Gosh it has been a long time since I've blogged.So much has happened, some of it interesting to other people, most of it not. Oh well.
One thing which is happening in my life right now is planning. Noooo, Snooker... not planning! Those who know me well have a great understanding that planning has never been my favorite thing. I learned at a ripe, young age that a great majority of plans are simply brushed aside, because just like shit... life happens. To me the best things which occurred in my life had not one iota of planning behind them... why change things now?
In spite of my better judgment, my Sweet No is insisting that we actually plan out our next big trip. This one is half way around the world (literally) and simply is going to need some logistic work. New Zealand and Tahiti are in our sights for November this year.
Last night we spent three hours going through pictures and getting suggestions from a friend of ours who spent two months touring NZ by bicycle. He took some FANTASTIC pictures... shots that make the wannabe photog in me simply whet with the possibilities... But alas, he is the original "Nature Boy" who spent every one of those nights sleeping in a tent or in the great wide open. Try as I like, I cannot imagine myself doing the camping thing for anything more than one or two nights... when there are perfectly good hotels in the world. You know... with a bed... and hot showers!
While I sincerely doubt we will be biking our way through New Zealand, I can guarantee we will be diving (and snorkeling) our way through Tahiti. Of course we will also get in at least one dive on the wreck of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior (more pics) off the coast of New Zealand.
So if anyone has suggestions for what we should NOT MISS in New Zealand... let your voice be heard... before all the planning takes place and there is no way to back out or, gasp! change plans!
What, you may ask is that interesting picture above? Can you believe it? I have found YET ANOTHER PLACE WHICH I SIMPLY MUST GO BEFORE I DIE. Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. (more fabulous pics here) Yes, it is out in nature... but easily reached by more civilized means. Even worse is the irony that I have probably gone to Arizona at least once a year for the last ten years and have NEVER gotten anywhere near this area.
The above image reminds me of a place which I saw in a picture one day and C N Heidelberg was nice enough to help me locate. Wouldn't you know it... they are both in the same area? Who would have figured that green-lovin' Snooker would fall so hard for a bunch of rocks?
OK, that settles it. I'm making a plan right now. (Yes, I get the irony) The next time I go to Arizona, I will get my lazy ass up to the north end to check out these two fantastic places.
Been reading:
- A gay's-eye view of Inauguration 2009 - Forget the comments at the bottom... the article is wonderful.
- What Do Women Want? - I've always said it... woman's desire lies in her head, a man's in his penis. Also that the best aphrodisiac to a woman is the idea that she is desired. The article is long but quite interesting.
- The President’s Hero - More Obama love...
- Google Earth dives into the oceans - WOW! This is great! (video) Take a look at something only 10% of the people in the world have even been able to imagine. And hey.. that Mars thing is pretty cool too.
- Big Bong Theory - This will happen more and more as unscrupulous people will feel the need to use that camera on their phone for not such nice things.
- German pope becomes an embarrassment in homeland - Tee hee hee.
- Couple Whose Battle Legalized Gay Marriage Files For Divorce - Whoops. Oh well, it is like I've always said... gay people should have the right to profess undying love in front of their friends, family and church... sign official papers... then fall out of love, disappoint their friends, divide their families, piss off their church and pay the damn lawyers JUST like straight people!
6 comments:
sounds like a great trip.
Ever been diving in Bali? that's where we are heading this year
New Zealand...Arizona...I'd take either one...seriously, you're making me jealous :)
@ Goofball - Bali!!! OOOO! No, we've never been there. But the dive magazines are always full of beautiful pictures which have inspired us to put Bali on a "must go" list.
@ Cowgirl - You, H.E. and little guy really need to go to AZ. What a beautiful place... in the winter and spring that is.
It does sound like an exciting trip (minus the camping part). I've never been to that part of the world and will be curious to know what you all come up with.
Ladies of a Certain Persuasion like golf, don't they?
Lake Taupo is a volcanic crater which may well be the world's deepest lake. I say "may well be" because no-one has reached the bottom of it, yet.
Anyway, there's a driving range on the shore, and you hit your balls onto some kind of floating platform---or is it the other way around? In any case, if the ball is lost in the water, um, you've REALLY lost it.
I spent a few days in Taupo many years ago when I was best man at a wedding in Wellington. Wellington is boring, but a necessary stop-off point to get to the South Island, whcih is where all the really spectacular scenery is.
Most NZ cities are pretty dull, but there are two exceptions.
Christchurch, on the south island, was planned by the same visionary surveyor as Adelaide, in South Australia, where I grew up. Gorgeous late-Victorian architecture, sprinkled along wide, gracious boulevards. Neatby Queenstown is a middling-chic ski resort that would be out-of-season in November--if you could bring your vacation forward to early Sept, the skiing would be spectacular.
Napier attracts architecture buffs. It was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in the nineteen thirties, rebuilt in an art-deco style. Some of the details have been lost by insensitive renovation, but enough remain to make it fascinating to those who like such things.
The geysers, steam-holes and mud-pots of the North Island are pretty interesting, but probably won't keep your attention for too long if you've been to Yellowstone.
That said, somewhere on the North Island is an underground geyser that empties onto a surf beach--so it's known as Hot Water Beach. Apparently you can swim, maybe ecen surf, in a warm ocean.
I understand it's not too far from Auckland. I've never visited Auckland seriously, though I have changed planes there on the flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles more times than I'd care to remember.
Speaking of planes... It doesn't matter if you're up the front munching on canapes, or down the back queuing for the lav, by the time you reach New Zealand, you will hate airplanes. All airplanes. Trust me.
I know nothing about NZ...but I can tell you that any trip that required any sort of camping AT ALL would be nixed by me,pronto.
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