Bay of Islands: Fit for a Queen

In New Zealand, you can go from this:

 To This:

In only a couple of hours. Adam took off from this storage shed:

Also know as the Hokitika Aiport on the South Island, to arrive just in time for our most recent Queen's Birthday holiday. That would be the Queen of England, by the way. Memorial Day is out and Queen's Birthday is in. We took advantage of the long weekend and headed to Russell. Boy do we have good taste if I do say so myself. The Bay of Islands are beautiful:

We had this aha moment looking out like, "Oh right, that's why it's called Bay of Islands...it really is a bay full of lots of little islands." I like it settlers. Call it how you see it. No funny business here. We went on an amazing boat cruise with promises of dolphin viewing and even a chance to swim with the dolphins but our hopes were dashed as Flipper and his friends weren't out that day. Instead, we had to resort to looking at laminated pictures of the dolphins in a plastic folder. I tried to swim with them in my head but it just wasn't the same. It was still totally worth it because it was a gorgeous day and we got to see this:

 The infamous Hole in the Rock.

And more goodness -The view from the little mountain behind our hotel in Russell:

And how 'bout this sunset we caught from our room:

Our B & B was real, real nice as were the couple that ran it. They prefer to have only one room reserved at a time so they can provide extra good service so we were the only people there. Somehow, the night I turn in early, Adam stays up and learns all about our quirky but kind hosts. He learns from the Man that they use to run a hunting lodge in England and that he is really into Jack Daniels and Ferraris. Um ok, a little edgier then stamps, but whatever floats your boat.

Trying to include the Wife in the conversation, he asks her if there is anything she collects. Before I tell you her answer let me first tell you what this woman looks like. She is in her 50's and has long brown hair, literally down to her waist. Her style could be described as Euro Amish, but mostly just Amish. She is dressed very "proper." Let's just say the Mormons would be proud with her amount of coverage. Anyway, while her husband is shining his Ferrari she is busy adding to her erotic art collection. She volunteers to show Adam some of her pieces. Ohhh I so wish I could have seen Adam's face as she showed him her antique phallic symbol toys. Good times. They honestly couldn't have been any nicer or more accommodating and the place was really gorgeous but they were definitely characters.

Ooh I almost forgot one of the most fun parts of going to Russell, you get to take a car ferry there!

I love ferries because they remind me of when I lived on Martha's Vineyard, such great memories. Don't mind Adam's midlife crisis/successful gay man/Steve from 90210's car. It's not something we were looking for but let's just say someone made us an offer we couldn't refuse. I've certainly never had a convertible before but I will say it is super fun and extremely impractical.  Anyway, it was a great trip and long live the Queen!

On a different note, I met my Burmese refugee family. They were so sweet, not that they really spoke much English, but we had translators there and lots of smiles were exchanged. The three little boys were adorable but shy, understandable. We move them into their new place on Saturday and I'm amazed at how much our team has already been able to gather for them. With just a little bit of effort and networking we have gotten so much stuff that they will need. We will be turning their house into a home in no time! I have the job of taking them grocery shopping, sans translator, which should be highly entertaining and a test in, I'm not sure what, but something I'm sure.