Gyms & COVID-19

We have to close our gym! What can we do about our lease obligations? What about income?

1.       Quickly consider alternative/home-based workouts. Sometimes necessity has to be the mother of invention. Consider setting up a “virtual gym” for your members who may also be stuck at home because of school closings, work closings, etc. If you can still actually access your gym (i.e., you are not under a “shelter in place” order), set up a camera and do a Live Stream. Perhaps do it outside! (Maybe cajole your members outside, too!) Consider loaning out some of your equipment for the duration of any closing (keep a very good list of who took what, of course!) Maybe come up with “prizes” (case of Corona, anyone?) for members who can show that they kept up with their workouts – what about a dedicated “hashtag” related to your gym on social media? How about a prize for the biggest [weight loss/bicep increase/squat hold] differential during your shutdown? This is likely to be your best bet to keep your income flowing – keep your members happy and keep them working out. Your head too full to come up with workouts on your own? Always remember that Crossfit® HQ has your back 😊 www.crossfit.com/workout/

2.       Consider novel payment options. Perhaps, as an alternative to suspending monthly memberships, give your members the option to continue to pay while you “add more time onto” the “end” of their memberships. At our gym, we don’t have “punch cards,” we have drop-in fees (highest $), monthly fees (worthwhile if you’re coming more than once a week), and then annualized fees, paid monthly (lowest rate by far). When given the option today, annualized members seem overwhelmingly to be choosing not to suspend. As Crossfit members, we love our affiliates – give your members choices to help you that are still beneficial to them. Keeping payments flowing during the crisis should be your main goal – give something in the future to smooth your situation now. Even the promise of a Mexico-inspired (Corona, remember?) member party at the end of all this will keep community spirits up.

3.       Keep updated on your mayor’s proclamations. For example, as I write this, our local mayor and two others in different states’ cities (found in a cursory Google search) are stating that landlords cannot penalize tenants (including commercial tenants) that are unable to make their rent during the pandemic. Be sure you understand what might be available to you, and what you need to do to avail yourself of it. This might also include checking out any tenant organizations that cover commercial leases, as well as your local small business organizations. While it might seem unpalatable to take out a loan due to this situation, it is a better choice than to get behind on your obligations – things inevitably wind up snowballing.

4.       Read your lease. In general, to get a break as a tenant, you’d need to prove that either (i) your obligations under the lease have “substantially changed” so that it’s impossible to perform the lease (deeming the lease “frustrated”); or (ii) that a global pandemic like COVID-19 fits under a “force majeure” boilerplate in your lease.

Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, most leases do not have protections like this. Most (if not all) leases are drafted by the landlord. If you didn’t involve an attorney in your lease negotiation, it’s virtually guaranteed that your contract is “silent” on protections for you as a tenant. Moreover, in general, commercial leases require damage/destruction to the premises itself for rent suspension to be triggered under (i) in the above paragraph – and a pandemic doesn’t fit the bill.

What about (ii), force majeure? Force Majeure provisions address “Acts of God” – events “beyond the reasonable control of a party” that prevent that party from performing their contractual obligations. A typical “Act of God” is a hurricane, earthquake, or a flood.

 Sadly, it’s important to note that, even if a contract has a force majeure clause, nearly all of them exempt ”monetary obligations” (such as rent payments). But, it can’t hurt to take a look: If your contract has one, and it includes language that says “including, but not limited to…” then perhaps you can suspend your performance (in the case of a lease, this would be paying rent) until you can re-open your doors. However, this doesn’t actually excuse your payments . . . it just allows you to push your payment forward by the amount of time it takes to right yourself (or for the number of days stated in the contract – some state that you can push your obligations forward, for example, “the lesser of” the amount of time that it takes to right yourself, or [10] days).

As an aside, if you do happen to find a force majeure clause in a contract, also know that an Act of God clause can’t protect non-performance if the force majeure event occurs after the delayed performance; there are also always very specific notice provisions. 

If you’re actually planning to just throw up your hands and default on your contractual obligations, it really is strongly advisable not to do this. If your lease has an “attorneys’ fees” clause (nearly all of them do), it will cost your landlord nothing to sue you if/when they win – you’ll be paying all their fees and court costs. And… since you have your lease out… definitely check for things like: (i) acceleration clauses (which state if you are ever late, the entirety of the lease term’s payments are due immediately); (ii) attorneys’ fees clauses; (iii) penalties/interest clauses; (iv) jurisdiction clauses (did you agree to an inconvenient forum, and law that isn’t tenant-friendly?); (v) personal guarantee clauses (where, even if you’re incorporated, you are personally liable for the payments – a/k/a the “lose your house” clause); (vi) etc.

5.       Don’t forget to look at your insurance. While Force Majeure provisions, in general, allow a party to suspend performance until a catastrophic event is over, what covers loss of business due to general fear, governmental direction to engage in “social distancing,” or orders to shelter in place/stay home? This will severely impact many “brick and mortar” businesses, such as bars, event venues, restaurants, theaters, and, of course, gyms.

While some business insurance/business interruption policies cover disruptions, in general, they cover loss of earnings due to an ‘insured peril,’ which also require property damage. While Contingent Business Interruption (CBI) insurance is generally broader, you would have needed “Back to the Future” foresight to add this rider onto your business interruption insurance before the occurrence. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, after the global outbreak of SARS in 2002-2003, many insurers have excluded viral outbreaks from standard business interruption policies, and coverage may only be procured through special endorsements/riders purchased at the time of coverage. (In other words – it’s too late now, sorry ☹ )

In sum, while insurance covering non-nature-related “interruptions to business” (such as strikes, lockouts, or down utilities) can compensate both parties during the period at issue, it’s unlikely (without physical loss or property damage) that business interruption and other current forms of coverage will compensate either landlords or tenants for loss of business or rent merely because the government mandates that potential customers stay home.

6.       Throw yourself on the mercy of the courts? Since your lease is likely silent on force majeure, and your insurance likely doesn’t call out “COVID-19” directly, if your landlord sues you, the courts in your jurisdiction will determine whether you win based on the foreseeability of the event and the jurisdiction’s statutes/ precedents. But don’t hold your breath. For example, in an insurance case where an event organizer intended to lease space at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan shortly after 9/11, but the City of New York decided to utilize the Javits Center as an operational hub and therefore “ordered” it closed to non-first responder personnel, the courts held that the event organizer’s insurance only covered “direct physical loss or damage,” not loss of business. Penton Media, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Insurance Co., 245 F. App’x 495, No. 06-4215 (2007).

Be safe – and live up to your side of contracts, even if you need to pay everyone a little versus paying nothing. If you wind up in court, while I can’t guarantee it, this is likely to be looked at more favorably than just throwing up your hands and hiding your head in the sand(bags).

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content are for general informational purposes only.  This article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.  No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of this article without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.  Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation.  This article does not create an attorney-client relationship. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents are hereby expressly disclaimed. This article is provided AS IS; no representations are made that it is error-free.

5k Training Tips for Beginning Runners on a Busy Schedule by Julie Morris

We’re lucky enough to have another post by Coach Julie! You may remember our first post by Coach Julie on Stress Management, which you can re-read HERE. Today, she’s talking training tips to get you on the road to your first 5k!

Running is a fantastic way to keep in shape, but it can be a tricky activity to pin down when you’re a beginner. Not only do you have to figure out how to stay safe and make sure your body is well taken care of, you also have to find time to get in the amount of running that’s right for you. Busy professionals sometimes have a difficult time with this, especially when they decide they want to start training for a 5K race. Time management is important, but fortunately there are several simple things you can do to fit in some training.

Planning wisely is crucial, since your body needs time to cool down and recover. When you have a busy schedule, it’s important to prepare for every aspect of your workout, including the downtime. It’s also a good idea to start out slowly, which will allow you to focus on your body’s strengths and work on your weaknesses without risk of injury. And you’ll also need the right gear, including a fitness tracker, to help monitor your progress.

Here are a few tips on how to start training as a 5K runner when you have a busy schedule.

Use tech to your advantage

Technology can be extremely useful for beginners who want to figure out the best way to start training. Fitness trackers, apps, and smart watches are great tools to help you keep track of your progress, your health, and even the amount of calories you’re burning, meaning you’ll be using your time wisely each time you go for a run. They can even act as motivation and can help to keep you safe; for example, the latest model of Apple’s smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 5, includes features like an electrocardiogram and has an SOS feature if you should find yourself in trouble while on a run. Meanwhile, the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch delivers smooth performance and has a battery-saving mode for longer battery life. (Note from Sandy: I happen to have a Withings Steel HR smartwatch, and I LOVE IT. It has fantastic performance, is easy to use, and the battery lasts for weeks! It also “looks like a watch” which to me is a huge benefit. I have the black face/rose gold model, so even the black “notification” screen looks just like a regular watchface unless a notification is coming through. Because I had the initial generation of this watch, which had a flaw, they sent me the Withings SmartScale as an “apology” (and a new watch) – so that also links into the app. It doesn’t do all the fancy “close your rings” stuff that an Apple smart watch does, but because it actually looks like a classy non-digital, non-“smartwatch” watch, I’m willing to forego some of those “bells and whistles.” Links not tied into any sort of affiliate deal, btw.)

Focus on your recovery

It’s essential to make sure your body can recover after each run, especially as you start to train and are running more often. Staying hydrated and waiting at least three hours after eating before you go for a run are great tips, and you should also ice your muscles to keep soreness at bay. Keep your diet in mind as well; eating the right foods like bananas and plain yogurt can help you keep your body on track and will boost your energy and fuel your muscles. Make sure you integrate those foods into your daily routine; bring your own snacks to work so you won’t have to rely on unhealthy vending items, and start doing meal prep for the week so you can save time.

Come prepared

Running and training for marathons can be time-consuming activities, especially if you don’t have the right equipment beforehand. Come prepared with the right clothing, shoes, and other gear so you can get through the run without any distractions or issues. If you’re going to be a serious runner, it’s a good idea to choose shoes for your foot type (narrow or wide). Break them in beforehand, as well. Also, keep in mind that outside factors can affect your run, such as weather and terrain.

Run when you can

When you’re a busy professional, sometimes you have to seize the opportunity to run whenever you can. This might mean going out for a jog on your lunch break, or waking up earlier than normal to run, so think about the option that makes the most sense for you. Some people don’t do well with a routine that doesn’t have a schedule attached to it, but when you’re busy, sometimes you have to learn to work around things a little.

Training to be a 5K runner is a lot of hard work, but it can be very rewarding at the same time. By utilizing the tools at your disposal, you can ensure that you’re able to keep your body safe and in great shape as you go. Keep comfort in mind as much as possible so you won’t cut down on your run time with aches and pains.

Julie Morris is a Life and Career Coach, and can be found at JulieMorris.Org.

The New Normal

I mentioned in my previous post that we had met with Michael Broffman at the Pine Street Clinic to get our protocol during the “cyberknife” treatment and as an overview for what we need to think about not only at Sanoviv, but also into the future. Pine Street Clinic has specialized in evidence-based integrative medicine since 1982. These are my notes from that meeting, which I think are incredibly instructive for the “New Normal After Cancer.”

Broffman advised us to treat our month at Sanoviv as a place to get into a routine….to learn the curriculum and then carry it back in a “return home” program. He strongly suggested sticking with Sanoviv’s meal program – mostly vegetarian with low net carbs. He said that our follow-on plan should involve committing to, for 24 months after returning from Sanoviv, eliminating red meat, pork, lamb, etc. (whether or not organic/grass fed). Basically to stick with chicken (if 100% sustainably sourced), eggs (same), and seafood (ditto). He advised us to eat what we have in the freezer now (which we are – we are calling these two weeks our MeatFest(TM)!) 😉

Broffman reiterated that the Quantity that we should consume is directly related to Fitness. So, on any day we’re “desk bound,” we need to stay Vegan on that day. If we’re doing Strength work, we can have some animal protein. (There’s more below about “Fitness.”) That said, the human animal is an omnivore, and needs meat. Just not as much as the “now typical” American diet gives it — especially as most “so-called meat” is produced by BigFarm and contains the stress of animals “engineered” to get as fat as possible in record time . . . who live in terrible conditions, are fed on suboptimal feed, and are not treated as sentient beings.

Vitamin C IV treatment: This is something that is done at Sanoviv, and we are to get hubby’s calculated Vitamin C blood saturation. How this apparently works is that your target saturation is 350 nanograms/milliliter. So each time you do the IV, they will test to see how much they have to give you to get you to this ultimate saturation. If you get the IV and afterwards you’re only up to 150, next time they will give you more, until they know exactly what it takes to get you to 350 nanograms/milliliter. We are to bring that back, and then continue with this protocol.

Vitamin C + Doxycycline: There have been a number of published protocols of adding doxycycline (pills) during the Vitamin C IV, to deal with cancer stem cells. It has recently been shown that, like heart stem cells, bone stem cells, etc. there are actually cancer stem cells. Unfortunately, they are not responsive to chemotherapy. If you happen to hit one with radiation or cut one out with surgery then it’s gone – but the only systemic treatment for cancer (chemo) doesn’t kill them. Unfortunately, at some point the cancer stem cells “wake up, look around” and realize that there is no cancer in the body – and then busily start to make it. Vitamin C plus doxycycline is the latest leading edge fight against cancer stem cells. Although doxycycline wipes our your gut biome, etc., it’s a trade off that could be worth it, in the short term, as the Vitamin C IV taken with doxycycline is showing in trials to kill the cancer stem cells. Unfortunately you can’t just “get doxycycline over the counter” in the U.S., so if we are able to obtain any in an international pharmacy we should go for it – otherwise, try to see if the doctor at Sanoviv will add this to the Vitamin C IV protocol.

OM85 (“Broncho-vaxom”): This is an immunostimulant used with young children and old folks basically everywhere BUT the United States for lung issues. It boosts the immune system, working to increase a person’s natural defenses against a variety of respiratory pathogens. It is an oral treatment consisting of eight different strains of (dead) bacteria, so it sort of works like a vaccine to create an immune response in the lungs. There have been a LOT of papers written about it recently, in relation to potential uses in lung cancer, and OM85 is likely over-the-counter in Mexico. About a decade ago, an Italian cancer doctor published that 7.5 mg/day (10 days on, a month off, for 3 months) worked as a treatment for lung cancers. (NOTE: I did some internet sleuthing to try to find the article and link it, but without the name, came to a dead end.)

Beating Cancer

              The way to look at the whole “post-cancer” situation is as follows. Think of a timeline:

—————X->->->——————–Y->->->->—————–

X is where your immune system is. Y is where the cancer is. Each is moving forward, but if you can’t close the gap, you’re never actually well. “Catching up” is not the same as “Caught up.” This is the biology of how things work.

