Archives for the month of: June, 2010

be sure to rollover ‘notes’ to see photo captions!

Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day

Fiordland National Park cruising day…but rainy and cold with almost no visibility. Slept in, breakfast buffet, got some throat lozenges because I could feel a cold coming on – probably the same one Dad had been fighting throughout the trip. Went to morning trivia and checked out the ship’s Valentine’s Day decorations…which were INSANE.

Hung out on the sun deck, had the Indian buffet for lunch and saw the guy who looked a lot like Grandpa again. Went to afternoon tea! Afterwards the rain finally let up and we could see the fjords we were cruising through. But of course, the only one we got to see was Milford Sound, which we’d already toured.

Mom and Dad played some ping pong then at dinner, Aunt Linnea and Dad threw down a ping pong challenge! Mom gave our waiter some chocolate for Valentine’s Day and to make it extra special, put it down her shirt first! He thought it was hilarious and was very thankful 🙂

Feb. 15

Got up early and ran around the top deck and went to exercise class. Captain’s Circle meeting, vegetable-carving demonstration, ship-wide ping pong tournament. Went to tea with Mom, saw the ‘Piano Man’ stage show, watched ‘the Time Traveler’s Wife’ in the main theater, and saw Jack Wilks’ comedy show after dinner.

Feb. 16

Slept in – didn’t feel well. Dad brought me breakfast and I stayed in bed and watched ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. Mom brought me soup and then I went up and watched Dad and Aunt Linnea battle it out over ping pong. I did my puzzles outside for awhile and worked on my tan. After dinner, watched ‘the Proposal’ in bed and ate way too many cakes and cookies.

be sure to rollover ‘notes’ to see photo captions!

We ported in Chalmers, and came ashore to a chilly, rainy day. A perfect day for a train ride! We boarded the Taieri Gorge Railway, a historic stretch of the Otago Central Railway, and wound our way through the rocky countryside. Most of the time we followed the Taieri River, dipping into the Taieri Gorge.

The train cars were vintage, and our host and hostess were incredibly kind and entertaining – wonderful ambassadors for their country and completely consistent with the level of kindness and consideration we experienced with every Kiwi.

On board, we sipped mimosas as we watched the countryside glide by, ate a surprisingly delicious box lunch (including wine from Montana, the winery Mom, Dad and I toured!).

After the beautiful train ride we boarded buses and visited Larnach Castle. We had a great guided tour of the house, and heard the sad story of the family who first lived there (read more via the links here). We had time to explore the house and grounds, and I spent a good amount of time on the roof (accessed via a very tight steep stairway) enjoying the near-360° ocean view. The castle and grounds were beautiful and reminded me a bit of Linderhof Palace. Less grand, of course, but a similar feel: grand palace in miniature, beautiful grounds.

That evening we went to Aunt Pat and Uncle Denny’s cabin for wine, and I brought some appetizers from the buffet. From their balcony we could see a bagpiper and drummer playing our farewell down on the dock (Dunedin is very Scottish)! We had dinner in the Santa Fe – I had an AMAZING Thai rice crème brûlée with lime sorbet.

via io9

I have no words.

via eric

via io9

van gogh: but you’re not armed!

the doctor: I am.

van gogh: with what?

the doctor: overconfidence, this [pats suitcase], and a small screwdriver – I’m absolutely sorted.

here!

see more of her comics over at her blog. for now, here are links to EVERY ONE OF HER TNG COMICS. you’re welcome, fellow nerds (or picard lovers. sexy sexy patrick stewart mm MM!). example from captain’s holiday: