Adventuresam

Previously on NZ Frenzy: Dashboard-cooked noodles, jurassic park walking, a wonderful friend named Louis who came and went and then came and went, iced coffee, a friend named Beel, and all to the comforting tunes of Nelly Furtado.

After dropping our dear friend back in Auckland, and after what had been our designated domestic day (highly recommended), Rachelle and I decided to drive by Rotura Lake to accidentally check out the Norfolk Island Palm Trees, which just so happened to become Rachelle’s favorite tree.

so peaceful!

I spy with my little eye…a potential travel-inspired tattoo?

After we hung out by the lake for a while, we decided to make some more friends via Couchsurfing.

“Cowabunga! Surf’s up, brah! Gnarly!” — things Couchsurfers (and real surfers) probably never say

We had a great time with our hosts, and Rachelle was being my total hype girl (like she is all the time), and was so proud of me when talking about all the places I’d traveled to. The group decided to play this egg carton game but it didn’t last too long because we were tired.  And headed out to sleep in our car so that we could wake up early to take our American host, Andrew, to work.

After dropping him off, Rachelle and I spent the day traversing the (literal) steamy streets of Rotorua. And no, it wasn’t steamy because the people there were super attractive or anything (not that they weren’t, we didn’t notice), but literal steam rose from the ground because Rotorua was a volcanic field! A volcanic field with a FREE park….

You can’t tell in this picture, but there’s lots of steam.

Team Dream Steam

Standing by the lake with cool air blowing while simultaneously getting hit with wafts of steam coming from the underground was an exceptional feeling. It honestly gave me goosebumps, and I’m considering opening up a theme park where the only ride is a recreation of this sensation.  I absolutely LOVE hot and cold combos especially when it comes to food, and this was like the skin version.

If pictures could give you feelings…

Soakin’ up the steam

5-star (FREE) spa experience. All natural. Highly recommended.

After that rejuvenating experience (Have I mentioned how GOOD the steam felt, right?), we were inspired to pretend (but not too hard) to be thermal explorers as we cruised down the Thermal Explorer Highway (actual name). It was pretty crazy– we saw Wai-o-tau, which was a crazy volcanic landscape. It was a thermal wonderland.

The primary colors in action

Going green.

Giving Yellowstone a run for its money.

#NoFilterNeeded.. Unless you’re gonna try to drink from it (not recommended)]

While we wandered around this thermal wonderland, we saw so many colors! Including the super purple berries (but not blueberries) that we saw at a place called Craters of the Moon.  It was stunning, and not something you often see in nature.

Willy Wonka-colored purple berries

Bubbling captured in the video below.

I know that in cartoons, hell is supposed to be the place bubbling with fire and brimstone, but we were in HEAVEN in this gorgeous landscape.  It got even better when we were driving to our next destination and passed a bunch of cows and LOTS of sheep. 

“The hills are alive with the sound of moo-sic”– (these are sheep but just baa-ck me up on this one)

Actual footage of us while passing the animals

As we drove by, Rachelle asked Nani (our GPS/ Siri): “Do cows like carrots?” 

[STAY TUNED FOR THE ANSWER]… creating intrigue and it’s not even the end of the post yet.

Anyway, we were in need of some more animals because, well, we didn’t need a reason. Rachelle and I stopped at a cat cafe, which was a first for both of us.  But sweet Rachelle LOVES cats, so this was a real treat.

A catpuccino

After getting hyped up off of the kitties, we headed across the island (zig-zagging) to visit the first sunrise in the world (eastern, northern New Zealand). They even have a New Year’s festival there!  How cool! On February 17, 2019 — technically, Rachelle and I were 3 minutes off but, sheesh, it would have taken 4 extra hours to drive to the tip — Rachelle and I saw, what we’re calling, the first sunrise in the world. 

Rae, should we go there for the festival this year?? 🙂

We had driven down towards Napier, which is a town known for Art Deco, and the travel gods were smiling down on us because they were coincidentally having their biggest festival right when we got there! However, this also meant that the free car parks where we planned to sleep were already full.

We ran into a really kind police officer who nodded towards a place we could take a cat nap and avoid a $200 ticket.  We ended up sleeping right on the water (gorgeous). Saturday night beach bach, bi*sh.

On our way back (and forth) across the town to settle in for the night, we passed by the same Mobile station five times because….we kept changing our minds and going the other direction. It was humiliating.  The first time was alright– two male employees stood outside and motioned us in.  It was sweet.  We found a pizza food truck, filled our water bottles #youknowit, used their trash can and bathroom, and talked to the men. They were super nice, and Rachelle and I decided that if they’d been from Pittsburgh, we would’ve called them “Yinzers.” 5 times was excessive, but we got past it (again and again).  

After a literal crack-of-dawn sunrise, Rachelle and I went to visit Shine Falls, which is perhaps the MOST beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen in my life. At least, the most memorable.  To get there, we took a long, gravel road and at the end, we reached a deserted parking lot, got ready for the day, and ate Indian food for breakfast.  What a fun life my road dog and I were leading.

One stunner of a walk

Three best friends

On Scotts recommendation, and because I was in New Zealand, I got naked. LOOK AT THAT WATERFALL!

Shine Falls was way off the beaten path, aka, as you can see, skinny-dip style. It was EPIC. Rachelle and I had brought Beel on the hike so he could float in the water and enjoy himself too.

Refreshed, the three of us prepared for the drive zigging back across the country, where we followed the signs and “drove to the conditions”.  And the conditions called for some new music (not that we didn’t love Nelly), so Rachelle graciously downloaded some Jack Johnson. Yay!

And then, at some point during the day, we stopped to go on a quick hike for this gorgeous view:

Reasons why I love to stop.

That night, we went bach camping (obviously) at what our map called “a romantic recreation spot with glow worms.” We bought hot cross buns m&m flavor (BDSM&M — it was a romantic recreation spot, after all). Before we settled in for the night, we used their shower and thought back to the cute love story about a boy and a girl we’d made up on our hike. We didn’t make the people up.  But we did make their love story up.  They’re probably still together now ❤

Rachelle and I got cozy in bach and started a really bad Netflix show called You. It was so bad that we switched over to a show called Sense8, which I became addicted to and have since finished both seasons.

So what comes next? Do cows, in fact, like carrots?
‘mi

The morning after our reunion, Rachelle, Louis, and I kicked off our adventures with a long hike to the top of a waterfall.

View-tiful

Life on the edge

We decided that for Louis’s last days in NZ, we would try and take him to the parts of the country he hadn’t seen yet… Like the place in LotR where Gollum is trying to catch a fish (allegedly).

Wairere Falls

While we hiked, we practiced all the French words we knew like “chauffeur” and “schmeigal.” We did a little trivia and tried to figure out which states were part of the 13 original colonies, and then after the hike, we participated in one of my favorite pastimes — talking to Helen on the phone. 

Rachelle was all hiked out by the end of the day, so Louis and I went on another hike to see the treetops in a scenic reserve. And since the third time’s a charm (so were the first and second times), we decided to go on ANOTHER hike to one more waterfall. When we made it there, no one else was around.  So, we took an actual bath with actual soap. It was idyllic, if not a bit chilly. At one point, one of our beloved collector’s items (water bottle) fell into the water, and I laughed so hard that I cried.

The thing about Wharatoa Falls (our bathing spot) was that there was a bunch of dense brush around it, and the trail took us waaayyy longer than Scott (the guidebook) suggested (Scott must be a very fast walker). So, we actually ended up walking back in the dark, and this became another moment where I was incredibly grateful that there weren’t any scary critters in NZ. It would’ve also been a prime moment to see a Kiwi. We didn’t, but it would have been cool. 

Notice the soap

On the walk back to our car, Louis said “Warming!” at the end of some conversation. It took me a couple of seconds but I realized he hadn’t said “warning” but was literally “warming” back up (getting hot and sweaty) because the hike back to the car was hard. I relayed that sentiment back to Rachelle, and it soon became a thing.   It should be an expression, it makes sense.  Whenever one of us started to get hot, we’d yell “WARMING!”

When we finally got back to the car, we blasted Nelly Furtado (naturally), and she sang us into the campground at 10:30pm. It was a gorgeous campground (thanks DoC)!

WARMING up to each other.

The next day, we had some breakfast and decided to have a domestic day where we went to the bank, the grocery store, and picked up a new blow-up Kiwi friend, Uncle Bill (Unk Beel in French). We called him Beel for short.

Rachelle+ Beel= Racheel

Time for a candid.

During the trip to the store, we stocked up for Valentine’s Day, which was fast approaching. We bought chocolate that was most definitely going to melt before we could eat it and champagne. 

We also bought a second lunch to eat in the park for a second time.  We’d found some new sort of Indian food to eat (precooked packaged noodles and a separate, yummy Indian sauce). Spicing things up!

A car chef creation

After our second lunch, we needed some coffee, STAT, but the room temperature instant coffee just wasn’t cutting it.  Since it was a domestic day anyway, we spent some time driving around looking for a good coffee shop (and wifi).

While Rachelle and Louis chilled in the coffee shop, I walked around the shopping center and tried an oyster and some salmon wings. The latter of which I’d never heard of but was exactly as described.

When we were all ready to get a move on, we headed off to a Jurassic Park walk (without the dinosaurs…that we know of) with more iced coffees in hand. And let me just say: YUM AND WOW.

98 degrees Celsius…208 Fahrenheit.

That’s hot.

Jurassic Park sans velociraptors

Most of the hot springs here were faaaar too hot to sit in, but we took a short walk to another creek that was safe (although really hot, and took some getting used to).  I made a video for Bel telling her how hot I was– a callback to when #HenWasCooked. We grabbed some drinks and then went to see some bubbling mud.  Bubbling, plopping, noisy mud..  So.much.fun.

