Still Here.

When work and life get busy, this blog seems to take the backseat.  Things seem to have slowed down a bit as of recent, so here's a quick recap of what I've been up to these past few weeks.

In the end of February we went to Michigan Winter BeerFest.

Why yes, my necklace is four times the size of Rachel's.  I get munchy when I get drunky.

A couple weeks later I went down to visit some Meese in Virginia.  We were going to run an official race, but the darn thing filled up before we could register.  So we made up our own race and t-shirts.

The good thing about making your own race is that you're in charge of post race beverages.

It was normal to start boozing at 10 am because it was St. Patrick's Day.

When we weren't running we were hanging with this adorable dude:

By the end of the weekend, he saw a carton of ice cream and without prompting said, 'That's Aunt Jewey's!"  Yes, child, all the ice cream in the world is mine.  Now spread the word.

Since we flew in and out of DC, we also remembered to stop and smell the cherry blossoms.

The next weekend I drove off to Chicago to celebrate the birthday of my very pregnant friend.

Since she was 8 months preggo, we celebrated her B-day by eating instead of drinking ourselves silly.  It almost felt like we were growing up.  Until we went to Babies 'R' Us to pick up her glider - we took it out of the large box and loaded it into our Jeep.  So naturally I then hid in the large box in the middle of the parking lot and they told me when a car was driving by so I could jump out and surprise some random stranger.  Yup, definitely still not grown up.

I of course also spent some time with these dudes:

Toby actually began training to be a West Michigan Therapy Dog.  We're about halfway through classes and he seems to be doing well.  That might be because "doing well" in this class requires a dog to be oblivious and non-reactive to everything around him.  So our bear is a natural.

Since I started this post with Michigan beer it only seems fit to end it with Michigan beer.  Last weekend we enjoyed the much sought after Founders KBS:

A local bar happened to score a keg - which was tapped out in about 15 minutes.  It is often listed as one of the top three beers in the world and bottles on Ebay can sell for ridiculous amounts of money.  We sat next to a gentleman who had driven all the way from Chicago just to have a glass. 

I'll try to do a better job of keeping all of my seven readers updated on my drinking life in posts to come.

A Marketer's Dream

You often hear about marketing for children.

Bright colors, favorite characters and celebrities adorning boxes and fun names all made so children beg their parents to buy them something.

Children and husbands that is.

The following conversation took place last night:

Andy:  OOO, honey, when you go to Meijer, can you get me Fastball Flakes?

Me:  Are you serious?

Andy:  YES!  I need them.

Me:  Ok, I'll get you Fastball Flakes.

Andy:  Oh!  There's a t-shirt too!  Buy me that too.

Me:  Seriously?  There's a t-shirt?

Andy:  Yes.  At Meijer.  I need it.  Buy it for me.  Loooooove you.

You win, Marketing Machine.  You win.

The Kepler Track

After we finished the Routeburn Track, we spent a night in civilization then immediately set out for the Kepler Track.

As we awoke in Te Anau and walked to the bus stop to catch our shuttle, we saw a rainbow over the lake.

Funny enough, the rainbow basically shows our hiking route.  It's a loop that  begins near the left edge of the rainbow, continues out to about the right edge of the rainbow and then loops back to the start.

We actually did the track in reverse from what most people choose. There is a steep portion of the track and we decided it would be easier on Andy's knee to go up rather than down the more treacherous part.  This meant we had a longer first day of about 14 miles, but with an early start and a gradual incline, it wasn't difficult.

Crossing the swing bridge at Rainbow Reach

The Big Slip

We planned to take our hike slow and make a few stops for lunch and snacks.  We attempted to do this, but the sand flies were out in full force.  So we made great time getting to the Iris Burn hut, where we promptly took refuge from the bugs.

If I have one regret, it's that we went to bed and didn't try to see a Kiwi.  They are in the area, and another man in our hut went out at night and was able to see one.  They are shy nocturnal birds, but if you stand still they will come over, sniff your shoes and hang out for a bit.  Instead, we got a good night's sleep in preparation for a steep climb the next day.