Western medicine basically says “We will buy you time, as you catch up.” In other words, they knock out the Y with, say, chemo. The problem is, that the chemo also sets your immune system (the X) back. The issue is that Western medicine “attacks.” And “Attacking” the disease is not the same as “Preventing” the disease.

Alternative therapies try to narrow the gap. The whole idea is to get the X in FRONT of the Y. The immune system must be “competitive” and ready for anything, not always behind and just working hard to catch up.

And this means lifestyle changes.

Post-cancer life must be organized around the strategy of narrowing the gap between X and Y, with the hope of jumping the X in front of the Y. And always remember that — while “giving up” things that are suboptimal for health – having good health is not a punishment. All the suggestions here might not be what you are doing now – or might mean not doing what you “want to do” with regard to eating, drinking, exercise and the like – but, post-cancer, one must persist for at least the next couple of years along this strategy, to stay in “synch” with the idea of closing the gap between the immune system and what it’s fighting . . . and then (hopefully) getting in front of it.

The Abscopal Effect:

The Abscopal Effect has been proven in trials and double-blind studies. It is a combination of radiation and immunotherapy wherein treating a cancer causes untreated tumors to disappear or shrink concurrently, outside the scope of the treatment. This has particularly been seen when Stereotactic Radiosurgery (“SRS” or “cyberknife”) treatments are the “radiation” part of the equation.

Cyberknife plus Immunotherapy leads to a systemwide immune response. The question is how to make this happen. Western medicine is trying to use various methods:

a.           CAR T Cells: In this protocol, T-cells (“fighter” cells) are taken out of the patient’s body and modified to produce specific structures called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Basically, they take your T-cells and expose them to your cancer, rewarding them for attacking that cancer. Then these fighters are grown and re-injected in the 100s of millions back into you. This has led to the most durable remissions.

b.           USC/Victor Longo: This is the fasting program that I discussed in my previous blog. It is basically a three-day water fast. In trials, what happens is this: During the 1st day, your body fights you (“Eat, Eat, EAT you IDIOT, I’m HUNGRY!”). On the 2nd day, your body’s “cleaner” cells cleans up anything that they see that is “easy to clean up,” because they don’t have any digesting, etc. to do. Then, the third day is the charm. On the third day, all the easily-cleaned things are cleaned up, there’s still no digestion going on, and so your “cleaner cells” go back over everything, and start going after older immune cells, terminating them. Think of it this way:

Cancer Cell

—X1—>—X2—->—X3—>—X4—>—X5—>—X6—>

In the example above, the T cells (X1 to X6) flow past the cancer cell. T-cell X5 is a month or so old, and a few days from being terminated by the body. X4 is only a day old. X4 is a “new, aggressive fighter.” X4 says to X5, which has passed the cancer by, “Hey, isn’t that a suspicious cell?” The X5 cell says “Yeah Sonny, I see it, but it’s a big body out there, and we have other things to do. We’ll attack it later.” But then it doesn’t. Since the T-cells speak to one another, the X4 has just “learned” from the X5 that it’s “not that important” to attack the cancer cell.

In the fasting protocol (and actually also the trained CAR T-Cells mentioned above), old cells like X5 are wiped out – so the newbie X4 cell doesn’t learn to “not attack” the cancer cell (or, in the CAR T-cell protocol, is specifically taught TO attack that cell). This means that the new T-cells work more effectively against the cancer.

While the USC/Longo/3 day fast protocol DOES drop your immunity a bit, the next day, when you start eating again, the trials have shown an unprecedented reboot of the T-cells and their ability and desire to fight the cancer.

There is also a “5 day fast-mimicking diet” for folks who just won’t do a 3-day water fast. But as my hubby did it during chemo, and the actual 3 day total fast protocol is the one being shown to have the best effect, we should presume that this becomes part of our long-term protocol.

USC/Longo recommends that every day you have a 14-hour interval of not eating/drinking (except water). While some are pushing this to 16 hours (in other words, an 8-hour eating “window”), the studies have been done on the 14 hour interval. Since Sanoviv operates on this schedule, this needs to be the “after Sanoviv” protocol for eating/drinking. THEN, every week, one day a week, have breakfast, then do a 24-hour water fast until the next breakfast. Just pick a day and do it. (Or dinner to dinner – whatever.) Finally, every 7-10 weeks, do the full 3-day protocol. This is what the research shows is optimal for killing the most cancer cells and revitalizing T-cells to their “fighting best.” Just pick the days, put them on the calendar, and get them done.

In sum: 14 hour daily interval of no eating, no drinking except water (or you can see it as a “10 hour eating window”). One day a week, eat a meal (e.g., breakfast), then just water to the same meal (e.g., breakfast) 24 hours later. Once every 7-10 weeks, full 3 day water fast.  

While the Abscopal Effect was incredibly important to try to obtain, unfortunately, as the SRS treatment was being done via our traditional Western medical situation, the Chief was unable to get the permissions to even do a “trial of 1” using the SRS with one of the additions above. Just not enough time to get it “through the system.” If, however, someone reading this is interested, the interventional radiologist Dr. Jeanne Stryker in Solana Beach does SRS/cyberknife plus immune therapy using either Keytruda or Optivo.

Supplements: Broffman prescribed a host of supplements for the SRS (as he had during chemo). We will receive an abbreviated protocol for the time that we’re at Sanoviv and when we return, he will re-evaluate. I would say what was prescribed, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that. If you’re in a situation where you want to explore ways to use integrative medicine for fighting what ails you or just reaching optimal health, please consider contacting Broffman at Pine Street. He has clients internationally, and in my opinion (as your first visit is about 90 minutes) is incredibly inexpensive for what you get ($500 for the first consultation and then any follow-on supplement changes, etc. – if your situation changes drastically and you need another full consultation, $400 for each). And – yes – they take plastic.

Fitness:

a.           Strength. Hubby needs to be doing strength work at least 30 minutes, 2x/week. Broffman likes the “Super Slow” protocol, which uses ARX equipment. Unfortunately, this is only available in San Francisco and Emeryville. There is a place in Mill Valley that uses MRX equipment, the pre-ARX equipment. ARX hasn’t caught on so much, because you have to lease it – you can’t own it like MRX. “Super Slow” was originally proposed by Arnold Schwartzenegger – i.e., having resistance in both parts of a lift. By way of example, pressing up in a bench press, but having another person there that is then “pulling up” on the bar when you’re trying to put it back down to your chest. See HERE for example. Hubby needs to concentrate on putting mass on, which is active tissue that will work for you, versus fat – and especially “toxic fat” – which works against you.

b.           Walking. At least one day a month of “long slow distance” walking is required. This means walking, for example, from home to San Francisco, and taking the ferry back. This should take a few hours. This will become a meditation – you “stop talking in your head” and just walk. Hubby is to keep doing the “quicker” (30 minutes) or “mid-range” (hills) daily, but needs to incorporate a long-slow distance once a month too upon returning from Sanoviv. As he is currently on disability, this needs to be his “work.”

c.           Swimming. Broffman particularly recommends taking a “holistic swimming” class. This is run by Russ Monsell in Tiburon of DynamicVitality.com on Tuesdays – you show up with money, a bathing suit, and a towel and he will run you through the basic/beginner class. The idea is that swimming is very helpful to your immune system, but ONLY if you’re not constantly fighting it. We are not “meant to” live in the water, and our system knows it, so is constantly, in the background, “fighting” it. The idea is to develop breathing and stroke dynamics that mimic what a creature that really lives in the water will do. No neck movement – just roll to breathe – low kicking – etc. This has been proven to immensely improve the immune system; however, it is relaxing at an immune level only if you are not defensive. You must “swim like a marine mammal” not like a “land mammal.” Your body has to think “I live here in the water.” Swim for meditative cardio.

d.           Baseline. Upon returning from Sanoviv, we are to get a baseline of skeletal muscle, fat (brown v white), etc. The company that does this, BodySpec, uses a modified DEXA scan. It is $45, and will give you metrics that you can then try to improve upon. It is on Broadway in San Francisco. They also have a mobile van that they take out sometimes, but the best metrics in the Bay Area are from this company.

The idea here is to have a baseline so that you can see as you make yourself more competitive with the disease – as you “catch” the X “up to” the Y, with the goal of “jumping” it.

Stress Reduction:

This is another mandated piece.

a.           Meditation. Broffman particularly likes the 10 day meditation routine retreat offered free worldwide from DHAMMA.org. The closest to us is in Yosemite in North Fork. It is the same program worldwide, just different languages. At the retreat, you are introduced to the “technology” of meditating. It is a silent retreat, Vipasenna style. It is an extremely popular program, however, so getting on their list is important. They will send out when the enrollment will “open” for the program, and it is full with a long waiting list 2 hours later.

                             Another suggestion locally is the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center. On Saturdays, they are open to the public. They are similar to Green Gulch, but ONLY meditation (no pottery, tea classes, gardening, etc.) It’s the standard: meditation, sitting, dharma talk, soup and salad. A very pretty place, up in Sonoma, acres of farmland. The owner has run the center for decades with his wife and his kids, some of whom are monks there.

Taking A Deeper Step, and Changing the Narrative.

After you try a few of these out, your responsibility will be to figure out “What’s the next deeper step after this for me?” Just go with whatever sounds intriguing, but with the goal of “Changing the Narrative.” By way of example, there is a group in Santa Cruz called 1440 Multiversity. 1440 is the number of minutes in a day. They have a protocol for “optimizing” the minutes. However, he finds it stressful to think of it this way – as in “don’t waste any minute!” Perhaps instead, think of it as how many hours you have in a week – block out when you’re going to be eating, sleeping, walking, fasting, yoga, meditating, whatever – and then calendar, and stick to it like it’s your job, to be sure that you “do them all” and don’t let anything slide, at least for the next 24 months. This often happens. You need to keep the goal in mind of “jumping the Y” – in other words, to get your whole “being” in “front of” the cancer instead of trying to catch up, or doing things that are suboptimal for the best health, which sets you back as your body rids itself of whatever you just did. (You know, the fun things like drinking wine and eating red meat!)

Changing The Narrative:  

If you change any aspect of an adverse story, it will affect your immune system. (Example: If you address what’s behind PTSD to help the body/mind to stop fighting that, the body can then move on to fight other things.) Changing the narrative affects the immune system and your entire micro-environment. And chronic stress (caused by thoughts or “dwelling on an unproductive narrative”) are particularly bad.

              So how do you get a New Story? It has been clinically proven that Chemistry follows Thoughts . Stressful thoughts -> Stressful chemistry -> Bad things happen. Change the story? Change the chemistry.

              Psychoactive plants: While meditation practice can be helpful, the biggest jump start that is being trialed now is using psychoactive plants/chemicals. Johns Hopkins is currently the leading researcher in this area, and they are comparing synthetic versions of chemicals (psilocybin, LSD, iowaska) with the “plant” versions. The reason that using a synthetic version is preferred is (a) you can be absolutely positive about the dose and (b) you don’t denude the planet of all these plants. The downside is the plants may have some element in them that you miss in the synthesized version. There are some iowaska farms now, but not a lot. So to optimize, you have to go synthetic.

              There was a researcher from Johns Hopkins recently who spoke in Mill Valley at a tiny facility and it overflowed at 400 people. He stated that they have now (a) actually quantified the “mystical experience” scientifically and (b) the dose is over 80% effective in helping people shift their internal narratives by actually having a “mystical experience.” He laid out the tenets of what a “mystical experience” is, and they then trialed whether folks were having them or not. They found that 25 mg of Ketamine produced a “mystical experience” 80% of the time. This is the only legal drug – and of course, it’s just another tool. This might be something to consider around September.

How can you tell if you’re making progress?

One of the best ways is outside observation. You want to aim for “invisibility.” You want to create an “unrecognizable person” compared to the person that harbored an environment that led to the cancer. Also think of Stoicism, and books like Essentialism — You want to stop expending energy unless it is absolutely required of you. Spending that energy means that you can’t spend it on other things (like healing).

How do you “become unrecognizable”? Imagine that there is an “A” list and a “B” list of your entire life. The “A” list contains every single experience you’ve had; the complete set of all life experiences and occurrences. It includes birth, marriage(s – for my hubby), schools, and all the genomics and epigenetics that led to cancer – plus having cancer. To create the “B” list, you just want to take things from the “A” list, but as few as possible. Let the rest go. Stop giving energy to them, give them up, and get them out of your “story.”

Let’s say that means that you bring over 3 of the 10 things that led your body to express the cancer. That’s still going to be okay – because it took all 10 to get there. The idea here is to “shed” the things from the “A” list that aren’t leading to optimal health. Remember to just think “Change is good,” even if you don’t know what that change looks like from where you’re standing in the Present.

Winter will be key. It is the season of the bladder and kidney. So this is all prep for that. Even though there is no “bladder organ” after the surgery, there is a re-built one, and there are 57 points on the bladder channel and meridian that are still active. Those come into their season in winter. So this all needs to be teed up for then.

Sleep:

This is awkward, as, with the neobladder, one has to empty the bladder every two hours (it’s not “bladder material” so if it overstretches, it doesn’t bounce back). What about substances to “Help” you sleep? When asking about using THC/CBD, we were reminded that, while THC improves the “sleep latency” (i.e., the time to fall asleep is shortened), it disrupts the actual sleep cycle. So you don’t get the same restorative/deep sleep. CBD does NOT do this. The goal here is to optimize the REM cycle. Moreover, keeping track is important, because you need to quantify to be able to see what’s working and what’s not. Perhaps find an app, or a sensor, but it is important to really see how sleep is going, and then to address issues. We’re reminded that the temperature of the room for sleep should be low 60s at the highest, and that dropping by 2 degrees F kicks sleep in. No electronics/TV, take some time on getting into bed to “review the day” and get ready to sleep – basically, have a sleep routine.

              There have been studies that show that 2 hours before you “know that an alarm will go off,” you stop having quality sleep. However, if you tell someone that you will wake them up “some time” during the night (not giving them an exact time), they NEVER have REM sleep. As such, the 2 hour “alarm” to get up to void the bladder is not optimal, but it’s necessary. Reminded to ensure that it doesn’t affect my sleep. (NOTE: It usually doesn’t, but if hubby doesn’t get it right off, it WILL wake me up, and then I have to get out of bed. And hence those 4 a.m. Facebook and Instagram posts!)

So, there you go – those are my notes from our second visit to Pine Street. I also have notes from our first visit, but they’re really geared towards the particular type of cancer we were facing (as well as the phased protocol for dealing with chemotherapy), so I thought that these ones might be more universally interesting. As a final tidbit, I’d like to suggest another podcast listen: it’s 5 Ways To Heal Yourself With Dr. Kelly Turner from The mindbodygreen Podcast.