We were WARMING, when we got back to the car though. 

That night, I played musical porta-potties (so disgusting), remembered how “that possum and I were not involved” the night we went Kiwi searching, and mused over the possibility of working on an actual Kiwi farm when I come back (visa ‘til 2020, ya’ll!). It was a pretty eventful night, looking back on it, because I also learned how the South Island does get cold, and Louis told me his hitchhiking stories and tips (like hitchhiking in NZ was a game, and that when you have a tent, you up your game), which inspired me to travel and hitchhike more.  I was also more inspired than ever to learn French, and Rachelle told that National Geographic elephant story that we share together from Thailand. Traveling with her is amazing for so many different reasons, but one of the reasons is that she serves as a shared memory bank. Thank you for that.

Before bed, the three of us also met a New Zealander traveling around her own country; she had locked herself out of her van (with a citronella candle burning inside). It was awesome to see how the whole campground banded together to help her get back inside.

Mission accomplished

The next day, we were all warming, but before finding a swimming hole, we ate Watties (with the bodies.  an offshoot of Heinz! almost good, but not quite, Watties.) outside of a BP. Our favorite were the raviolis in a pouch with creamy mushroom or pumpkin. A biker gang pulled through, and we had fun watching them while also filling up our water bottles and emptying the trash from good ol’ bach.

Afterwards, we headed to the largest waterfall where people commercially raft (IN THE WORLD); however, we didn’t want to get pummeled by the potential raftage, so we decided to go further down the river to find a swimming spot.

I spy with my little eye something green…

Swimming hole.

The next day was our last full day with Louis and his last night in the tent.  And nothing says a last full day in New Zealand like exercise.  So the three of us found a park where we could all do an exercise routine. And even better? The park had a lake and a FREE SHOWER (and an entire eco system living on it’s curtain).  Also a rooster, so it was the triple-threat of parks.

Why did the rooster cross the road? Trick question. It wasn’t crossing; it was just standing there.

As the day came to a close, we cried.  When the tears dried, we headed to the airport in Auckland to drop Louis off. We said our goodbyes, and then Rachelle and I moped around and walked around random parking lots saying, “I hear New Zealand is beautiful.”  We did this for so long that we ended up leaving Auckland at rush hour of all hours. On the drive, we would both sneak quick looks in the rear view mirror expecting to see Louis. We reminisced about our good times. Rachelle even said that she loved him so much, she’d let him eat crackers in bed, which is a beautiful compliment — especially when your home is a car.

Au revoir, Louis!

merci,
‘mi

I want to interrupt this program for a VERY special announcement. And that is: The day after the Kiwi search was another special moment– Victoria’s birthday!! And she opened her present ❤

Two halves of a whole.

And another special moment, although in a sad way, was when Louis had to leave us to head to the farm where he was going to do some work.

Guess this is goodbye!!! (…or is it?)

But Rachelle and I kept our heads high despite the mildly disappointing Kiwi search and saying goodbye to our new friend.  Rachelle and I, at least in the back of our minds, were determined to come back with a stronger light to see some Kiwis.

That afternoon, however, we were ready to take on a new adventure and headed to the Waipu caves to see some radiant worms. So radiant, in fact, they were glowing (#EasyBreezyBeautiful). Once the rods in our eyes had adjusted (#science), and we marveled in the glow worms’ beauty, we decided to head farther south.

But there was a BIG GAPING HOLE the size of Louis in the backseat– no, really, the backseat was empty. So we decided to see if we could make some more new friends and we went couchsurfing in Hamilton. While we waited to see if we got any responses on our Couchsurfing messages (divide and conquer), we did – what else – trip planning.  We read the entire book while we drank wine and talked to each other about the south parts of the north island. 

And Luke responded on Couchsurfing. He and his Dutch roommate essentially said ‘come on over’. We were going to arrive at 10pm, but Rachelle and I were bringing the party.

These are our dress up clothes.

I forgot to tell you guys, but whole time we’d been in New Zealand, Rachelle and I had low-key looking for the city-equivalent of Greensburg in Pittsburgh. And when we got to Hamilton, we found it.  We had a BLAST, with our Couchsurfing hosts. So much fun that the 4 of us didn’t go to bed until 4am. Pro tip: match the number of people to your bedtime (i.e., 4 people→ go to bed a 4am). We spent the night (and a good chunk of the wee morning) playing with a foam roller and an indoor soccer ball. I could tell he’d grown up with younger sisters because he was so nice, especially when I cut my toe being overly competitive. 

The next day, all 4 of us were very hungover, but the bright side is that being hungover with someone all day is truly the best way to get to know them. We helped the guys with their weekend chores and Rachelle and I went to the store (barefoot of course) for some breakfast material.

Soup from Country Vic-toe-ria

When we got back from shopping Rachelle cooked and the Dutch roommate and I cleaned the entire kitchen.  Rachelle and I also did some laundry. It was so hot outside that our laundry dried in 20 minutes, which meant we all had time to drive to Raglan, a surftown 40 minutes away.  We spent a couple of hours there, and I was feeling particularly friendly saying hi to everyone that we passed.

And then, while hanging out in the water, I met Derek and his $1 surfboard from Canada. I got to play around in it and body surf on some small waves. Pretty fun.

Back on the shore, Rachelle told Luke he was a cool cat, and I couldn’t help but meow… I hoped someone would notice I was a cat too.

That night, we went to dinner at Chilli House; the guys had called ahead to order Szechwan, so when we got to the restaurant, the order was already cooked and at the table. Baller move. We had thick noodles with beef, and it was incredible.

 Back in Hamilton, Rachelle and I were tempted to go to a speakeasy called The Book Club, but we settled for brushing our teeth together and falling fast asleep.

That night, and all the nights, I was so grateful for my wonderful, loyal, and kind friend Rachelle, who I still call Rachel.

The next morning, Rachelle and I said our goodbyes to the boys and filled up our water bottles (one of which we thought we’d lost– false alarm!) before heading on a grappling hike.

root for us.

The hike was super fun, turns out, we LOVE grappling.  But at the end, it got gross. There was a very dense and intense locust section that Rachelle aptly called the “locust badlands”.

I spy with my little eye something gorgeous. Answer: it’s the whole picture

After the hike, she and I worked up an appetite (what else is new) so we ate food from a can (as we often did here in NZ).  This was the moment when we learned that two spoons is too crowded for one can. And we started, logistically, sharing a spoon.  If it’s not clear, Rachel and I became very close on this trip. 

After our snack in a can, we drove to see another gorgeous waterfall that had an optical illusion, which you can’t really see in the picture, so it’s sort of like a double optical illusion.

All types of green.

While we were hanging around this beauty and watching the water fall, we texted with Louis and found out that his farming plans had fallen through and that he was currenlty Auckland bored and alone. Rachelle and I didn’t waste any time. We turned around and backtracked for several hours so that we could GO PICK UP LOUIS! 

On the way, we realized we hadn’t taken any pictures with our Couchsurfing hosts. But, as Rachelle noted: “There’s no going back. Except for Louis!” We got ready to see him in the parking lot of a fast food restuarnat:

Q: How do you know you’re traveling?
A: When you’re brushing your teeth and get ready in a KFC parking lot.

We laughed.  We were essentially homeless in New Zealand, and we both thought about how traveling a few thousand miles to Southeast Asia would’ve made us high-rollers. Rich is relative.

Bench bartender, turned bench chef, turned car chef. Rachelle is moving up in her culinary career.

We made noodles in the car but found out that we needed actual hot water to cook the rice noodles. With ramen, you can fill it with any temperate water and let it cook on the dashboard, but rice noodles are a different story. They stay pretty hard; Scrappy couldn’t even finish them.

Dashboard Noodles

While we got ready in that fast food parking lot, we talked about how annoying this particular car lock was. We had to click the opener loads of times, continually clicking and unclicking it, just to open the door. Or to lock it. Which made going back and forth to fill up our water bottles and using the trash cans in the parking lots a bit difficult, but of course, we managed.

When we FINALLY reached Louis, he told us he loved us. WE LOVE YOU TOO. AND he had made (and then brought) dinner for us! (Classic French cuisine: Burritos) So sweet.  We took it to a campground, about an hour away, to eat.

Our backseat lounge.

ReLOUnited and it feels so good

The next morning, without any shade, it was hot. But Rachelle, the matriarch, made us amazing homemade avocado toast to ease the pain. And it was less than $14, which made it extra special. Rachelle and Louis always bonded over food — the two of them were always talking about cooking whenever I left them alone. It was adorable.

That night, we met some amazing people; a family camper van with 7 homeschooled children, which I imagined would be a little rough. Louis was open-minded about it. In fact, he was open-minded about a lot of things. EXCEPT the gross coffee we drank (instant coffee with tap water) to save money. For Louie, the coffee had to be hot.  But my Rachelle, SHE WAS SUCH A CHAMP!  They both were.  I had two amazing pals by my side– there’s nothing better than traveling with people with a strong constitution and a passion for always saying yes to an adventure.

The gang’s all here,
‘mi

….And bach to our regularly scheduled program. 

So, if you remember from the last blog post, Rachel and I were heading up the Tutukaka coast, where we ended up at Matapouri bay. A little birdie (ok, it was Scott) told us that there were actual Mermaid Pools there. 

We couldn’t find the mermaids.

Life’s a (hidden) beach.

Gorgeous shore = shore-geous

The bay also had great scuba diving spots; one was named Poor Knights Island, which I thought was ironic given that scuba diving is a very expensive activity.

Peaking through the trees.

Since we weren’t prepared to scuba dive, we decided to go on a lighthouse walk because we thought it was low tide (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t). So, we trekked through the water, got soaking wet, lost our shoes (and recovered them), and tied our keys securely to my bathing suit top so as not to literally be stranded on an island.  Rachel and I did make it through to the other side but the lighthouse may or may not have been worth it… (it wasn’t).  But hey, sometimes it’s the journey.

