Transitioning to Reality

I know it's been a while since the last post, and I've been home from New Zealand for nearly two months now, but I thought I'd at least post the last few things I saw there. I went up north to a town called Whitianga, which is a jumping off town for Cathedral Cove. I wanted to see Cathedral Cove even before I knew where it was in the world. Some fellow hostel members and I got dropped off to start hiking along the cliffs and down to the beach on a beautiful day. I would like to imagine that the name of that boat is "The Dawn Treader."

Cathedral Cove is where the Pevensie children return to Narnia in the second movie, Prince Caspian. It's an awesome rock tunnel onto a sparkling beach that was completely deserted that morning. That's the beauty of going to New Zealand in the winter. (The water was pretty cold, though.) The view from the other side is also nice. I'm glad I got to see so many movie sights while in New Zealand. I knew that was one reason for wanting to visit, but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy seeing all the different sights. After the cove we decided to go to a place called "Hot Water Beach." I'd seen lots of signs pointing the way and brochures in the tourist offices but I didn't really know what the big deal was. The taxi driver told us it's a place where at low tide the geothermal activity under the beach heats the water and if you get a shovel and dig a hole you can make your own hot tub on the beach. Then he let us borrow his shovel so we could make our own. It was fun but almost too hot in some places. Here you can see the steam coming out of the sand.The next day I took a bus to Auckland and had a day to relax, buy some last pieces of my favorite New Zealand candy, and get a lot of sleep before the long long flight home. I did not expect to come home so soon but it felt like the right decision.

It was fun to be with family again, and to see more of southern Utah. While I was in Torrey my parents and I drove the Hell's Backbone Ridge Road and this cliff was anything but relaxing. I also went over to Escalante to visit my friend Matt and we drove down the Hole in the Rock road to do Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Canyons. Unfortunately my claustrophobia prevented me from finishing Spooky but they were still awesome to see. The last time I hiked these canyons I was only a child and it was easier to squeeze through.Amidst the job hunting process I took a break to go with my brothers to San Francisco to watch them do the "Swim from Alcatraz." Of course we visited places like Chinatown, Haight and Ashbury and Ghiradelli Square.Seeing them swim it made me want to swim more, too.Of course none of the prisoners who tried to swim from Alcatraz ever made it because they were probably still wearing chains and being shot at. Clay and Jed made it just fine, though.

And now I haven't mentioned anything about the latest news, but I'll save that for the next post. Maybe I'll name that post "Transitioning to Realty."