Five words that can change your life: Love, Peace, Happiness, Health, and Wealth.

LOVE – The most important word in the English language. This 4 letter word can fill your heart with joy or break it right in half. It can be a powerful force that gives you strength or a debilitating emotion.  A word that is so powerful it can change your life in a second and change the world if we let it.  I have learned that first you have to love yourself, inside and out, if you can do this then you open yourself up to love someone else and allow them to love you.  I have been lucky enough to have felt the love of a parent, the love of friendship, the love of family, the love of my God, and the romantic and passionate love of a spouse.   I have witnessed love grow and love die.  I want to tell you that there is no greater feeling, whether you feel it for the first time or the 100^th time. Love will pull you through the worst of times and lead you to the best of times.  Love yourself and everyone around will love you. Keep yourself open to love and to being loved. If we allow ourselves to love each other, no matter who we are, the world will be a better place. 

PEACE – Whether it is Peace of mind, Peace between people, Peace between nations.  Peace of mind is to know what you are doing is right, knowing that your innermost thoughts are true and having no regrets.  Peace between people is to accept everyone, LOVE everyone and treat everyone with respect and if you can do those three things you will have peace in all your relationship.  Peace between nations, God has given this wonderful world to all to enjoy, if we ignore greed, eliminate our pettiness and appreciate the differences in every person on earth, then Peace will reign in our nations.  Peace has to start with one person and grow from there. Let Peace reign in your heart and pass it on with kind words, a smile, a handshake or a hug and Peace will grow.

HAPPINESS – I have learned that happiness is a choice.   No amount of money can buy happiness, but it is an emotion that can be stolen from you, if you let it.  For instance I’m sure there has been a time when someone has asked “why are you so happy” or “you don’t have anything to be happy about” Well I tell them, yes I do, I am alive, and each morning I have the ability to choose to be happy or unhappy.  Yes there are times in our lives that sadness, depression and anxiety comes over us, allow yourself to feel those emotions, recognize those emotions and you will then be able to say nope I want to be happy.  Once we learn how to control our own happiness, we can face every obstacle that we may come across with a better outlook. Happiness is also contagious; it is very hard not to be happy when you are surrounded by other people who are happy.  We can learn this lesson from our children.  Even on a bad day, if you go and watch children playing in a playground, laughing, and smiling without a care in the world, you can’t help but smile.  As adults we do have a lot more to worry about but those worries are lessened and a lot easier to handle with a smile on our face.  So tomorrow when your feet hit the ground, say Thanks for another day, and say I understand there is a lot of sadness in the world, but I am going to choose to put a smile on my face and be happy. Maybe my smile will help turn someone else’s day around and then let there be an outbreak of happiness for everyone to feel. 

HEALTH - The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in 1946 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." I would agree.  There are many determining factors, other than genetics that affect our physical, mental and social well-being a lot of them come from choices we make.  Diet and Exercise are only a couple choices we make that help or hinder your physical well-being. But when it comes to our mental or social well-being the lines aren’t so clearly drawn. In choosing HAPPINESS over sadness we can help our mental health. Choosing to open yourself up to LOVE will help your PEACE of mind and help you overcome many things that endanger your social well-being.  Even when there is an ailment that you are faced with, the right frame of mind will not only help you through it but will let you allow others into your world that may be able to help with your overall well-being. So when you are faced with a possible threat to your health, Physical, Mental or Social, deal with all the emotions you will feel and then say I have the power to overcome this, put a smile on your face and fight all the bad with good, because without our health we won’t be able to enjoy the many wonderful things out there that make our lives wonderful.

WEALTH – when people see this word most people think money. But Wealth can be so much more.  You can be wealthy with an abundance of family and friends or because you have a wonderful relationship. Maybe you live paycheck to paycheck, but you have a wonderful husband, great children, food on the table and a roof over your head, to some people you may be the wealthiest person on earth. On the other hand you may have all the money you need but aren’t happy and can’t find love then maybe you are looking for wealth in material things and not feeling it in your heart.  So, if you’re needs are provided for, you have happiness and love in your life and peace in your heart, YOU ARE WEALTHY, no matter what your bank account says. 

These five little words can be your strength or be an excuse; you can blame them for your situation in life or use them to better your life.  I hope that you choose to look at them as I do and allow their true meaning to shine within you.  You may be surprised on how changing your point of view can change your life.  With all my heart I wish you LOVE, PEACE, HAPPINESS, HEALTH AND WEALTH forever in your world.

