Time for an Update by MB

I first want to apologize for the lack of photos. It's not because we haven't taken a million already! The internet in our house is a bit different than what we have at home. I think there must be a limited amount of data you can send or something - today it appears to be much happier so maybe we are refreshed in our amount and I can include some fun shots!

We have been in Nelson for almost a week. We have a house up on a hill overlooking the harbor. The views are stunning! There is a wonderful back deck that we sit out on non-stop. A wall that is made up of 3 folding door panels is in the small dining area. We have it open constantly - unlike at home where there are wasps, mosquitos and flies trying to come in at every opportunity, here there are very few bugs. Unless you are down on the river and under the age of 14. Then the sand flies devour you as Kylie and Ryan can attest to!

We have done a bit of exploring around here. They have a great Farmer's Market on Wednesday's and an amazing Market on Saturday's where there are local crafts, clothes, cheeses, breads, fudge, honey, nuts, marshmallows (yes, home made marshmallows that are crazy good), jewelry, pottery, and so on. Unfortunately there are many things we would love to get as gifts but there isn't an easy way to get them home since our luggage is already insanely heavy as it is. So I look for light items that can be squished!

We drove to Abel Tasman which is about an hour up the road. It is a national park that looks like Eden. We spent part of the day there then drove another hour to have the kids catch some salmon for us for dinner that night, and the next night and the next.....To say the roads here are a bit different from home is an understatement. They are narrow. No shoulders. One way bridges everywhere of varying length. Roundabouts instead of stoplights. Very smooth and well kept. Oh, and did I mention windy? This particular road has now taken the family medal for windiest. Not only windiest but highest, with no shoulder, usually no guard rail and plummet to your death drop offs! Ok, so add that all up with a man who thinks he is Mario Andretti and loves to "push the limit" makes for some white knuckle rides!

We have a Land Cruiser for this island, we had to turn in our Highlander before we left the North Island. We were "lucky" to have been upgraded to the LC.....hmmmm it does have seat warmers which aren't really useful at this point but may come in handy further south. Otherwise we have a wider car on narrow roads and I haven't even described our driveway. As I mentioned, we are on a hillside. To get to the house we have to go down a very narrow lane about 150' then take an extremely sharp turn to the left (on the right there is a bit of a dropoff down the hill) then go about another 80' to the house. And there isn't a place to turn around once you are down here. Well, let me rephrase that. There is not a place to turn around a honkin' SUV. Tim has somehow mastered backing this beast all the way down and has not lost a wheel off the dropoff yet. The neighbors landscaping is taking a bit of a beating but otherwise it's going great. It wouldn't be easy to back down in the first place but imagine having to do it backwards?!

Nelson is a decent sized town but not too huge. We are the only ones driving around in a big, gold LC with a big, orange kayak strapped to the roof. Tim has still not really gotten the hang of Roundabout Etiquette and I'm sure there are people saying - "Oh no! Here comes that American driver again!" We are a bit conspicuous but it makes it very easy to find the car. As for the kayak, my resourceful husband walked into the sports store and finessed his way into renting the salesman's kayak for the month. Kayaks cost about $70/day to rent from a company. He had to buy a roof rack ($150) which he is giving to Troy when he gives the kayak back along with another $150. Very sweet deal!

That's about it - we are driving the windy road again this week and staying up in Golden Bay Harbor for 3 nights in a house right on the beach. Lots of pippi's there Erin! This time we will be able to properly purge them. An hour instead of the recommended 24hrs didn't exactly work wonders....does that grit count in getting the tartar off your teeth? I guess if the enamel goes with it doesn't. There will be some more salmon fishing when we get there and when we leave! We are on our 3rd night of sashimi from the fish Kylie caught and it's only getting better but will, sadly, be gone.