She's a Beaut: Road Tripping New Zealand's South Island

Over six months ago, my mom and I had just booked our flights to visit my sister, Kelli in New Zealand at the end of her study abroad semester. My mom was so nervous she felt like she was going to throw up. Kelli was exhausted from helping us with the logistics of where and when. And I was so excited, expletives were just pouring out of my mouth. Fast forward to November 8, Election Day, a crazy day for several reasons, one being that we were embarking on our trip to New Zealand! After I rocked the vote, I met up with my mom at the airport and took her on a mini adventure in San Francisco. We rode the iconic cable car, wandered through Ghirardelli Square, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, and even met up with Owen for In-N-Out burgers. The last treat of the night was taking my mom to the airport in a Tesla, which she loved/was afraid of.

After spending 13 hours on a plane with over a hundred other people, something odd happens. People don’t give a crap. I saw a man with a candy wrapper stuck to his butt, a woman brushing her teeth in her seat, and a guy with a window seat who tried to leap over his two snoozing seatmates to get out. He ended up smacking them both in the face and waking them up, but what a move. My mom bet me ten bucks that I wouldn’t skip around the entire plane. I said what the hell. No one even noticed. By the end of the flight, the plane was totally trashed: there was a thin layer of debris covering every surface.

Our first taste of New Zealand was exploring downtown Auckland on the North Island. About 60% of our thoughts involved shock that they drive on the left side of the road. We hopped on one more plane, a short ride to Dunedin, where Kelli lives. They gave me a hunk of cheese bigger than anything I ever let myself eat in one sitting. I was liking New Zealand already.

Relaxing in downtown Auckland

After a quick reunion with Kelli we headed over to the rental car counter to pick up our wheels for the next two weeks. We were still giggling and catching up with each other and didn’t listen to half of what the rental car lady told us. No matter, Kelli had driven loads in NZ already, and for my mom and I, it’s like riding a bike, right? We drove through rolling, green hills dotted with sheep and farms and I was in love. We made it to Dunedin just in time to drive up to a place called Signal Hill, only a few miles from Kelli’s flat, to see the sunset over her city.

We spent our first two days exploring Dunedin and the areas around it. In the city itself, we played the part of convincing locals, wandering around the halls of her university, shopping at the farmer’s market, strolling through the Botanical Gardens, and downing Tim Tam slams, hot chocolate that you drink through a Tim Tam cookie. In the areas surrounding Dunedin we went full on tourist and saw some amazing natural wonders. I even drove for the first time! All went well, except when I was frazzled, I’d turn the windshield wipers on instead of the blinker, making me even more frazzled (since everything is opposite, the windshield wipers are on the right side of the steering wheel, blinker on the left).

Baldwin Street in Dunedin, world's steepest residential street: 35% grade

Tunnel Beach, named after this tunnel I was obsessed with

Nugget Point, see the rocks or ‘nuggets’ in the water?

Sunday morning, I convinced myself I could run up Signal Hill. Signal Hill, the long, winding, hilly road we drove up to get to an overlook of the entire city. I turned around in defeat maybe a mile from the top, thighs and lungs burning. Nothing like an early morning workout to start our first road trip! After a few hours of driving we made it to Lake Tekapo and I promptly started going on a photo frenzy. The blooming lupins, the blue water, it was a photographer’s dream. We pulled ourselves away from the lake to drive to Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, which can be viewed from a one way in, one way out road. The drive did not disappoint. The clouds cleared at times throughout the drive and on our hike for spectacular views of the iconic snow-capped peak. 

Moeraki Boulders, thought to be over 56 million years old!

Lake Tekapo

We named our car Chad, after Chad from the Bachelorette because he loved food (roadkill)

The next few days were spent getting very cozy with Chad and hiking out to two of New Zealand’s most accessible glaciers. At Fox Glacier, we arrived on one of the least accessible days…It was pouring and all these waterfalls and streams started popping up. We were so wet afterwards that we just stripped down right in the parking lot. Kelli showed up at our hostel that night wearing only a towel from the waist down! The next day Chad faithfully got us to Christchurch, where we spent the night in jail and saw the rebuilding efforts from the 2011 earthquake. We broke up the long drive from Christchurch to Dunedin with a stop in Oamaru, a coastal town known to have rare yellow-eyed penguins. We hunkered down in a viewing hide along with 10 or so others for an hour and a half, constantly scanning the beach for activity. When we were finally ready to give up, someone murmured they had seen a penguin. Mass chaos ensued for the next ten seconds- I couldn't find the penguin. Finally I realized the penguin looked like a tiny white toothpick! We eventually got a better view and I saw, for certain, my first penguin in the wild. 

Blue Pools

The silver lining to exploring the glaciers in the rain 

Jail converted into a hostel...very realistic

Art demo in Christchurch, referring to the rebuild

We had a relaxing day in Dunedin before we were off on another road trip. First stop: Queenstown, to run a half marathon! The day before the race we wandered around the tourist shops downtown. One store was selling NZ air for $25. Have we tourists really gotten that stupid? The morning of the race I tried to calm Kelli’s nerves as she embarked on her very first half. I don't think she knew exactly what she was going up against...only a few days before the race, she asked me how far a 10K was, and when I replied 6.2 miles she confidently said, I could do that. Anyway, my goal for the half was to pay attention to the scenery, since I usually get so caught up in running I never look around. It was hard not to be amazed, with the Remarkables mountain range in sight the entire race and gorgeous views of Lake Wakatipu. I even heard a yodeler and had a race volunteer stick out his butt for me to slap! Not bad for my first race abroad. Once my mom and I collected Kelli after she finished, we all treated ourselves to burgers as big as our heads from a restaurant called Fergburger. Finishing my burger was almost as hard as running the half!

After stopping for directions we finally found our ‘hotel’ for the night way out in farm country, which we realized was actually someone’s house. We arrived four and a half hours before we said we were going to, so naturally the place was locked and no one was home. So we camped out in their parking lot for awhile until we realized how creepy we were being and went to the nearby town instead. When we finally did go back for the night, I loved the place. It was a gorgeous spot to relax post-race. The next few days were jam packed with various athletic pursuits: biking in Wanaka on Sunday, hiking Roy’s Peak on Monday, and kayaking in Milford Sound on Tuesday. We even saw a fiordland crested penguin swimming in the water while we were kayaking! Along the way we stopped at a bra fence, stopped at a shoe fence, and saw hundreds of sheep being herded which was surprisingly cool. 

Back in Dunedin for our last day in NZ, we ended with a bang. Mom and I drove out to the peninsula to try to see penguins one last time, and the trip wasn’t complete without us getting lost. I missed a turn, mom couldn’t read the tiny map we had. Finally we made it out to the penguin refuge and spent a few hours wandering around covered trenches and viewing hides, hoping to see some yellow-eyed penguins. We got extremely lucky: three converged on the beach and then waddled down a path into the woods, passing pretty close by us. At one point, soaking wet during a steady downpour, I asked my mom if she was cold. Her response: I wouldn’t care if I was naked right now, I’m so happy we’re seeing penguins. Ha!

We left on Thanksgiving morning and celebrated with a meal of fast food in the airport. Strangely enough, I also got home on Thanksgiving morning. I call it the space-time continuum, and I’m still very confused by it. Back here in California I’ve been in full-on holiday mode. Owen and I chopped down our Christmas tree, decorated it, and I’ve spent several hours admiring our work while writing this blog post. As much as it sucks that our New Zealand trip is over, coming back to California (and Owen) ain't so bad. 

Will You Go Out With Me? "Opting Outside" on Black Friday

I should not be trusted with a saw...

Leaving the Country

I will keep this post short and sweet since I am leaving in a few hours to meet my mom at the airport and get the hell out of this country (aka to visit my sister in New Zealand)!

Fall has finally shown itself around here, I found it when I biked to a nearby town last week. Though I’m still learning how to pronounce Los Gatos correctly, I absolutely love this small town. It’s tucked in the mountains and packed with shops and restaurants.