Any questions?

The Cancer Caregiver Life

In just over a week, my husband and I will be going to The Sanoviv Medical Institute for three weeks. I will be updating F&F (friends and family) via this blog on what goes on there. If you just happened upon this blog because you’re searching at 3:00 a.m. for the blogs of other cancer caregivers – well, that’s been me for a year. This is sort of a “precursor” blog to the set of Sanoviv blog posts that will follow – but here’s a bit about my journey.

For more information I can recommend a lot of books and medical articles, but The Emperor of All Maladies is fascinating as the “history” of cancer, going back to ancient Egypt.

We found out about my husband’s bladder cancer about this time last year. I won’t go into the details, but he had been having issues that he hadn’t discussed with anyone, so by the time it was discovered, the tumor was big. After we received the Western medicine protocol, I immediately contacted Michael Broffman at the Pine Street Clinic. Broffman has been in the cancer “arena” for decades and so not only has a big list of what specific oncologists “will and will not do” when it comes to supplements, non-Western treatments, etc., he also (if your oncologist is on his “list”) can help you with how to talk to your oncologist about your situation and your potential desire to use integrative treatments.

Unfortunately when I finally “conned” my husband into seeing Broffman, he was too late stage to get into a couple of clinical studies (one in Italy, one in the U.S.) that Broffman was tied into. He gave us a number of “homework assignments,” one of which was to watch the last 1/3 of the video The Science of Fasting (starting right at about 39 minutes) about Valter Longo. (NOTE: Longo now has his whole “schtick” of supplements, etc. – Broffman didn’t recommend them, so I can’t speak about them.)

Broffman explained that during my husband’s chemotherapy, we needed to follow Longo’s fasting protocol (“FMD”), which closes down more “healthy” cells during the chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy’s “job” is to kill any cell in your body that is splitting while you are getting the treatment. So stopping “healthy” cells from splitting is a great idea. The reason that folks lose their hair (by the way, cold caps don’t work, don’t waste your money), get mouth sores, get neuropathy, etc. is because hair/nerve/mouth/stomach cells split often – so if you’re getting chemotherapy when one is splitting, you’ll kill it. Fasting convinces your “healthy” cells that it’s winter – when they should not be splitting so much. But cancer is stupid. (Bwa-ha-ha-ha DIE M***** F*****!!)

Cancer eats sugar and insulin acts as a “power up,” turning it into the Incredible Hulk. (Yes, this is overbroad, but this post can’t be 92 pages). Since this is the case, during chemotherapy in particular, one needs to keep carbohydrates to a minimum. The focus of Broffman’s supplementation involved supplements during the chemotherapy to help with the poisoning, then ones after the chemotherapy to help get the toxins and dead cells out of the body while staying in ketosis, and then ones to “rebuild” before the next chemotherapy cycle.

This involved a very elaborate calendar for me, the Caregiver, containing which supplements to give at what times. It also involved foods that would help. (Osso Good’s AIP-compliant bone broth, with the Chinese herbs already incorporated, was recommended and super helpful.)

The sad thing is that chemotherapy units – now made as comfortable as possible with personal TVs, lounge chairs, acupuncture and social workers – are awash in crappy, high carb food. Everything from “nutrition bars” to ice cream to the beloved Saltine cracker for nausea. The nurses were horrified when my husband would tell them not only that he was fasting, but also that he was coming into chemo on a fast. Everyone else is munching away on ice cream, pizza, cookies, Saltines, or whatever else made them feel better about being hooked up to a gigantic bag of poison for hours and hours. And every munch feeds their cancer.

We had provided the medical articles to our oncologist with respect to the fasting, so he had written in our file that we shouldn’t be “forced to” eat. Broffman had looked our oncologist up in his notes, and explained to us that – while he resembles “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Oncologist” with his spiky hair and vocal fry – the only way to get this particular doctor to agree that we could do what we wanted to do was to provide him with Western Medicine articles that showed that while a protocol (like fasting) might be difficult to do, it actually works. Most articles, in fact, stated that the fasting protocol worked better than anything else that was in trial; however, folks just didn’t stick to it. “Give me that Rocky Road Ice Cream, Ma, I have cancer, I’m on chemo, and feel like trash! And hand me a Saltine while you’re at it.”

I have, quite literally, a novel that I wrote after we saw Broffman, as well as the articles he recommended. If you’re interested in it, let me know in the comments. It talks through the entire Pine Street Clinic visit, and goes into great detail about the Phase I, II, III protocol during chemotherapy. We also re-visited Broffman a month or so ago, and I have another 10 pages of notes from him regarding where we are now.

My husband’s surgeon told him that there was basically “no way” that his bladder could be rebuilt after the surgery, but we did everything that was recommended by Broffman to get the best possible result, and the urologist’s assistant called me during the surgery to tell me that they were, indeed, able to build him an internal bladder. The whole surgery story and me terrorizing the poor intake nurse is for another day.

My husband was cancer-free for six months, then a tumor showed up in each lung. One was in the middle of the inferior lobe on his right side (three lobes on the right side, two on the left). The one in the left lung was (cue Louisiana-accented thoracic surgeon) “Snuggled r’aht up next to his ay-OR-ta” – so – impossible to operate. While the tumor in the right lung could be cut out either by cutting a “wedge” out of his lung or taking the whole lobe, the left tumor couldn’t be dealt with at all.

I asked the surgeon what he’d do and he laughed, saying: “Well, you go to a barber, he’s not gunna tell you not to get your hair cut,” but then we talked through what would happen if we did the “cyberknife” treatment that he was recommending on the left side to the tumor on the right. He said that the only issue would be the inability to biopsy the tumor . . . but in doing the surgery, my hubby would be left with 2/3 of his right lung. We opted to go find out about what “cyberknife” treatment was all about.

After discussion with the Chief of our various options (my new girl crush…), we decided to do SRS (stereotactic radiosurgery) on both tumors. As she reiterated, the downside of not being able to do a biopsy is the inability to see if this is the bladder cancer moving into the lungs, or if it is a “new” cancer (lung cancer), because the SRS obliterates the tumors. SRS is really quite amazing technology – I have a bunch of notes on that, too.

Lung cancer is a tough cancer – I had a friend die of it who had never smoked a day in her life, never lived around smoke, etc. When you tell someone that you have lung cancer, they look down their nose at you as if to say “Well, if you hadn’t smoked 12 packs of cigarettes a day for 10 years, you wouldn’t be in this position.” Just because >75% of lung cancers are in smokers doesn’t mean that it’s 100%. That said, we wouldn’t know whether the cancer was now lung cancer or was just migrating bladder cancer, as we would be blasting the tumors to smitherines.

A friend of mine’s family is tied to Sanoviv; that is how it was originally recommended. I had tried to get my hubby to agree to go to do their cancer-related protocol after his bladder cancer surgery. He had felt that the tests showed him to be ‘cancer free,’ so why spend all that money? As soon as the cancer was back, he agreed to go once the SRS treatment was completed.

We will be at Sanoviv, doing their Cancer Program, from mid-June to mid-July. The program is full-immersion and quite pricey, but we checked out two other integrative cancer treatment hospitals (one in Europe, one in Israel) and in actual fact, this program not only involves less travel but winds up being less expensive than the others we researched. I’ll be going too – a caregiver gets to go for $100/day, which includes all non-treatment related offerings (e.g., meals, the pools, room, etc.). HERE is their general description of what to bring/not bring/etc.

Every day apparently starts with meditation on the cliffside overlooking the ocean, then “grounding” on their chemical-free lawn in your bare feet, and yoga. You are given your schedule the night before at dinner and walked through it with your doctor, so you know what’s expected. While hubby is at treatment, I am expected to go to workshops on subjects such as functional nutrition, supplementation, how to transition from Sanoviv, and the like. The treatments are not only physical but also mental – you can see some of that if you poke around the Internet and the Sanoviv Programs.

As I understand it, we will be in two different bedrooms with the same “sitting room,” because the program involves detoxing. That means no wife in ze bed! :-) This also means that you show up with underwear, a bathing suit, and a sun hat – everything else is provided to you. Yes – shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, clothing, shoes (Birkenstocks), socks, etc. Really! No makeup, no nail polish (just took mine off in fact), only one of a couple of sunblocks (they sell it, or you can bring it), no plastic or plastic bottles, even if BPA-free, and – yes – no electronics.

Your “sitting room” has a balcony overlooking the ocean, a mini-trampoline, infrared sauna, chi machine, and wall racks to do stretching. You’re expected to do at least 15 minutes of “rebounding” on the mini-tramp daily, plus use the infrared sauna and the chi machine. The TV in the room only has two channels – I believe it’s Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel – because they want you to detox from that, as well.

There is a separate room at the facility where you can use your/their computer, but it is the only place on “campus” where wifi is allowed, as it’s considered something that you need to “detox” from. This will be interesting for me, because I will need to work when hubby doesn’t need me. As I was writing up this blog, I actually emailed our Admissions guy to ask about this, and he said that if your computer has “an Ethernet port,” that you can connect in your room. Of course, most newer laptops have USB 3.0 ports /HDMI ports, but no Ethernet port. While hubby was researching getting an adapter so that I can at least do some work (and particularly teleconferences, of which I know I have to attend at least one) outside the “computer room” I happened to mention it to a client – the next day, an Amazon package showed up, with 2 adapters, and a long and a short Ethernet cable! I had to laugh at that!

I have been reading a number of write-ups on Sanoviv, though the ones that I can find are all written by folks who went for a one-week “cleanse”/detox-type protocol. So that’s why I felt that I should try to blog about what happens during the cancer program. HERE is an example, that shows you “what you get” at Sanoviv – HERE is another. HERE is a third.

That said, there isn’t one write-up about their fitness center! They have “Zumba” classes and “salsa” – but nothing “Strength-ish.” I was told by the Admissions person that there are “a few ellipticals and some dumbbells, but not heavy.” Since I have been working really hard on strength and HIIT training, my gym owner (bless him) crafted a workout for me for the time I will be gone. I will be bringing a TRX, some resistance bands, and an EmPack and 3 reservoirs. So we’ll see how that goes, too!

The Sanoviv diet is basically plant-centric, with no caffeine, dairy, soy, sugar, toxins, alcohol, corn, gluten, etc. They have a garden and a lot of what you eat is grown there. They also have organic/raised chickens and eggs, plus fish at some meals. (I’m allergic to fish, but that was noted in my intake.)

This will be a big difference for us – and we’re drinking all the wine we can before we go (ha ha – um, kinda joking). We eat very clean and pretty “primal” – organic veg/fruit, grass-fed meat – no soy, corn, sugars, gluten, etc. – but we know that our portion control is lax. We do our best to eat in a 12 hour window, though Broffman had told us it would be better to winnow it down to 10 (and that’s Sanoviv’s system). We also have meat every dinner – I’m looking forward to learning some new recipes (and have been boning up on them also through the Thug Kitchen cookbooks!)

I mentioned to Admissions that, because of my migraines (written about before), I have 2 cups of coffee a day. They are vasodialator migraines – caffeine helps. He said I would need a prescription and to take it as a pill. So I talked to my doctor, and she told me what to buy, which I did. Any meds that you take have to come in their bottles (not in a weekly/daily pill container), and you’re not to bring any non-prescribed supplements.

(Speaking of supplements and nutrition, I am binge listening to The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast, because a client of mine was on it. They’re GREAT! If you’re a ‘Nutrition Nerd’ like I am, they really know their stuff.)

So that’s about all I have to say in this “introduction” to what we’ll be doing from mid-June to mid-July.

Work has been insane recently which is great for my wallet but tough for getting prepared to go. That said . . . I mean, how prepared can you get when you are just packing undies and a hat? :-)

What are my expectations? I expect that hubby will be pretty sick the first week (we were told as much). I expect that we will both likely lose some weight since we will be portion-controlled and won’t have, oh, say, cheese. :-) I have set a goal to do the workout that my trainer has given me each day, whatever that takes. I plan to take notes and then blog each day or at least every other, and write up what’s going on so that there is a comprehensive log of it all. I plan to check work email a couple times a day, if the building that has the “computer room” isn’t too far away and the wifi is working (apparently somewhat dicey).

If you’ve gotten this far, bless you! You are either a devoted F&F, or perhaps a previous blog subscriber who didn’t unsubscribe when I went “radio silent” for about a year. (Now you know what I’ve been, sadly, up to. Caregiving takes every free moment, that’s for sure.)

I’ll be reading all the Comments when I get on the computer at Sanoviv. So if you have any questions, etc. let me know – or if you just want to say Hi! As per the whole “no electronics” thing, I’m bringing a couple books (yes, paper), but don’t plan to access Instagram, Facebook, or even personal email while gone. We’ll see how THAT goes! So if you’re in that “F&F” category, keep me company by commenting.

Onward!

Green Living Guide

Hey all!

I received a note from Kendra at (of all things) CouponChef.com related to one of my podcasts – from 10 years ago! (Yes, everything on the Internet really does live forever!) I liked what she sent, and I think you might too. (If you haven’t checked out this podcast, just know that the Listener Call-In Line is no more – what can I say, it’s been a decade . . . ) That said, here’s her email:

Hi there, I listened to your podcast about living more ‘Green’ – thanks!

I’ve been looking for some resources about green living online. I’m glad your website has content that could be useful to people looking to reduce their impact on the environment. We at Coupon Chief recently created a massive guide about inexpensive ways to go green. It includes up-to-date information and special tips to help people adopt a more Earth-friendly lifestyle without draining their wallets. We’re hoping it’s worth linking to along with your other resources!

If you think that it could be valuable to your readers, here’s the link to our Green Living guide. It took us a lot of time and effort to put this together, so I hope you (and your Bond Grrl readers!) like it!

Best,
Kendra

I am not quite sure how CouponChef.com decided to write such a detailed guide, but I think that it has a lot of good reminders and some very good information. Maybe I’m just impressed that someone found a podcast of mine from a decade ago, listened to it, and decided to write because of it!

Make it a great day,

Sandy

Career Success through the Management of Stress – by Julie Morris

Business owners and workaholics often live in a world with quick turnarounds and tight deadlines. Operating in an entrepreneurial environment leads to high-pressure situations that can easily fray the nerves, especially when you’re trying to find the right balance between work and the responsibilities of life outside the office. Perhaps you are starting a new business and trying to score a big promotion, or perhaps you’re a single parent trying to make ends meet. Whatever the cause of your career stress, there are ways to achieve new goals while reducing that stress.