Made it in one piece AND with keys!

I could crack a joke, but I won’t

Cozy in the coves & caves

The walk through the high-tide was pretty harrowing, so we rewarded ourselves with a treat. Ice cream. And it was an extra special treat because the ice cream in New Zealand is particularly good– it’s extra creamy.

Don’t have to ask me twice

Rejuvenated by the ice cream, we went on another (shorter, less wet) hike later that evening, and ended up seeing a pretty gorgeous sunset.

Friends who hike/travel/sleep in baches together stay together

Just another stunning New Zealand moment

The next morning, we did some more hiking in Whangaruru. Rachel and I started at the campground where the nice DoC lady working there let us use their showers. THANKS, DOC. After the hike, we found an outdoor shower and then got all dressed up (literally put dresses on) because we were FINALLY CLEAN. It had been the first shower we’d found since leaving Auckland. We also filled up our faithful plastic water bottles–you remember, the New Zealand collector’s items – red, blue, and green. And then last but not least, we emptied our trash from the car, because a clean bach is a happy bach. #householdchores

Tale of two ru’s #whangaruru

Since our cold, wonderful, and free shower left us feeling fresh and with a new zeal (ha, get it?) for exploring, we decided to stop at a K-Mart (surprise! They still have K-mart in New Zealand) to buy a selfie stick before heading up the coast to visit a winery in Russel. 

Lookin’ like a couple of girls who’d just showered.

Wearing a dress calls for some wining and dining

While we were at the winery, we filled up our water bottles (a theme) and contacted a CouchSurfer named Duncan who responded to our super last-minute Couch request and told us we could sleep in his driveway along with another Surfer who’d already staked claim. We were so grateful for his generosity.

But when we left the winery, “Naani,” (the name we gave to our GPS) took us down the path that led to the ferry, which was dumb because it was closed at that hour. Classic Naani. So we ended up getting to Duncan’s pretty late– sorry Duncan!

In the morning, we drove out quickly and got ready in a fast food restaurant before heading on a hike to Rainbow Falls (see stunning video) where I got a wet kiss from Mother Nature in the form of moss. The hike was gorgeous and we saw three black swans.

Just mossin’ around

Hiking to the caverns behind the falls like a moss (two video links, thanks to Rachel!)

A moss(t) see view!

Once we were done admiring the falls (and the gorgeous moss), we headed all the way up north to the tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. On the way there, we passed a hitchhiker, and a minute later, turned around to pick him up. We’d thought we recognized him as a French acquaintance we had made at one of our hostels. We were wrong. And right. Because he was French, but he wasn’t from our hostel.  His name was Louie and he quickly became our very good friend. 

French ambassador working on American relations.

When the three of us got to Cape Reinga, it was pouring rain, but luckily we had some provisions to wait out the storm. The storm also gave us more time to get to know each other, and the more we talked, the more we got along.  Louis, with his french accent, called Rachel ‘Rachelle’ (so in this blog she will henceforth be called Rachelle).

When we finally got out of the car to walk to Cape Reinga, we watched the Tasman Sea (a man) and the Pacific (a woman) meet and crash into each other. In other words, we watched the opposite waves cross over into each other.  It was hypnotic.

The lighthouse at the northernmost tip of New Zealand.

Journey to the edge of the earth

After our quick sojourn, we headed back to the car and found a campsite for the night. We unanimously decided that Louis would stay with us for the next few days, so he pitched his tent, we parked our car, and we all got ready for an epic hangout.

Well that escalated quickly…

#FreethePip

Team SandyFeet

Hey MTV, welcome to my crib

Seagulls by the bay shore

The next morning, we were in need of some culture, so we went to a museum where we saw various videos of Opo, the world’s friendliest dolphin who “captured the hearts of people.” Unfortunately, Opo is no longer with us. After the museum, we went for a leisurely stroll and stopped for a cup of coffee and bought ourselves the best roadside purchase for only $1.50– a 2006 Nelly Furtado CD with no less than 5 hit songs including Promiscuous and Maneater. We also ran into Jean from the museum, who was actually my patron for getting the Nelly Furtado CD (she lent me the money; she knew how much I needed Nelly).

‘shrooms on coffee.

So, of course, Nelly Furtado became the soundtrack to our drive. We blasted it and played every song… I may or may not have gotten a bit carried away by sticking my head so far out the window that my sunglasses went flying. We turned around to get them, but by the grace of Nelly, they hadn’t been smashed by any cars #InFurtado’sNameAmen.

We stopped to see some Kauri trees, which is the largest (by volume) species of tree in New Zealand. 

Tane Mahuta tree 51.5 meters high; 13.8 meters girth units; 17.7 meters truck height

After checking out some trees, we bought some red cellophane for our Kiwi search. Now, this may sound strange, but Scott had told us that since Kiwis are endangered and hard to find, they only come out at dark. So since they hate light, the best way to find them is to put red cellophane over our phones because the light will go undetected.

Pre-cellophane pic

Rachelle found the cellophane at a box store in the gift wrap section. She cheered triumphantly once she grabbed it, while Louis and I listened to some guy tell us that we had to drive 20 more minutes to find it (WRONG). But it was still nice talking to him. Kiwi’s are so funny. 

Once we had our super state-of-the-art spy cellophane, we headed to Trounson Kauri Park where the Kiwis supposedly come out at night. We had some more hours of daylight, so the three of us took the time to do impromptu exploring, which consisted of going down every road that had a “brown sign” denoting some sort of natural attraction that wasn’t in our book. So we went off-booking with a very calm Louis, who was always down for our escapades.

Eventually we made it to the Trounson campground, settled in, and decided to go to a nearby restaurant (the only restaurant, actually) for some burgers. There we met a dog named Bailey and encountered a hedgehog on the road. 

Filled with food and excited by our new animal friends, we were inspired to go Kiwi hunting. And by hunting I mean trying to find a Kiwi and watching it with teary-eyed joy. We were so determined to find a Kiwi that I even wore Patrick’s lucky socks (spoiler alert: they didn’t help, but I STILL think they’re lucky). So we washed our shoes (a requirement to keep the trees safe) before heading out onto the trail.  We made made sure to stay on the paths since the trees roots are shallow and delicate, we did not want to trample on them.

And the journey begins!!

Just call us Rip Van Crinkle

We spent our Friday night crinkling through the forest (the crinkle sound is from the cellophane) trying to find some Kiwis. And I wouldn’t have spent it any other way.  I wish more Friday nights were spent in nature.

We could tell there were Kiwis close by, but our lights weren’t strong enough, so we got kind of frustrated. At one point, we heard the trees behind us rustling, and we turned around quickly only to find…. An opossum. Not a Kiwi. An opossum who ended up stalking us.  Not what we expected.

An itsy-bitsy spider

By the end of the night, we hadn’t seen any Kiwis. We did have loads of fun, but we went to car-bed disappointed. However, there was still a ton of time left, and we weren’t giving up that easily.

Always Kiwin’ it Classy,
‘mi

…. so guess what happened? Remember? That’s where we left off from the last blog? 

Well, on our way to the rental car, I met Roma, a deaf girl from Germany who was traveling on her own. what. I’ll say it again. A deaf girl. Who’s first language is certainly not english.  Traveling ON HER OWN. Internationally. Solo. Deaf. Whoa, I could not believe it. 

Luckily, I know some American Sign Language (it’s such a great language), so Roma and I were able to start chatting, and I soon found out that beyond her very clear and apparent bravery, she was also just a wonderful and charming woman.  I was so impressed. I wanted to know more. Rachel suggested I invite her to lunch AND I DID.

Roma was SO cool.  Have I mentioned? The more I learned about her, the more impressed I was; Roma has an insane life story.  She told me that she didn’t learn sign language until she was 14 because her parents refused to teach her. They forced her to read lips. And that no one in her family (still) uses sign language to this day.  Like, at all. In fact, Roma hadn’t even known that sign language existed until she was out and about in Germany, and happened to see two deaf people communicating with each other in public. I can.not.imagine.  I get goosebumps, even now, thinking about her life story.

QUICK NOTE ABOUT SIGN LANGUAGE:

The thing about American Sign Language (ASL) is, it’s American. Which means that German sign language and American Sign Language are actually very different. Reminder: Roma is from Germany. So when a friend-ish of hers came to meet up with us (he was also deaf), I couldn’t communicate with him because he couldn’t sign ASL and I couldn’t sign GSL (assuming that’s how German Sign language is abbreviated. But it’s probably not.) AND THEN, the plot thickened when another one of Roma’s friend-ish joined us, also deaf, and this friend signed New Zealand Sign Language, which, I learned, WAS ALSO DIFFERENT FROM BOTH ASL AND GSL. My mind was continually blown by this girl, Roma.  Reminder, Roma could speak with me in American Sign Language!  She was so smart.  She was fluent in at least 3 sign languages AND COULD READ LIPS!!!   This is understandable because her parents forced her to until she was 14, but THEY SPEAK GERMAN! And Roma can lip read in both english AND German.  SHE’S INCREDIBLE. Bonus Roma fact: At lunch I found out that Roma is vegan. Why? In order to be kind to animals who have no voice. ❤

You can tell, I LOVED chatting to Roma and her friends.  I was impressed. Seriously. I want to direct everyone in my past (and my future) who is shocked and worried by my solo travels to this girl (or lots of other kick-ass women that I meet). THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE DOING INCREDIBLE THINGS!  PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST DOING THE DAMN THING! They are out there. And they are inspiring. I hope I always come back to this and to her, whenever I think I have it difficult on one of my solo travels. Roma is truly an inspiration. Rachel and I chatted with her for hours (as long as we could) before we finally had to head out and pick up our rental car.

