Traveling there and back

I promised I'd send you hints of my whereabouts but we got so busy with our trip that I never had a chance.  And then we had to return early (more about that later, but dealing with elderly mother's serious medical issues).

We had a great trip.  If I have already sent you an email, please don't "guess" since you already know!


This was a building adjacent to a restaurant we found.




This building is a very tall (obviously) structure.


Another significant building.  This one is a ferry building.  Hint: we were near water!


This one is a give-away.  I saw this on a building as we were driving...


I did see a bit of things that reminded me of quilt patterns.  This was on a walkway alongside the harbor!


Here is some information about the walkway!  Maori culture was everywhere!



Islands everywhere!  This was taken on Waiheke Island, which was where we went on our first full day in New Zealand.  We took a 45 minute ferry ride (imagine that as your commute to work!) to this beautiful island where we went touring around and tasted wine.  We found some beautiful areas and were treated to our tour by someone who has lived there for many years.  Nothing like a native to show you around!  This was from the ferry leaving the island for our return trip back to Auckland.



My traveling will be scaled back quite a bit as my mom developed pneumonia just after we left.  She was hospitalized for 10 days and I just moved her into a board and care home where she is receiving excellent, very attentive care.  The shock is the transition:  my mom was completely independent and healthy (just about 90 yrs old), swimming regularly, walking, driving, living on her own etc.  Now she's being taken care of, her memory is gone, she's wearing a diaper and struggles to move around.

I know many of you have had to deal with elderly parents--I think it's a curse of the new generation.  People are living so much longer but not necessarily with a quality of life that anyone would want.

I am taking it day by day--hopefully because she was so healthy, she'll recover but I'm not honestly optimistic.  I'm going to start to look at care for her after her release in a month or two.  But with a very limited budget, it'll be a challenge.

Best wishes to all of you during this holiday season.  We really believe that we need to cherish every day, which is why we have been traveling so much.  Who knows what awaits us?  Sorry to be so philosophical... I promise this will be it.  Cherish it all!

More travel pictures and even some sewing to share!

Love to you all,
xxxxs,
Randy