Today is my dad’s 79th birthday. He was born Walter Carl Neitzke, II in Carson City, Michigan. He is the second child of 5 in his family. His siblings try to come once or twice a year now to visit him, which is deeply appreciated. His dad was a career Navy man and my dad grew up all over the country. In high school, they were living in Hawaii and my dad was having a rough time with the locals at school. My great grandparents back in Michigan were farming and needed help, so he moved to live there with him. He told me once that showing up to school in their rural Michigan location with flowered shirts on from Hawaii made him stick out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t long after he arrived back in Michigan that his grandfather had a fatal heart attack. My dad was tasked to drive them to the nearest hospital – with his grandfather dying in the backseat, with his grandmother holding him. He didn’t tell me about that story until I was much older…when the dementia made him like to talk about times long gone. He continued to live with his grandmother and he worked at his Uncle’s hardware store, Thomas Hardware, in Breckenridge, Michigan. He played tenor saxophone in the high school band and when marching, played the bass drum (the big one on your front like the energizer bunny plays). Evidently there was a short cornet player that marched in front of my dad and he would run into the back of her – on purpose or because he couldn’t see her over his drum, he never told me. She was a year older than him and they became friends. This was my mom, Karen Ancel. She was dating someone else at the time, but when that broke off, she called my dad and the rest is history. They have been married for 58 years this September.
My dad went to college on an ROTC scholarship, being the runner up for the West Point appointment the year he graduated. He studied finance at Lake Superior State College in Sault Sainte Marie in the upper peninsula of Michigan. He married my mom and moved her up there before he graduated. He graduated in 1969 and was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. My parents packed up their things and after some military schooling to include jump school and ranger school (which makes my dad a total bad ass according to my son, Joe, who was also in the army) they moved to West Germany. They came home a few years later with the token cuckoo clock and a baby – me. My dad dropped my mom and me off in Michigan and went to Vietnam for a short time. He caught the end of the war…and was sent there to help organize and get people out. He rarely talked about that time, and I wished I had asked more questions. He went to Ft. Belvoir, VA, where my sister, Pam, was born. Then we moved to Fort Bragg, NC, living in Fayetteville, where my brother, Craig, was born. We then moved to Bloomington, Indiana so my dad could get his master’s degree in finance. When he graduated, we moved back to Fort Bragg, NC. My dad continued to do well in his Army career and was selected for Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. We were there about 10 months before my dad took a remote job in South Korea. He was there for a year while we lived in Breckenridge, Michigan…and I went to the same junior high/high school he had attended…and marched in the same marching band, playing the alto saxophone. I am pretty sure I wore the same gold wool marching sweaters they wore 2 decades prior. When he was done with his overseas assignment, we went to live in Alexandria, VA, where my dad could commute with thousands of other military folks to the Pentagon. We were there three years and then moved to Fort Polk, Louisiana, where my dad took command of the 7th Engineer Battalion. I am not sure if anyone appreciated my dad’s assignment there more than him. After living in the DC area, Louisiana seemed so backwards. As always, he helped us see something good in every assignment we lived through….a lesson I continued on when I went into the military and married a military man. They then went back to northern Virginia so my dad could again work at the Pentagon. I moved away to college. Pam graduated and moved away as well. My parents and Craig, now in high school, moved to Buffalo, NY for my dad to be in charge of the Corps of Engineers District at Niagara Falls. My brother graduated and went to college. My parents moved again to Fort Monroe, VA, where my dad ended his military career at 29.5 years. They were going to send him back to the Pentagon and he just didn’t have the patience for the traffic anymore. They retired to rural Michigan, where they had met, and built a beautiful home out in the countryside. They lived there for several years until my dad started having eye and some cognitive issues. They decided to move to where their youngest grandkids were, in Houston, Texas. My dad started seeing physicians in the big city and it was discovered he had had at least one but maybe several TIAs (mini strokes). It had affected his vision and possibly his cognitive skills.
My mom kept my dad at home with her until it was so taxing that it was affecting her health. In late January of 2023, my dad entered memory care at a facility about 1.5 miles from their house. I was there to help transition him there, and the first lonely night for my mom at home without him. It broke my heart to know this was how it was going to be from now on. Fast forward three years and a month and we are at today: my dad’s 79th birthday. He has no idea who anyone is. He doesn’t know his kids, the workers who care for him, or his wife. My mom goes there for lunch and dinner 6 days a week to feed him. He has forgotten how to feed himself and doesn’t really chew. His food is pureed and looks very unappetizing, but he continues to open his mouth like a baby bird when my mom asks him to. His is wheelchair bound and has forgotten how to walk…how to help people with his own care. He hasn’t forgotten his sweet tooth though, and enjoys a good desert, even if it is pureed. He will get cake and ice cream today and he will be happy. He won’t understand that it is his birthday, but he will enjoy the sweets. I am headed to Houston to see my mom on her birthday in April, so I am looking forward to holding this man’s hand and hopefully letting him feel the love come through. This post was kind of long but the future is never guaranteed…I don’t know if he will see 80…I don’t know if I will be around for him to see 80 if he does. So, happy birthday, Dad. I love you and can’t wait to see you in about 6 weeks!
Our next stop was in Napier. In 1931 they had a huge earthquake here. They gained 40 square kilometers of seabed that became part of the land during that earthquake. It reshaped the map of land of the North Island of New Zealand. What was once a lagoon was lifted up over 2.7 meters and became dry land. It is now the site for the local airport. It destroyed the city and when the town decided to rebuild, they rebuilt the entire city in art deco (like 1920’s Paris). They built 112 buildings in 2 years. This city is considered the Art Deco capital of the world. The art deco trust was founded in 1985 and many of the buildings are on their register. They also have a vintage car tour where you can be driven around in vintage car of that art deco era. They had them parked next to our ship when we returned for the day. They have a wonderful national aquarium and a wonderful botanical garden in Napier, but those were not one of our stops. If you have ever been to Copenhagen and seen the statue of the little mermaid on coastline, they have one similar not far from the port which the locals call the Pania of the Reef.
Napier is the 2nd largest wine growing area in New Zealand. There are over 100 wineries in the region. In 1957, the 1st winery in Napier was developed by the French missionaries who came here. After 19 years of making their own wine, they started selling it internationally.
