my buddy is back

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sweet as....i have my buddy back!! i picked meesh up from the airport yesterday. not before i backed chippy into a ditch on rhondda and john's driveway at 5:30am....oops. here's the story. i got up and out the door at 5:30. understand that this driveway is very very steep....so steep that chippy has to get a little momentum going down the first hill to get up the second. i had my momentum going, but....as i got halfway up the hill i noticed a big branch in the road. so i stopped, put the emergency brake on and got out to move the branch. no sooner did i step out and shut the door chippy started rolling down the hill....backward. needless to say she ended up in a ditch. i had to wake them when i realized there was no way i could get the car out myself. john graciously towed me out of the ditch and up the driveway....and i was off with a big cloud of dust behind me....yelling thank you out the window....and feeling embarassed.

so, after i finally made it to the airport michelle had been waiting for a couple hours i think though she didn't make me feel bad at all. we started driving south toward taupo to hike the 4 day the northern circuit. we passed the sign for the coromandal penninsula and in a snap decision turned around. we ended up in whitianga, where we are now. we spent today hiking around cathedral cove. an unbelievable place where the tides and rain have carved away at the cliffs on the shoreline. check out the photos and you'll see what i mean.

the day itself wasn't sunny or warm for that matter, but it was a beautiful day to watch the weather. it's amazing here you can watch a cloud lightening its load on the ocean and a storm press into the sunlight. so, despite the rain that often passed over us, the view of it moving on was spectacular. the way the sunlight moved and the shadows it cast were magical as well.

ok, i'm off.

be well.

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Photos

cathedral cove
me in neat rock formation

me 3, meesh 4
haha.

cathedral cove
can you say 'tourist attraction??'

cathedral cove
storm moving across the water