn’t feel like I learned much about the culture, and it seemed that the cruise lines try to “hide” the reality of the noticeable poverty.   They build what I call the “Disney Land” ports of call, this one in Roatan, Honduras.

Beautiful for sure, but how real?  I consoled myself with knowing that these ports create jobs.

This next shot is from Harvest Caye, Belize,

and this last image, a selfie, was taken in Ybor City, a neighborhood in Tampa Bay, that we visited after docking at the end of the cruise.

Next Cruising Post – Food and Drink