No, it wasn't a month long vacation...

I've been back home for almost two weeks now. Here's what happened: Blogging while traveling turned out to be almost impossible. Sure, every place we stayed offered internet access- generally about 30 free minutes per night- but I knew from my post of Saturday, March 12th / Sunday, March 13th that uploading five photos to the blog from New Zealand required approximately 45 minutes. Add to that the fact that I was much more inclined towards going out and seeing more stuff and taking more pictures than paying to spend what seemed like a ridiculously long time uploading the photos I had already taken... well, you get the picture (or rather, you see why you didn't get to see the pictures- until now.) Once home, the combination of the worst jet lag I've ever experienced and my being a bit lazy and out of practice posting lead to the significant lag in my producing this What I Did (and Wore) on my Vacation post.

Posing with a cabbage tree in Mokau.

With Chris in Mokau (after seaside fish and chip lunch.)

View of the coast at Mokau.

At Huka Falls.

With Chris at Huka Falls.

The falls without us in front, obscuring the view.

With Chris and my dad on a jet boat on Waikato River.

Pretty colors at Oraki Korako geothermal area.

Pretty leaves and shadows on the trail.

On the pier at New Plymoth with terrible posture.

Late afternoon view from the New Plymoth Coastal Walkway.

Tidal pools in New Plymoth.

On Mount Taranaki.

Dawson Falls

Chris offered me two new pairs of boots if I would stand under the falls. They look pretty mild in this picture but that is icy cold snow melt crashing down with enough force to knock a klutz like me flat out on those rocks. And we're going into spring, so boots? Not the best motivator.

With fish and chips in newspaper at Waikato wine festival.

I was determined to get some fish and chips wrapped in newsprint. When I was a kid I would sit with our fish and chips wrapped in newsprint on my lap as I rode home in the car. I always hoped to get all the way home before the heat through the paper became unbearable and I had to lift the package before my thighs blistered. I never made it the whole way home. Fish and chips are as popular as ever here but the newspaper wrapping of my youth has all but disappeared. Take it from me, New Zealand has the best fish and chips in the world, with or without the newspaper. Don't even bother anywhere else in the world. Okay, I might be a bit partial. A bit. Not a lot.

Steak and cheese pie in Taupo.

The Blue Lake (no joke- that's what it's called.)

Our shadows in the parking lot.

Flights of fruit wines and a paddle of beers at Hallertau Brewbar and Restaurant.

My aunt poses with statue of Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson, former mayor of Auckland.

I took a picture with this statue also but I look terrible in my photo so you don't get to see it.

A glowing, interactive floor map of the North Island at Te Papa museum.

I was pretty happy with what I packed for this trip. I wore everything I bought and I liked the way I looked most of the time. My biggest fashion related problem was that my already completely stuffed suitcase couldn't accommodate all the new stuff I bought for the return trip. More on that later.

This cafe in Taihape serves the best cappuccino I've ever had- that includes the 3 months I spent in Florence!