Bernie, our guide for 4 hours, shared with us some things about New Zealand. He said that the three top exports from New Zealand are dairy products, meat, and timber. He said the population of Napier is 66,000. Another big crop beside wineries in this area is the New Zealand Gala apple and that this area is the apple capitol of New Zealand. They do not waste the very fertile land here on cattle or sheep grazing but use it for crops. They have figured out a way to grow apples on my like a vine rather than a tree, which saves time and allows the fruit to grow bigger. They are also much easier to pick! We toured some honey spots (honey is big business in New Zealand!) – Arataki Honey where my sister in law got into a bee costume. We also went to some overlooks high in the hills for some gorgeous over looks. The name of that gorgeous spot was Te Mata Peak. I highly recommend a stop there! The views were amazing! We also stopped at Centennial Gardens to see a beautiful waterfall with pretty flowers all around. We even got to stop at a beach for a couple of minutes to stretch our legs. Our last stop was in town at local park to see the Pou – like a Māori totem pole of sorts.
I mentioned a few days ago that I had CT scans re done early (at 3 months rather than the normal 6 months) due to some growth in one of my tumors. That 3 month scan was done first thing Monday morning (5 days ago) and I saw my local oncologist on late Wednesday afternoon. I knew moving here to rural Montana was what we wanted to do. The down side is rural medicine. I am 30 minutes from the oncology center where I am seen and equidistant from the hospital. Things fall through the cracks. I am meticulous about being an advocate for my own health care. Luckily I have a Bachelor’s of Nursing degree that helps me navigate some of the craziness that is a journey with terminal cancer. I can’t imagine if I were a 70 something woman with no medical background whatsoever. I honestly don’t think I would still be here, to be quite honest. Anyhow, I got my reports from the radiologist a few hours before I left for my appointment with my oncologist on Wednesday. He basically put out measurements of my two larger pelvic tumors (of which there are three – it is the smallest of the three biggies that is showing growth) and said there was no change. HOWEVER, the one tumor that was in question, he failed to mention on the report AT ALL. I noticed this right away. I waited over an hour to see my oncologist, thanks to a late day appointment, where everyone is behind schedule by then. I told her what I noticed and she agreed…the radiologist had completely dropped the ball on my CT scan reading. Of course he was unavailable to be reached. The doctor sent me a text that night at 11 pm telling me she was giving him until the end of the week to get back to her or she was shooting my scans to another radiologist. She also stated she would make sure my nurse navigator, which seems to change monthly (not a good thing) would get everything to the Mayo Clinic so they had all my files and scans in case I needed to head there again.
Today I received a call from an oncology nurse practitioner whom I had never seen before but is attached to my local oncologist. She had talked to a different radiologist, one who had read the last several CT scans on me, and he said that the tumor had indeed grown from the Nov CT scan until the Feb one. Unfortunately, they still have to get ahold of the original radiologist who did my report to have him write an addendum and fix the report so it can be sent to the Mayo Clinic. He is still unreachable so it will most likely be next week before that happens. My nurse navigator is supposed to then talk to the Mayo Clinic and see if this is enough of a reason to be seen there. If so, I am going to have to head there for another appointment and to talk about the next step…most likely going back onto a chemo regimen. I have talked to Rich, and if this can wait, I would like to do our trip to Africa in June, knowing that my traveling days may be very curtailed after that, depending on the treatment and how I react. It also may mean stepping away from the fire department at some point. This has always been in my peripheral mind’s eye…knowing that the other shoe would drop. I don’t know if that is quite where we are yet, but we are heading in that direction. Hopefully we will know more about the plan of action in the next couple of weeks. We leave Wednesday to head to Omaha and Kansas City to be with our Joe’s 2nd family – his widow, friends, and former co-workers on the anniversary (such a bad word for this date) of his death. It will be 4 years. My body seems to know that and my emotions are a total roller coaster, so the timing of this cancer issue couldn’t be worse (not that there is ever a good time.). Anyhow, I have a lot going on in my head and my heart right now, so please know I may just not want to talk about any of this right now until we have a plan. I am always so much better when there is a plan in place. I have had such a good run over the last 5 years. I have been leading such a blessed life considering I have a terminal illness. It might be time to pick up the heavy duty sword and shield again. I will post when I know more.
Our first stop was not far from Auckland. Our ship headed south following the eastern coast of the North Island. We got into port on a very overcast day. There had been torrential rain for the two weeks prior to us arriving. There is a hill near the port called Mount Maunganui. During the last several years, we would have been able to hike up that hill. However, the week prior, there had been a landslide (or a landslip as the Kiwis call it). There was a free camping area at the base of the hill and the landslide buried many vehicles, killing 6 people. This kind of tragedy if few and far between in this beautiful country, and it was obvious the city was very much in mourning. All national flags were at half-staff. There were police tape all around the area and there was just a somber mood to the town. Our driver picked us up in a van and the 12 of us or so spent about 7 hours seeing the area with our driver and guide, Richie. He was a retired principal and so he had a lot to share with us on our journey.
Tauranga (Rotorua) doesn’t get too hot. The hottest days are about 84 degrees and the cooler days in the lower 50’s. They get about 1.2 meters of rain a year. This area is also known for the 2nd highest number of sunshiny days in New Zealand. It is a lush, green area with a lot of golf courses. They have good roads. The speed limit on toll roads is about 68 mph and regular roads have a speed limit of 62 mph. There is a coastal strip between the beach and the toll road where homes (expensive ones) are located. Crops that are grown in this area are Maize (corn for feed for animals – they are harvested in April, dried, then fed to the animals.) 99% of the animals in New Zealand are grass fed and therefore are more desirable for their meat than other animals fed grains. There is a lot of dairy farming in NZ – it is their 2nd biggest export – dairy products. They have very large black and white Friesan cows which are larger and create better milk on grass alone. There are also jersey cows which are lighter in color and smaller. The milk dried into milk powder and sent to China. NZ has a good relationship with China because they export a lot of their products to China. The cows will calf in July and the mom will be milked 2x/day until Mar/April. Usually the milking times will be 4 a.m. and then 2 p.m. It will take 2-3 hours to milk the whole herd. The cows are then let out to eat fresh grass. The average size herd 15 years ago would have been 350 head. Now it is around 1000 cows. The dairy farmers use halter technology on the collar of the cows to track milk production, health, and to set up virtual fencing, which can be done from a cell phone.
Most New Zealanders (Kiwis) want land so they can have a proper vegetable garden in their yard. They are not happy with new builders who put the houses too close together. Plus, Kiwis believe their kids should be out in the fresh air playing and they need space to run.