Here’s a quick video detailing a few of our days in Auckland and Roma. Check.her.out.

———

Today was moving in day.  Our new home, aka the rental car, aka our vacation home, aka The Bach (New Zealand word for beach house; pronounced “batch” and not like Bach, the composer) was ready for us; we found a place for the guidebook; a spot for the water bottles; a home for the tissues.

Before we left Auckland, to go traversing into the wilderness of New Zealand, Rae and I remembered to look up what scary critters lived out there. Luckily, the answer was NONE.  The wildest thing was, as we pulled out of the parking lot, onto the road, we reminded ourselves to stay on the left side of the road (left side, left side). In New Zealand, they drive like they do in England.  Rae and I also played Left Side of the Road: Roundabout edition. There were so many roundabouts on the island that our guidebook (henceforth known as Scott) told us that there was a NZ children’s story called The Magic Roundabout. So cute. So true — they were magical.

We were going to stay on the north island for the entire trip. I know, I know, “But the south island…!” However, Rachel and I found our fun and our adventure in the north. So to start off, we went farther north. It seemed fitting. Our plan was basically…No plan. We were going to read the book, take Scott’s advice, and see what happened.

On the first dirt road we hit outside of Auckland, we saw a Kiwi sign, and that was when we realized our dream: To see a real life KIWI.

we will find you!

The first time we ‘officially’ stopped, on Scott’s recommendation, it was a waterfall that was well-off the beaten track.  It felt like our first Tinder swipe with him…and we liked what we saw; a hidden waterfall!

Stumbling into Lord of the Rings

Channeling our inner mythical creatures (the unicorn towel) because New Zealand is a fantasyland

The falls were gorgeous. It was a stunning introduction to the north of New Zealand.  That night, we slept in our bach, which is actually made to sleep in — it came with a mattress, pillows, sheets, and a blanket; the front seats scooted forward and the back seat folded down flat. The back seat was made out of ply wood and a mattress laid on top.   Rachel and I emptied the trunk into the front seat, which then allowed us to lay our legs out in front, like so.  It didn’t take us long before we had a great system.

Bach in action

Chillin’ in the bach seat

The bach was comfortable.  Rachel and I had a really good month sleeping like this, and we slept even more soundly when we thought about all the money we were saving.

Right, so the next morning, after that first night (of many) in the bach, we went to a Maori (pronounced Mouldy) town, called Whangarei (pronounced Fun-Gah-Ray; the WH in Maori makes an “F” sound). 

The far north was the only place on the island that had toll roads, which was fine because we weren’t spending any money on hostels. We set an alarm for every three days so that we wouldn’t miss the (very small) payments. 

After a few hours of hanging around, Rachel and I couldn’t help but notice that people were going barefoot in all sorts of public places — now, mind you, we weren’t even close to a beach, and yet people were wiggling their toes around nice grocery stores (like Countdown), restaurants, gas stations, etc. It seemed normal.  And I love doing things that are normal. So we started asking around and learning that people do it in order soak up the earth’s energy. Not even hippies. Just regular people. SIGN. ME. UP. Rachel and I went barefoot at the grocery store a few times, you know, just to fit in (but also to soak up the earth’s energy). It was LIBERATING (except when we left and had to walk on the hot pavement outside).  I loved it, from my head down to my toes.

Did somebody say Chee-toes?

Another revelation in a grocery store? :

You don’t have to refrigerate your eggs.

While Rae and I were in Whangarei hiking and getting acquainted with the area, we realized that the Super Bowl was coming up! We called several bars to see which one would be showing it. Touchdown! We drove back into town, and arrived at Donnelley Station, the New Zealand bar that would be playing the game.  It was decked out with American decorations. They even played Jack Johnson when the game was over. Hole-in-one.

Baseball called; they want their cracker jacks back.

New Zealand: Home of Super Bowl LIII

The bar, beyond playing Jack Johnson and putting up colonial American flags, sold cracker jacks and root beer just for the game. Spoiler alert: they weren’t a big hit.

“Cracker Jacks are more of a baseball thing,” I told the bartender.
“Would have been good to know, eh?” he responded, talking to his mate.

Fun and Friendzy in NZ

Later, I started chatting up a stranger at the bar and it came up that I’m a big fan of comedy.  He immediately responded, with his New Zealand accent: “How sad is it about Chris Farley?!” Really sad.

These strangers at the bar also introduced us to some New Zealand slang; we heard the word “dag” for the first time (not dog), which is an affectionate insult for someone with poor social skills.

——–

The next day, we went on our first date.  But not like that, Col.  Not with strangers, but with Scott, our guidebook.  We had referenced that hidden waterfall as Tinder, and now we were ready to hangout more with our perfect match.  Thus, Breams Head Point was, metaphorically, our first date.

The hill we happily crossed MANY, MANY times to find wonderful hikes and free places to sleep.

Hiking to the point of Breams Head.

Getting 360-degree views from the top!

The good good.

Things we learned as we kept hiking:

1. New Zealand is stunning.
2. New Zealand is beautiful.
3. New Zealand is perfect.

Back to our home, in our bach, we spent nights underneath the most GORGEOUS sky. I could’ve stared up at that starry night for hours, but the next day, it was time for another beautiful hike, so it was always important to get some rest.

One of our hikes was called Whangarei Heads — it had bunkers and WWII history. It was pretty empty, although, ironically, we did see a Japanese couple.

New Zealand; where the views never get “old”.

Fresh and inviting

Does this make you want to visit New Zealand yet?

Hidden beach

When the rocks match your shoes.

Collecting treasures.

A beach all to ourselves.

Somewhere you’d find a mermaid sunbathing.

Bench bartender turned bench chef.

Sustenance for the hike made by NZ’s finest bench chef (and yes we were putting room temperature soup on seaweed crackers and eating them).

All the hikes were incredible, as you can see; the views were gorgeous, and we quickly realized that it’s really easy to find yourself on a deserted beach when you come to New Zealand.  In a good way. Not Castaway more…well, see below.   

The weather was perfect. Our days were perfect. One hike blended into another. No wonder we didn’t want to go south. Or east. Or anywhere, really. But, the call of travel beckoned. And Rachel and I did decide to keep going north. On the way up, we stopped by Whangarei Falls.

Literally chasing waterfalls.

This hike was a success in that we saw gorgeous falls. We kept going, past the waterfall (just as Scott had recommended  – also sidenote, at this point we love Scott) and seriously discussed bathing in a waterfall. When was the last time we showered? Rachel and I mused, not for the last time, over the possibility of running into Scott.  It wasn’t that far fetched, he loves New Zealand, and we were following his trail, so why not? We even passed a guy who could’ve fit Scott’s description. As we passed him he asked us if we were locals, and we BOTH thought, “wow, that’s a question Scott would ask!” So we asked him a question in return: “Is your name Scott?” He said, “Sadly, no,” either because he really did wish his name was Scott or because he could tell we would’ve been so excited if he had been Scott and was sad to let us down.  But in true Scott fashion, he volunteered tips for us on where to go next, and sent us on a path with fern trees:

New Zealand? More like New Treeland #amIright?

And we saw our first ever Kauri trees (which make up some of the most ancient forests in the world). They are huge and old, which is not something I’d ever want you to say about me.

Rachel gave one a hug ❤

Sunglasses next to one, for scale.

The hike was awesome but after it was over, we had to talk to the police on the phone.  There was a scary guy following some of us women on the trail, asking uncomfortable and inappropriate questions. Which is really creepy at any hour, but it’s sort of creepier at 10am.  A local woman called the police and asked us to corroborate her story which we did but, once she was safe, we didn’t stick around to see what happened next.

Even though we probably wouldn’t have gone on the hike if we’d known about the creepy guy on the trail from the beginning, we saw a lot of cool stuff.  This hike was when we started to learn about the DoC #DepartmentOfCorrections. Just kidding. But I do hope that gross man gets reprimanded by the law; however, DoC stands for Department of Conservation. And every letter is pronounced; D.O.C.

Their website says, “We are the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage.” And let us tell you, they do an IMPECCABLE job. Rachel and I constantly found ourselves saying, “Thank you, Doc.” 

And still, there was more breath-taking, natural and historic heritage to see in New Zealand!  Rachel and I happily piled back in the bach, and headed up the Tutukaka coast where we………. 

……(read the next blog to to find out). 

We’ll be right bach with more stories.
‘mi

My epic trip to New Zealand wrapped up in the beginning of March but, like usual, it has taken me awhile to process this spectacular adventure.  I’ve compiled my thoughts, writings, memories, and photos into twelve bite-sized blog posts that I will be publishing over the next month, or so.  Spoilers: NEW ZEALAND IS WONDERFUL!!

I had my year-long working visa (which I recommend); I had my great guidebook with an equally great title NZ Frenzy (which I also recommend); I had my best friend explain the necessity of pre-packing by way of mitosis (see below); I had my road-dog, Rachel, who was meeting me a few days after I landed (yippie for friendship!).   I was all set for a thorough exploration of New Zealand where I planned on working (ok, maybe not, but I would apply to jobs) and doing what I do best — finding adventure the moment my feet hit the ground.

When your best friend is also a science teacher.

Friends & Family: “What are you gonna do in NZ?”
Me: “I’m just gonna wing it.

I had flown out of LA and, due to some bad weather, the flight took longer than anticipated. But I kept myself busy by watching Shape of Water and other movies during the flight. Overall, it was 12 hours (the flight, not the movie). And on the plane ride over, New Zealand Air flight attendants were handing out free wine, and though I said ‘no thanks’ because I was trying to avoid jet lag, I thought it was a pretty good indicator as to the type of fun that would be in store for me when I landed. 

And I was right– not that they were handing out free wine everywhere (in fact, the flight was the only place I’d find cheap food & drink in all of New Zealand), but just the process of getting through customs and out of the airport was easy, breezy, and casual. And the smooth sailing kept on from there.  I took a bus from the airport to downtown Auckland; I put my bag down at my hostel; bought myself a SIM card so that I could call around for jobs ASAP, and took a trial barre class (aka a free barre class) because I’m a firm believer in the idea that exercise helps reduce the effects of switching time zones. But also because I’m a firm believer in free. 

After the class, I was hungry (obviously), so I found myself at the cheapest restaurant I could find — a sushi joint serving warm sushi (and not because it was trendy).  But, because it had been sitting out all day. Now, for those of you that know me, you’ll recognize that I like to live life on the edge (…of potential food poisoning).  I find that it makes for a strong constitution. And I was fine. Better than fine! I had saved some money.

Anyone know where Old Zealand is?

My first night in NZ, I walked around the waterfront and got followed by a live, large band — sounds terrifying but, ever since Mexico, it was sort of like a dream come true. The next morning, I did hot yoga for 90 minutes, which, at any hour of the day feels like a really long time, but at 8AM feels impossible.  Your protagonist stuck it out though, and rewarded herself by taking a shower with all of my clothes on (laundry and a shower all rolled into one, nice). My hostel was only a few doors down and I went there to change.  After getting nice and dry, I went for a walk, found myself some $14 avocado toast — because NZ is hella expensive —  and who can possibly remember what else.  This went on for several days before, on February 1st, Rachel arrived. YAY!!!!! RACHEL WAS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!! My New Zealand trip was about to change for the better 🙂

 ❤ She made it!!

We weren’t allowed to check into our new room yet, so we used the grossest hostel bathroom we were allowed to access.   It was time to get ready — Rachel is such a champ — and we became veterans as we navigated the sludge and trenches of the disgusting conditions. Rachel’s comb, however, did get traumatized from falling into some unknown liquid behind the toilet while we were fixing ourselves up. But both of them are troopers, and they have since worked through the trauma. 

Once we won the Battle of the Bathroom — we looked impressivly good, by the way — we found out that the cheapest drinks were from the corner store.  So we went to grab some stuff, ate kebabs for lunch, and got hired. 

When Rachel and I first emerged from the corner store, we looked for the perfect bench to hang out on. Our exploration was Goldie Locks style: “This bench is too small,” “This bench is too big”,  and “This bench has no back.”

We finally found a bench that was just right.  Rachel became the bench bartender, and we had a flavored water drink with “zero” sugar. It was horrible, but we kept the bottle. In fact, we kept the bottle for the entire trip because things were so expensive.  Bonus reason: It was good for the environment. We had a red bottle, a blue bottle, and a green bottle. 

A collector’s item.

When Rachel and I were finally able to check into our hostel (which was $28/ night for a 10-person room…. Good lord) we decided to leave again and continue our day by walking uphill to The White House, which was set up like Congress.

Downstairs, there was a spa with cheap champagne and upstairs there was a place where you could pay to play pool.  We skipped out on all of that. We learned that the employees weren’t allowed to have their phones with them – at all – during their 9-hour shifts, and the manager we had wanted to talk to showed up 45 minutes late. During that waiting period, though, Rachel and I came up with a spoof idea called Buckingham Palace, and the name of the bar would just be “Oooo.”

Once we left, we headed a few blocks up the road to continue exploring, and we met a trans-woman named Jessica who liked to shop. After such a whirlwind of people and places, Rachel and I decided we’d had all we could handle for the night, as far as this genre went, and we decided to go out on the town…in the opposite direction, towards the water. We watched as couples shared Lime scooters and discussed how dangerous it would be if she and I ever attempted to do that. 

But I was sort of tempted.  Fast forward to the next day, instead of trying to ride it as a couple, I rode one by myself. But to add to the challenge, a kid offered to race me.  He won, unsurprisingly. And I didn’t ride a scooter again for the rest of the trip.

Participating in a race that I did’t mean to enter.

But anyway, back to the night time activities.  Sans children, of course.  On our walk towards the water, Rachel and I ended up in the bumpin’ (expensive) part of town. As we continued to walk, we asked for a comparison of drink prices, and when it got to be $10.50 for a drink (far too rich for our taste), we turned around but not before stopping to talk to some gay guys, an uninterested American basketball player, to pet some buffalo hide with a Brazilian blowout (a chair), and mingling with a friendly bouncer.

Next, we checked out a bar, covered in astroturf, that was hosting a private party. But the theme in New Zealand was American determination (you’ll see it again), so we didn’t let the private party hinder us from joining in the fun and enjoying the rose petals on the floor or the bowls of chocolate, lollipops, and condoms. We didn’t stay for very long…just long enough to enjoy the rush of crashing a party.  When we’d had enough, Rachel jail-broke us out through a gate, yet another rush. Not supposed to get in, and not supposed to leave.

The party-crashing made us hungry, as it tends to do, and so we headed to get some Turkish food because it was the cheapest, hot thing we could find in NZ.  While we ate, we watched two teenagers makeout — but, like, not in a creepy way. Just think of it as dinner and a show. I certainly did. Anyway, when we were done with our food, we looked for mischief, couldn’t find it, and went back to our hostel to look at the inside of our eyelids instead. 

Rachel crashed hard since she’d just arrived and had a very full day (she’s incredible), but I, on the other hand, had a difficult time sleeping because the room was like a sauna and the door (which we were sleeping right next to) opened and closed all night long.

The next morning, because I hadn’t spent enough time in the stagnant heat that was our hostel room, I decided to sweat even more in a hot yoga session.  Sometimes burning energy gives you more.  When I got back, Rachel and I went to a farmers’ market and bought some delicious kiwis. Strangely, most of them were imported from Italy, so we had to read the labels carefully.  The ones grown in New Zealand were golden bodied on the inside (pro tip: for convenience, I eat them with the skin on).  Rachel and I tried some other yummy food samples, and my road-dog bought a coffee before we went on a long walk to a grassy crater, which used to be a volcano. 

Volcano crevice or grassy knoll?

New Zealand does not lack gorgeous views.

After our long walk, we grabbed lunch at a perfect Malaysian restaurant that Rachel had picked out, and my food was so good that, as soon as I finished my first helping, I ordered it again. 

This is a before and after picture, except both plates are the ‘after.’

I couldn’t finish the second, identical plate. Raise your hand if you could have seen that coming.  (Dad, I see you raising your hand.)

Rachel and I continued on to more adventures, like a wooden door interactive art exhibit (lame), and a sensory maze, which was in a mall and ironically difficult to find.  The maze ended up being one of the coolest things we did in Auckland because it was so much fun and just, overall, a really unique experience. Here’s a link for those who want to check it out. Or, for us, when we go back.

That evening, Rachel and I rented a car.

The next day, we woke up and headed straight to the tourist office to get the directions to walk to our rental car. AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED???? Well, since I’m trying to create intrigue, you won’t get an answer until you read the next post. 🙂

(More) New Zealand fun and frenzy coming your way soon,
‘mi

I’ve JUST NOW LANDED in the *50TH country that I’ve ever been to.  WOW (that’s not the airline I flew, but rather just a word describing my feelings)!  I’m so excited to see what kind of friends I’m going to make and what kind of adventures I’m going to have.  This is going to be an amazing trip.  I haven’t even gotten off of the plane yet and I’m already planning on coming back (it does help that I have a work visa.  And that my besties wanna join…! And there’s so many places I want to see on the way!)

In honor of this unbelievable milestone, I’ve compiled a list of all of the countries that I’ve been to in the order that I’ve been there.  Scroll down to find out….where is Sammi now?!

1987

USA (USA USA)

1997

Canada

2005

Mexico (Cancun and then, 2016, Mexico City)

2007

France

Northern Italy

Austria

The Czech Republic

Belgium

The Netherlands

England

Wales

Ireland

2008

Switzerland

2009

Costa Rica

2010

Jamaica

2012

Cuba

2013

Iceland

Sweden

Turkey

Nepal

India

2014

Fiji

Australia

Japan

2015

Singapore

Malaysia

Myanmar

Thailand

Portugal

2016

Spain

Morocco

Nicaragua

Croatia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Slovenia

Denmark (Copenhagen)

Vietnam

2017

Cambodia

Peru

Israel and Palestine

Jordan

Germany

Ukraine

2018

Transnistria (Moldova)

Armenia

Georgia

Azerbaijan

Cyprus

Greece

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Colombia

2019

Now, drumroll please………..number 53 (I miscounted before)…..  New Zealand!

Here’s to 50 (*53) more but also, you know, sincerely loving the one you’re with.
‘mi

I 100% could not have done this trip without the generous, generous Patrick who let me borrow his car (keeping costs to a minimum).  And so, because Patrick is amazing and also because his car is in the Pacific Northwest, this leg of my trip began in Seattle.

(As I mentioned,) SEATTLE

Patrick picked me up from the airport, and thanks to Carmageddon (pile-up of traffic due to a major highway closing), we had extra time to catch up and chat in the car while we headed to The Octopus to watch a sports game and then back to his place to drop off his vehicle in favor of walking around in the GORGEOUS SEATTLE WEATHER!   It doesn’t rain there, I swear. 

Hello, beautiful Seattle 🙂

That evening for our first dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant, where Patrick and I both had “good orders” including a fantastic soup which I tried to eat while a plate was still on top of it — The bartender, Samantha, watched me try with a spoon but, as I said, a plate was still on top of it. Not the smoothest I’ve ever come across to a stranger.

