What I Did On My Summer Vacation

On my last day of work before Christmas, we loaded up the car after breakfast and made the two minute drive to the airport to meet some long-anticipated visitors. Nearly three weeks later, on the day before I had to go back to work, we made the tearful return trip: everything in-between was a dream come true. Thanks for making the long voyage, Grandma & Grandpa - it was everything we'd hoped for and more!

The Pics

Highlights:

• spending three weeks with Grandma & Grandpa without projects or work to distract us!
• tracking their flights online with the girls as they made the 25-hour trip to get here
  
• the look of bliss on Sophie's face when we finally met them at the airport, eight months since they took us to the airport in Binghamton, as she locked Grandma into a death-grip hug
• the amused look on my dad's face when I asked if he wanted to drive home from the airport (to his credit, he adjusted to the wrong-side-of-the-car thing much faster than I did!)
• taking them to Maranui, our favorite restaurant in Wellington, after months of dreaming about it
• the confident laugh my dad made after Brandie said "we'll wake you up for dinner" when they went to nap on the first day
• the look of disappointment on Grandma's face when she realized we were having meat pies, not berry pies, for lunch
• having takeaway fush-n-chups outside on the back deck in December
  
• noticing that our new-to-NZ ferry had a painted-over "Pride of Cherbourg" on its side, and wondering what it had done to lose that status
• daily vegetable translation (capsicums, courgettes, rocket, kumara, etc.)
• "cracklin" is not a crouton, George
• playground envy of Josie's new helmet: "That's a sweet helmet, aye! Is it for cricket?"
  
• dinner at the base of Mt. Cook
  
• the train bridge between Fox Glacier and Greymouth (you'll understand after you see the pics)
  
• Speights brewpubs and their Old Dark beer

And a sampling of what we managed to pack in:

• Te Papa, lunch on the waterfront
  
• Lindale Farm, Southward Car Museum
  
• Wellington Zoo, Mt. Victoria, my office and the Weta Cave
  
• Christmas Day ferry to the South Island
• Kaikoura coastline drive
  
• Christchurch cathedral, Ashburton
• Lake Tekapo, Mt. John Observatory
• Queenstown, gondola, downtown and waterfront
  
• Arrowtown, Fox Glacier
• Helicopter tour to the top and hike to the bottom of Fox Glacier
• Greymouth
• Punakaikai, Kaiteritire beach, New Year's Eve in Motueka
• Shopping in downtown Nelson, picnic lunch in the cathedral park, cathedral tour
• New Year's Day ferry ride home
• Relaxing at home and recovering from days of driving
• Shopping on Lambton Quay, lunch at the General Practitioner
• Our home away from home away from home, Spray (Wellington Regional Aquatic Center)