Our first stop of the day was at Kuirau Park. This area of Rotorua is where there is a lot of geothermal activity – lots of boiling mud pits and steaming lakes. There is a public park where you can walk around on a board walk amongst the steam and even a place for you to sit down and put your feet and calves into the warm water. I sat pretty close to an inlet pipe which was allowing the natural hot water into the foot pool. I am pretty sensitive on my hands and feet due to chemotherapy in the past. It was pretty hot for me! Rich traded spots with me and it was much better. He felt it was pretty hot too. We sat for about 10-15 minutes and I was amazed at how good my feet and lower legs felt the rest of the day. We then also stopped at another geothermal park called Sulphur Point on the edge of Lake Rotorua. Rotorua is known for its sulphur smell. Tauranga is the port we docked in and Rotorua is the nearby city. Lake Rotorua is a caldera filled with water. The volcano erupted 250,000 years ago. There are 10 lakes in this area caused by volcanoes. There are currently only 2 active volcanoes in all of New Zealand. The last eruption was on White Island in 2019 and 21 people were killed. There are lots of earthquakes in New Zealand. The South Island, especially, has some major fault lines running through it. There are an average of 14-15,000 earthquakes per year in New Zealand. Most are not even noticed. During COVID, New Zealand had one of the lowest mortality rates in the world. They closed their borders for a year. This was horrible on their economy because they deal mostly in tourism.
The Māori arrived by small boats in 1300 A.D. They came here to be next to the warm waters and learned to steam their food over the edge of the steaming vents. They also dug holes in the ground and built a fire, put stones on it and baskets of food over the fire – called Hangi. We stopped at Māori tribal area (the one with the incredibly long name) and all had hangi meat pies for lunch. Meat pies are to New Zealand as to what hamburgers and hot dogs are the U.S. Everyone sells meat pies. About 75 million meat pies are sold in New Zealand every year.
After lunch, we went to the Redwoods – the Whakarewarewa Forest. They have amazing redwood trees (from America) that have grown into giants. They were planted 70 years ago on 3.5 thousand hectares. They have walk ways higher up into the trees so you can see the fern trees from the top and enjoy being high in the air. It was a lot of fun walking the course! There was also an area where caves were set aside and you could go inside and see the famous glow worms. (which are really larvae). It was so interesting!
We happened to be traveling through the world capitol of Kiwi Fruit – the town of Te Puke and the area around it. The region produces 85% of New Zealand’s kiwi fruit crop. There were huge hedges about 12 feet tall in large squares. They are windbreaks for the kiwi plants. I always thought they grew on a tree…they do not! they grow on a vine. It was fascinating learning about the whole process. Kiwis were brought to New Zealand from China via Shanghai. The Chinese called them gooseberries. There are over 60 varieties of kiwis but they fall into general catagories such as red, gold, and green kiwis. The red ones will rarely be seen in the U.S. because they rot very quickly and therefore are kept locally. The only time the kiwi fruit is ever touched by human hands is when they are being picked. The gold kiwis are harvested in Mar and April. The green kiwis are harvested in May and June. A quick kiwi secret (both Kiwi people and kiwi fruit). If you want to tenderize a steak, slice kiwi fruit and place it all over the piece of meat. Put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Will tenderize cheaper pieces of steak. There is some enzyme in the kiwi fruit that will do that. If you want to ripen a kiwi, place it in a paper bag with a banana and it will ripen in 2-3 days. They should not be hard.
I can’t fail to mention Manuka honey. It was everywhere…all the different flavors of the honey the bees made. I think every tourist leaves with at least one pot of honey. We may have left with two…. Dependent on what the bees are feeding off of, the honey is different in taste and coloring. So good!
Richie was a principal, so we got some low down on education in New Zealand. Kids start school on their 5th birthday. Literally on the day they turn 5. That makes it a hot mess for that level teacher – having kids that have been in school for months with kids who have been there a day. Ideally, they will go to preschool first, to give them some sort of idea of what school is about. They have preschool available for 3 and 4 year olds for 20 hours a week. If you want them to go longer, the extra time will cost you $4/hr. Primary school is age 5 to 11/12 years old. There are no private primary schools, they are all state funded. Secondary schools are about 5 years and you can go to private or public schools. There are no private secondary (high schools) in Tauranga. Private schools are expensive. They average $30,000/yr and $12,000 a year additional for boarding. Going to the other end of the spectrum, when a New Zealander turns 65 years old, they are automatically put on pension. It is not dependent on the money you earned in your lifetime. Everyone gets the same pension. Each person would get approximately $830 every 2 weeks. You can choose to still work and also get your universal pension. Everyone pays into the ACC tax, which will pay out 80% of your medical bills. All in all, a pretty sound system. We had a really good time traveling through the area and walking through the giant redwoods.
First off, we were totally bummed that we didn’t get our passports stamped in either New Zealand or Australia. We had to fill out ETAs for both countries and pay a fee to enter ahead of time. However, as is the case with a lot of other countries, they no longer stamp passports. I was thinking we would have kiwi stamp for New Zealand and a kangaroo for Australia. Sigh.
The Auckland Airport was beautiful and welcoming. With only 5 million people in the country of New Zealand, 4 million live on the north island and 1 million live in the south island. Of those 4 million people living in the north island, 1.5 million live in Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand. That is 1/3 of the population of the country in one city, if you are a math person. Auckland is called the City of Sails. New Zealand has about 2000 miles of coastline…so watersports are very popular here. Auckland is only 11 miles coast to coast, so it is one of the most walkable cities. There is one area that the locals call “Spaghetti Junction” where there are a bunch of overpasses and highways. Here’s a little Kiwi lingo for you: Togs (bathing suit) and Jangles (flipflops) and “sweet as” (cool) and “yeah, nah” (maybe). Here are some photos from the airport. Kira ora is the Māori greeting meaning hello or be well.
The people of New Zealand are very much into their culture and flora and fauna. They each feel they have a personal responsibility to keep their nation clean and pure. They have a goal for 2050 to eradicate all wild predators and bring back their native flora and fauna. It is their “Moonshot” as they call it. It is a tall order, but prior to people living on this country’s land, there were only two types of mammals, and they were both small bats. New Zealand has a lot of flightless birds. The Māori were the first to come to New Zealand and they brought Pacific rats with them in their boats. Then the Europeans brought possums and stoats to kill the rats. All of them fed on the native flightless birds and eggs of all the birds. They are still fighting this battle. Most people who live in New Zealand have traps on their property to catch the unwanted predators. The Kiwis have taken a step further and ask for all entering their country to honor their heritage, their land, and what they are trying to do as a country. This sign was in all the ports and in several places in the airport – the Tiaki promise. Tiaki is a Māori word meaning to care for, guard, and protect people and places.
