Sunday, 10 January: We had morning tea with Andrew, Tracy, and Mia Lorrey. It was good to see them and all the progress they have made on the renovations to their home. Mia is a delightful toddler, and keeps her parents on their toes. From there we went to the Auckland Botanic Gardens to see both the flowers and the special sculpture exhibit on at the moment. As usual, some of the sculptures were very interesting, and some just left me wondering why anyone woul...

Saturday, 2 January: What a long day. Up at 3am Eastern time to get a 5:30am flight from Manchester to Chicago, an hour or so in Midway Airport, an 8:30 am Central time flight to San Francisco, and ten hours until our 9PM Pacific time flight to NZ. Sunday, 2 January: No Sunday for us this year. Lost it on the flight. Monday, 4 January: The ANZ flight was excellent as always. Good service, good food, and great blankets! I slept for about seven hours on the twe...

Saturday, 2 January: What a long day. Up at 3am Eastern time to get a 5:30am flight from Manchester to Chicago, an hour or so in Midway Airport, an 8:30 am Central time flight to San Francisco, and ten hours until our 9PM Pacific time flight to NZ.  Sunday, 2 January: No Sunday for us this year. Lost it on the flight. Monday, 4 January: The ANZ flight was excellent as always. Good service, good food, and great blankets! I slept for about seven hours on the...

10-16 March: We said, "see you next time" to Cathy and Max on Monday morning and headed north. It was a beautifully clear day, and there was perfect visibility for viewing the three main mountains of the island. Mt. Ruapehu, usually just called " the mountain", is majestic with its snow covered peaks. Mt. Ngauruhoe is a perfect cone shape. The rounded Mt. Tongariro has a famous track called the Tongariro Crossing. All are a photographers dream come true on a clea...

10-16 March:  We said, "see you next time" to Cathy and Max on Monday morning and headed north. It was a beautifully clear day, and there was perfect visibility for viewing the three main mountains of the island. Mt. Ruapehu, usually just called " the mountain", is majestic with its snow covered peaks. Mt. Ngauruhoe is a perfect cone shape. The rounded Mt. Tongariro has a famous track called the Tongariro Crossing. All are a photographers dream come true on ...