God Bless

Happy and Safe Travels.

 

Learning to hit the bad pitch

It’s funny how even as we get older and we think we have everything figured out, life can still through us a curve ball.  My father always said a good hitter can hit a good pitch; a great hitter can hit a bad pitch and keep you in the game.  Well lately we’ve had to swing at a couple of bad pitches and so far we have been able to foul them off and remain in the game.  Just as I am working on getting my travel career growing, my husband loses his job.  It was a partial choice, but as I witnessed the crap they put him through and saw how miserable he was I thoroughly support his decision.  I wanted the man I married back. The man that is fun, smiles and has a passion for life.

So here we are in our fifties, very little income, no insurance, 2 sons’ recently engaged, aging parents, an unsellable house and cars in need of repairs.  Not exactly what you might picture when you dream of closing in on retirement, but it is our reality and part of staying in the game is learning what to do when it’s the bottom of the 9^th and 2 outs. So (since we haven’t found that winning lotto ticket) it’s back to the job market for Bert and myself.  Am I giving up on my travel business, ABSOLUTELY NOT, but I am going to have to find a position that will allow me to do both.  Now a big decision do we stay in Colorado or relocate. We have been talking for quite a while about moving; maybe this is our sign from above that it’s time. When you’re in the game and the coach gives you a sign you can’t argue.  I can do my travel from anywhere (thanks to the Internet) and cost of living is better in some other areas, so it’s time to weigh the pros and cons and make some hard decisions. 

This blog is called “Gina’s what’s now what’s next” and it definitely says’ it all. I hope that writing about my real life I can help put a perspective on yours.  So when you’re down and out, when you don’t know which way to turn, when you’re down to your last paycheck, DON’T GIVE UP, HAVE FAITH, keep your eye on the ball and keep fouling off all those bad pitches until you get the one that you knock out of the park and changes your life.  It only takes one. 

PS. I am busy arranging my group cruise for next year.  (I’m gonna need it). Call me to get your cabin booked soon, (special surprise if you get your deposit in by June 19th). Hope you can join us in celebrating hitting that homerun.

Please don't forget to comment and share my blog

God Bless

Happy and Safe travels

 

 

Choices, Choices.

May 1^st and I am sitting here staring at the snow falling, something is wrong with this picture. I am pondering the fact that this week I turn 53 and the older I get the more I would rather sit and watch the waves roll in.  I know that the life I lead now was determined by choices that I made a long time ago and I don’t regret those choices as they are what gave me my wonderful husband and 3 wonderful sons.  I just hope that the choices I make today will lead me in 15 years to place that I will be able to sit and watch the waves roll in.  As each year passes my priorities change.  I am looking for a simpler life with more adventures and experiences and less demands and stress.  Maybe that is why my choice of a change of life career was a good one at the time.  It gave me some opportunities to see places I wouldn’t have been able to see and meet people that are able to travel the world, so I know that having that lifestyle can be obtained.  But now I again have to make some hard choices, do I continue to pursue a dream fulltime and hope that struggling financially will end, or do I settle so that I can help my family more. Making choices is never easy especially when there are other people involved, do you follow your heart or your head, and do you worry about your dreams or everyone else’s ideals.  I guess it comes down to do I have the faith and confidence to believe in myself and my choices or not.  Is there ever a time when you have to face reality and accept that where you are is where you are going to be. I am lucky that I have the ability to make choices right or wrong. I look at my wonderful husband who choices were all made unselfishly for his family and not to pursue a dream. Am I being selfish? At my age should I be a more responsible adult.  To all my young followers out there being a responsible adult isn’t easy. Admitting that you may have made a wrong choice and correcting it is hard, but what is even harder is challenging yourself to stand by a good choice even when everything and everyone around you is telling you it is wrong.   You must look deep inside yourself and decide what you really desire out of the choices you make.   I see my children making choices that are going to direct their lives and I pray that it leads them to all their hopes and dreams coming true and  I hope they understand when I try to give them some educated advice on making choices, I am doing it out of love.  LOVE, I wish you could live off of love, I would be a millionaire and all my choices would be easy.  

Well, I know I can’t be the only one having to make choices that will affect their lives and maybe my thinking out loud in this blog will help you put into perspective all the choices you have to make or at least give you something to think about.

God Bless
Happy and Safe Travels.