Auckland….I just loved it! Rich and I have decided over the last several years that we are just not city people. We would rather spend time in the countryside. However, we really enjoyed our time in Auckland, even in the city centre, where we stayed. It is hilly. We were lucky that we could walk from our hotel to the port to board our ship and it was all downhill. We landed in the morning and were happy that once we got to our hotel, we only waited about 30 minutes before they had our rooms ready for us. We were able to drop our bags off, change from our travel clothes to walk-about-town clothes and take off to explore. We were pretty jet lagged but were determined to stay up until 8 p.m. and try to get ourselves on a good local schedule. We were in Auckland for three days prior to boarding the ship. The first two days we had passes for the Hop On Hop Off Bus. We usually like to do at least the first day in a city on something like this so we can get the lay of the land and get from point A to point B with relative ease. Also, there is a recording tell you facts about the city that we would have not known about as well. Did we need two days? Probably 24 hours would have been okay. However, we did get to go to a lot of neat places within the city. The next several paragraphs will be of information I gleaned off the recordings and photos of places we stopped that we found interesting.
Auckland has an art gallery which contains the largest collection of Māori art in New Zealand. We didn’t get a chance to go in there, but I think it should be on your list of things to see if you go. They also have a place called the Civic Palace that is a 1920’s era theatre. It is the only atmospheric theatre in the southern hemisphere. What is an atmospheric theatre, you ask? Well, after we all came up with blanks, I looked it up. An atmospheric theater is a 1920’s era theatre that is decorated as if it is outside…think deep blue ceilings with stars painted on it so you feel like you are outside but you are inside.
We are huge All Black fans. What are the All Blacks? It is the New Zealand men’s national rugby team. The women’s team is called the Black Ferns. Both have silver ferns on their chest on a uniform of all black. They are the premier rugby teams in the world. Whenever the All Blacks 15’s team is in the U.S., I am usually there. I have seen them in Chicago a couple of times and in Washington, D.C. Their 7’s team also does quite well and I used to watch them in person with my boys when they were playing the U.S. circuit in Las Vegas. Anyhow, when you think of New Zealand, you think of rugby….and you think of kiwis (the bird, the fruit, and the nickname for New Zealanders), and you think of ferns. There are over 200 fern species in New Zealand and 40% of those fern species grow nowhere else on earth. We stopped at the Winter Gardens in Auckland and they actually have a big area called the Fernery there. I grew up thinking ferns were just ground cover or bushy plants in pots. Nope…they have fern TREES. I have never seen anything like it. They are everywhere though! Here are some photos from the winter garden.
Okay, some additional random facts about New Zealand….there are 160 languages spoken in New Zealand. However, there are only 3 official languages: English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language. Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world. Over half the population is Polynesian. New Zealand has more golf courses per capita than anywhere on earth besides Scotland. New Zealand is a relatively young country. No one even lived here until 600-700 years ago. The Māori came first and settled. They fished off the coast and they hunted a flightless HUGE bird called a Moa. The Moa bird is now extinct but think about an ostrich or emu the size of an elephant. They have been extinct for nearly 400 years now. The Māori call New Zealand “Aotearoa” which means “the land of the long white cloud.” That name is used often in conversation and interchangeably with “New Zealand”. Then the British came. New Zealand was established in 1840. From 1841 to 1865, Auckland was the capitol. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with Christchurch coming in second (on the southern island) and coming in third, is Wellington, the capitol of the country, with about 235,000 people. Hamilton, the town south of Auckland, has 170,000 people and is growing quickly. They have the National and Labor parties for their government. About 65% of the population of New Zealand is of English/British decent. Māori make up 20% of the population (about 1 million). Asians (Chinese and Indian mostly) make up 15% of the population. We actually were very surprised at how many Asians we saw. There seemed to be a Chinese restaurant every 4th door when we were walking around the city center. The main tourists are folks from Australia and Americans. The weather in Auckland never drops below freezing. However, if you drive south to the South Island, you can find skiing in the wintertime. It was odd knowing that heading north meant warmer temps and heading south meant cooler temps. Also, our winter is their summer. They enjoy summertime BBQs for their Christmas celebrations and are often on the water. Kids get about 6 weeks off of school over the Christmas holidays to enjoy the warm weather with their families. State Hwy 1 runs from the tip of the northern island to the southern part of the southern island, running 1270 miles. This includes a ride on the car ferry getting you between the north and south islands. As for sports…the most popular sports in the winter are rugby, netball, and hockey. The summer sports are tennis and cricket. Sports are pretty big in New Zealand. All children are expected to be on teams and participate in sports. We passed Eden Park, where the All Blacks Rugby team play (cricket plays there as well). That was pretty cool.
One of the places we got off the Hop On Hop Off bus to stretch our legs was MOTAT. That stands for Museum of Transportation and Technology. Yawn. We didn’t go into the building. We walked along the park near it called Western Springs Park. There was a pond there they called “Eel Pond”, well, because it was full of longfin eels. There were A LOT of them. You expect to see fish…not eels. Evidently they can live up to 80 years and are the biggest eel in the world. They can live on land for up to 2 days breathing through their skin. That’s the stuff of nightmares, right there, folks. There were also a lot of swans…black swans. Never saw a white swan while we were in New Zealand. Theirs are all black. (play on words there….) There were also ducks there including mallards, NZ Scaup, and Paradise Shelducks. There are over 5000 tree species in New Zealand and I am a sucker for a pretty tree, so you have been warned. Photos will include tree photos! Here are some of the photos from our walk in this pretty park.
Another place we stopped along the bus route was Mount Eden (Maungawhau). We walked to the top of an extinct volcano for beautiful views over the city. It was about 300 meters each way, so about a 10-minute walk. It is a 75 hectare green space. It is a crater on top of an extinct volcano. The large crater creates a grassy bowl. It is roped off and considered sacred ground. No one is allowed to walk on that part of the park.
