Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 16, 2023 In the eighties we lived in Aro Valley, an inner city suburb of Wellington with a decidedly old feel. We decided to walk up from the city and check out our old home and neighborhood. The thing about Wellington, it is hard to avoid walking up hills. Our home on Maarama CrescentContinue reading “Wellington, New Zealand”

January 15, 2023 Wellington is not well known for its great weather. We lived there for eighteen months back in the eighties and neither of us could remember a day to match the three recent days we spent there, which were all spectacular. Perched on a sheltered harbor at the bottom of the North Island,Continue reading “Wellington, New Zealand”

January 13, 2023 Today our good friend, John, joined us as we climbed Mangere (pronounced Man-ger-y) Mountain. Mangere is one of Auckland’s largest volcanic peaks, including not just one but two cones. Standing at 106 meters (348 feet) above sea level, it dominates the surrounding neighborhood of the same name. It gets its name fromContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

January 8, 2023 When we were last in Auckland, we started climbing its volcanic peaks, of which there are quite a few. So far, we have summited Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), Maungawhau (Mt. Eden), Maungakiekie (Mt. Wellington), Maungauika (North Head), Ohinerau (Mt. Hobson), and Te Kopuke (Mt. St. John). Today, we climbed Owairaka / TeContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

October 29, 2022 We started the day with breakfast at Gluten-free bakery, Noglu, on Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side. Despite the sign outside the bakery, Messiah was nowhere to be seen. From there, we headed over to Frank Lloyd Wright’s classic museum, The Guggenheim. Completed in 1959, it consists primarily of a six-story,Continue reading “New York, New York, USA”

October 28, 2022 On a cool sunny day, we headed up toward The Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District. Along the way we passed through Greenwich Village, where Jake stopped at Leon’s for a bagel and lox, the quality of which confirmed what New Yorkers always claim, that nowhere else in the world do theContinue reading “New York, New York, USA”

October 27, 2022 It’s Autumn in New York. It’s good to live it again. Vernon Duke Jake and Kylie were in NYC for work, so we thought that we would join them for a long weekend. Arriving at our hotel in the late afternoon, we decided to go for a walk through Soho and adjacentContinue reading “New York, New York, USA”

September 19, 2022 The University of California, Berkeley, commonly known as Berkeley or Cal, is the first campus of the University of California system, established in 1868. Walking through its hillside campus, it reminded us somewhat of our alma mater, the University of Auckland, with its mix of old and new buildings, iconic clock tower,Continue reading “Berkeley, California, USA”

September 16, 2022 Happily, we found ourselves in San Francisco during the extensive Diego Rivera exhibit being shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There were over 150 of the famous Mexican artist’s paintings, frescoes, and drawings. Here are just a few of our favorites. The museum is well worth a visit justContinue reading “San Francisco, California, USA”

September 3, 2022 Our good friend, Charlet, invited us to come visit her on her farm about 90 minutes drive from DC in rural Virginia. It was nice to escape the city for a few hours and enjoy the beautiful countryside.