I recovered, with class, at that bar though with another interaction (sarcasm) — Here’s the story: A man named Fernando, with a gorgeous mustache, was also working behind the bar.  Because of him, between Patrick and I the conversation topic was: “Would you prefer to be told ‘nice mustache’ from a guy or from a girl?  “Fernando!” I yelled as we were talking about him. Of course he looked over. Oops. Um, I stammered, yes we were talking about you but no, we don’t need anything.  Ugh, not smooth, Patrick whispered. (My cheeks turned red and) Patrick and I left shortly after that.

But we didn’t got far!  Right around the corner the two of us *accidentally ducked into a place that became one of my new favorite restaurants — The Barrel Thief!  Why was it so amazing?? Because of this item on on their menu: Cold baratta, beets, and toasted, hot bread.  Fact about me? I absolutely love hot-cold combinations.  Hypothetical warm cookies, chocolate sauce, and ice cream?  I CAN NOT SAY YES FAST ENOUGH! Cold baratta, pickled beets, and hot bread??  LET’S ORDER ANOTHER ONE, please!! 

But even after that surprisingly perfect stop, my night with Patrick wasn’t over.  We still had one more restuarant left — it wasn’t time for bed until we consumed two orders of muscles and two orders of fries.  Sure, it felt like a mistake the next day….but that night it was a blast!  Thank you for taking me out, Patrick ❤

The next morning, luckily for both of us, Patrick lives v close to the best coffee shop.  He enjoyed an espresso while I downed, as fast as I possibly could, the best chai latte I’ve ever had (except for that other time that I was in Seattle and I’d had the best chai latte that I have ever had), and then Patrick and I shared treats.  The treats were 1. I had brought Patrick homemade chocolate-covered goldfish (a la Kyrgyzstan) and 2. Patrick presented AND READ OUT LOUD two blogs from central Asia ❤

Our second night together we went to bed early both because of Patrick’s work schedule and because of my impending road trip to Portland the next morning.  Earlier, Patrick had told me about the time his car had been broken into because there was a blanket on the backseat.  He told me to seriously never leave anything in his car because the homeless population on the west coast was a bit dangerous. I assured Patrick that I would be careful with his vehicle and promised to heed all of his warnings.  

PORTLAND

My road-trip to Portland was kind of a bust.  But not because the car got busted into! Yay! I choose not to (but wish I did) get a hostel. #sleepinthecarlyfe Hindsight is 20/20 though, and my perfect vision is telling me that it would’ve been a better idea to splurge on a hostel so that I’d have had a safe place to leave my belongings (and hopefully make friends) instead of bringing my bag with me everywhere I went and driving very far out of town in order to sleep and feel safe.  At the time, the reason I didn’t get a room felt justified: The only hostel in town had ALL of their beds available.  Meaning that there weren’t any friends to be made at that hostel anyway.   So I saved my money and tried other avenues for friendship, like a Couchsurfing event!  But that got canceled.  And then, for other activities that I attended (like an open mic) I was forced to bring my backpack inside with me #nerdalert and that, apparently, doesn’t scream camaraderie in Portland.  

A view of the city.

Also, the job I applied for didn’t pan out, and the second place I tried needed a social security card, which I had not brought with me. I told them they could have my passport, and, even though it’s the most valuable thing that I own, it wasn’t good enough. Sigh.

I ended up finding a nice hotel that let me leave my backpack with them for a few hours (thank you, thank you!) while I got ready in a fancy bar. Since the hotel staff was babysitting my luggage, I felt safe enough to walk around downtown. I found some ramen to eat and a FedEx driver to ask: “Which part of town do people leave their keys in the car??”

Answer: Lake Oswego

I drove 20 minutes to sleep in a safe part of town i.e. the parking lot of a hotel in a (notoriously) safe part of town.  I knew I was in the right area of Portland when I stopped at the gas station in Lake Oswego — it was fancy and had the perfect solo bathroom to brush my teeth.  It wasn’t until the morning, however, with this discovery, that I knew I’d made it to the big leagues:  Home Depot.  I found the most wonderful box store in Lake Oswego — it opens early, has a filtered water fountain to fill up my water-bottle, had a hairdryer (er, hand dryer) in the bathroom, and had the word “home” in its title! My strategy to bathe at “home”:  Use a refilled water bottle to wash my hair (and bits) in an empty parking lot and then head to “Home” Depot  to blow dry my hair with that hairdryer/hand dryer.  I’ll call it the “Minimalist Chic” beauty regimen, if you will. And I will.

So much good food in the Land of Port.

But, as is on-brand for me, I didn’t let my accomodations (or lack thereof) keep me from eating delicious food.  Besides that incredible ramen I’d had, I also had some burger sliders, and went to a food truck called Jurassic Cart, which was splendid because of both the food and its amazing name.

Some other major highlights include (but are not limited to):

• Powell’s bookstore which is a portal for really cool people
• Sean Whiteman, a friend from college who I got to catch up with. We hung out at a nearby bar where there was a dog inside. Sean was pretty astute, although I might have just been dirty, because somehow he knew that I was sleeping in my car.  Once he told me that he knew my secret, I invited him over to my hotel parking lot spot in order to more thoroughly check out my digs. The tour of my temporary home didn’t last long because there was only one room (and weirdly lots of people outside plus this creepy tree branch that kept tapping on the window), so afterwards, Sean invited me to sleep on his couch, which was so nice, but I stuck to my plan and instead switched hotel parking lots for more privacy .
• This really fancy grocery store called Zappans where I found myself several times this trip.
• ICE CREAM. I know, I know. I talked about food already, but I was saving this olive oil flavored Salt & Straw ice cream for its own highlight. It was so good that I may or may not have ordered the same flavor twice in a row.  And the employees were so nice that they may or may not have only charged me half-price the second time. Was this the friendship I’d been looking for??

Finally, after a week that felt like a month, it it was time to move along back to Seattle to pick Patrick up from his school trip.  The three hour trip took me seven hours, but I made it right as he got off the bus, so, essentially, the world’s best soccer mom even though I don’t have a kid and Patrick doesn’t play soccer. On the way, Scrappy stopped at a casino but didn’t gamble except on them having wonderful amenities. And I won that bet! They had a bathroom, a charger, Internet, and free bottled water. JACKPOTTTT!

(Back to) SEATTLE

One part of The Unit.

Back in Seattle, I finally slept in a real bed, and it was so wonderful that I slept for a well-deserved 10 hours.

I was staying at Patrick’s (duh), and he said one of my favorite things he has ever said: “My roommate smells so bad or maybe it’s the ecology I have growing in my bedroom.” Hilarious. And true.  Anyway, it was nice to get up at 5am, not have to hold my bladder, and be able to go back to sleep.  It’s the little things.  Or the big ones, according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Seattle was great! And contrary to everybody’s expectations, it didn’t rain once while I was there.  I got to see Lucie and Allison a couple of times, too. We played in the park and ordered Indian food for the house.  On another occasion, Allison, Patrick and I got burgers and vegan ice cream.

This charcoal ice cream was hard to beet.

We scream (internally) for ice cream!

While Patrick ran 8 miles (wowza), I showered at his gym and used an ACTUAL hair dryer — not a hand dryer.  Later on, he and I had wine and tapas while we talked to Katie B. on the phone for hours. And, as a pair does when they are conjoined by headphones, when we ran out of wine, Patrick and I got up together to order more.  We were really happy about saving $12 at happy hour and asked Katie what the last thing she spent $12 on in Bhat. She couldn’t think of any single item worth that much in Thailand.

Also in the cards for us on that Seattle trip?  A Comedy Sports show and some Turkish lunch with rainbow hummus (see below).

Rainbows always mean something good; in this case, it meant hummus…which is good.

The next day, the Unit (Patrick and I) decided to go on a hike with Shane.

When the sun was deciding on whether to keep to itself…

…Or to come out to play!

An ocean of clouds.

When we got to the top, we ate some apples and nuts but had to shield ourselves from the The Birds happening overhead. They swooped and tried to get our snacks while we talked, fit in some trip-planning, and of course laughed, especially about Patrick’s favorite quote from the day: “It takes a village to help Patrick make a decision.”

Later that night, The Unit went to Comedy Underground to catch Matt Donahue’s show. We weren’t ridiculously impressed, and we weren’t mildly impressed, and we weren’t generally impressed. But it was fun, and we got to talk to my parents on the phone outside beforehand, so that was a great time.

The next morning, before the sun was awake, I took a Lyft to the train station (felt “Uber” bad for my Lyft driver, who got pulled over right as I got out), a train to the airport, and a plane to….

Wait for it….

CALIFORNIA

Molly picked me up at the Burbank airport (variety, fun), and we headed out for a leisurely lunch, walked around, identified plants, and headed to a doctor’s office for a visit.

New hat who dis

The meal we wanted.

Molly and I used our time wisely, I was there for one very full day.  During lunch, a whole new genre of jokes emerged, as we evaluated our leases on life and as Molly made concerned facial expressions when I said something alarming. At our office visit, Molly got a clean bill of health and I marveled at her heart sonogram. I quite literally got to see the depths of my best friend’s heart. And, before I headed back to the airport, the two of us celebrated by going on a sour beer mission and discovered that the key (listen up, folks) is oak-aged, not kettle-aged. You heard it here first.

West coat boppin’,
‘mi

Colleen’s baby shower was upon us, yay!

After a rather sleepless night in the airport (unless you count that one hour I slept on the ground), Ben, Nina, and a very pregnant Colleen picked a sleepy Bam up from the airport to begin best friend baby festivities. Though I was exhausted– (I had been on my way to New Zealand but wouldn’t miss this for the world [quite literally])– the excitement and happiness of being with my friends kept me awake. And the gorgeous brunch we went to… that kept me awake too. We caught up for hours before we headed back to their house where I was introduced to all of their plants (very friendly) and we decided that the best way to enjoy this snowy, cold weather would be to go on a mini road trip (where captain and co-pilot were at it again) that ended in a wintry hike.

When in Wisconsin….