Here are a few other random photos we took as we walked around the city. If you get confused between the New Zealand and the Australian flags, you are not alone. They look very similar. Both flags are a blue standard with the British Union Jack in the upper lefthand corner. Australia has a constellation of 4 stars with one smaller star for a total of 5 white stars on the right-hand side of the flag. They also have a larger white star with 7 points under the Union Jack. The New Zealand flag has the same 4 start constellation next to the Union Jack, but they are white stars outlined in red. We noticed that on the boats, the background color for the flags were red instead of blue, we are guessing it was to better see them against the blue water. We happened to be in New Zealand on their holiday on Feb 6th, Waitangi Day. It commemorates the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi – between the Māori and the British to form New Zealand as a country. The tall spire-like building is the Sky City Tower. It is 328 meters high. We had drinks and listened to live music at the base of it each afternoon we were there. It was a short walk from our hotel. We watched people do sky jumps off the top of it – you jump but are attached to a wire that slows you down towards the bottom. They fall 192 meters. Yep, happy to watch, not to play. Rich’s brother and sister-in-law were on the lookout for an ice cream place called Giapo Ice Cream. They make wild shapes with their ice cream cones and they were looking for the chocolate squid. They found it! We went out to eat at two nicer restaurants while we were there: Sails and White and Wongs. White and Wongs was phenomenal. It is Asian fusion and everything was reasonably priced and delicious. We also were able to walk there. Sails is a higher end seafood place you need a reservation for. The food was good but it wasn’t necessarily worth the Uber ride to get there and back. We arrived just before Chinese New Year kicked off. With the huge Chinese population in the region, there was no shortage on decorations. Rich and I attended Sunday Mass at The Catholic Cathedral of St. Patrick and St. Joseph, which was a short walk from our hotel. We lit a candle for our Joe there.
Rich and I also went to the All Blacks Experience – an interactive museum where you learn about the history and culture of the All Blacks rugby teams – men’s and women’s. There is a swirling Māori tattoo of sorts along the walls of the museum with the names of all players who have ever played for the team. Next to their name is a number…the higher the number, the newer the team member. I found a few of my favorites. We had a blast spending time there. There is a piece of jade or pounamu that the team actually takes with them when they play overseas. They were in the off season, so the jade stone was there for us to touch. Each player touches it as they go onto the pitch to play. Many New Zealanders wear a jade carving around a leather strap around their necks. The carvings represent different meanings and blessings. You never buy one for yourself. It is meant to be a gift from a loved one. The jade warms and it is believed to absorb the wearer’s mauri (life force). This is interesting as when I was in China, they have somewhat of the same tradition with their jade bracelets for women. The jade pieces are a sacred taonga (treasure) and are often handed down through the generations. Back to the All Blacks Experience….we got to stand on astro turf in front of a screen while life-sized players performed the haka in front of you as if you were the opposing team. The haka is often thought of as a war dance, but it is really a sign of respect. They feel you are a worthy opponent; you see the haka. If a special person dies, the haka is performed at their funeral. If you achieve something wonderful – like graduation from college, your family can do the haka for you. It was intense enough to blow your hair backwards. The women’s version of the haka is different, but no less intense. Anyhow, if you are a rugby fan at all…this is your haven. If you know rugby at all, you know about Jonah Lomu. He debuted for the All Blacks rugby union team in 1994. He was a beast of a man…large but the fastest player on the team. He was 6 ft 5 in and weight 276 lbs. He was considered one of the best rugby players of all times. He died in 2015 at the age of 40 due to a heart attack. He was a gentle giant with a heart of gold off the field and a beast who wouldn’t be slayed on the pitch. Seeing his jersey and his name on the wall meant a lot to this fan.
Our last day in Auckland, we took a trip to Piha Beach. It is a black sand beach known for good surfing. It is one of the most popular surfing beaches in the world. There is a large rock they call Lion Rock, right next to the shore. Behind some of the rocks are colonies of small penguins. I didn’t get to see them though. The water made the black sand shimmer and was a perfect canvas for reflections of the rock formations around the beach. The sand was thick! I felt like I was walking through brownie batter.
After some time on Piha Beach, we drove a few minutes down the road to Kitekite Falls. We walked along a trail in the native forest to get to a multi-tiered waterfall. We walked through ferns and ancient kauri trees. This was one of the places we had to clean the soles of our shoes entering the trail and then exiting. They are really trying to maintain their local flora and fauna. They don’t want anything brought into the area. You will see some fern trees in these photos. Rich took a dip in the water. He said it was incredibly cold. He also found an eel!
After three full days in Auckland, it was time for us to head to our ship, the Holland America Lines MS Noordam. We were actually able to walk to the port as it was all downhill for us and took maybe 10 minutes to walk there. My brother-in-law decided to try and surf his suitcases down, but it didn’t quite work…. We had a great time in Auckland and would highly recommend a trip there!
Hi folks! We have been out of the country for about 3.5 weeks and just got back on Friday. Travel time kind of kicked our tails, but I wanted to get going on my blogging of the trip! I am going to just kind of do an overview of our trip and our impressions here and then will post photos and thoughts on each of the places we went. This will probably take me a week to do….there is just so much to share. For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, Rich and I, along with his brother and his wife, traveled to New Zealand and Australia! This was the last location on my bucket list of travel that Rich asked me to put together when I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2019. He has been slowly ticking off those bucket list destinations. A goal for me while Down Under was to get to take a photo of a kangaroo, a koala, and the Sydney Opera House. Mission accomplished! Another goal for me personally, was to reach my 55th birthday. That was a “pie in the sky” goal I set for myself a few years ago. So now all my goals have been met. Time to make some more. To be quite honest, this is pretty heavy on my mind as my last set of CT scans were not as good as they have been. I asked my local oncologist if I could be scanned at 3 months rather than waiting for my normal 6 months. She felt that was a good compromise and so I had my scans early this morning. I meet with my local oncologist Wednesday late afternoon. So that is weighing on me…the unknown of my cancer status. That guides my goals. So I would like to put out a couple of goals out into the universe….I would like to see Lily graduate from college (May 2027). I would like to go on that African trip we have planned in June of this year and our China trip with Lily in June of 2027. Until I get more info on my health, that is as far as I am going out. Anyhow, I digress….Australia and New Zealand!!!!
We flew a behemoth number of hours there and back. We left on Tuesday afternoon on January 27th from Montana and flew to Denver…then to San Francisco. From there we joined Rich’s brother and sister-in-law and got on the big jet for the 13-hour flight to Auckland. We passed the international date line on the way there and completely lost out on January 28, 2026. It is forever lost to us. (that is a disconcerting feeling to have – that you have completely lost a day) We arrived in the morning hours of Thursday, January 29th. I don’t know about you, but I am not able to sleep sitting up unless I am completely exhausted. Let’s just say we were all pretty tired when we arrived. We were able to check into our hotel rooms within an hour or so after arriving, which was great. We left to start wandering around Auckland. We were there for 3 days prior to getting on the Holland America Line MS Noordam. We were on the ship for 14 days, where we made 8 stops in New Zealand (on both the North and South Islands), Tasmania, and the main continent of Australia. We got off the ship in Sydney. We spent 2 days there and then flew north to Cairns, where we spent our last 3 days in the wonderful country of Australia.
