Monday, May 28, 2012

a little planning

Our Itinerary 



With summer fast approaching, I know my mom and I will begin planning our Australia/New Zealand vacation.  I keep thinking about how I don't get a big vacation this summer but it's OK because I get a really big vacation in 7 months.  I'm certainly OK with that.

I've been looking at shore excursions a little bit and I get more and more excited each time I look at them.  We have booked a few excursions the other day.  In Dunedin, we booked an excursion to see the penguins....as soon as I saw the description, I knew that was the one we had to book!  In Tauranga (Rotorua), we are doing an excursion called Hell's Gate & Rotorua Highlights.  It includes going to Hell's Gate Geothermal Reserve.  The description of the excursion sounded interesting.  We shall see.  Then in Auckland, we are doing an excursion on the America's Cup yacht.  We've heard good things about it.  There are a few other ports that either don't have excursions available yet for us to book or we haven't decided which excursion to choose.

We did have a change in our itinerary that we were informed of last week.  Apparently Christchurch is not allowing any ships to dock there the remainder of the year, so we will be docking in Akaroa instead.  It's 75 kilometers from Christchurch and apparently the same types of excursions are available but since they never had available excursions shown from that port, I'm not sure what types of excursions will be available.  

We've also booked all of our airfare.  We've got a bunch of different legs of the trip BUT almost the whole time we will be in business or first class, thanks to many many air miles.  We have one flight that is no longer than 4 hours in coach, so I think I will probably manage just fine :)  We have several 10+ hour flights.  I've only been one flight that has been that long, so hopefully I'll be OK.  I can usually sleep on flights and it shouldn't be a problem seeing as how we will have lay down seats most of the time.  We skip a day in there on the way over and then on the way back, our day is like 48 hours long and seems like it's going to last forever.

We've got our hotel booked in Sydney.  Thanks to Capital One Rewards, we were able to book one night before leaving on the cruise using points.  To book the hotel after the cruise, we weren't able to use points but we wanted to stay at the same place, Shangri-La.  We also have to overnight in Shanghai on our way to Sydney.  My mom looked and looked for a good place and finally came up with a nice hotel that had good reviews so she was able to book that using Capital One Rewards.

So, things are coming together and I know it will be here before we know it.  Now if I can just manage to get through the next 4 days of school, then I'll be another year closer to retirement!!! :)  I really don't view teaching that way...I do love it, but it's been a tough year and I will be glad when it is over!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

New Friends

Today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner.  I've linked up with Kelly a handful of times and I felt like this one was totally a great idea.  It's new friends day.  Who doesn't love having friends...good, honest, genuine friends?   I'm a little more on the reserved side.  I initially started this blog a few years ago to document my traveling adventures which is a huge passion of mine.  I was born and raised in Texas and went to college in Arkansas.  I spent 3 summer working at Sky Ranch during college which became a huge part of my life.  I got to lead young girls to Christ...such an awesome experience.  There are a few girls that I will never forget that still hold a special place in my heart.    

A few more things about me.....

1.  I'm a Dallas area kindergarten teacher about to finish my 9th year.  Most people's jaw drops when I tell them I have been teaching that long.  If you were to see me on the street or at the mall, you would easily guess that I was fresh out of high school or quite possibly still in high school.  I just have the young genes which I will certainly appreciate later in life.  I love kids and have a passion for them.  I don't have any of my own, but I am honored to be an honorary aunt to a few precious children.  I love them and would do anything to help them or their parents out.

2.  I LOVE to travel!  When I'm not teaching, I am usually traveling.  I go on at least one big trip each year.  Most of the time I take a small trip or two in between.  A few of my favorite places I have traveled to include Alaska (most beautiful place in the US), Colorado (close second), NYC, Italy, and other parts of Europe.  My next big adventure is to Australia and New Zealand.  I love to travel with my friends and my mom is my favorite travel buddy.

3.  I love being outdoors any chance I get.  I don't get too many chances around here because I usually have free time in the summers and Texas is notorious for the hot summers where the pools are too hot to swim in.  So I tend to get out when it is bearable and make due until I go on vacation.

4.  Photography is another huge passion of mine.  I haven't done many photo shoots lately until this evening.  I did a newborn shoot with Landree and she rocked!  I got some great pictures of her before she got fussy.  She just wanted her mama to hold her.  Last summer I entered two photos into the State Fair of Texas photography contest and places in both categories that I submitted the pictures in.  I'm hoping to get back into photography soon and I would say this summer but outdoor photography and Texas heat to mix.

5.  I like to think of myself as a genuinely kind person but sometimes quiet and reserved.  I have a few friends that could tell you otherwise about the quiet and reserved.  They've known me for quite sometime and they know that I am only quiet upon first meeting.  I'm the kind of person who is always willing to help out and wants everyone to be happy.  I also must add that I am a follower of Christ.  He is my everything and my rock!  Without Him I am nothing.  I am eternally grateful for my college years in Arkansas where I met some of my best friends.

I'd love to meet some people in the area or even across the country that have common interests.  I have a good base of friends around here, mostly from college and some true friends from work that I have gotten to know very well over the last 4 years.  Very few that actually blog.  They don't get it and don't have time for it. But it's something I love doing.  Hopefully I'll meet some fun new genuine people!