Sweating Stress Away

Stress is an inevitable part of our everyday lives. While it is impossible to entirely eliminate stress, maintaining or improving your physical condition can be helpful to your mental state. Not only can it elevate your concentration and overall cognitive functions, but it can also reduce tiredness and fatigue. In addition, exercise provides an outlet for either solitude (when you’re craving alone-time) or the ability to “sweatwork” and meet people who might be able to help you in your career pursuits.

Eating Right

For those burning the midnight oil, it might be difficult to find time to stop for a bite with deadlines quickly approaching. Diets are usually the first thing we sacrifice to help us stay on the go. However, what you eat and drink can have a profound impact on the way you feel, especially when you’re unable to break for meals. Fast food and junk food might provide a boost of energy and comfort in the moment, but what they lack in nutritional value can ultimately leave you feeling sluggish and morose. Small changes to your dietary intake can help you start feeling better while allowing you to implement better nutritional habits with your family at home.

Getting Enough Sleep

A good night’s rest is important for your physical and emotional health. Insufficient sleep can leave you feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, which doesn’t bode well for work performance or stress. In fact, not getting enough sleep has an adverse effect on your ability to quickly and decisively manage tasks and perform at work. If you’re constantly on call, you might want to consider turning off your phone and other devices before bed or leaving them in a separate room. Even an additional hour of sleep at night can have positive effects on your efficiency during working hours.

Going Alternative

If finding time to sleep or exercise proves to be too much of a challenge, a remedy such as CBD oil can help reduce stress. CBD has been shown to host a slew of benefits, from sleep improvements to anxiety relief to pain management. Do your due diligence by researching manufacturers and finding the best quality product, and since oil is not for everyone, CBD does come in other forms, like vape oil. As with any new treatment, be it CBD or something else, be sure to discuss it with your doctor first.

Self-Caring

The thought of taking time out of your busy schedule for a little self-indulgence might be a foreign idea, but it’s something every busy person should embrace. By carving out a little bit of time to pamper yourself, you’ll feel fresh and recharged. Work can slowly cause changes to your identity, so remember to spend time outside the office to enjoy fun activities with the people you treasure.

Whether you are a lady-boss entrepreneur or a busy professional, it’s important to set realistic expectations while cutting yourself a little slack. Your career could even slow down when you’re moving too fast. In order to grow professionally, you might have to step back a little. First, cope with the stress. Second, set yourself up to achieve your professional goals without sacrificing your health. You’ll hopefully be able to find the balance between your work goals and your mental health, a balance that will help you move full speed ahead onto the next phase in your career.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Julie Morris is a Life and Career Coach, and can be found at JulieMorris.Org.

best beef jerky ever!

2018 UPDATE! Use London Broil steak, cut against the grain (e.g., cut parallel to the short end, not the long end). It is WAY less expensive than skirt steak, and works just as well if not better.

Recipe:

1 gallon Ziplock bag
a cookie sheet (must have a lip) or two
a cookie cooling rack or two
aluminum foil (to wrap around the cookie sheet)

For every 1 to 1 1/2 pound meat you need:
1/4 cup tamari (gluten-free and organic is only pennies more . . . hint hint!)
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (or onion salt, in which case use garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (see above – if you want to substitute garlic powder, use onion salt – or if you use powder both times, double the salt added below)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or less if you don’t want it spicy)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you don’t like it spicy)
1/4 teaspoon red sumac (a Lebanese spice I use in everything – this is totally optional but if you find it and use it, you’ll be stuck on it too ;-) ).

Start with Skirt Steak.

1-1.5 pound packets of skirt steak
1-1.5 pound packets of skirt steak

Our local market sells packets of skirt steak in 1-1.5 pound vacuum-sealed packages. These are fantastic, because you can buy a bunch of them at once and freeze them if you’re not going to use them – then when you want some steak, you can take them out of the freezer and throw them right into the sous vide, bringing them up to about 90 degrees “and holding” when you’re at work. (If you don’t have a sous vide, you might want to read my blog HERE.) When you get home, heat up a cast iron skillet super hot, scorch them on each side for a minute or so, voila, done.

But today, these are for jerky.

The photo shows four 1.5ish pound packets. With this recipe, you can double or triple or quadruple or ??? the recipe without any issues. The smallest of the packages in the photograph is just over a pound – the largest is 1.5 pounds. So I’m quadrupling today. Because my butcher’s packages are always about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds, I always figure one package = one “set” of the marinade ingredients listed above.

If you don’t have a market that has these packs, but you do  have a market where you can talk to the butcher, just bring him the photo from the blog and say you’d like one of these, please. ;-) It’s not expensive meat – some butchers cut it up to make fajita meat, but it starts like this.

The recipe by and large comes from Haylie Pomroy’s book The Fast Metabolism Diet, which has some great recipes. This one is particularly good.

I started down the Fast Metabolism Diet road last week, and though I haven’t lost any weight, my energy is really good, and I feel great. I blogged about what it entails HERE.

You can use any “meaty meat” – halibut, turkey, buffalo, etc. – but it works particularly well with beef.

My issue with jerky is that it always contains some form of sugar, and/or some sort of preservatives. I’m sure there are jerkies you can order without these, but they’re probably immensely pricey. This recipe is so easy, it’s ridiculous not to make your own.

Cut the steak into 3 strips (against the grain).

2015-05-04 16.00.20
skirt steak before cutting (about 3 feet long or so)

The photo at left is what a skirt steak looks like out of the package. I don’t have a “selfie stick” and even at the end of my condor arm I could barely get it all in the picture. It’s like 3 feet of meat.

If there is any obvious fat, trim it off – but this is a very very lean cut of meat.

The fat you see in this picture doesn’t count as “fat” by the way – that’s just “marbling.” You may, however, run into a bit of fat that run all the way through the meat – particularly at the “fat” end of the meat – that’s what you want to cut off. But to give you some idea, I did not have any in all 4 of the steaks that I cut up before writing this blog.

Get your kitchen shears, and cut the strip the “long way” (against the grain). Your steak will be meatier on one end and less so on the other. So that means you’ll have three strips on one end, and usually as you cut, you’ll wind up with only two strips on the other end.

this is the meaty end of the skirt steak - as you can see, I get 3 strips on this side.
this is the meaty end of the skirt steak – as you can see, I get 3 strips on this side.

I keep these in as long of strips as they go. (Yes, I’m juvenile enough to sort of make a game of it – like trying to peel an orange in one strip of rind.) Sometimes you hit a weak spot in the meat, so that “strip” breaks off – it’s not important. But if you’re using a full skirt steak, you want the width of the strips to be about 1/3 of the strip at the “fat end” or 1/2 of the strip at the “skinny” end. It’s not rocket science, just do your best ;-)

marinade ingredients
marinade ingredients

 Mix up all the other ingredients into the Ziplock.

Take the ingredients from the above recipe (multiplied by however much meat you have), and put them into a Ziplock. Take it from me, if you use a Ziplock with the actual “zipper” it’s a LOT easier to turn it upside down and shake it than if you use one that you just “press” together. No need for the excitement of the entire marinade and meat concoction slipping out on the floor when you shake it ‘cos you didn’t quite get the tracks of the bag to match….

A gallon Ziplock will take up to four times the recipe above, if you’re wondering. If you’re doing more than four times the recipe, I would use a couple of Ziplocks, but you only need one up to a quadruple recipe.

Again – the thing I really like about this recipe is that there is nothing sweet in it. Honey, sugar, whatever. And it’s delish. Trust me here.

Shake the marinade to mix it together.

2015-05-04 16.13.34Plop all the meat into the Ziplock.

Once you have all the strips in there with the marinade, seal the Ziplock almost all the way. Then squeeze down on it so that you get all the air out of the top little opening you’ve left.

Then seal it tight.

meat in marinade, all air squeezed out.
meat in marinade, all air squeezed out.

Now turn the Ziplock over and over to be sure the marinade gets to all the meat (like I said, this is the exciting part if you aren’t completely sure about your Ziplock zipper…)

Put the Ziplock into the refrigerator overnight (at least 8 hours, but better if it’s overnight).

Whenever you open the refrigerator between then and cooking time, give the Ziplock a few little tosses to move the marinade around on the meat. It will settle on the bottom side, so you want to be sure you let all the pieces get evenly marinaded.

After 8+ hours, drain & discard the marinade.

Squeeze the meat (while still in the Ziplock) to get it pretty dry. The easiest way to do this is to get the bulk of the marinade out first, and then zip the zipper back up most of the way, and squeeze the marinade out the “spout” by rolling it up from the bottom. This is similar to what you did when you were letting the air out to seal it, before putting it in the fridge.

You don’t want to pat the marinade off, but you do want to squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can, because you’re going to be dehydrating that meat, and more liquid = more time.

Take your cookie sheets and wrap them in aluminum foil.

You’ll need about two sheets and two cookie “cooling racks” for about each 3 pounds of meat, give or take.

Because the marinade and fat from the jerky is going to drip onto the aluminum foil, you may want to spray a little coconut oil in between the cookie sheet and the foil. I’m not sure if you have ever had this happen, but sometimes the foil “adheres to” the cookie sheet. So you might want to put a Pam-esque buffer. Personally, I use what are called “baker’s sheets” over my cookie sheets. They are PFOA-free silicone, non-stick, re-usable, and work like a charm. But as most folks don’t have these or do as much in-oven baking/roasting as I do, I am using aluminum foil in this recipe.

Put the cookie cooling racks on top of the aluminum foil, with their “feet” folded in.

If your sheets and racks are the same size as my sheets and racks, the racks will fit inside the lip of the sheet with a pretty good amount of room to spare. That will come up in a second.

If you’re only doing 1x of the recipe (silly you, you’re going to eat all that jerky before anyone gets home . . .  :-) ) then you can likely use one sheet, or use two and leave more room between the pieces.

one rack, set up - about 2 to 2-1/2 lbs.
one rack, set up – about 2 to 2-1/2 lbs.

Put the meat on the racks, cutting it to size as you go. It can be close together, but shouldn’t overlap.

Although the recipe I used stated that you have to have the meat strips 1/4″ apart, they shrink up a LOT. So, I snuggled them up close, and as I checked the jerky, I was able to move them farther apart as they shrank. If you leave the strips long, be sure to tuck the ends down into the pan, so that they drip into the pan (not onto the bottom of the oven). That said – I’d still put down aluminum foil in the oven anyway, just in case. ;-)

Remember I mentioned the space between the rack and the sheet? I personally actually laid a couple strips along the “long side” of the sheet (between the sheet and the rack) and then another along the “short side.” The jerky drips a LOT as it’s dehydrating, but that basically means that about 1/2 way through, you’ll be able to move those strips up to the rack and out of the drippings.

As you can probably tell, I’m not too fussy of a cook ;-) I just wanted to be sure that you knew that everything came out just fine when I did things this way. I wasn’t interested in doing two batches, because that’s a lot of time. So I made it work. Also, to give you an idea, I’m doing 4x the recipe this time around (I did 3x last time), and I’m still going to use the same setup. They really do shrink up a lot as they cook.

Bake the strips uncovered at 200 degrees for about 3 hours.

At three hours, you want your oven timer to go off so you can check on them. If you have two pans of strips, this is the time to swap the bottom pan for the top pan. It’s also time to re-arrange the strips as you may need. You can taste one, but they’re not going to be close.

4x the recipe in the oven, so about 4 to 5 pounds of meat.
4x the recipe in the oven, so about 4 to 5 pounds of meat.

If you have some other situation – more strips down the sides/off the rack or some such, you’re going to need to get them up on the rack as soon as you can. So you might be checking more than just once at 3 hours and once when “nearly done.” But this is what I did. At 3 hours they had shrunk in enough for me to get all the strips that were off the rack onto the rack, plus I was able to re-arrange them to allow a bit more room between all the strips.

Bake the strips for about another 3 hours.

I say “about” because I have a convection oven, and mine were done at 6 hours total. If you don’t have a convection oven, I think it’s going to be more like 7 hours. Leave the temperature the same, don’t cover them . . . just do what you just did, and come back 3 hours later and check on them.

You’ll know they are done when the meat is dry and leathery. And you can’t stop eating it.

Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating or freezing in an airtight container. (I just took the cookie cooling racks off the pans and set them aside until the jerky was cold.)

If, that is, you can make it that far, and don’t eat them all as you’re waiting for them to cool. ;-) .

On this Haylie Pomroy eating plan, the first two days are basically fruit/veg/grains/some protein, then the next two are strictly veg/protein (with protein as the snacks – enter the jerky), then the last three days are a lot more relaxed with fruit/veg/protein/grains.

I made the jerky on the first of the middle two days, and actually weighed out how much 3 ounces was, to be sure I got the snack portion right. Yeah . . . then I weighed out 6 ounces, to get the lunch portion right . . . and another 3 ounces for the next snack . . .

2015-05-04 17.42.53
leftovers from last week. NomNomNom ;-) I think I have to have one…And YES, this is all that’s left of 3x the recipe :-)

It’s very addictive, and so easy to make!

By the way, the aluminum foil is going to be coated with a thick mixture of hardened on marinade, fat, etc. While the jerky is cooling, get that off the cookie sheet and throw it away. (As I use baker’s sheets, I just hit them with super hot water and this slides right off, then I pat the sheet dry, and hang it to use for the next roasting/baking extravaganza ;-) ) If you have a dog or animal that might go through your trash, I recommend crumpling it up into a ball and zipping it into the Ziplock that you marinated the meat in. It’s harder to smell that way ;-)

Any questions…?

And..speaking of recipes…tonight is roasted chicken night – if you didn’t catch it last time, HERE is the recipe for the easiest and best roast chicken in the Universe ;-)

Day 18 – Hundertwasser, more Hundertwasser, Kauri, Pub Life (2 Oct 2023)

These are a couple of flowering bushes that I liked at our hotel:

We left the hotel and were on our way in a van with a trailer. The van did not have enough room for me to get my legs into the seat, but I was able to sit in the first seat behind the driver (Rod sat in the passenger seat). Unfortunately, at one point the driver took a wrong turn, and in trying to back up, wrapped the hitch on a telephone pole, with the van on one side and the trailer on the other! They wound up getting it sorted out, but that left us with a bit less time at our stops that day.

Our first stop was back at the Hundertwasser Toilets for a “bio-break.” I was sitting with Elizabeth, who was kind enough to duck down so I could take a photo of the “Kawakawa” sign!