There are a few things the four of us agreed on. First off, if you are going to endure the long trip – stay for a beat. We ended up staying for 24 days. It was just about right. I miss home and my dog when I am gone. Anything shorter than that would have maybe not made the trip worth the long travel time. We all were surprised at how clean and easy to get around Auckland was. Sydney was not as clean…with 5.5 million people living there, it was a giant city with skyscrapers. New Zealand doesn’t have mammals. I take that back – there are two mammals that are indigenous to New Zealand and they are both small bats. What mammals they do have, they are trying to eradicate by 2050 – rats and possums. They were brought to the country decades ago and are responsible for the near extinction of several types of flightless birds. New Zealand may not have a lot of mammals, but they have a ton of birds. The flora….the trees and the ferns and the beautiful flowers, are a sight to see. New Zealand doesn’t have the poisonous creepy crawlies that Australia is known for. We landed in Australia and our guides carried first aid bags with them when we were hiking in case we were accosted by any said poisonous creepy crawlies. One overzealous guide told us there was even an ant in Australia that was poisonous and had no antidote. However, they did have kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, kookaburras, and lots of other mammals and birds. They also had some pretty impressively sized spiders. I think all four of us decided we really enjoyed Tasmania the best. We made two stops on this island state that is southeast of Australia proper. We really enjoyed Hobart, which is in the southern part of Tasmania. But more on that in another post.
The exchange rate was good for both countries against the U.S. dollar. In New Zealand, a dollar there was $0.60 to the U.S. dollar. (so everything was about 40% less). In Australia, it was about 30% less. So our U.S. dollar went further in both countries. There is no tipping in either country, unless it is a higher end restaurant. Meat pies are the local fare in both countries and we got to try several varieties. We all fell in love with the Australian non-alcoholic ginger beer made by the company Bundaberg. So good! There are a lot of Asians who not only visit these two countries but also immigrate there. Both countries have a large Asian presence. Both countries also give a lot of voice and respect to their indigenous people. For New Zealand, it is the Māori people. For Australia, it is the Aboriginal people. I lost count how many times I heard locals talk about “the sins of our fathers” and making it right. Biodiversity laws are very strict in both countries. Don’t bother trying to bring food in. There are even places that don’t trust where you have been, so you have to wash the bottoms of your shoes prior to walking in a park. I fell in love with Barundi fish (in Australia) and Warehou fish (in New Zealand) and chips. Both are a white fish that is so hearty, it is almost like chicken. I am not a big fish person, but I loved it.
Holland America Lines – the MS Noordam….it is an older ship, and its decor is somewhat dated and worn. However, it was a ship that was serving 1900 passengers and that was a good number. There were actually 600 passengers on the ship when we embarked that had been on the ship for several weeks already. Many of them taking a 42-day voyage. They had rough weather the week before we arrived and missed 3 or 4 stops on minor outlying islands between Fiji and New Zealand. They were a hearty bunch though! We asked to have shared dining each night when in the dining room, so were with different couples each night…. getting to know more people. A lot of the people were from Australia and New Zealand. Many were from the UK. There was a strong contingency from Canada and then the U.S. as well. There was a group of nearly 30 people from Israel on board too. Many Germans were also sailing with us. It was a good time. We were probably 10-15 years younger than most. There was ONE child on board. The entertainment was stellar and the food was amazing. I like that there is always something in the main dining room that is related to whatever stop we are at that day or at least the region. Lots of fresh fish and seafood. Lots of variety. The specialty dining was top notch. I literally have to skip a meal before I go because I want to eat everything on my plate, it is so good. There was a singing pianist named James that was from Scotland onboard. We closed out our nights with him whenever he was playing. He was very much a ship favorite. They even hosted a big Superbowl viewing party on Superbowl Sunday (which was Superbowl Monday afternoon for us) in the theatre with popcorn and snacks and drinks and cake. We enjoyed playing cards up in the Crow’s nest. That was a favorite hangout place for people doing puzzles or playing board or card games or just reading in comfy chairs. I took a couple of calligraphy classes on our sea days. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a priest on board our ship that celebrated daily mass the entirety of the cruise. The port talks were very interesting, and I felt relatively informed while we were on board. The staff was wonderful. I really enjoy this cruise line!
So that is my loose overview of the trip. Now on to the cities we visited and photos to go along with them!
Today is Epiphany…January 6th….the day the wisemen came to visit the Christ child in Bethlehem. It is also the 12th day of the Christmas season, bringing it to an end. The three wisemen were Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. All over the world, this feast day is celebrated. Some do cold water plunges, diving into waters blessed by Orthodox priests to retrieve a cross. In Italy, an old woman will bring gifts to children the night before Epiphany. In Spain, the celebration of Three Kings’ Day (dia de los reyes) brings gifts into the shoes of children.
In the United States, it is not overly celebrated. However, in the past 10 years or so, I have celebrated the “Chalking of the Doors” in my home. I had honestly never heard of it before then. The priest will bless pieces of chalk for you to take home. Above your door on your lintel, you write in chalk, 20 + C + M + B + 26. So the bookends – the numbers- are the year. C, M, B has two meanings: the names of the wisemen (Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar) or the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ Bless this house.” The + sign between the numbers and initials represent the cross. As Christians we want to welcome people into our home as Christ was welcomed into the world. I have white siding so you can’t really see the writing, so I looked up another photo online to share with you.
The blessing said after chalking the doors is: The three wise men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and twenty-six years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.
The prayer then offered is: Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here with the gift of your love: and grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. May we grown in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen us in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.
I am trying my best to post more on this blog in 2026. I kinda fell off the blogging wagon at the end of last year. I figured the best way to blog this week is to wish Lily a very happy 21st birthday today!
After several painful teen years (for everyone involved), Lily is blossomed into a wonderful young woman who I thoroughly enjoy spending time with. She will be starting the second semester of her junior year in a couple of weeks at the Kansas City Art Institute where she is getting a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree majoring in Illustration and minoring in Entrepreneurship. She lives in a house that will be 100 years old this year. It was refurbished and made into a duplex (upper and lower levels). She and two of her classmates live with her in the upstairs unit. Although Lily seems to enjoy the city life of living in downtown Kansas City, she still seems to enjoy coming to Montana during her school breaks. She goes up to Omaha a couple of times a year to visit friends and hang around the place she grew up.
