Hi Friends! We are on day 29 of our cruise and will land in Sydney on Saturday morning then fly back to Auckland on Monday. We have had a splendid time and I will be updating more later, just wanted to share some of the emails I have sent to family with my friends so you can see what we've been up to. They're long, so be prepared. I'll post pictures later. Can't wait to catch up with everyone in a few days!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Aloha! We have made it safely and are having a fabulous time! So far I’ve only had to pull Jon down from the rails on the front of the ship 3 times…and strangely enough, every time I do, I hear the theme song from Titanic playing! J He just loves the feel of the air blowing through his hair…
Well, so far we are about 2/3 of the way to our first stop in Hilo. We plan on renting a car there and driving around to see the live volcanoes. We’ll also have cell phone service there and plan on making a few calls home while we’re there…so answer your phones! J
Our weather has been great today! The first 2 days were cloudy and rainy, but they did provide for some ‘moderate’ seas (which Jon wished would have been bigger!) Things have been calm, and it hasn’t been too hard to get our sea legs about us. The ship is absolutely beautiful, and if I’m being completely honest, we are so glad to be back on Princess! (Sorry Beck and Shane! You spoiled us.) We have met some very nice people so far and have had fun people watching. Most of our shipmates seem to be from Europe (cause who else gets a whole month of vacation time?!?!) or Australia. We had breakfast this morning with a nice man from the South Island of NZ and look forward to keeping in contact with him. We also met a nice young couple from Slovenia and an interesting cat from Corpus Christi, TX. Today at the Internet Café I helped a Korean man get his laptop running and now know a few Korean characters. J
Today has been spent sitting around the pool, relaxing in our room, and Jon even got to watch some college football. Last night we went to the stage production show, Cinematastic. The lead female was actually pretty good and is probably our second favorite to Becky (probably because she looked and sounded like you, but wasn’t half as polished or as fun to watch! Funny side note, the F2 came out and for the first few minutes we thought it was Dezira! I developed a nervous tick and started cringing, but then she came forward and started singing, and it wasn’t her.) It’s so interesting to be on a cruise by ourselves, sitting in the audience, just to be an audience member and not a supporter.
We purchased an internet card and will check in periodically, so feel free to drop us a line and we’ll try to respond.
Thanks again for all of your love and support. I shed quite a few tears on the plane ride to San Francisco, finally allowing myself to pause and reflect on just how long 2 years is! We will miss so many things about being home, especially you guys! Just being able to pick up the phone and talk to you whenever we wanted, is going to be a huge adjustment! J We love you and can’t wait to talk to you!
xoxo
Jon & Aly
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Bonjour from beautiful French Polynesia! Today has ended our 4 day stretch of sea days and we find ourselves in stunning Bora Bora. As expected, we are having the time of our lives! We both miss our family and friends like CRAZY and there seem to be reminders everywhere of you all, especially the nieces and nephews!
The past day and a half we have had 30-40 foot swells, gale force 7 winds, and rain – and Jon is in heaven! (Except yesterday afternoon when the nausea hit briefly.) And we hear that the waters just get worse in New Zealand, around Wellington, so this is a good primer for us. We certainly have a new empathy and understanding for all of you who get seasick. Yuck.
We have met some very interesting people. There is a large German population on the ship and we have been stuck at dinner tables with them a few times and find it challenging to communicate. There are also lots of Canadians and Brits. They do have some great swimsuits though, and Jon and I have been thoroughly entertained. I’m thinking of getting him some of the Euro-style short, tight, boxer-brief style trunks. J Mostly everyone on board is old and retired and I’m starting to get sick of the stares and weird looks from all the geezers as we walk about the ship. Their questioning eyes seem to say, “You don’t belong here with us. Just who do you think you are?” Jon is getting mildly annoyed with them in the buffet lines too as they keep trying to push him around and cut him off. Don’t worry, he’s laid the smack down a few times…ha ha. Not really.
We hope all is going well at home. We really do miss you all so much and wish we could have put you all in our suitcases!