 

En route to Los Gatos

We sort of went trick or treating on Halloween. By that I mean we walked around admiring kids’ costumes, it wasn’t creepy, I promise. Then I hit the jackpot: a neglected, run-over, lonely Kit Kat in the middle of the road. MINE! I call that a success.

Last weekend we volunteered our time and muscles to do trail maintenance at a county park a few miles south of us. I’m still sore. We broke up hard packed soil and leveled out sections of trail. The soil here was so dry it was like concrete! But it was worth it, for the gorgeous views of green hills and the free Chipotle lunch afterwards.

Objects in photo are sweatier than they appear

That evening we went to a Tesla party, in honor of their last quarter being profitable and we saw the infamous Elon Musk himself give a speech. He said that the better the company does, the better the parties will get. For this one, he had rented out a stadium with the largest indoor bar in this country. I can’t wait for what’s next.

 

The new Model 3

The last few days I’ve been carefully plotting how to pack everything for a two week trip on the other side of the world in a carry-on bag. I’ll tell you how that goes when I get back!

Running, Hiking, and National Parks, That's All Folks.

For those of you who didn't hear me shout it from the rooftops, I did finish the trail marathon! But it wasn’t a sure thing… As luck would have it, the day before I had a pretty horrible cold. I know that might not sound so bad, but I was worried that I’d have a fever for the race and really hurt my brain/body by running 26.2 miles in that state. Or that I’d pass out on the trail somewhere.  But then as I was moping around, I realized I’ve ran in way worse situations. Like the time I got extremely lost at a county park, then ran out of water, then had to bike 10 miles home. Or the time I ran in Colorado in hot-as-hell temperatures with no shade, then ran out of water, then had to hike a mile back to Madeline’s place. Or the time I ran in NJ in the dark at 5am and wasn’t sure if I was seeing deer or bears crossing the road in front of me. Or, that time I twisted my ankle in a state park here and had to limp 7 miles back to the car. Or…you get the point. I’d have no problem running with a little cold.

The morning of the race passed in a blur of bananas, peanut butter, and porta-potties. The first few miles, I ran in the middle of a huge pack and barely even noticed I was running. Once the pack finally broke up, I was so happy not to be stuck behind someone that I barely noticed I was running. It wasn’t until around mile 13 that someone near me announced we were halfway done when I really thought about miles. I am eternally grateful to the volunteer at the water station around mile 15 who took my hydration pack off, filled it with water and ice while I was downing sports drinks, and helped me put it back on. And to the lady who poured water on my head. Armed with the most delicious ice cold water, I was still feeling really great. Oh, and my cold? I continually collected dead leaves to blow my nose with since I can’t do snot rockets but other than that it was fine. Roughly miles 17-20 I chatted with another racer which was an awesome distraction. It wasn’t until after we parted ways that I finally began to really feel tired. The last three miles were brutal. I was so tired that at mile 25 I didn’t even look up to see the views of the Pacific Ocean that this race is famous for. Passing through the finish line I was overwhelmed by emotions but also thinking just one thing: I was so freaking relieved to be done!!

 

Pre-race chilling

There were so many things I wanted to do after the race (walk! stretch! cheer people on!) but mostly I just sat on a bench eating chips and drinking beer, enjoying the special moment that comes after you just finish pushing your body above your limit. Thank you to everyone over the last few months who ran with me, pigged out with me, offered moral support on the phone, or just pretended to care about my crazy running endeavors.