Lily is a fabulous cook. She took a lot of culinary classes in high school and was always with me in the kitchen growing up. She makes a mean chili (I didn’t teach her that one) and the very best deviled eggs I have ever had. (the secret ingredient being apple cider vinegar – go figure!) Her hair is dyed but as the dye fades out of her black hair, it turns this mixture of blue and purple hues. She calls it pigeon breast colors. Her friends in KC call it an oil slick. A bagger in the grocery store up here in Montana commented that her hair looks like the Northern Lights. I like that description a lot and I think she did as well. The picture below doesn’t do her hair justice as it is mostly in the back. Lily is a collector of random items. She collects bread clips of all colors and sizes. Her first stop when she comes into the house in Montana is to head to the kitchen and go check the small tupperware cup we have in the junk drawer where we collect bread tags for her while she is gone. She even has our neighbors bringing them over to her! She swaps them online with other collectors around the world. Needless to say, we’ll be buying some kind of bread product when we are overseas this year, to hopefully add to her collection. She still can do origami with the best of them, and it still amazes me what she creates. Lily is a keeper of a million random facts. It is fascinating to have a conversation with her. I always learn something!
We’ll be heading to Kalispell to eat out in a few hours. She almost always gets charges as a 12 and under kid. She is anxious to see if on her 21st birthday, she still gets charged as a kid. We’ll let you know! Until then, happy birthday to my youngest, Lily. We love you so very much and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you!
As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share the comfort of my home at Christmas with you. I am not one to leave up decorations for very long and these are now all packed up and put away for Advent 2026. It was a small and quiet Christmas for our family. Lily was the only one home. We didn’t have an open house this year – just a few friends over for dinner. It was a harder Christmas for me this year. I was really missing my Joe and his wife, Michelle. Whenever they would come to our house for Christmas, they would bring their two large dogs with them. It was always a three-ringed circus but it was MY three-ringed circus and I loved making big meals and baking and making candies for everyone to munch on while we played card and board games. Watching the boys get upset because their little sister beat them at Settlers of Catan was fun to watch. The Celtics would be on TV and the noise level was a dull roar. Each year since Joe’s death has become quieter. This year was the first year we didn’t have Tim with us. We have had weird weather here in Montana and there was no snow on the ground. We had a crazy call on Christmas Eve, and a couple on Christmas Day. There was no green bean casserole (Tim’s favorite)….no special mashed potatoes (Joe’s favorite)…no prime rib (a waste for three of us). It was just quiet, and I realize that is probably our new norm. However, I LOVE the way our house feels and looks like during Christmas. I feel like this house was made for the Christmas season. I wanted to share what it looked like.
How do YOU decorate your tree? I love looking at Christmas trees and what their ornaments represent the family they belong to. Christmas ornaments are my weakness. Each year as I unwrap an ornament, I have a flood of memories for each one….either from the person who gave it to me, the place where it came from (I always buy an ornament from the places we travel to) or just an admiration of the beauty of the item. Besides collecting ornaments from other countries, I also collect Swarovski crystal snowflakes each year. They make a tree sparkle and I have always loved snowflakes and these are so beautiful. I also like the annual Willow Tree angels. Each year in September or October, I order the ones for that year. Although it wasn’t planned, each year we have gotten at least one ornament to memorialize our Joe. We have ornaments the kids made when they were little and ornaments given to us from my Grandma Neitzke. We have a random Garfield head wearing a Vikings football helmet from when we lived in Minnesota. We moved there in 1997 and lost all of our ornaments in a flood that swept away the town 3 weeks later. Our church gathered Christmas ornaments from all over Minnesota and a brown paper sack full of them were left on our doorsteps that Christmas season. That is the one that has stayed with us for the last almost 30 years now. I have ornaments given to me in ornament exchanges with coworkers over the years. As a school secretary, I got some from families at the school as well. My mom, in her infinite wisdom, started buying ornaments for her kids when I was in middle school. We each got one every year and they were ones that reflected our personalities. I have those. I have a couple of ornaments from Rich’s Gram, when we first got engaged. See…lots of wonderful memories…and a lot of those people are no longer here. Moving beyond the tree, I have a beautiful Willow Tree Navity set that I adore. I also have a collection of international santas. Joe always called them the creepy santas but I still like them! Every country’s idea of Father Christmas is different. Anyhow, I wanted to share our home with you. As I said before, I think that this house was made to be decorated for Christmas. I don’t have any special talent decorating…I think a Charlie Brown Christmas tree would still look good.
My view from my favorite overstuffed chair. When it snows, I love to spend time in this room as it is covered in windows and I feel like I am in a reverse snowglobe.
The stockings….one for all six of us, even though only three were present this year. The international santas are to the left and to the right is a decades old nativity ceramic set that Rich’s mom made for her mother about 50 years ago. Rich got the set back when his Gram died almost 30 years ago.
These pictures were taken on Dec 27th…when the decorations were still up and we had just gotten an inch or so of snow. Better late than never!
My mom quilted this table runner and it looks awesome out for the season.
The quilted wall hanging was from my Grandma Neitzke in the first few years of our marriage. The Santa hat is one I used to wear to the elementary school I worked at on party day. The BELIEVE blocks were a gift from one of my former principals and I LOVE them! Below are the holiday cards we received this year. I keep thinking that one of these days I won’t send out cards to all these folks that never send one back. Many are family….stamps are getting so expensive now that sending out over 100 cards a year may have to stop. I have whittled down quite a bit, but still….
The first thing unpacked every Advent season is our Advent wreath. The quilted table piece underneath is one that my Grandma Neitzke made me decades ago.
The Willow Tree Nativity with a quilted banner made by my mom and a Silent Night painting given to me by my Grandma Neitzke when I was first married.
For several years, I took our family Christmas photo and made a igloo cube with them…filled with fake snow and small ornaments. I only did it for 13 years…but I enjoy looking at my kids’ faces from years gone by.
Tallinn also loves Christmas. He loves the Christmas tree lights. He was guarding the tree and not happy with me in this photo because I pulled out all the bins to put things away.
This year’s addition. It just seemed to fit. We have a firefighter one, an army one, and a silver heart with his thumbprint on it.
A Swarvski crystal snowflake
The Willow Tree annual angel ornaments. This one wasn’t an annual addition but an angel holding a little boy that struck me deep in my heart. The idea of my boy being held in the arms of angels, even as an adult, comforts me.