One thing that I likely didn’t mention in the previous post about the toilets was that I hadn’t been able to locate my superglue. I completely emptied my (small) purse – nope. So, I had “affixed” it in the window with toothpaste (yes, really)! I was a little nervous to go in to see if it was still there. While we were driving, I found the superglue – right in the pocket it was supposed to be!! So I went in, and luckily the marble was still there. I “dusted off” the dried toothpaste, applied the superglue, and we were back on the road again! Here are a few more photos from the Toilets:

We stopped for a “coffee stop” in Whangerei. It is a port town, that decided to revamp the entire waterfront. They didn’t have a lot of tourist visitors, and so they decided to put in a Hundertwasser Museum! It opened in 2021. They even had some of his artwork, loaned from Vienna. In the photos below, you can see the museum, a HUGE fig tree out front, some kids doing art in a side room, the uneven floors (Hundertwasser felt that flat floors were not “natural”), some of the tiles and designs (including a black kiwi bird and a seahorse), and then coffee, prosecco, and H (in the glass)!

photo from Cindy :-)

Here is a posting about the “uneven floors”:

Next, we headed to a small park with Kauri trees. They are now endangered, so you have to spray and wipe your feet before entering. These kauri were not possible to get logged out – so they are some of the most ancient in New Zealand. A lot of the kauri wood was exported to the U.S., and the sap was used for linoleum! Because no gold was found in this area, timber was their export. The first kauri in the photo is the McKinney Kauri – not a great picture, but you can see the dimensions on the sign. It’s 800 years old. The 2nd is the Simpson Kauri, which is 600 years old. The tree ferns were at least 30 feet tall!

Then, off to our final “pub lunch” in New Zealand! I’ve mentioned before that their signs are pretty classic. It is their Voting now (for the next 2 weeks), and there are a lot of Vote signs on the road – my favorite, though was the “No Fart Tax!” sign. (Yes, really, there’s a “fart tax” for the methane made by farm animals.)

Our pub was no different! Here are a few photos not only of the pub (including some photos of the teams that had to drag the kauri from the forest), but also the signs at the pub:

Then, we were off to Auckland Airport. Air New Zealand has a thing called “OneUp.” When you choose your seat, you can choose to enter basically a “silent raffle” to the next higher tier. As Lynn and I were in Premium Economy, that would mean Upper Class. The minimum that you can “bid” is $500, so I bid $501. And I got it! So I was able to have a lie-flat seat, etc. on the way home. (P.S. – Lynn tried to do it at the airport, but they wouldn’t. And there were at least 6 seats empty in Upper Class, plus she said only about 15 people total in Premium Economy.)

Unfortunately, as we were waiting for the plane in the Priority Pass lounge, I just started feeling “Not Right.” I thought it was a migraine, which I get on occasion. I hadn’t been drinking that much water that day, so tried to “load up” on water while waiting. The lovely free food/beverages/etc. just looked nauseating.

It got worse as we boarded. I turned down dinner, and asked for a cup of “hot white sweet tea” instead. Then I asked the flight attendant to fold the seat down.

I told them not to wake me up for breakfast, so I was lying down/sleeping for the bulk of the flight. I did have another “hot sweet white tea” about 30 minutes before landing, and took some Tylenol.

Global Entry was easy peasy – my update came the day before we were to fly out! (My Global Entry had expired in 2020.) Melissa picked us up, and Lynn was able to “re-jigger” the things we had put in her bag v. my bag for ease of transport.

And – yes – you guessed it. I had worn my mask assiduously on the plane out to New Zealand, but hadn’t worn it there, or on the way back. And the little “T” lit up on the COVID test! I guess I am no longer in the ever-dwindling cadre of NOvid folks! Melissa is off to Tahoe, luckily, so basically I’m lying around feeling crappy. I did get Paxlovid, but I can’t really make it down the driveway much less feel confident in the car, so my poor Mom is going to pick it up for me. Well – back to bed! There you have it – the trip to New Zealand!!!

Day 17 – Bay of Island Encore (1 Oct 2023)

As I believe I mentioned last post, it was pouring yesterday, which basically belayed what we were supposed to do on that day. But our Fearless Guide Rod was able to “smoosh” it all into one day – today!

We walked from the hotel over to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. First, we visited the museum.

One of the most interesting “juxtapositions” was the “non-Māori” history, and the Māori history of New Zealand, side by side.

For example, above is Abel Tasman, the “discoverer” of New Zealand. He was Dutch, hence naming it after Holland’s coastal province (“Nieuw Zeeland”). Of course, he never actually landed on the shores (talked about that already). In juxtaposition, here is Kupe – Māori tradition is that Kupe and his people voyaged from Hawaiki, their homeland in Eastern Polynesia. Aotearoa, the country’s Māori name, is said to come from Kupe’s wife, Kuramarotini, when she first saw land. Apparently she cried: “He ao, he ao tea, he ao tea roa!” (“A cloud, a white cloud, a long white cloud!)

Here is another “juxtaposition.” This is Captain Cook. On the right is Te Koukou. The land that the Europeans “discovered” was occupied by many independent tribes. Every part was under the mana (authority) of a particular group, led by their rangatira (remember what that means? Tribal leader). The people identified themselves by the names of their hapu (extended kin groups). Contact with outsiders led them to define themselves collectively as “Māori,” from the term “tangata māori,” meaning “an ordinary person.”

The above explains how things got off on the wrong foot. Not only did the “invaders” use trumpet calls that were interpreted as challenges, but they also paid zero attention to the Māori traditions of Tapu (“taboo”) such as areas that were not to be walked on, etc. This shows a Māori putatara at the left.

Once the bumbling Europeans (who said that?) started to somewhat integrate, as mentioned in a previous post. the Māori realized that they could be traders; they could also charge “license fees” for ships at anchor. (NOTE: Once they signed the Treaty, the ships stated that they paid this fee to the CROWN, not to the Māori. The tribes were VERY confused – as that was not how their version of the Treaty was written. More on that later!)

We had learned about trading during our tour the day before, but we uncovered at the museum that the biggest item of trade was Rope. The Europeans had an unending need for rope on their ships. One large naval ship might have 40 kilometers of rope rigging that would need to be replaced.

Philip King, Governor of the Norfolk Island prison colony, wanted the convicts to make rope from the flax growing there. He knew that the Māori had great expertise in this area. So – instead of paying the Maori to make the rope – you guessed it – he abducted two young Māori men.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know a thing about making rope, as it was “women’s work.” Interestingly though, King kept them on as they were hard workers, and ultimately they came home with pigs, potatoes, and vegetable seeds for their community – who shared with the next – and so on and so on.

how the Māori “divided” the North Island into various whanau, each headed by a rangatira.

Quick learners, the Maori started to have ships of their own (built in New Zealand to the “European” style). Unfortunately, they sailed one to Australia, and it was either blown out of the water or it was confiscated, because it wasn’t flying “a national flag.” That is what led to what is now called the “United Tribes of New Zealand” flag. (Remember, this was well before the Treaty of Waitangi).

There was a lot in the museum about the colonizers – French, English, etc. The U.S. sent a lot of trading ships to New Zealand, and they (of course, only a few years from their own independence) were very skeptical of discussions about whether New Zealand should be a colony. The English “promised” the indigenous tribes that they would protect them from the French, who were in “colonization” mode then as well. Apparently, the English made the better argument.

After visiting the museum, we were hooked up with our guide. The first thing he showed us was an enormous war canoe. It was taken out in 1983 when Prince Charles and Diana visited New Zealand to return the rangatira cape that had been presented to Queen Victoria. It is taken out once a year to celebrate the Treaty (don’t worry – it’s on tracks to get it down to the water!).

The warship was made of three enormous trees. The middle tree’s stump was still in evidence – Mark was kind enough to “model” how large around it was. The canoe is 84 meters (276 feet) long.

Coxswain seat (the rounded seatback is in front of this carving). The cox basically pounds a big stick, and says a chant, that you repeat to stay in time. At the other end is the guy with the rudder.

The “topknot” on a totem is very important. As Māori believe that the spirit enters through the fontanel, it represents the “silver thread” between Heaven and the individual. The head is the biggest portion of the totem because it’s the most important – all the senses “live” there.

We also learned about the “tongues” of totems. If the tongue is sticking out straight, it can be a “true teller,” but it can also be a challenge (like in the haka, where both men and women bug their eyes out; women jut their chin whereas men stick out their tongue). If the tongue is right facing, that represents more of a “spiritual” totem – left facing represents more of a “business” totem (can also be warlike). If the tongue is split it’s a liar OR . . . politician!

From here we headed up to the top of the hill – where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. We passed a tree that Queen Elizabeth had planted in 1953.

From here, we (and a gaggle of other tourists) were invited into the Māori marae, similar to what had happened when we had our “day in the Māori life” a week or so ago. The greeting was very similar, with a woman representing the “priestess” coming out, and a woman representing “us” introducing us to the priestess. Then, a “rangatira” was chosen from the audience, to represent our “whanau” (remember: pronounced FAH-now; extended family). He was presented a branch from one of the men, who came out and did what he hoped was an imposing “haka.” Interestingly, our Rangatira – Joe – was standing right in the middle, and was Māori! He picked up the branch the “peaceful” way, which we had learned about at our other marae experience, and then we were invited in the marae after taking off our shoes.

lintel of the marae

We were then treated to a singing/”dancing” show; however, the “dancing” was really based on stretches, warmups, and then practicing done with different weapons. There were three women and two men. As you can see, Rangatira Joe had to get up and stand very still while they practiced “around” him!

One thing we learned from our guide is that in 2008, the U.K. wanted to “re-ratify” the Treaty of Waitangi. However, as I’ve mentioned before, the English version and the Māori version were different. In the museum, they had copies of the original version, the Māori version, and what the English translation of the Māori version really means. When the Māori were gathered for the “ceremony,” the British just wanted them to sign “as they had before.” The British stated that this was just “ceremonial” for the anniversary of the signing. They said that Māori had already “agreed to” the English version. (They were all to sign the original English version of the Treaty this time.)

The head of the Māori delegation said two words: “Prove it.” The critical part? The Māori had signed the Māori version of the Treaty oh so many decades before – not the English version. Therefore – under English Common Law – the portions of the contract that were “different” would be “stricken”. . . which of course were the portions stating that they agreed Britain owned their land, the Queen could use Eminent Domain to do what she wanted, and the like (versus their version, which said the Queen was basically a rangatira who would protect them from harm and honor their land ownership and rangatira status; that their relationship would be a mutually beneficial partnership).

Many in our group had actually been to New Zealand before – and were very surprised at how much Māori language was included on everything – street signs, directions, historical markers, etc. We wondered if this change had happened around the time that it was “discovered” that “under English Common Law,” in actual fact, the portions that had been “mis-translated” in the Māori version (which the rangatira all signed) would not be binding.

One thing our guide had discussed with us was that the Māori had beaten the British via “trench warfare” (I discussed this yesterday). He said that they took the idea from eels – that when you hunt eels, they come out of a very small hole, but it digs down and ultimately there is a large compartment were all the eels are. He said that once the Māori and British were “friendly,” the Māori explained how they had dug the trench around their village and “tunnels” between the houses, etc. The guide stated that this is where the idea of trench warfare came from, that was incorporated into the British “war machine” from then on. Thank you, eels. :-)

We went back to the museum – there was quite a moving section that had to do with all the Māori who had fought in various battles. Here is a video I sent to my “Whanau.” Unfortunately I only captured 24 seconds, but you get the idea. It was an enormous crescent that was supposed to represent a lei. The black dots were Māori who served in the British Army in all wars from 1840 to World War I, the blue were those who served in World War I, the green World War II, and the grey all the wars after WW2. The red “dot” on any of those colors represents that the person had died in the war.

After leaving the museum, I think we grabbed lunch, but we were very soon in the van to head to the boat to take us out to the “Hole in the Rock.” This was where Lynn had wanted to leave her second one of Jim’s marbles, because he was a “water baby” and they hadn’t been able to get out there on their honeymoon. (If you like the idea of “cremarbles,” check out Public Glass.)

We passed “black rock” cliffs (basalt), a few beautiful beaches, and the Cape Bret lighthouse up on the hill and lighthouse keeper’s house below. The day before (when we were supposed to take this trip), the waves/water were awful, but luckily the day was beautiful.

On the way back, the boat docked at Otehei Bay. I pointed out as we were coming in what looked like a floating yurt – and it was! HERE is their Instagram :-) Otehei Bay was a beautiful area, where you can stay in a small cabin overnight. They have one restaurant – no WiFi as you can see from the sign below! The oddest thing was that they had no rubbish bins. When Don asked about it, he was told that stopped people from throwing things away . . . UNLESS they just left their debris on the beach, where the staff had to go pick it up. (??) Unclear on the concept?? It was low tide, and you could see what “used to be” oysters – that the birds had eaten up!!

We headed back to Russell when the ferry returned, and had our Farewell Dinner at the Duke of Marlborough (remember the story from our Russell tour?) This was one of the fishies in the bar:

Late day – time to pack for an early departure back to the Auckland airport! (Quite a ways away)

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 16 – Bay of Islands, Rain Rain Sun Rain…& Hail! (30 Sept 2023)

This is a “Waratah” – New South Wales, Australia’s flower. We drove past it in the van in Russell and Chris, our van driver and tour guide (originally from Scotland) told us about it. I thought it was really interesting looking!

The Bay of Islands is made up of 144 islands. We are staying in Waitangi, and were driven this morning over to Paihia to meet the ferry to Russell. Paihia is a touristy little town – though of course, we’re out of the tourist season, so it was mainly touristy shops without a lot of people!

I did find another shirt for my daughter in case the first one doesn’t fit (and some cute socks), and some “stocking stuffers” for my grandboys. I also bought a fridge magnet for my daughter’s manicurist, who had done my “Māori-style” nails that are getting a lot of Ooos and Aaaahs from local staff. It is a green “arrow” like they have on their highway exit signs, and says “Middle Earth” (with the arrow). She’s a big Lord of the Rings fan, and I hope will like it. At the Paihia Dollar Store, I also bought Marilyn (of Jim and Marilyn – she’s the only Marilyn left now) a pack that had dice and some playing cards in it, because she said that, what with the weather, “of all trips,” she couldn’t believe she hadn’t brought her playing cards (dot dot dot).

The weather was very blustery and rainy when we headed out to Paihia, and it continued on the ferry to Russell. You needed “sea legs” to get off the ferry and onto the land, as the dock was heaving up and down. And it was a big dock, too!

We met with Chris, a spry 80 year old, at the dock with his van. Rod stayed behind to try to figure out what was up with the weather, our remaining tours, etc. He is certainly earning his salary these past few days! Chris was Scottish, so had a bit of a lilt in his voice. He was wearing shorts – which made me cold just to look at! – but he said it was that or a kilt, and the kilt “kep’ blowin’ up in da wind…” ;-)

So here are some tidbits about what we learned on our trip around the island, plus some photos (not that many). As I type this, I’ve decided not to head out to the dinner tonight in Paihia. Though it sounds like a great restaurant (The Swordfish Club), it’s a “pay your own way” dinner and I’m a little bit exhausted/want to keep the blog updated/want to just be quiet. So – here we go, with “tidbits” and photos :-)

In Russell, like on Waireke Island, a number of the homes were shipped over “whole” from the mainland. It’s less expensive than building them! Also like Waireke Island, the island doesn’t have water – each house has a rainwater catchment system.