How steep?

97 switchbacks steep.

It was probably the most difficult part of our entire hiking experience in New Zealand, but handsome rewards in the form of incredible views awaited us at the top.

A view of the trail ahead.

Andy leads the way

That hut on the ridge in the distance is our first resting point

Stairway to Heaven

Those stairs were like torture to my legs after tackling all those switchbacks. When we finally reached the hut to rest, my thighs were shaking. Here's the elevation chart for more of an insight into our morning:

That was a 3000 foot elevation gain to start our day.  After a rest at the Hanging Valley shelter, we continued onward towards Luxmore.

The trail along the ridge line.

Two other hikers the size of ants hiking on the ridge line

Andy discovers New Zealand

The hike went pretty quickly thanks to the views.  Finally, we had Luxmore in sight.

We planned to wake up early the next morning, so we quickly explored the Luxmore caves and then settled in for the night.  We arose with the sun the next morning.

Sunrise out the window of Luxmore Hut

Hitting the old dusty trail

Clouds filling the valley

After a few short hours, we reached the shoreline and our end was in sight.

On that day's descent, Andy had developed a few blisters and decided to give his 5 year old hiking shoes the boot (pun intended).

We then boarded the bus for Queenstown.

Where they promptly set off fireworks to congratulate us on our hiking success.

Or perhaps it had something to do with it being New Year's Eve.

The fireworks brought a perfect end to our hike and our year. 

Hoping for many more memorable hikes, views and good times in 2012.

At Long Last

Winter finally appears to be coming to Michigan.

It's been a strange season so far.  Temperatures in the 40's instead of 20's, rain instead of snow and sadness instead of happiness for one member of our family.

Until today.

When I woke up this morning, the snow was coming down.  Toby eagerly went outside to enjoy it.

That was about 5 hours ago.



He went from the yard to the dog park to the back deck.

And he'll probably be there until I call him inside. 

If I can find him under all that snow, that is.

The Routeburn Track

We somehow made it to the shuttle on time despite Andy's best efforts to cause a disaster only a couple of hours into our vacation.

We stopped along the way to get a view of where we'd be hiking the next few days.

And then we were dropped at the trailhead.

The Routeburn Track is 32 kilometers long and we decided to tackle the distance in 3 days.  Our first day was about 9 K long and began through the woods and along a river.  Many a swing bridge was encountered.

After an hour, we found a lovely clearing in which to enjoy our afternoon snack.

We then continued the climb upwards to the Routeburn Falls Shelter, our first experience with a New Zealand Great Walks Hut.

The huts were amazing.  Running water, flushing toilets, stoves, seating - it almost felt like we were cheating.

The next morning we had an 11 K hike ahead of us through the alpine area of the track. 

A few K in, we decided to do the spur trail up Conical Hill.  This was a steep, rocky and difficult climb but worth it for the views.

And then there was Andy.  Andy who had this conversation with his doctor before leaving:

A: So you think I'll be okay to hike?
Doc: You should be fine.  Just wear the brace and make sure the trails are solid.  No rock scrambles or anything.

As Andy struggled down the hill he remarked, "My doctor would hate me right now."

Somehow he made it down and we continued our hike.  As we rounded the bend in the mountain, we could see our finish line for the day below.

As we closed in on the hut, the trail wound it's way through the forest.

When we reached the hut, Andy was tired so he took a nap in "God's Chair."

Meanwhile, I watched the trail rangers compete in the Highland Games.

As we had hiked to the hut, a ranger passed us and filled us in on the games.  The Routeburn track actually crosses through two different National Parks.  On the 3rd day after Christmas, the rangers from each park meet at Mackenzie Hut and compete in various events like shot put, hammer toss and golf.  It was entertaining to view after a day of hiking.

The next morning brought our first bout of clouds and mist as we descended the 12 K to the end of the trail.

We had one night of rest before we would begin our next Great Walk and decided to relax in our favorite way.