 

If I had actually swam in the ocean I think I would've drown so I settled for wading 

The next weekend Owen had training for the National Guard so I went to San Francisco for the day. Remember how I had been desperately hoping for rain? Let’s just say that I got my fill that day. Amid a steady downpour, I walked along the Bay for too many miles until I finally arrived at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was packed with tourists, overpriced restaurants, and souvenir shops. The sea lions chilling on the docks were the real deal though. Famished and soaking wet, I sought refuge at In-N-Out, a California fast food chain which did not disappoint. My next destination was Ghirardelli Square, where I whiled away a few hours looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge, seeking refuge from the intermittent rain showers, and getting as many free Ghirardelli chocolate samples that I could con from them (I only got 2). On my way back to the train station I walked straight through Chinatown, then splurged on some new socks at a running store I passed by (to be changed into on the train home). At this point, the rain had finally let up and I was truly beginning to appreciate how unique San Francisco is. I was dazzled by people hanging off cable cars and streets steeper than the Sierra Nevadas. On the train ride home, I settled in with a good book, a dry pair of socks, and some well-deserved chocolates. There’s nothing finer.

 

The sea lions were unfazed by the rain

 This brings me to last weekend, which kicked off with a comedy show Friday night. Christopher Titus did not hold back, tackling everything from raising kids to politics to his crazy ex-wife (his words, not mine). Saturday morning, we drove up to the Marin Headlands (the area north of San Francisco). Our original plan was to go to Muir Woods, but how often do Owen and I follow our original plan? Muir Woods was completely overrun with tourists, so instead we drove a bit further up the coast and did a hike through steep ravines and redwood forests with an amazing view of San Francisco at its highest point. Also as per usual, we didn’t bring enough food with us so we stopped at a little country store across from the ocean and literally ate an entire box of donuts between the two of us! On the way home we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Pretty neat, but I’ll be honest, the best views of the bridge are from off the bridge.

 

Classic CA coastline

Still trying to figure that out too

At work last week, I realized that not only am I a running store employee, I’m also part therapist, doctor, coach, and technology guru. From “what pace should I do my long run at?” to “can you help me walk on my broken leg?” to “what’s my iPhone passcode?” I feel like I’ve heard it all.

This weekend we reverted to college mode and stayed up ‘late’ watching movies (late for us is now midnight; I’m pretty sure in college that was my usual bedtime). Yesterday we checked out Pinnacles National Park, the newest national park only two hours south of us. This place was in the middle of nowhere. The road leading into the park was only one lane wide (technically one and a half lanes wide in some spots, according to the park brochure). The park is named for its pinnacles, and we did a nice loop hike up into the rock formations. I rocked hiking poles for the first time and although I felt a bit like my 80-year-old self, I’m totally hooked now.

 

Navigating around the base of a pinnacle formation

Today we finally had our lazy weekend day indoors while listening to the steady rain outside. This was something we had fantasized about in the summer when the damn sun wouldn't stop shining. We did venture outside once to explore a county park in the Santa Cruz mountains near us and the short trip was well worth it.

Our reward for hiking in the rain

Coming up next, less than two weeks until I go to New Zealand to visit Kelli! I leave the night of election day which I don’t think I could have planned any better. Let’s just say I’ll be taking advantage of the free drinks on the plane ride when they announce the results.

Finding Fall

Though I guess I can still be considered a newbie here, it's been more than 3 months now! I’ve hit some major milestones:

• I had an in-person job interview
• I saw my first forest fire, in the Santa Cruz mountains not too far from us
• It rained in San Jose for the first time since I’ve moved here and of course I did a celebratory rain dance
• I heard Owen use the word ‘hella’ in conversation- we're becoming real live Californians!

Forest fire burning off in the distance

No crazy traveling the past two weeks, but I did manage to have a few notable adventures:

I found a doctor here! Nothing exciting about that, but said doc is in downtown San Jose so I finally got to explore the city. Though we technically live in San Jose, we’re in the suburbs and I’ve only ever driven through downtown. So I spent the morning exploring some cute restaurants and shops, a college campus, and an awesome park.

San Jose State University

Two weekends ago, I did my last long run before my trail marathon on the Skyline to the Sea Trail. Like we’d done before, Owen dropped me off in the mountains and I ran to the ocean. Afterwards, my body hurt so good so I welcomed the chilling numbness of the Pacific Ocean to mute the pain in my knees and legs. We feasted on a picnic of smoked gouda cheese and salami. Now I’m brainstorming what I want Owen to load in our cooler for after the race this Saturday. My first choices are a Rita’s Gelati and a Mexican bagel from Ithaca, NY though I may need to settle for something else.

On a day off last week, I rode my bike to the end of the Los Gatos Creek Trail, something I’ve been wanting to do since I moved here. After a nasty hill climb, I was rewarded with this amazing view of the Lexington Reservoir and the surrounding mountains. The only hill where we live is the staircase leading up to our second floor apartment, so I was definitely grateful to make it to the mountains powered by my own two feet. 

Lexington Reservoir

Last Sunday, Owen and I had a self-declared Fall Day. As much as I love it here, the fall colors are barely existent and I’ve been missing the apple orchards and pumpkin patches I grew so fond of in the Northeast. So, I figured we’d see what this state had to offer. We started the morning off with a trip to the farmer’s market in Campbell (the small town near us which I absolutely love). It did not disappoint. Vendors had everything from peaches and sweet corn to apples and squash. Summer and fall produce at the same time?! I'm taking advantage of that. Next we were off to the only U-pick apple orchard I could find within the Bay Area. It was a little odd going apple picking near the ocean, but we still did have fun and got a decent haul. Last, we drove along the coast north and stopped at the first pumpkin patch we saw, where we purchased a few gourds that look like pumpkins since we don’t have space for a full size pumpkin. We joke that it's our tiny pumpkin for our tiny house. 

 

Driving Highway 1

Shenanigans at the apple orchard

Pretending we have space for one of these big boys

Now that it gets dark earlier, Owen and I have gone into slight hibernation mode (he went to bed at 7:30pm earlier this week), but I’m going to make a conscious effort for us to have some weekday adventures. Having more friends would definitely help, which, speaking of, my friend Dave from Cornell just moved out here for grad school. We met up with him one night for dinner and drinks in Mountain View, this cute town in the Peninsula (aka the west side of the Bay). 

One thing we fully embrace during our hibernation period: cooking! Normally I would never post food pictures but this is a bangin prosciutto fig pizza we made with some help from Plated, a service that delivers recipes and all the ingredients you need. (Thanks to my aunt for the gift card.) Our meal actually looks like the picture! Full disclaimer: we didn't even know what prosciutto was before we made this. 

Up next: trail marathon this weekend. My goal is to finish the race with a smile on my face and to swim in the Pacific Ocean afterwards!

Big A$$ Trees

The last few weeks have taken me from the redwood forests to the gulf stream waters to the… oh wait, that’s not right. But ever since seeing redwood trees here in CA that song has been stuck in my head!

It’s been awhile since I last wrote, so let me start with our Labor Day weekend shenanigans. That Saturday, we picked a nearby state park for me to do my long trail run in. I got a little too distracted by the gorgeous redwood groves and endured some nasty ankle pain as a result. The upside was that my ankle distracted me so much I forgot to worry about the bears, mountain lions, and other beasts of the forest. I made it back in one piece and rewarded myself with (what else) ice cream!

Post-run Gatorade high

In our usual fashion, Owen and I didn’t finalize our plans for Labor Day Weekend until the night before. Finally we settled on Sequoia National Park, a few hours away in CA. As did the other millions of visitors. When we arrived Sunday morning, the park was a nut house! So we got as far away from the crazy as possible and finally found a secluded sequoia grove to hike through. We spent hours trying to get a photograph of sequoias that did them some justice, but our efforts were mostly fruitless. These giant trees are best seen through your own two eyes. That night we disperse camped in a national forest, which basically means we drove down a random dirt road, parked our car, and camped there. Totally legit, totally free. Another group of people camping nearby played country music, so we had some tunes to chill out to as we watched the sun set. Score!