The moment of the Sasquatch Tattoo Discussion

Captain, Co-pilot, and our favorite Co-Co-Captain-Pilot, Buffy

Keeping the bun in the oven warm with HUGS and friendship

Before the hike, we stopped at the capital of appital (ok, that doesn’t make sense, but we were there for apples and I love puns).

VIP parking for our VIP mommy-to-be

Unfortunately for the pun, they were out of apples so we settled on some cider that wasn’t as good. But Ben made up for it by showing us what Wisconsin is truly all about when he asked the clerk THE MOST Wisconsin thing ever to be asked, probably in the history of Wisconsin: “What’s your recommended cheese curd variety?”

Gettin’ in on some cheese action #TalkCurddyToMe

Had an eggselent time at the market!

Later that evening, I spent some quality time with Ben and Colleen by getting burritos (spoiled by bleach being thrown on the floor) at Burritos House before rejoining with Nina and going to see the new (loud) animated Spider-Man movie.

When the burrito doesn’t cut it you go for the movie snacks — but also you go for the movie snacks even when the burrito does cut it

The next day, Nina nad I had to share Colleen with everyone else for a while during the baby shower, which was an AMAZING experience. We got ready at Colleen’s house and since teamwork makes the dream(team) work, Nina helped Colleen do her make up for the big day.

Colleen and Ben– Hey, Colleen, you’re PREGNANT!

We got to celebrate Leeny and Ben and their creation which happens to be A TINY PERSON.  I absolutely loved seeing Colleen pregnant in a way that I didn’t anticipate; witnessing the change; I couldn’t stop telling her how PREGNANT she was (even though she *clearly already knew). It was honestly the best baby shower I could have imagined (big shout out to Peggy for throwing it!). It was really fun getting to know more of Colleen’s friends better, mingling with her family whom I love (Hi Mary and Paul!), and getting to hang out with my best friend’s best friend, always a good time.

Baby Loveeeee!!! Photo credit: Nina

Four gal pals; although, the fourth one hadn’t come out to play yet

The weekend was a great bonding experience.  The baby shower was co-ed, multi-generational in a not so extreme way (as in no one was under 5 but also no one used a walker), both families were there (his and hers), which meant I also got to meet some of Ben’s family, and there weren’t a ton of games that took up invaluable getting-to-know-you time. We were in a gorgeous house, celebrating THREE gorgeous people, drank “mom”osas, and had lots of general merriment.

It only got better when Collen, Nina, Mary and I played pool upstairs and Nina and I (Team Captain and Co-pilot) lost, won, and then lost again almost instantly.  But even though we were technically losers according to the rules of the game, it was so much fun, really, we were ALL winners.

There was also an after party, where Nina and I got to hog Colleen again. We went on an exciting grocery store run where I saw an abundance of rainbows and we all grabbed up some drinks for the party.  Then there was a dinner run where we picked up Indian food for the hungry group. Back at the house, the after party continued, and Colleen made the time to craft an Anthrocon letter to Turtyle.  He hasn’t responded yet, but we’re determined to get a reply.  Stay tuned, Anthrocon 2019.

Like all good things though, my time in Wisconsin had to end, and in the wee hours of the morning, Colleen drove me back to the airport.  I’d accidentally left myself a mystery present at Mary’s house, and it actually was a mystery because I honestly couldn’t remember what I had left for myself at her house the day before. Mary, who is the equivalent of Sherlock Holmes, figured it out, and Colleen and I swung by to pick it up from her mailbox as we continued on our way to the airport.  I was SO excited when I opened it because it was BUBBLE WRAP.  And not only is bubble wrap fun on its own, but it was also a reminder that I got to wrap Victoria’s very special birthday present!!  I want to thank Mary because she made my mystery present extra sweet by throwing in some bonus almonds for my journey on the plane. Everyone connected to Colleen contributed to make my time in Wisconsin glorious.  I love and miss you all!

And before I end this blog post…. I MUST introduce the GIRL OF THE HOUR:

BABY BEA!!!!

Bea Fae Olson Skemp was born healthy during a home birth February 19th, 2019. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ADORABLE PARENTS!!!!! ❤

Empowered by happy, strong women,
‘mi

It was fall, the most magical season of all.  In Pittsburgh this year, we were treated to especially beautiful foliage.  I made it a goal to spend as much time walking amongst the beautiful, changing leaves a possible.

Classic with my classics.

I went hiking in Frick Park.

Went walking in my own neighborhood.

Peacocking.

Hung-out with Emma!

Voted.

Participated in democracy.

For me, the official end of autumn is when I have to put Pinksburgh away for the winter. This year (and every year), we waited as long as possible to put her away.  We wanted to scoot for as long as possible.  Scooter Cat would be proud.  Once the weather officially turned, we had no choice but to put her away.  Laura graciously offered to give her refuge for the winter in her parents’ garage. Thanks, Laura! 🙂  When we drove Pinksburgh to her winter home, we got to see some of the most gorgeous leaves of the season.  It was a particularly cold day and life on the scooter is even colder.  As a preventative measure, I put on as many layers of clothes as I could comfortably ride in while Bel followed me in her car to drive me home.  THANKS BELLA! 

Could I *BE* wearing any more clothes?

Bel’s perspective.

Bel and I did a diet where I had to know every single ingredient in everything that I was eating.  This challenge was surprisingly fun and it led to some really delicious meals.

Girasole Salad.

At Pierogi Fest, I met Madeline. We had our first friend hang out a few weeks later. We met in my neighborhood for lunch and stayed so long it turned into dinner.

Ingredient aware.

“What did you eat today?”  Mostly we ate potatoes. Potatoes for breakfast.  Potatoes for dinner. And then a hard boiled potato for dessert.

SPUDPALOOZA in the DreamFlat.

Before Bel went to Ireland for her cousin’s wedding, she had to go to REI to get hiking boots. “I’LL GO WITH YOU TO REI!” I told her enthusiastically. “I have a bunch of things on my REI shopping list. I’ve just been waiting for someone to ask me.”  We spent hours shopping and only left when we realized we absolutely had to go to make it to our pre-Amy Schumer plans.

Schumer Schquad.

In 2018, I went to Colombia and was unable to go to the Amazon because I did not have my Yellow Fever vaccine. I promised myself I would get it upon returning Stateside. The experience was unexpectedly positive. “What other vaccines do you guys offer here?” They provided me with a full menu. “ I’ll be back to get those.”

At work, a potentially life changing thing happened, my club was sold.

On November 16th, light up night. Helen and Victoria made it official!  Congratulations!

The happy couple.

Arcade Comedy Theater had an auction in early 2018 to raise money.  There were tons of incredible prizes to bid on. I bid on (and won!) an evening with Joystick (Helen’s old improv team)! The full prize included dinner at Kesab’s, Joystick’s fave hangout) and a fun night of Arcade games and drinking at an arcade with the team.  At dinner, each of the 9 members on Joystick brought a gift for me and presented them in an “UNFORGETTABLE CEREMONY” where I then had to guess which member picked out which present. Writing about it here now is the proof that it was truly unforgettable. Well done, Joystick!

We then headed to the arcade down the road to play all sorts of games.  I was provided with quarters for the games of my choice and $20 for drinks. Helen and I learned Tetris is the best bang for your buck at the arcade as only 2 quarters seemed to buy us infinite time on that machine.

Drew and I had an epic game of Battleship. I asked if it felt like he was playing with a child, he said “ No..just someone who cheated on a test but got the wrong answer sheet but still feels really confident that it’s going to end up right.”

————————————

I applied for Global Entry at the airport which had been on my To-Do list for a while! During the interview, the employee told me I was flagged because it looked like I had been to a lot of “terrorist countries.”  

“Oh? Like where?” I asked.  I was shocked by his response. “Some of these aren’t countries.  Like where’s Myanmar.?” A man working for an airport’s GLOBAL ENTRY does not only not know where Myanmar is, he had never heard of it.  “Does Burma ring a bell?” I asked as politely as possible. It didn’t. I bit my lip and tried to keep being respectful.  Thankfully, I got my Global Entry anyway!  Can’t wait to use it!

I then went to visit Patrick in Seattle which gets it’s own blog post.  And a plus one.

Katie and Helen together in HER-fast.

Thanksgiving feast! Gorgeous plating. and look at that salad 🙂

Thanksgiving brood.

My mom and I were casually snacking when she told me: “Grapes are my favourite fruit because there’s no commitment.”

On the way up to Thanksgiving, I realized I had $2.40 off of petrol with my fuel perks! $2.40! What a bargain! To make the most of this deal,  I bought 3 gas canisters and filled them up as well as my car’s gas tank. At this rate, the cans cost me about $7.5 each but they were an investment. A wise one, I thought. Why wouldn’t I always get gas this way?! Then I VERY CAUTIOUSLY drove 2.5 hours to my parents’ house with them full. I was highly flammable. #couldIhavethoughtthisthroughbetter?

The next day we stored them in the garage but also decided to use one and fill up my car as it had been depleted from my drive. Perfect idea!  However, filling it up with my dad took almost an hour of futzing with it. We needed to go buy a funnel. I added that $1.79 to my overhead costs. This was still a bargain. As we were filling up the car (which was DEFINITELY a two person job) my dad said “Sam, can see you why this is a pain?” hahaha. I still hadn’t noticed and was determined to recoup my losses.

My Findley Lake home.

I had a friend date with wee Emily to Siempre Algo for new memories and a wall of heat! After dinner, we went to New Amsterdam for dancing and new friends and capped off our evening at Dijlah for our favorite hookah.

Emily, always so much fun ❤

I went on a few dates in the past few months, some of which were good: Meat and Potatoes with Rosemary smoked drinks with champagne; The Hungarian spot and ultimately sharing a seat during The Green Book.  One of them was a mediocre date and food with sin. I asked “Food with sin? Should we order dessert first?” Apparently not what he meant by sin.