Zane Grey (yes, that Zane Grey, the writer of “potboiler” Westerns), per Chris, “single-handedly” put New Zealand on the map for big fish sport fishing. Here is a bit about him:

In addition to his 57 Westerns, Grey also released 8 books about fishing throughout his career. One of these, the beautifully-written Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, was penned in 1926 about his time in New Zealand. He tells of some of his best catches in the region, described his saltwater and freshwater fishing experiences, and detailed many of New Zealand’s uniquely wonderful environmental and geographical characteristics.

He also wrote many articles for international sporting magazines over the years, which described New Zealand, and in particular the Bay of Islands, as a world class game fishing region. He is widely credited today with playing a huge part in the foundations of New Zealand’s modern fishing industry.

In Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, Grey said, “The New Zealand coast is destined to become the most famous of all fishing waters. It will bring the best anglers from all over the world.”

Well, we can’t really argue with that.
A plaque indicating that “History is memorialized by the Victors”…

In showing us around the island, Chris explained that houses like the 2-story stucco one he lived in, which we drove past, can’t be built any more in Russell unless they fit within the “historical template.” In showing us what that looked like, he drove us past homes with copper gutters, and foundations made of crushed whale bones – ! These homes also are built from Kauri wood, which is endangered now. The “historical accuracy folks” just mean to make it fit within the “template” – not actually use the materials – so I think the Kauri and whales are safe :-)

We drive past a Māori meeting house. This is the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, a/k/a the Māori flag. I believe that we will find out more about it tomorrow, when we learn more about the Treaty of Waitangi. We heard a bit about this in Auckland, but Waitangi (where our hotel is located) was where the treaty was actually signed.

a mailbox in Russell

But let’s go back in Time, a bit before the Treaty. As we drove around the beautiful island, we learned a good bit about New Zealand history, presented in a very engaging fashion.

Russell was the first capital of New Zealand (for 18 months). Then it moved to Auckland. This upset the Māori, who suddenly had to pay tax on items for “export” to the capital. Then, when the South Island was settled, the capital was moved to Wellington, which is more central.

We have heard a few times now that Tasman was the first to “discover” New Zealand, but Chris explained that he really only circumnavigated it. When Tasman came close to land, Māori gathered on the beaches, doing the haka (remember the war dance from a blog post before?) So, he decided to just move on . . .

Captain Cook was next, then ultimately 50 white folks decided to emigrate. They were met by 120 Māori on the beach doing the haka . . . but of course, the white folks just kept coming, and ultimately Russell got its nickname as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific.” This small town in the early 1800s had 17 grog shop/brothels! The whaling ships would use it as a port of call due to the deep water areas (and women willing to enter into “three week marriages”); even convicts on their way to Australia would jump ship in Russell to escape. The area didn’t have any police force until the 1830s, but even after, they weren’t particularly effective to stem the tide of licentiousness.

Christ Church in Russell is New Zealand’s first church. One of the first donations for its construction came from Charles Darwin, who could not believe the “very refuse of society” that he saw in Russell. The cemetery includes headstones for Tamati Waka Nene, who was one of the first chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi (and sided with the British during the Battle of Kororareka). Also there is Hannah King Letheridge, the first white woman born in NZ, and graves of some of those who fell in the Battle of Kororareka. (More on that later.) The Church still shows the scars of the Battle of Kororareka, with musket holes clearly evident.

However, to give services at Christ Church, the Anglican missionaries would row over from Paihia. They had no intent of living over in Russell. In other words, these missionaries stayed on the mainland (Heaven) and wouldn’t come to Russell (Hell). However (per Chris), Catholic missionaries came out, and “bypassed Heaven, going straight to Hell.” They founded the Catholic church, and built some of the first industry in New Zealand (e.g., a bookbindery and hide tannery for making books).

kauri tree (about 80 years old) – ignore van window reflection!

In the beginning when the white folks were mainly whalers (and the people that serviced them), the Māori were fairly happy to co-exist with the whites, trading kaori trees (for masts), guiding, information, women, etc. for white “stuff” (such as guns, alcohol, shovels, etc.) However, ultimately, England sent “settlers” to “tame the land,” and this was a problem, since these settlers wanted to be the “traders,” they didn’t want to trade with the Māori.

As we’ve heard before, ultimately this lead to the Treaty of Waitangi to get things sorted out. The Treaty had two versions to sign – one in English, one in Māori. The English version made it clear that the Māori were agreeing that they would be subservient to Queen Victoria and her governor. The same paragraph in the Māori version stated that “All people would be equal.”

Of course, once it was signed, Māori were forbidden from owning or purchasing shovels, guns, alcohol, or anything that could be used as a weapon. They were also forbidden from entering the schools. They had been promised (when they sold the land for the churches) that Māori and Pākehā (non-Māori) had the same right to burial in consecrated ground. Of course, after the Treaty – Nope.

Hōne Heke, who had been a signatory on the Treaty, ultimately ran up Flagstaff Hill and chopped down the Union Jack, telling the then-current governor that the Treaty was over, it was not as had been portrayed. The British put the flagpole back up – Hōne went back and cut it back down. I believe four times. The English had 1,500 soldiers, and Hōne Heke gathered 850 Māori tribesmen, all from different tribes, which was unheard of. (They were used to fighting each other, not presenting a united front.) The Māori defeated the English, who complained that the Māori “didn’t fight properly.” They didn’t fight in formation, carry a battle flag, regiment in straight lines, etc. (Sounds like the British v. that other rambunctious colony in the 1700s, eh?)

Ultimately Hōne Heke blew up the British munitions dump, and all the whites retreated to the Navy ships in the harbor. While they tried to attack the Māori from the sea, Hōne Heke’s folks destroyed everything down to the ground, except for the churches. This was because Hōne Heke was a “very Christian man” – so much so that he had been baptized Catholic, then Anglican, then Methodist!

I’m sure that we will learn a lot more about this period of history tomorrow.

As I mentioned, we learned a “scatter gun” of Russell history from Chris. There are 73 children in the school now – from kindergarten through “when their parents decide to send them to the Mainland.” (I’m guessing 8th grade? I didn’t ask.)

There were a few more signs that I wasn’t able to take photos of out of the van, such as the “Naughty Penguin” restaurant and “Hell Hole” Coffee. Caught this one though:

But back to the “Hell Hole.” In 1841, “Johnny Johnston’s Grog Shop and Brothel” got the first liquor license in New Zealand; he changed its name to The Duke of Marlborough to be more respectable. HERE is a bit about its history, which actually gives a very concise history about the island! We will be having our farewell dinner (for the 11 of us left on the tour) tomorrow night. (WOW, already?)

Chris described Russell of the 1800s as “A huge, steaming, bawdy town of whalers, grog shops, and brothels.”

There are kiwi signs all over the islands. You can’t have your dog off leash, etc. because kiwis still nest here, so the Bay of Islands area is a Kiwi Preserve. I might have mentioned this before, but I tend to like to leave the “Do Not Disturb” on the door, so that they won’t make up the room. I make my own bed, and don’t really need towels every day, etc. (And Lynn has been willing to humor me.) Some hotels have gotten in on the act and give you credits to your “loyalty card” if you do this. At our hotel here, they take the $ that it would take to clean your room, and give it to the Save The Kiwis Foundation, which is resettling kiwis on their island. (I wonder if it’s tied into the Kiwi Hatchery that we visited last week?)

Back to bits and pieces of what we learned. The Eagles Nest is one of the most exclusive hotels in all of New Zealand. The most expensive room is $20,000NZ a night – the “least expensive” is $3,000NZ per night. The hotel owns “from the hill to the sea” in this area. We went up above it and took some photos in the serious wind! Here are a few (including the mosaic up at the top – brrrr!)

The island is a dolphin, whale, and seal sanctuary (as well as the kiwi). It has a very hilly terrain, with mainly forest inside the hills.

There are many, many multi-million dollar homes. The one above looks out on the most amazing view (same as the Eagles’ Nest!) It was built by two Americans, who have never actually been on the island. The building was finished right before COVID started – now the house is done, but no one has set foot in it. 60% of the homes on the island are Holiday Homes; the “new millionaires” are the locals in the trades (building, plumbing, etc.)

The above is Long Beach, a lovely, sheltered cove on the ocean side of Russell. Off to the left of the first picture (don’t mind the van mirror) is the deep water port, where the cruise ships come in and dock, sending their people onto the land via tenders. It increases the “population” of the islands by 400-500% for a few days! This has been difficult post-COVID, as many people who used to work in hospitality in New Zealand were kicked out – then haven’t come back.

In 1963, Queen Elizabeth commented about the view from this hill – which is now called Queen’s View Road.

Well, that’s about all the notes I have from today. As I type this, it’s lovely and sunny outside the sliding door of our ground floor room. It has a glassed-in lanai sitting area looking out on the garden and (to the far right) the tennis court. Of course, when I started typing, it was hailing!

Tomorrow – the Treaty, a Māori celebration (I’m guessing that a haka will be involved), a boat trip to the Hole In The Wall (where Lynn plans to leave her marble), and (maybe?) a trip to the Hundertwasser Museum. That seems like a lot – I really really hope the Museum doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Our plane doesn’t leave until quite late, so maybe the idea was to visit on the way back to the Auckland Airport! Wow – we’re already leaving – ????

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 15 – Can The Worms! (29 Sept 2023)

As you may recall, the day started for our guide, Rod, at 4:00 a.m. with notification that our flight had been cancelled. He jumped on things, however, and was able to get us on the next flight from Queenstown to Auckland. Good thing, too, since the flight after that flight went awry as well!

Lynn and I were both surprised that somehow he had managed to get us all aisle seats! Queenstown airport is small enough that you don’t get screened and then go to gates – you are screened right before you go to your gate. There was some hassle with both Lynn and my carry-ons, but we finally got through screening after they took our bags apart. Funnily enough, my issue was a lighter that I carry in a bag with other “I might need these some time” things. They said I could carry it on – in my pocket! I thought that was odd until Lynn pointed out that if it started a fire in my pocket, I would be quicker to address it than if it did it in my backpack up in the baggage compartment!

Unfortunately, Rod said that while trying to “can the worms” “released” due to our flight cancellation, we weren’t going to be able to make the glowworm caves. He’d tried to get everything else re-arranged, but because of timing, that one bit the dust.

It was raining by the time we got to Auckland, but we were hurried into a van with a trailer for our luggage. Unfortunately, the seats were too close together for moi, so I was sitting with the top 1/2 of my body facing forward, and my legs out to the side into the aisle. David noticed my position after a couple hours like that and had me trade with him. He has always taken the farthest back “bench” seat, in the middle. There is no one in front of that seat – so no issue with my legs. Success!

There are some fun signs in New Zealand – I’ve mentioned this before. Here are a couple others:

Mark was kind enough to share his winnings (Whitaker’s chocolate) from answering the most questions correctly on Rod’s New Zealand quiz. This was a very nice one!

We drove and drove. And drove and drove and drove. Finally we got to Kawakawa – which was supposed to be a 10 minute “bio-break” but it was the Hundertwasser Toilets, which I had basically chosen this trip to see.

I had decided to place H’s last marble for this trip in the Toilets in some position or another.

I found a spot in a window on the Women’s side.

I think he would enjoy getting to see women come and go (as it were – ha ha) all day.

I took lots and lots of photos :-)

There were also Hundertwasser columns, walls, planters, a lamppost, etc. in various other parts of the little town, but there wasn’t time for exploring. I did take some long-range shots with my trusty cell phone!

I have to say, seeing all the architecture made me a bit maudlin. Herbert just loved Hundertwasser’s work and had been so excited to visit New Zealand to see where Hundertwasser had done the final works of his life.

Also, the countryside looks so much like home! So, lots of memories and all that . . .

Don and I talked some at dinner about Linda and Herbert. I like hearing stories about how people meet, their backstory, etc. How he and Linda originally met (in junior high) was a good one. :-)

Tomorrow – The Hole In The Rock, where Lynn gives Jim’s final marble she brought the “heave ho.” Unlike Herbert, who was not a great swimmer though he could snorkel for hours, Jim was a “water baby” and so Lynn feels this will be a great spot for him. The weather isn’t supposed to be great, so fingers crossed that we get out there in the boat!

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 13A – Elizabeth’s bungee jump

Elizabeth and David are a couple on our trip. They came to New Zealand for their 25th anniversary (late ’80s I believe), but Elizabeth didn’t “get to” bungee jump. So she was going to do it this time around.

They went when we did the Dart Jet Boat – Elizabeth wished she could have “done it all” but time didn’t permit.

David was born in 1935 – Elizabeth in 1942. They’ve been together for a long time, and are quite a couple. (David is our “Rangatira,” you might remember.)

David shared the photos of Elizabeth’s jump – so I thought I’d share with you. Look at that joy!

Day 14 – Arrowtown & Farewell Dinner (28 Sept 2023)

Today we took a trip out to Arrowtown. It is a picturesque mining town about a half hour bus ride from Queenstown.

Rod did an orientation walk, and then Lynn (who leads Chinatown Tours in San Francisco and worked the Immigration Station on Angel Island) headed over to what had been the Chinese portion of the town (basically gone now).

One thing that was different than the San Francisco Chinese “experience” is that there wasn’t violence against the people – though there was just as much prejudice.

Chinese men from Guangdong (formerly Canton) had come out to work in the gold fields. Once the gold petered out, they turned into the main farmers for the area, and faced a lot less prejudice because the “white folk” didn’t consider them to be competition.

Lynn had been looking for “just the right” pounamu necklace. Part of what I’ve done is scout out different shops while she’s been doing something else. I found three in Arrowtown, but one had great promise. And – yay! – she found a wonderful one. I found one too. Can you see me shaking my head at myself?

After the shopping, we headed to the “bakery on the corner” for hand pies. Lynn got a spicy chicken (which was very spicy) – I got a steak and mushroom. They were DE-licious!

We took them to The Winery, not knowing that they had cheese boards and tapas . . . but they let us sit outside and eat our pies with their wine! It was a gorgeous day so that was great.

The Winery is a genius idea. You turn in your credit card, and they give you a card with a chip in it. You insert the chip above a bottle of wine that you want to try, and choose if you want a “tasting pour,” a “half pour,” or a “full pour.” I tried out a tasting pour for a few reds (one a different Bordeaux blend from my New Favorite Winery, Man O’War!). When it was getting close to the time to catch the bus back to Queenstown, I spied an Arrowtown “dessert wine” made from quince in the “whisky room” that contained a good 15 whiskies, a gin, and a few dessert wines “on tap.”