Much love,
Jon & Aly
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Kia Ora! That is the official New Zealand greeting. Today we are approximately 1200 nautical miles from our new home of Auckland. We spent a rainy day yesterday in Fiji but found an incredible resort we would like to go back to with private bungalows and outdoor showers for pretty cheap....anyone interested?!?! J The day before we were at sea and enjoyed a wonderfully sunshine-y day. Saturday at midnight we crossed the International Date Line and moved forward one day and skipped Sunday completely. The days before we were in Western then American Samoa. Western Samoa was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me, as I was so excited to be returning with Jon. We rented a taxi and our guide, Tusi, took us around the island and to the LufiLufi village Jon lived near. We saw a few spectacular waterfalls, the gorgeous temple (where we ran into one of Jon’s rugby boys serving as Zone Leader there), and then went to the southeast corner of the island where the Tsunami hit. The devastation and destruction were incomprehensible and there is really no way to properly convey what we witnessed. We took hundreds of pictures, but it still doesn’t do it any justice. Tusi’s mother’s village was completely leveled and many ‘fales’ (fall-ays: an open air structure with a thatched roof held up by columns that the entire village shares and meets in) were wiped out to sea. We got out of the car at this village and talked with some of his cousins. We met his 84-year-old uncle and took a picture of him next to the tree he held onto to save his life. Three members of their family are gone. The locals are terrified and have never witnessed anything like this. They don’t even have words in their language to describe it and the uncle just kept telling Tusi it was a monster that came and grabbed their loved ones and took them away. That’s the only thing they can really think to call it – the monster. It happened so fast - they had less than five minutes warning after the earthquake. And now people are leaving their villages at nighttime and starting to build homes in the hills because they are so afraid the monster will come and take them away. It is heartbreaking. We were grateful to run into the missionaries and give them some money as a way to contribute to the rebuilding. We know the funds will be used as the Lord directs.
It is so strange to be so close to New Zealand now. I am starting to worry about living in such a different place but am excited for the adventure. Our new friends greet us with a countdown to Auckland or a “welcome home” when we see them and everyone is genuinely excited for us. We are excited to get back to a more normal routine and to have regular communications with you all. We miss you and find reminders of you everywhere. We wish we were there for all of the Halloween festivities and have been tempted a few times to buy some gourds on the islands, carve them up, and put them outside our cabin. Happy Halloween everyone!
Love from the Pacific,
Jon & Aly
P.S. Thanks to everyone who has responded individually to our emails, I’m sorry we don’t have more time to respond on an individual basis, but know that we do receive them and they brighten our days. J
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A warm hello from the subtropical, springtime Tasman Sea. At the moment, Aly and I are sitting by the aft pool on deck 15 above radiantly blue and silver water. Less than 24 hours ago we found ourselves in a violent storm with gale force winds, turbulent seas, and rain lashing the ship with a vengeance – unsure if we would be able to navigate into one of the highlight areas of the cruise – Fjordland National Park. The storm prevented us from entering the first two fjords, but let up just enough to permit our passage into Milford Sound. This spectacular creation is simply beyond description, so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say that it’s towering 6000 foot emerald walls, adorned with dozens beyond dozens of thundering waterfalls is something you have to see for yourself to truly appreciate. (We look forward to returning with many of you when you come visit us. Hopefully ALL of you! Hint hint. J)
A day before the fjords, we toured the verdant coastal farmland surrounding Dunedin by train, which crossed the Tiaeri Gulch en route to Pukerangi at an elevation of ~ 1000 ft. At sailaway, just after all the other passengers took to their cabins to prepare for dinner, we were entertained by a pod of dolphins, which came leaping towards the ship, but disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Above us were majestic albatross with wingspans of 10 feet. As nice as Dunedin was, we’d have to rank it just behind our previous three stops: Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. In the sparkling early morning light, Auckland welcomed us with a gentle warm breeze, and gave Aly her first glimpse of our new home. The city itself is clean, vibrant, and captivating. We had a great day with Dean and his family, then set sail for Wellington. We found both Wellington and Christchurch just as clean, just as charismatic as Auckland. New Zealand has already begun to feel like home for us. There is an indescribable feeling here – one we hope you will take the opportunity to experience for yourselves. As nice as this experience has been, nothing can replace the company of our friends and family. We miss you all and think of you individually often. It has made us value you all the more. If there is one thing that this move has placed at the forefront of our consciousness, it is to not let life get in the way of living. This is truly a magnificent world and there is much more to it than a comfortably carved out hole will ever reveal.
To our astonishment, we have just two sea days remaining before we disembark in Sydney. After two more days exploring Sydney, we look forward to getting ourselves established in Auckland and hope to more fully catch up with you then.
Manuia le po
Jon and Aly