Remembering when the paint truck spilled all over the road and a car broke down one minute later. My sneakers still have white paint on them as a memory.

Madeline and I spent more time together and continued to grow our friendship! Highlights include her tipping her invisible hat to me and meeting her best friend, Jane! Jane and Madeline came back to the dream flat to meet Helen and then Jane went back home and met Patrick in Seattle. Best friends meeting best friends!!

Emily Chin and I went on an incredible cookie tour in Lawrenceville. At first I was left wondering if we would be able to get enough cookies. #teamhungry  But by the end of the tour, we had both definitely had our fill. The cookie tour brought me into new businesses that I hadn’t noticed before in Lawrenceville and have since revisited. On our cookie tour, I bought a plant to mix things up but I named her Cookie to be on theme with the day.  Unfortunately, Cookie is no longer with us.  RIPlant.  Cookie, December 2018 – January 2019. 

Do you like cats?!!!

In 2018, I hit a massive milestone at work. It was a goal I had been working towards all year. I texted my loved ones to let them know it was happening ahead of schedule. I got to leave at 11 PM, mid shift.  In the vending machine all week, there had only been orange Cliff Bars available. But as if the universe was celebrating my milestone, as soon as I hit it, there were 3 blue Cliff Bars available. I got all 3 before rushing home to a very, very clean room (as we were having a party in just two days) and FACETIMING WITH PATRICK!!  The perks of being home from work at a reasonable hour (and having a best friend with a 3 hour time difference)! It was so nice to anticipate being so close to my goal especially once I knew I was definitely going to hit it.  I took a break when I was $54 away to just enjoy the feeling of knowing it was going to happen that night. Patrick asked me what I was up to the following day and my answer was pure proof of relishing the milestone: Go to the gym and then not take a shower all day.  BOOM.

And just like that it was Chanukah. We had a big Challah-Day celebration planned and leading up to the party, I made Matzo Ball soup (in a wok #dreamflatstyle) for me, Helen and Victoria. It was the perfect treat to nourish us as we ran around like crazy preparing for our party.

LOTSO’ MATZO!

Our bestie friend Katie Barbaro (DOLPHIN SQUEAL) was a contributing editor in the winter issue of TABLE Magazine. She did an incredibly charming and delicious editorial about savory oats (which I highly recommend reading!). Helen and I were so proud! Always making us proud, Katie also left her job and her life in NYC to go traveling around the world for an entire year starting in late September. For her birthday in December, we wanted to send her a special treat but wanted to send her something she could use.  We deliberated for hours. What do you get the globetrotter who has everything? Answer: Nothing heavy. We didn’t want to send her something she had to be responsible for or to haul around the world with her. We didn’t want to add any extra weight to her traveler’s backpack. We opted to make her a birthday video of us making one of her recipes from TABLE Magazine. Unfortunately, we choose a recipe that was mostly a footnote. So much so that it started with the words “OR make it a fiesta bowl!” We knew a fiesta bowl was the one for us because the Dream Flat is always stocked with cans of corn and black beans.

With Madeline and Jane’s help, we tried to whip up a fancy rendition of Katie’s beloved recipe but we failed miserably. We sent Katie the video and some pictures including one of us holding our failed attempt and this version that Madeline had photoshopped to include the image from the magazine. Thanks, Madeline! Katie got a big kick out of the whole operation.

Happy Birthday, Katie!!! We love you!

Traveling the year is a brave and empowering thing to do, but it can get lonely.  Katie met up with Helen for Thanksgiving in Belfast while Helen was in Ireland visiting her family for her cousin’s wedding. As Katie was facing her own plans for her first Christmas away from her family, I wanted to do something special for her. I had the idea to plan a MYSTERY TRIP for her! I opted to send her to Amsterdam (without her knowledge) to spend the holiday volunteering with my friend Soraya whom I had met years before in Singapore.

Katie dropped this beautiful quote about traveling: “When everything is new, I have no choice but to be present.”  — Katie Barbaro

The scariest part of 2018 was my dad’s open heart surgery in December 2018.  There had been a lot of back and forth about when the dates would be and even on the day of, they pushed it back one more.  Thankfully, the surgery went well and he is doing great!  I spent time in Cleveland during the surgery and made separate trips back to Cleveland and Finley Lake during the recovery.

I got to see Andy in Ohio! Some highlights included seeing her family’s home for the first time, seeing Potted Potter together, reminiscing about Peace Corps, and going to an island-themed bar with some gorgeous drinks. We also went to another farm to table restaurant. She is currently traveling in Berlin and I had the honour of taking her to the PIT airport and being the last person to spend time with her before she left the country for 2 months!

Look at all those Santas!

I often donate to the Arbor Day foundation (because trees are the lungs of the planet)  which I love to do, but every so often they send me trees as a thank you. Or at least twigs that will become trees. I had a tree delivery of what looked like 4 twigs waiting in our kitchen when Helen got home. “I got some trees.” “You did?” “Yeah. They’re in the kitchen. You didn’t notice them…. But you can see why.”  Eventually, I was left with finding a home for these trees before the died. The Arbor Day people are supposed to love and save trees and use my money to protect them, not send me them to accidentally kill.

Another exciting thing that happend this fall was Cass, my wonderful yoga teacher, hooked me up with some LuLu Lemon!

Finally it was time for the most wonderful time of the year: The Arcade Holiday Party! This was my 3rd year attending and it was the best year yet! This year, the party felt especially organized with some helpful additions made by Apryl! There were lists posted all over about the happenings on each floor: Coat rack in the basement, White Elephant on the first floor, Food and dancing on the second floor! So helpful to new arrivals at the party.

This year, the food was catered by Bae Bae’s Kitchen which was an incredible touch. After having so much fun cleaning up after Pittsburgh Comedy Festival Party (at Arcade with Kevin and Aaron), Helen and I volunteered to be on clean up crew again. Or as we call it “overstaying with a purpose”!  We got to see lots of old friends and meet new ones and take some fun selfies and group photos.

Nia ❤

Our friend and our very first improv teacher, Kristy

And then it was winter.

I took a trip to LA to see Molly and was there over Christmas! We got to have Christmas dinner with the Barbaros!  The blog is coming.

I made sure to be back to Pittsburgh in time for New Year’s Eve! Helen had two shows at CAPA as part of Pittsburgh’s First Night called “The Complete New Year’s Eve Experience in 30 Minutes with Comedian Helen Wildy.” She and Victoria had gone to Idaho to visit Victoria’s family for the holidays and got snowed in. They wouldn’t be landing back in Pittsburgh until 10:30 AM on the day of the shows. Helen asked me to pick up a few things for the evening including the helium tank (every good party needs one) and some bonus decorations for the space. When we were setting up, Victoria and I were *blown* away by the fact that only Helen knew how to use a helium tank. She was giving us tips. “Why do you know how to use a helium tank??” “Well, I’m kind of a clown.”  Together, the 3 of us set up the room for the shows. Victoria used the gift of her gorgeous handwriting to decorate the whiteboards while Helen and I set up the (fake) champagne flutes and blew up balloons. The shows went well! Bel took selfies with the crowd and a woman named Sherri volunteered to twerk.

Team Theme is at it again!

HELarious.

I left after the second to show to go ring in the actual New Year at Madeline’s party. It was my first time celebrating NYE in the USA in 5 YEARS. We danced at The Clurb while Lizzie and (mostly) Madeline DJed.

To end the night went into Grub Hut for some adventure.

And on the very first day of the year James came to visit.

BRITISH ACCENT CAPTION: “I realllly enjoyed reading that.”

We had some wholesome fun reading articles from Table magazine and ordering in Thai. It was a wonderful way to start the year.

One week in to 2019, I had gotten all of my taxes done for 2018. Another milestone!

Victoria, Helen, and I had some incredible Blue Apron, paired perfectly with friendship and food photography.

Blue Apron not included.

#newKevinwhodis  

“I love that we are just never needing to learn new names” – Helen

Kevin and Laura came to see Helen’s show at Club Cafe in almost identical outfits.

It’s a really good look!

For the entire month of January, Helen is the Comic in Residence at Burning Bridges Comedy Club here in Pittsburgh!  This meant a show every Sunday (and some Saturdays) with a final, headlining set on 1/27/19 to close it out (where I hear she nailed it!).  She was so excited about the opportunity and it was so fun to watch!

The coolest, funniest, and nicest.

In January, I went to my first ever #bachelornation night and I was instantly hooked. It was so legit. My favourite was the girl dressed as the sloth who got eliminated right away. #furrynation

I was honoured to be the surprise guest at delicious, playful burger night with Brittany, Lindy, Emily, and Laura!

I spent lots of family time checking on Dad in Findley Lake.

Home sweet home.

While visiting, I got snowed in and had to shovel (read: flag down a plow) to help get me out.

Snowy Mouse.

The drive home took longer than ever. I had to crawl along the highway and eventually stop for safety.  On the stop, I went into a shop and came across this gorgeous RAINBOW sweater which has quickly become one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe.

Eating Nepali food and having solo time with Ricky.

Back in the Burgh, I had a night on the town with Madeline!  We had a really fun Friday that was a total success.  Does the Kylie lipstick get credit for being our good luck charm?!

Lookin’ cabulous!

Madeline, Sammi, and Kylie.

In the dreamflat, we had a chirping smoke detector in the beginning of 2019 but we quickly realised it was not in our apartment. We went hunting everywhere and discovered it was on the third floor of our building. Two weeks later, seemingly riled up by the 3rd floor alarm, our basement one also began chirping. But by then we were so positive it wasn’t in our apartment that we just let it go on for weeks.

Whew!  Long post for a long life.
Until next time,
‘mi