This angel made of wool was a Christmas gift from my Grandma Neitzke decades ago. One of my favorites.
This is one of the ornaments I got from Sicily…the homeland of the Messinas!
Very delicately painted thin glass Christmas ornament from the Prague Christmas market.
Our little Tim (or Timmy back then) from his preschool days in Colorado Springs, CO
One of my pretty new ornaments from friends from the fire department. So beautiful! I love it!
Love this little angel handmade in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Hello dear family and friends! This is our 35th Messina family Christmas letter! So, let’s get to it!
We LOVE living in NW Montana! We are about 25 minutes from Glacier National Park, Whitefish Ski Resort, Flathead Lake, and the nearest hockey rink. What more could you ask for? We love to travel but love coming home to this special place. We were able to share our beautiful home with several visitors this summer: Rich’s sister, Tammie; my brother, Craig and his family; the Methe family from Nebraska; some of our Joe’s former coworkers from the Olathe Fire Dept and their wives; and some dear friends from our Air Force days, the Masins and the Bakers. We had such a great time sharing our home with these folks. If you want to come visit, we’d love to have you! Give us a call and we’ll put you on our calendar.
Rich has had another stellar year. He continues to play hockey a couple of times a week and even joined the Colorado Warriors hockey team to play in a Disabled Veterans Hockey Tournament in Tampa last month. Rich plays poker a couple of nights a week and has participated in a few poker tournaments here and there as well. In the winter, he is snowboarding and skiing, and in the summer, hiking, floating, and kayaking are on the docket. Rich continues to work as a travel advisor with Cruise Planners, and I support him how I can in this business and a few other home businesses he runs. We’ve enclosed a business card for you or someone you know who would like to go on a trip somewhere fun. We both continue to volunteer at Bad Rock Volunteer Fire Department and Quick Response Unit. Rich went through Fire 1 Academy this spring and now plays a leadership role with our firefighters as a lieutenant.
Our Joe would have been 31 last month and married 5 years the month before that. It is hard to believe he has been gone for over 3 ½ years now. He is missed every single day. His trusty dog, Moose, joined him in heaven this year after an illness. If you saw the video of those two being reunited after Joe’s Middle East deployment in 2017, you can just imagine what it must have been like to have their souls together again. Michelle continues her government job, and I am sure she is thankful to start being paid again. She continues to crush it on the mats in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and showers love on her remaining dog, Jenna. Michelle seems to have caught the travel bug as well and has been to some wonderful spots. We are so proud of her and love her very much.
Tim has moved! This boy doesn’t do it halfway. He left his job with women’s basketball in San Diego and moved across THE ENTIRE COUNTRY to North Carolina to work with men’s basketball at Campbell University. He lives halfway between his job and Raleigh and seems to really enjoy working with this brand-new coaching staff. Tim is living alone for the first time ever and is taking advantage of the solitude after a long workday. We went to visit him during the week of Thanksgiving and loved getting to know his new area. We caught a game while we were there and will catch another one at Gonzaga later in the month. Tim is working hard, as usual, and we couldn’t be prouder of the professional coach and man he has become. He is further away from where we are but in a much better place professionally and personally. It is still surreal to see your kid on TV during basketball games. We are so proud of him and love him so much.
Lily is going to be 21 early next month! I cannot wait to see the faces of the waitstaff in restaurants who still try to give her children’s menus when she is old enough to order a beer. She is halfway through her junior year in college at the Kansas City Art Institute where she is majoring in illustration and minoring in entrepreneurship. She and two classmates live in a duplex near the school. Lily seems to enjoy school but has been coming back to Montana between semesters. Over the summer, she worked at a zipline place nearby. She and her friends continue to go to anime conventions across the Midwest and absolutely blow us away with their costumes. We enjoyed seeing her in NC over Thanksgiving and are looking forward to her arriving for Christmas break. We are so proud of how brave she has been to follow her dream of being an artist and we love her more than words can say.
I am busy mostly with my job as QRU (quick response unit) Captain at our volunteer fire department. I not only am an EMT who is on call 24/7 but am an instructor for First Aid, Stop the Bleed, and CPR at our fire department. I teach EMS classes to our emergency medical providers every month and coordinate at the county and state level each month as well. I help with behind-the-scenes business stuff for Rich and enjoy sharing our travel experiences with others. My health remains stable for now and I am running with that as we have some big international trips planned in 2026 – Australia/New Zealand, and Africa are calling my name. Until then, I spend my down time trying out new recipes, walking the area with Tallinn, reading, and participating in webinars online.
Speaking of travel…we were mostly homebodies this year as many people came to us! We did some traveling for work…. a work cruise out of San Diego in January. I know, work cruise…. sounds rough. Well, try being in a classroom all day learning travel advisor stuff rather than sitting by the pool or enjoying fun activities on board. We did another work cruise to the Bahamas in October. Honestly, the jury is out on these work cruises for me. We did get released to enjoy the ports when we stopped, which was wonderful. We snorkeled with sea lions in the ocean and that was pretty darn cool. I really enjoy learning about other places, cultures and foods and we try to accomplish that wherever we go. We also took trips to Houston and Florida twice last year to visit our parents. Rich’s mom and my dad are in the end stages of dementia, so we try to visit when we can…and support our parents who are their caretakers. Rich’s brother had his retirement ceremony in late October in D.C., and we attended the festivities. We are sure proud of his military career. We look forward to seeing what is next for him.
Shameless plug – if you or someone you know want help planning a trip, contact us! We are paid by the vendors, not the people we help, so there is no cost to them. We don’t just work with cruise lines but also with lots of land tours and all-inclusive resorts all over the world. Our parent company is very well known in the travel business and can help us get pretty good deals. Let us take over the minutia of travel planning so you can worry about what to pack. We can even advise you on that! We are not in the travel advisor business for the money. We literally just want to help people make their bucket list vacations come true. We have been blessed to have traveled the world, and we take notes as we go to help others.
Shameless plug #2…come visit us in Montana! We would love to have you come and spend time with us. Every time of year has its own beauty and things to do. Give us a call and we’ll pencil you into Rich and Cyndi’s free bed and breakfast! The nearest airport to us is 15 minutes away – Glacier Park International Airport (FCA)…so it is very doable!
Our thoughts and prayers are with each one of you during this Christmas season and into 2026. We would love to hear from you! Give us a call sometime so we can catch up!
Messina Musings 