The “Broken Heart” (quince liqueur) smelled like honey and cinnamon (very “Christmassy”), but upon sipping it was not the super sweet, viscous wine that I was expecting. It was definitely “on the sweet side,” but it had a dry finish. It tasted of sort of an apple/pear/tropical combination – delicious! If I had an extra pound in my luggage and a way to wrap it, I was tempted to bring a bottle home. It was so different. But in reality, Herbert was the one who loved dessert wines, and I’m not sure I would actually open it. I can definitely recommend though if you like something other than your standard port or madeira after a meal.

I’ll just add a quick note about the space-age public toilets in Arrowtown. You press a button to be let in, and it not only talks to you, but everything is automated inside. The funniest part? You’re locked in, until you washed your hands OR wait 10 minutes!! (I imagine that any “non-hand-washers” might just have done it to get let out!)

Tonight we go on the steamer Earnslaw (mentioned in the previous post). It will take us to a dinner on the other side of the lake, at a large sheep station. It’s our Farewell Dinner, as five of our “merry band” are heading off. The rest of us will be heading to the Bay of Islands, including glowworms, some other things Rod mentioned and – of course – the Hundertwasser Toilets!!!!!

UPDATE: The steamer was great – Don went down and talked with the engineer, who was ecstatic to talk to someone who could really appreciate the “workings” of what he did. Don took the photo and video below. You can see the feet of the guy who is shoveling coal in the still photo! I’ll also include a photo of the sheep station from the boat.

“workings” of the Earnslaw – very “steamy”!!!

After a delicious dinner, we had a “farm demonstration” from the shepherd. She ran her “eye dogs” (border collies), and her huntaway for us. Her huntaway was part Labrador, part English pointer, and part “barky dog.” Yes, a mélange! The shepherd said that she was the “ideal dog” because she could be taken hunting and used as a huntaway to drive the sheep.

Rabbits have overrun the South Island as pests, so they are hunted, as are some of the other “varmints” like possum and stoats. When she takes her dog out for hunting, the lab and pointer kicks in – silent, plus helps to point out the game and fetch it back! When she is running sheep, the “barky dog” comes out, and the dog works to move the sheep by barking at them from behind (I talked about this more in depth on the post where we met with Chris the shepherd up North). Very versatile and useful dog!

We were in an open amphitheater for the demonstration, which is quite cold. We all thought we were just going to the dinner inside, so were not prepared for the “nip” outside! Gluten-free Marilyn and Jan – both of whom were raised on farms – stayed in the lounge of the restaurant, because they said “they knew” what “farming was all about” and “it’s just cold and miserable to do this after dinner in the dark.” It led to a very funny interchange – they said that “Farm” was a “4 letter word that started with F” to which Lynn and I said we would try to replace our “usual” “4 letter word that started with F” with it. As in “It’s farming cold out there!” “What the farm is going on?” (Reminds me of when Herbert was watching Battlestar Galactica and replaced that “4 letter F word” with “Frack,” their made-up swear word of the same usage!)

We got back to the hotel, and had some hugs and farewells to the five that are not going to the Bay of Islands. Gluten free Marilyn gave me the sweetest thank you card for making her the hat! I hope that I can stay in touch with her and Jan. They travel together a lot and are really great. It might be fun to try to be on a new trip with them. Actually everyone was really super. I think that Jim and Marilyn, and Don, are going in June on a trip that includes Paris and Italy. It got us into a discussion of whether the part of Notre Dame that is being touted as “to be open” for the Olympics (in July/August of next year) will really make it. I watched a fascinating documentary on everything that they’re doing to fix it. Jim said no way would it be open at all – I just said that the “plan” was to have the apse open – we’ll see!

I’ve been hearing about the potentiality of the House ReTrumplicans holding the government funding hostage, which would lead to a government shut down back home, which could lead to flight cancellations. I’m hoping that won’t be the case for us, as we go straight from Auckland to San Francisco. If we had had a stop in LAX (like on the way out), I think we might be more likely to run into trouble. However, we received the following this morning:

Good morning all: At 4.04am this morning I received notification that our Flt NZ614 to Auckland was cancelled. The only alternative for us was NZ616 departing Queenstown at 11.55 am a delay of 2.15hrs. We will now depart the hotel for the airport at 9.45am so please have a long breakfast and suitcases out at at 9.00am for the porter. This will impact my plan for the day however don’t worry I’m working on another plan. So sorry about this. Rod

We were already up early to get our bags out for the flight we thought that we were going to be on, so didn’t quite get the extra sleep we might have, but at least I got a bit more time to update the blog! With that said – here’s hoping that’s our only “hiccup” and everything else goes perfectly!

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 13 – Queenstown & Dart Jet Boat (27 Sept 2023)

After breakfast at our hotel, we were given a “Bee” pass. You swipe this as you get on public transportation and again when you get off. It allowed us to use a bus to get down from our hotel (which is on a hill to the side of town) and – perhaps more importantly – back.

Rod walked us around Queenstown to give us our bearings. This first photo is from the description of the steamer that will take us tomorrow night to our “farewell dinner” across the lake. It was built the same year as the Titanic and has had many jobs. This photo shows when it would go from sheep station to sheep station, gathering up sheep.

Here is a life sized moa (now extinct) with Dawn, and a cute tea house near the Botanic Gardens.

We had read about “Fergburger,” which was just as busy as the “best burger in New Zealand” has a right to be. Lynn and I hit it early – at 11:00 – and split a venison “Bambi burger” and fries, plus had a glass of wine (of course we did). The line wasn’t terrible and – more importantly – we were able to snag two seats at a table outside. (Seats are really at a premium – most people sit on a wall out front.) When I ordered the wine, I was told that I “couldn’t take it outside” (all the inside tables were obviously packed), but I pointed out the “server window” to where Lynn was sitting. The cashier told me that was the only outside table that was allowed wine, as it was “under and awning” and so still “counted” as being “inside.” (Right when we were about to leave, Cindy and Toshiko were in line – Cindy had gotten a “Fergpie” from the bakery next door, so she took my seat, and held the other for Toshiko, who was getting a burger. Great timing!)

Afterwards, we headed to Patagonia (no, not the clothing shop) to have gelato for dessert. Check out these treats! And – need a job?

Patagonia is known for its ‘world famous’ hot chocolate, but we were too stuffed to think about it.

There are a lot of restaurants in New Zealand with names that makes you smile. (This one is a Mexican restaurant):

After our walk around Queenstown and lunch, it was time for our jet boat adventure on the Dart. The jet boats skim over the water, which can be as shallow as four inches! It was quite a long drive to get there – about 45 minutes on a winding road. We made it though, and were outfitted in long water-proof, warm jackets plus life preservers. Gluten-free Marilyn was kind enough to “pose” in what we were calling our “penguin getup.”

It was definitely nippy, but turns out that the railings that you can hold onto in the jet boat have hot water running through them to warm your hands. Genius!

I have some shots of the beautifulness:

The guide showed us all the various spots where parts of The Hobbit were filmed – it wasn’t until the middle of the last one that I realized I should be doing a Marco Polo to Leann about these, as she has a friend that’s a Lord of the Rings nut. Missed opportunity!

Here are some shots that the boat driver took of our “merry band”:

A couple of panoramas:

And finally, a video of what the adventure was like! This is 5 minutes long, so it might take a bit to load . . . but I was determined to keep filming until the driver did a 360* turn in the river! (If you forward to about 4:30 you get the idea.)

Lynn and I eschewed heading to town for dinner, opting instead to head back to the hotel to catch our blogs up! Tomorrow is a trip to Arrowtown, which is apparently a mining town, and then our trip on the steamer and Farewell Dinner. Jan and Gluten-Free Marilyn are heading to Tasmania, and Toshiko, Bev and Jim are also not doing the post-trip to the Bay of Islands.

In the meantime, I’m trying to get the photos to load (it’s been SO TEDIOUS) and we’re swapping some things around to try to get our suitcases to 50 pounds and 15 pounds for the trip from here to Auckland. :-) (Lynn arrived with less “weight” than I had, but we have both been buying presents which doesn’t do much for the weight situation. We’re wearing our heavy boots on the plane!)

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 12 – Milford Sound – Ti Anau – to Queenstown (26 Sept 2023)

Bev’s Jim & a glacier.

We woke up on the boat and headed up to breakfast – then the boat took us from our mooring out on the Tasman Sea. Whew, the boat was really thrown around! You could see, however, how Captain Cook just saw what was actually the opening to the sound as a “shallow cove” – the opening hooks around, so it’s completely impossible to see from the Tasman Sea.

I mentioned the forest penguins in my last post – we saw more as we headed out to the Tasman Sea. We also were told about the study center that you see in the picture below. They are studying the black coral of the Sound. The coral itself is actually white, but its backbone is black. Birch/beech trees apparently lay a slick on the edge of the water, and the coral “thinks” that it is deeper than it is. This means that the coral is only a few meters under water, which makes them very easy to study.

After bidding Adieu to the Milford Mariner, we were back on the road, it was drive-drive-drive-drive-drive.

Once we got out of the tunnel on the other side, it was quite foggy again. We stopped for a quick break at a rest stop, then back on the road!

I finished the white wool portion of the scarf for dad, and so planned to see if I could find some wool in Ti Anau, where we would stop for lunch.

Stopped in Ti Anau, and while most everyone went to the “Pie Shop” (hand pies – mostly savory, some sweet), I tried to find a wool shop. Unfortunately, the actual “sewing shop” had a sign on it that said “Gone to Italy.” (Oooookay then!) I walked a couple of stores down the main street, and saw two knitting needles and a skein of yarn on a chair outside the Art Gallery, and a sign that said “Sit and knit a bit.” So, in I went.

Hand spun yarn – spun by the artist right there! (No photos) I picked out two skeins of brown wool, which I thought would go nicely with the white. So the scarf would be 1/2 white, 1/2 brown!

I also saw some very cute and affordable ceramic containers. I have a ceramic sculpture that I purchased from the Sausalito Art Festival of two women laughing. One’s black, one’s white, and they’re just having a marvelous chat about something. Any time I find a tiny ceramic “vessel” that looks like it could be theirs (they came with 2 vessels) I buy it, so that they have lots of choices.

As I was buying the wee vessel, the artist came out from the back! He wasn’t shy about photos, and wanted to show me his studio. He apparently teaches classes for many of the townspeople, and he showed me a lot of their work, waiting to be fired or glazed. Then he punched some clay for the photo :-)

Back on the road, to the Ti Anau Bird Sanctuary!

Having a bit of fun with Rod, our Guide:

They have Takahe – which are the largest flightless bird in New Zealand. They were thought to be extinct, until some were found in the depths of a forest. They are very well protected here and they are trying to breed them, then release them in areas that are free of rats, possums, stoats, etc. There is one island that we heard about that is nearly clear, and the plan is to reinstate Takahe and Kiwi there. (You can’t really tell how big the bird is from the photo – or how thick and big his legs and feet are!)

The next bird that we saw was the Kākā, which is a local parrot-like bird. There were two – a young 5 year old male and a 25 year old female. The male showed off for us, doing things like opening a spigot to sip some water, then turn it off, and flying and whistling from end to end of his enclosure. It was a bit hard to take photos, as they were through the fencing.

This is what they call a parakeet – pretty big for a parakeet!

A very pretty duck. Cindy took this photo.

Aaaaaaand, on the road again! Sheep and mountains:

“The Remarkables,” a mountain range outside Queenstown, and grass-fed, farmed venison on the hoof:

We have approached Queenstown with a bit of trepidation, because they’ve had a serious outbreak of Cryptosporidium. This is a very nasty bug. Lynn, in fact, caught it on a trip some time ago, and though she took the outrageously expensive pills to “cure” it, it still flares. That’s not something that I want to deal with, certainly! We were given one bottle of water by the hotel to use in tooth brushing, etc., but Lynn and I each picked up another at the grocery store (and another bottle of wine, of course!)

Tomorrow, an orientation walk around Queenstown, and then the jet boat on the Dart River!

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 11 – to Milford Sound (25 September 2023)

I’m filling in Day 11 and Day 12 on the evening of Day 12, because our boat in Milford Sound did not have Wi-Fi. So, these two posts are going to be more “impressions and pictures” than a lot of words.

The first thing that we had to do was figure out what to bring aboard the Milford Mariner overnight . . . because we were only allowed a backpack! The evening before involved a lot of “this and that” – as in “Do I need this? Do I need that?”

After breakfast at the hotel, we were on our way. We had a really heavy mist that morning. This shot isn’t the best, as we were speeding by, but you can see the mist on the river.

One of the towns that we drove through was Balclutha. Balclutha is, of course, the masted ship docked at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco (right next to the SERC docks). The ship’s, and the town’s, name is derived from a township that spans the Clutha River; “Clutha” is the Gaelic name for the River Clyde in Scotland. (The Māori name for it is Iwikatea: iwi: bones; katea: whitened – refers to a battle which left human bones strewn over the ground.) Balclutha (the ship) was the last to fly the flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

We drove through the town of Clinton – the next town was Gore (pronounced Gorrrre) – Didn’t have my camera out to take a photo of the “Clinton/Gore” highway sign. I wonder what these towns thought of that match-up in American politics and if that sign had a lot of Americans pose by it “back in the day”!

This is a photo of the Creamota factory – I believe that our guide said that it is closed now. “Sargeant Dan” was their spokesman for kids to eat more oat/wheat hot cereal:

The gigantic rainbow trout from Gorrrrre:

We stopped in Gore for a “bio-break” – and amazing pastries! I asked the gal who was serving the coffee whether they were made locally . . . and she said “Yes indeed – by me!” Her daughter had the store “Floral Victoria” next door, and there were some beautiful bouquets and floral arrangements in the coffee shop!

In this area of New Zealand, you are expected to have a “chocolate fish” after your breakfast. They are chocolate covered . . . well . . . sort of minty marshmallow candies.

I asked the woman how many “flat whites” (like a latte without foam) it would take to fill up my Thermos, and she said two. So that’s what I got, filled right into my Thermos so I didn’t have to use a “to go” cup:

I managed to miss the Gore “Wool and Haberdashery” unfortunately! I decided that the perfect present for my Dad would be to take the wool that I had gotten from the sheep station and make him a scarf like I made “gluten-free Marilyn” the hat. I knew that I likely didn’t have enough wool to make a full scarf . . . if I had seen the “Wool and Haberdashery” I could have supplemented my “stash,” but no such luck.

