We're off to see the Wizard...
... assuming the Wizard is either in the Wellington Zoo, or Perth, Australia. After some frittering about town this morning, we're off to the airport to drop off our luxury rental coach, the Toyota Camry, then into a 737 to get dropped into Sydney briefly, before our final destination today of Perth off in the Western Australia territory. So, I'm going to kick the now-TV watching humans into getting in gear. Cheers! (Oh by the by, it's 9am Sunday, 30 May here now, since it's merely Saturday afternoon there in the States.)
    :::   05.29.04 @ 02:05 PM Pacific Time [link]   :::

A Friday night in Wellington
The rain that's been pouring down for the last 6 hours (in varying levels) in no way dampens the activities to be found along Courtenay Place. Ranging from the quiet sort of dinner and a movie crowd on the one end, folks of all ages taking advantage of the late shopping night at the mall (open late versus the 5:30pm-6pm end of trading hours), those taking in the evening bar/club scenes, or the 14-year-old girls sneaking a smoke between the buildings, there's a bit of something for most. Sadly, I didn't find many options for ducks, however, the puddles from all the rain kept me sufficiently delighted to enjoy the stroll down Courtenay at any rate. But despite it being the early hour of 9.30pm here, I'm in for the night and ready for some sleepy eyes. Ta!
    :::   05.28.04 @ 02:31 AM Pacific Time [link]   :::

Halfway through New Zealand
With the passing of today into tonight, and then into tomorrow, we're at the half-way point of the New Zealand portion of my trip. Being at home seems so long ago now, and with both Tubby and I mastering driving on the left instead of the right, with being able to understand the accent as though its second nature, and adjusting to only having Coca-Cola products available to choose from, I feel as though I've adjusted to this new land. Not really sure I want to go back, yet, I have tickets and Tubby has a passport visa that assures us we're going to have to leave on the 30th, like it or not. Phooey. (And because I tend to forget everyone at home is nearly a day behind us, it's currently Wednesday, 26 May 2004, 8:40pm New Zealand time.)
    :::   05.26.04 @ 01:39 AM Pacific Time [link]   :::

Night 2 of 7 in New Zealand
Well, I'm here, I'm waddling about like a duck without boundaries. Today, we assaulted Auckland proper, wandering around the downtown, the harbour and waterfront, looking at that Skytower thing and up to the museum amidst the Auckland Domain. And now, I'm surprisingly ready for sleep, despite it being only 8:40pm here (and it's Monday, 24 May). We're about 19 hours ahead of California time, 16 hours ahead of New York. Set your watches accordingly... :)
    :::   05.24.04 @ 01:42 AM Pacific Time [link]   :::