Bay of Islands

We set off for the bay of Islands, according to many a very beautiful place. The drive was four hours Long and because we left from Auckland rather late we decided to stop halfway. A little city called Whangarei, nothing really exciting happened on the way just me going into oncoming traffic a couple times trying to get used to driving on the other side of the road. We also named our car zed, just because z's in New Zealand are pronounced zed. I remember just hoping we would get there zed scared me a little having just bought him and not knowing if we made the right decision or not. We stayed in a hotel unfortunately which cost us Little more money than we wanted to pay but all the hostels were booked for the night. We decided there that we would sleep in the car if a room cost more than $70 nz. Hope it never has to come to that. On our way from Whangarei to the bay of islands we stopped at a beach and collected the biggest sea shells I have ever seen. When we finally arrived in Paihia (bay of islands) we found a great little hostel called the pickled parrot. The main attraction was a parrot roaming around the hostel. For the rest of the day we wandered around the bay of islands taking in all it's beauty. We hiked on the beach and talked to a couple German backpackers from our hostel and called it a day. The next day we left the bay of islands and continued our journey to the Hokiangi harbour to do a little surfing on the sand dunes. Coming over the mountain and seeing the sand dunes was unbelievable They were simply amazing. We climbed the sand dunes with our boogie boards and raced down, looking at the dunes was kind of intimidating, because they looked very steep. The first time I went down the slope I found exhilarating. I wasn't sure how fast I would be going or for how long. I wound up skidding all the way into the water. So much fun. I proceeded to race up the sand dune to do it again and again. It was quite a work out. When we were done with the sand dunes we started off to our first woofing experience in the Coromandel Peninsula. For those of you who don't know what woofing is, it is working on organic farms.
(Pictures to come, haven't been able to get my pics online)

LA vs. NY

Have you ever been somewhere you thought you knew a lot about, but it turned out very different then what you expected? Everyone has but most recently for me was my experience in LA. After a long day of traveling with more to come, Rachel and I stopped in LA to visit her friend Richard. Richard and her studied abroad together in Australia and now he is studying for his PhD in psychology at UCLA. I had never been to LA before so this seemed a great opportunity to see the sights. The funny thing about LA is that growing up, I have watched many TV shows, new reports, and movies which have depicted LA and I thought I knew what LA was all about. What I pictured having grown up on the east coast was a city like New York,with a little more of a laid back attitude and a huge beach culture. I was right about some aspects but way off in others. LA is nothing like New York. LA has grown out instead of growing up. You don't see any skyscrapers there. I thought that everything in LA would be easy to get to kind of like NY but it isn't. Because LA has grown out, there is a lot of ground you need to cover to get to your destination. The bus system was easy to use and inexpensive but it took some time to get to the destination. Unlike NY where the subway system gets you where you need to be in no time at all but that's only if you can figure out the complex subway routes. The people in LA were great, there was a laid back attitude which I expected and while walking on Venice Beach and Santa Monica pier a huge beach followwing. One other aspect of LA that I don't agree with is that whoever said LA people are very attractive was wrong. I'm not saying they are ugly, but I was just expecting to see good looking people everywhere I went and I didn't. No more than NY or anywhere else I've seen. A couple things I will never forget about LA; seeing the Hollywood sign for the first time; Hollywood blvd where I got my picture taken next to Mickey Mouse's star; Beverly Hills really is as nice as it's portrayed on TV; watching the North Carolina Hurricanes (Hartford Whalers) beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

The Last Days of Summer

  As the trees start to change colors, the days start to get shorter, and the days and nights start to get cooler, I try to hold onto what's left of summer.  Yesterday was a great example of that.  After it seems about a week of rain and cooler weather, the sun came out and gave us one more day of summer.  I took full advantage of this gift of a day by spending it with my friends who also shared my sentiments.  Lately, I have been trying to spend as much time with the people that are closest to me because of my upcoming journey to New Zealand.  As I get closer and closer to leaving I try to fit as much as I can into what's left of the summer.  Luckily for me when I arrive in New Zealand I will be heading into the beginning of their summer.  The greatest thing about trying to squeeze everything in, is that you do everything that comes your way.  There's no excuses as to why you can't do something.  There's no "I have to work tomorrow" or "I have to go grocery shopping."  Everything is put on hold to do what you want to do instead of what you think you need to do.  I wish I could live my life like that because it would always be exciting and fun.  I have never had a better couple weeks than by trying to see everyone and do everything.  Last night I hung out with my friends at a house party.  We got pizza and beer and played polish horseshoes, ping pong, and pool.  It was a great night and I couldn't have asked for more.  By the end of the night (12:00 am) Turbo (Erik Vincellette) and I were on our way home when a foxwoods bus went by us on the highway.  We looked at each other and at the same time we said "lets go to the casino."  Now on any other day I would have thought about how late it was, or how far it was, or why I shouldn't go because I have to work tomorrow, but all of that didn't matter and we went.  We only played for about an hour and a half and lost about twenty-five dollars each (seven dollars spent on krispy kreme doughnuts they're so delicious)  But I didn't care how late  it was or how much I lost, it was great because of the spontaneous nature of it.  Thanks Turbo "Lets make some bad decisions"       

Good Bye Yankee Stadium

Last week I went to Yankee Stadium for the last time.  It was very appropriate that my last game at Yankee Stadium was spent with my Dad.  The man that taught me everything I know about the Yankees and baseball.  Kinda funny that my heroes growing up were more of my fathers hero's, like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Roger Maris.  Mickey was my fathers favorite player so naturally he became mine, even though I would never see him play.  My Dad would tell me stories of Mickey's monstrous home runs, world series wins, and how he could have been better if he could have stayed healthy.  I remember going to the ball park on the day that Mickey died.  My Dad and I would do a father son game with my friend Chris and his father.  We had started on our way there when the news came over the radio.  They had a little ceremony before the game that I am grateful that I didn't miss.  There were many other games that we all went to that made the history books.  We went to the longest 9 inning game in the history at Yankee stadium.  I don't remember the game as much as I remember people getting into fights, throwing beer and someone almost going over the side of the upper deck.  Thats what happens when the first seven inning goes for 4 hours and the beer can continue to be sold up to the seventh inning.  I remember another game that we went to that we sat out in left field and that during batting practice I could a ball from the other team.  Everyone waiting and hoping for a ball to come our way and there I was with only my Yankee hat that I was wearing to catch the ball.  I somehow managed to fight my way to the front and catch the ball in my hat.  Lately the games have been very different.  I started other traditions with my friends to go down to make sure that we saw atleast one game a year.  This being after college when I had a little more money to see the games.  These were great times simply because of stan's bar, drinking infractions in the parking garage and the Yankees winning most of the time.  The one thing I regret is not making it to monument park or take a tour of the stadium, but who knows maybe in the next couple of weeks.