Blair took us to the airport to begin the last leg of our journey. Sad to say goodbye to him, he has been very good to us while camped in the 27th storey apartment, but he will be home again in January. After flying out of Vancouver at 8.00pm on Wednesday 24th September we headed into the west and 14 hours later safely landed in Auckland, at 5.00am on Friday 26th September. Those times are 33 hours apart so somewhere we were short changed....such is the pleasure of jet airline travel.
A short trek and wait in Auckland and then we were on our way to Blenheim, one hour twenty south. There at the airport was Hayden holding a sign saying "Lawrence", perfect, great to see him again. Sadly our trip has finished.
But in our last blog we need to say some thank you's.
Firstly to those that generously opened their doors to us. Grant, Bea and Jada in Sydney where we were introduced to geocaching! When we returned for my Dad's funeral, Simon and Anna in Hamilton were wonderfully hospitable, to us and our two boys for the best part of two weeks before we got flying again.
My sister Sally in Chiang Mai where she moved out of her bed for us which was beyond the call of duty. Michelle in Prague provided us with a wonderful base to explore this old city and spend some time with her and Ondra, what a neat couple. Claudia and Thom in Austria, and your girls, what great times. I am so pleased that Netherlands won their first game of the World Cup....what a treat we were put on. Carla in Lisbon - you were so good to us, as you have been to both our boys over recent years. You left us your flat when you went away, you wouldn't let us not sleep in your bed and the fiasco around getting to the airport is something we won't forget for many a year. Thank you.
In the United Kingdom we were especially spoilt. In Scotland, Helen and Moira put us on a great fuss. It was so comfortable staying with you, we were very much at home in Dundee and over the course of six weeks we kept coming and going and you always made us so welcome. We really do hope that we can catch up with you again very soon. Further north in Scotland it was great to stay in the old "Smithie" with George and Shona for a couple of nights and heart warming to have your family around for a meal together.
In London Mike and Merima were brilliant. We enjoyed your company so much and one day hope to see you in New Zealand again, maybe your girls will come visiting with a backpack in a few years. Thank you also for the GPS...saved us a fortune in petrol and disagreement in direction.
In North America we flew into Iowa City, not top of the tourists itinerary but near the top of ours. Brian and Lesley were wonderful hosts and we had a good look around their patch of the World, great fun. On to Canada and Vancouver where Blair and his flat mate were especially generous to us. Somehow Blair had convinced Jan that his parents would be bearable for a few weeks......and she bought it! Thanks Jan, we really appreciated sharing your home on the 27th floor above Vancouver. Thanks to Blair for giving us his bed while he camped on the sofa.
While in Vancouver we were able to catch up on some of Diana's relatives. Unfortunately the Lawrence family tree is a bit of a fizzer however if you marry the right girl.......well, Diana has whanau on both sides of her family tree. We had a fantastic time meeting a family of Fisher's whom Blair was fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving with last year. It was most appreciated that someone had sent out an all points bulletin and got the family under one roof for us to get acquainted. Thank you very much Jim and Lisa - the superb local salmon was a treat. And to Bryn's family...what a night. Delectable smoked steak from the BBQ, mini lemon tarts and I counted 5 bottles on the table - without corks.....we were a bit slower the next morning but thoroughly enjoyed an evening with you.
Further, on the family front we were very fortunate to be invited out to Pam Pearse's house at Abbotsford. We spent the weekend with Pam, her two boys Mitchell and Lucas and her man, Terry. What a wonderful experience, true blue Canadian hospitality, such a special family to know and we can see why Blair so enjoys your relaxed company and home cooking.
So many people were so very very generous to us and have etched themselves into our memories forever. We would love to return that generosity to you all one day and while NZ is a fair distance away for many it is a first class destination for any traveller....we can show you that.
All is good back in Blenheim for us. Hayden has managed the hostel well and there were no problems to be sorted. Diana is back into work there, just like old times. I am seriously considering finding a paying job....not rushing yet but will have to soon.
Lastly a thank you to all those people that read our blog and sent us encouraging comments....blog writers enjoy that, I think. We certainly enjoyed the adventures that created material to write, hopefully we can do some more travelling soon....we'll keep you informed.
Till next time.......
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