Here is the “Red Tussock” conservation area (and our first view of the Alps):

Some lamb and venison “on the hoof”:

I can’t quite remember the name of this town. Maybe it was Gore? In any case, we took a quick stop. Note how the recent rains had swollen the river enough that the picnic table is in the river!

We hit the town of Ti Anau for lunch. This sign in front of the restaurant made me laugh!! Also, some photographs of an Australian magpie, which is a bit like a mockingbird. It sings all sorts of different birds’ songs.

The next few photos are taken between Ti Anau and Milford Sound. There is 4,800 square miles of “Fiordland National Park.” It is very rugged country, and the largest in New Zealand. We saw the “remainder” of the Elizabeth Glacier (pronounced: GLASS-ear) – in 1975, New Zealand had 4,100 glaciers that were over one hectare. Now, there are 3,900.

Again, on our way to Milford Sound, this is the Eglinton Valley. The “scar” on the side of the hill is from a tree falling off the top, and taking all the trees below with it.

Then we stopped at Mirror Lakes. It’s a World Heritage Area as the longest continuous inland waterway from North to South, which is especially important for indigenous fauna. Check out these trout! They were easily two pounders. The water was so clear I was able to photograph them!

Mirror Lakes (taken by Cindy while I was taking trout photos!)

We kept driving, driving – from our first “big” waterfall, to a stop to see if we could spot the kea (New Zealand parrots) that frequent the area. We sure could! The one below was quite intrepid. He had probably been fed at this rest stop (verboten, but you know how it goes). Since we were warned not to feed him . . . he headed for the bus!! He even took a chunk out of the first stair! There is a close up in his nest with his mate.

our first big waterfall

Another glacier (GLASS-ear) on the road, and then the tunnel to Milford Sound. It was a bit less than a mile, but only one car could go at a time. Sometimes apparently the kea hitch a ride on cars, so that they don’t have to fly up and over the mountain!!

Once we got on the Milford Mariner and stowed our backpacks in our rooms, we were off. The Māori word for Milford Sound is “Piopiotahi” (pron: Pippy-oh-tah-hee) – which means “a single piopio.” What’s a piopio? It’s a now-extinct bird, that was done in by ship rats. :-(

The first thing that we saw was the “Fairy Waterfall” from which you can always get rainbows in the mist:

Mo’waterfalls again – if you look closely, there is a 2nd rainbow mirroring the first, on the outside:

Here’s Lynn getting ready for our ride out in the Zodiac (we opted for that versus the kayaks):

The Zodiac gang:

me, Bev, Jan, Cindy, Toshiko, Jim (Marilyn’s Jim not Bev’s Jim, who took the picture), and the side of Jim’s Marilyn’s face

The Milford Mariner:

Penguin shots from the Zodiac! It was SO far away but I did my best! (With the cell phone!). This is the only forest-dwelling penguin. They can actually climb, and make their nests up on the cliffs. The name of this penguin in Māori hearkens to their God of Thunder (a la Thor), because the yellow feathers that extend from behind the eyes back look like lightening.

We did see another penguin on the next day (which I will talk about in the next post). We have a widower on our trip, Don. He’s not only very handsome (looks like Daniel Craig, about 20 years older), but he had a wonderful situation with his wife. They got together in junior high school! So they were together 58 years! She passed away suddenly about 5 years ago from a quick-onset brain aneurysm.

Anyway, he takes a lot of photos, but every time we would compare notes, he would have a rock (and I would have the same rock), but somehow, the penguin, or bird, or rainbow, or what-have-you that I had in my photo was missing from his photo. It got to be so comical! He’s been super nice to me and it’s nice to have someone like that on the trip. He’s traveling with Jim and Marilyn, as the four of them used to do trips together. They come from Arizona, though he’s originally from Pennsylvania. Think I mentioned before, he went to Penn State, where an ex-boyfriend of mine went. He’s a big fan, with lots of logo things, and even Nittany Lions in his garden LOL!

After dinner, the crew asked if anyone wanted to “take a dip.” Well, I had brought my bathing suit, and thought I’d surprise everyone and do it! I certainly did surprise them! Our guide said that in all his time with OAT no one had ever taken the crew up on it. I was the only one on the whole boat (we weren’t the only passengers). WHEW it was cold!

When I was climbing down to the fantail to get in the water I realized, first, I had my room key, which I stuffed in Don’s breast pocket as I went past. I might have said something like it was his responsibility, if I died, to take care of Lynn! Then I realized I still had on my necklace and ring, which I gave to Bev from our group. She said she was glad I got back out – but kind of sad that the necklace wasn’t going to be hers (ha ha!) My plan had been to swim around the boat, but I only swam about 20 meters or so away from the boat and the water got precipitously colder. I guess that the engines had somehow warmed the water some? (I went off the back deck.) Once I was back out of the water, I ran down and changed into lots of clothes, and Rod even kept my hands in his to try to warm them up – and bought me another glass of wine for my bravery :-) (Toshiko said: “Sugoi!!!”)

Rumor had it that you could see the Milky and possibly the “Southern Lights’ if you stayed up, but I was exhausted. I did go up to the very top deck (where the Bridge is) and lie on one of the big wooden benches. I did get to see the Southern Cross – and three satellites! – and then Orion’s Belt.

When Herbert would be traveling on business, we would always go out and look at Orion’s Belt before going to sleep, me from home, he from wherever he was. When I saw the three stars of the belt, I had to smile. But they “looked different” and I couldn’t figure out why – until l saw the two stars that make up the “sword” going upwards from the belt! Of course! We are in the Southern Hemisphere – the belt is tilted in the opposite direction (why it “looked weird”) – and the sword is “pointing up!”

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!

Day 10 – Dunedin (24 Sept 2023)

Our hotel in Dunedin is the former Main Post Office. They had some fun with it. Their restaurant is accessed through the “Parcels” doorway – hence, it is “Parcels Restaurant.”

They also made small private dining areas out of the former vaults! (That was my favorite).

And below is an old picture of the queue outside the Post Office for Christmas parcels.

This morning was a bit of a rough one. The clocks had “Sprung Forward,” giving us one hour’s less sleep. I suppose the “good” part of it was that, instead of waking up at 4:00 a.m. as seems to be my schedule in New Zealand, I was up at 5:00 a.m. The “bad” part was that I got to sleep at what would have been 11:00 p.m. the night before!

A friend send me THIS ARTICLE, which I found fascinating, when she found out I was “down South” (laugh!) It’s about New Zealand being left off many world maps.

Did I tell you about Man’O’War winery Bordeaux blend called “Ironclad”? It’s a Waiheke Island wine and it is the best Bordeaux blend I have had in memory. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Gorgeous deep dark color – huge voluminous nose. Complex palate – brambles, blackberry, cassis, exotic spice, graphite, and little “salty” deliciousness. Lynn and I had a bottle last night with a steak. NOM NOM.

This morning I reached for a cereal bowl and taking it off the pile disrupted the bowl underneath, which shattered with a great crash. The breakfast room fell silent and what could I do but shout “Ooopah!” Jim, Marilyn and Don delivered a piece to me later that had not been swept up, as a “memento.” I thought it made a perfect hat.

After breakfast, we were off to Larnach Castle. It is now privately owned by the Barker family. When they purchased it in 1967, it was empty and in a very sad state of repair, with many leaks, etc. They slowly re-gathered the furnishings from the surrounding town, as most of the original pieces hadn’t “gone far.” HERE is a link to their website, including a bit about the history.

Driving to Larnach Castle:

Larnach Castle
china set for tea

We started out in the Ballroom, which had a fire going, and tables set up for tea.

The first owner was originally in banking, and then started an import-export company.

The “ballast” on the ships were items for his home . . .

. . . such as ceiling beams, double-paned glass, and three enormous alabaster bathtubs, only one of which was able to make it into the house!

(The others wound up in the garden!)

Well – I shouldn’t say we started in the Ballroom. Actually, we started in the Castle Shop, because we had to wait out another tour group. I found another present for my Mom. This is unprecedented. Well, “unprecedented” unless the present is a tribal necklace! I purchased another coffee cup for myself, and am thinking I should let Dad choose one of them for himself (Hi Dad!).

After we had looked at the Ballroom (and stood a bit in front of the roaring fire!), we moved to the Music Room.

The beams in the ceiling were Douglas fir shipped from America.

The “servants’ mirror” was fascinating. The dining room wasn’t all that big. You, of course, needed your servants to be there to attend to your every whim; however, in such a small room, you didn’t want them “hovering” or – Goddess forfend! – looking at you! Et voila, the servants’ mirror. The servants would stand with their backs to the table, watching in the servants’ mirror on the wall. If someone at the table needed anything, they would be able to attend to it.

I thought the tile behind the grate was lovely. See the handle on the wall to the right? You’d wind it around, and it would call a servant. All the bells were down in one room that was monitored constantly.

In the Dining Room, the English oak panels in the ceiling were adorned with flowers, birds and butterflies carved from mahogany and applied. Mr. Larnach imported two Italian plasterers for the sculptural work of grapes and vines to the sides of the ceiling. When he had the first two shipped in from Italy the ship delivering them went through Sydney – and they were having such a good time in Sydney that they decided not to leave! So he had to ship in two more! Three people spent six-and-a-half years carving the ceiling in the Main Foyer alone. The gecko you see in the photos above was the trademark of Louis Godfrey, who was contracted for wood carving at the Castle for 12 years.

In the Main Foyer, hand-etched Venetian glass represents the rose of England, the shamrock of Ireland, the silver fern of New Zealand, and the Scottish thistle. Scottish wild cats hold the Larnach motto “Sans Peur” (without fear). Of course, it’s a play on words too – Without (“Sans”) Purr :-) “The Camp” in the floor mosaic is what Mr. Larnach called the property.

The meaning of “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit” is “No one attacks me with impunity” – motto of Scotland and the Order of the Thistle.

The Staircase is a so-called Georgian “hanging” staircase. It is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. The balusters are of mahogany and the handrail is not steam bent, but carved from solid kauri. It’s called a “hanging” staircase because it doesn’t have a central pillar around which the stairs curve.

Mr. Larnach married his first wife – who died at 38 after having 6 kids. Then his second wife also died at 38. He married his third wife, Constance, at 37 – maybe she didn’t know of the curse of marrying Mr. Larnach? He was far older than she was, and while he was away on business, she took up with his son. Ultimately she and her sister “went away to England for 10 months” (hmmmmmm). When they returned, it was such a scandal that Mr. Larnach, who was a member of Parliament, shot himself during a recess in session.

The above photos are from Constance’s room: The photos show her wedding dress, a close-up of its lace lily-of-the-valley pattern, and then her mourning dress. The “flying” woman might depict the ghost of the first wife – or might just be showing guests the Victorian undies. :-)

One of the parts of a house that would break – and was difficult to then repair – were the cords that raised and lowered sash windows. Mr. Larnach found a far stronger solution – he replaced the rope cords with bicycle chains!

After exhausting the rooms of the castle, up we went a steep, narrow stone staircase to reach the battlements. From 320m above the sea, the view commands a panorama from Dunedin, down the harbor past Port Chalmers to the Heads, and then along the coast.

The Harbor Cone is an extinct volcano and is the cone-shaped hill you can see through the crenellations in the photo below at the far right, and in the larger panorama below. At the Heads is the only accessible albatross colony in the world, and penguins nest along some of the beaches.

After finishing with main house, we were off into the gardens.

The stable is now lodging, as is Camp Estate and Larnach Lodge. There are a lot of “Alice In Wonderland” tributes in and around the garden.

To the left is actually the methane “factory.”

Mr. Larnach would have all the excrement gathered up that was “produced” on the estate, and then piled up in here. The methane coming off the “poop” powered the gal lights, etc. (Yes, really!)

dry-laid wall

Lynn decided on a spot to leave one of Jim’s cremarbles.

(She followed my “Celebration of Life” idea and had some of his ashes made into marbles.)

The spot is a nice place to rest and watch the ocean.

Jim’s marbles are larger, and blue. I tried to take a photo of it in the actual spot, but it was pretty dark in there! (In the big photo below, look for what look like white ‘sparkles’ to the right side of the hole, then you can make out the blue marble around them.)

The below is from a casino boat (though not the legs). You can see the size courtesy of Betsy my model ;-). In the close-up of the glass, you can see that it has opium poppies in the design, at the bottom!

A few photos from the “Native plant” garden. Mr. Larnach had had all the trees/plants cut down while he built the castle. After it was finished, however, he researched and had Natives re-planted (in the “correct” garden, of course!)

I have mentioned it before, but the enormous camelia, rhododendron, peony, etc. trees (yes, trees) throughout the area have been absolutely stunning.

After leaving Larnach Castle, we took a wee nap (1/2 hour) then headed out for a tour of Dunedin with Rod. We saw the churches, Robbie Burns statue (his nephew was somehow involved with Dunedin), and random penguin statues that were tied to local businesses.

The Dunedin Railway Station receives a huge number of visitors, 2nd only to the Sydney Opera House in the Southern Hemisphere.

inside the Railway Station:

My foot was about ready to call it a night, but I had spied a “Rock Shop” on the main street and headed in to see if there was something special for Melissa. And, why, there sure was! I’m super pleased with myself. I’m having some good luck with presents.

Though the “gang” was at a pub down in town, Lynn and I opted to stay in the hotel and eat at Parcels. (In fact, our waitress was the one who showed us the “private vaults.”) We are now packing and re-packing and re-organizing, because we are only allowed to bring a small bag (a la a knapsack) onto the boat we will be living on in Milford Sound. I think that we’re nearly set – but if it’s super warm down there, we are going to be in trouble!

My knapsack right now holds silk underwear (top and bottom), meds, extra button-down shirt (I’m wearing a cashmere tank and button-down shirt, this is another one that goes with the tank), extra socks/undies, a bathing suit (unlikely, but I do have it), waterproof pants, PJs, a bottle of wine (hey now, don’t judge), a hokey pokey bar (yes, I know, bad . . . ), my “Whisper” (personal tour guide listening device), sunglasses, passport, money, a Henley that can go over the whole mess, hot/cold Thermos hanging on a clip to the side. Then, on top, H’s ditty bag pared down to brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hair clip, face lotion, meds, sunscreen, NED Mellö Magnesium (use discount code JOY and please one of my clients LOL). I will also be wearing a down vest, flannel hat, gloves, and a raincoat. Once I finish this blog, the computer and power source will go in there – tomorrow, the cell phone :-) But as you can see, if it’s actually warm down there, I’m in trouble, ha ha. (It’s supposed to be between 9-16C or about 48-62F.)

If you want $100 off, call OAT at 1-800-955-1925 and request a catalog, tell them you were referred by Sandy Shepard, customer number 3087257, and get $100 off your first trip!