Monday we drove into neighboring Kings Canyon National Park, home to some of the deepest canyons in the country. Also seen in the park: a man wearing a diaper/speedo, the oldest gas station ever (fact check needed here), and some damn beautiful meadows. That night we headed back to the same site we disperse camped at the night before. Owen had packed an old freeze dried meal for us for dinner. He neglected to mention just how old it was. Suggested use by date: 7 YEARS AGO. We cooked it anyway, it tasted nasty (the vegetables had either all turned white or disintegrated), and we ate our next day’s lunch instead. Silver lining: this made our sunset beer taste that much better. I convinced Owen to sleep on our favorite rock without the tent and it paid off: we drifted off under a blanket of the most amazing stars I have ever seen, including several shooting stars. I wish everyone could have seen what we saw.

Tuesday we finally went to the touristy parts of Sequoia National Park now that it had cleared out. We saw the world’s largest tree. My brain could hardly comprehend that, and I was looking right at the thing! We also drove under a fallen sequoia tree and even saw escaped cows in the nearby national forest. As it is every trip we take to somewhere beautiful, I never want to leave but it was made a little easier this time as I was going to Montana the next day!

Wednesday morning was spent in a mad dash doing laundry and packing for my trip to Bozeman, Montana to visit Evan! The flight there was quite an experience. Half the passengers seemed to know each other and my big hiking backpack attracted several comments about there already being snow near Bozeman. I arrived late Wednesday night, and while it wasn’t snowing, it was cooler than I was used to. Thursday Evan and I dove right in, starting with brunch in downtown Bozeman, a hike in the nearby national forest to this amazing waterfall, and a delicious homemade dinner of Pad Thai and zucchini noodles with pesto. We capped the night off with a movie and none other than SpongeBob SquarePants. I swear that show is better as an adult than as a kid.

The next day we went for a morning trail run and fall was in full swing. I was drinking it up, since I’m not sure if I’ll really get a fall where we are in California. Later that day I had a Skype interview for a job in CA, which seemed to go well. Boxing with Evan beforehand sure didn’t hurt! For dinner we made a delicious dish that consisted of crispy naan topped with pesto, sautéed onions, melted blue cheese, and bacon. I named the dish myself and it’s not actually appropriate enough to print here, but let’s just say it reflects how freaking delicious it is. Even the dogs at the park we ate at wanted some! We spent the night walking through downtown Bozeman with some of Evan’s friends during an event called Art Walk and sampling free drinks and snacks.

Saturday we left early to go backpacking in the nearby Spanish Peaks. I felt like I was on a safari driving there- the road in went through a bison ranch and we saw hundreds, maybe thousands, of bison! We had to stop and wait for several minutes more than once as herds of them crossed the road. Once we finally made it to the trailhead, we put in several miles of hiking. The day actually topped off around 15 miles, even with the hill climbs, a leisurely lakeside lunch, and a few breaks where we basically collapsed on the ground and napped for a few minutes. When we finally arrived at the lake we kind of just laid on some rocks for a while until we gained enough energy to make dinner. As they say, it hurt so good. It was neat to have the place to ourselves, as no one else was camping there and we hadn’t even seen people most of the day.

The next morning we had a leisurely hike back to the car and passed several groups of people out for day hikes. One man said he’d pay me a hundred bucks for my gloves that were dangling from my pack. Another man told Evan to “get out of here with that thing” referring to his big pack. But mostly people asked where we’d been. We actually didn’t know the name of the lake we camped at the night before so we took it in turns answering the question with a vague “lakes…Spanish peaks.” Finally we looked at our map and saw we’d camped at Upper Falls Creek Lake. For the rest of the hike we chanted that aloud so we’d finally be able to tell people where we came from, but no one else asked! Later that day we vegged out with ice cream, more SpongeBob, dinner in downtown Bozeman, and a quintessential Montana movie: A River Runs Through It. I left the next morning, and apparently later that day it really did snow in Bozeman.

I’ve been back in CA for over a week now. Owen and I took an impromptu trip to the Pacific Ocean one night after work to see the sunset. News flash: the sun has already set by 8pm now. So instead we walked around the beach in the dark and I imagined crazy sea monsters lurking in the water. This past weekend we went back to the ocean, this time for my long trail run. I started on the beach, ran through redwood forests out to three waterfalls, and finished back at the ocean. Gosh, am I lucky.