Smiles and tears, love and anger, happiness and passion all universal

I wanted to write a few things about what I witnesses that is similar all over the world.  It doesn't matter whether you are in the city or the country, whether you are in the bush of Africa, a boat on the Mekong or in the richest country in the world there is one thing that hit me.  Humans are humans. Yes you can have different beliefs, wear different clothes or carry different money, deep down we are all the same.  We desire happiness, love and passion in our lives.  In every country I saw a mothers love for her child by kissing their tears away, I saw young people falling in love by holding hands and staring into each others eyes.  I saw senior citizens get a helping hand from a stranger, I witness siblings arguing and parents disciplining. I heard laughter from a child that made everyone smile, and laughter from an adult that made you feel their happiness. If there are tears in someones eyes or a smile on there face it doesn't matter where they are from you understand. Passion is definitely universal. Each person I talked to spoke with passion about something and that passion is what helped you connect to that person. How can you not connect to someone that lights up when they see a child running through a park, hold a dog in there laps, see wildlife at its best and worst, have tears come to there eyes when they speak about their city or even reach out there hand to you in a church and say peace be with you. I realized if you don't have a burning passion whether it be for your country, your employment, your family and friends or just life. You are empty.  People all around the world just want one thing to be happy.  I met people that lived in mansions which everyone assumes are happy but I also saw people that lived on the river banks with dirt floors that invited us in to their homes, had nothing but each other and  were happy,  Happiness it's a universal emotion.   If someone asked me what was one thing that I learned about on this trip that may change my life I would have to say is that no matter your race, no matter your religion, We all look at the same sky, same stars, we all the same dreams.  Humanity is amazing.  Oh and one more thing.  ANTS and Traffic are everywhere.

You can see pictures of my adventure on facebook, Pinterest or on my website www.glkdreamtravel.com

God Bless

Happy and safe travels.

Buenos Aires the city of Parks

Buenos Aires the city of Parks

It was pure fate that we got to visit this great destination just a couple of weeks after one of their own became Pope.  The city was filled with pride and Vatican flags.  We stayed in the Rigoletto part of town and it was wonderful, clean and quaint, we felt safe and walked the all over the neighborhood. Our first night there was Palm Sunday and there was a little church just a few blocks from our hotel, we went to beautiful mass, walked through a street market and then stopped at a sidewalk café for dinner and glass of wine, a perfect evening. Our city tour took us to some hidden treasures such as a cemetery that was unbelievable and also where Eve Peron was buried.  Our guide also informed us of so much history about this city and I wasn’t aware of such as the amount of Italian influence from the immigrants that settled there. She took us to the La Boca area I don’t think I have ever seen such a colorful area, I could have spent an entire day walking around. I was amazed at the amount of parks and dogs in this town everywhere you looked there were dog walkers and the parks were maintained with such care the garden of roses was so beautiful it really made you want to stop and smell the roses.  These parks were free to walk around in and made you feel at home. We went to a dinner and tango show in the St Elmo section of town that made you fall in love with their passion of music and dance.  I will definitely return to this lovely town. 

This destination was a wonderful way to end our Around the World Journey.  My next blog I will try to sum up our adventure.

    

 

Safari in South Africa

Safari in South Africa, something that is on almost everyone’s bucket list and I can mark mine complete.  It started with me getting on a small airplane that held about 10 people and a pilot that looked like he was 12 (okay I am exaggerating a little, but he was very young).  I sat right behind him and could watch all the gauges on the dash, it actually was kind of interesting and I did okay.  We arrived on a very little landing strip in the middle of the African Bush in the Medikwe Animal Reserve and were taken to the Mateya lodge. The lodge is wonderful, it was originally built as a personal residence and only has 5 suites; we were greeted by a very nice young lady with cool towels and a very nice lunch and were informed that Bert and I were the only guest in the lodge. We were treated like royalty, candlelit dinner for 2 on the balcony, and even dinner in a beautiful wine cellar.  I never expected to ever have the luxury to have an entire resort and staff to ourselves. The food was wonderful except Bert ate Pumba (warthog). I couldn’t do it. One thing I had to get use to was no television; it is a place where you totally interact with nature. Our first evening there we began our first outing into the wild.  I never in my life have been so close to amazing animals.  There were Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeest, black and white Rhinos, Lions, Kadu, Leopards, cheetahs, jackals, African wild dogs and other animal I can’t name them all.  Over the next 2 days we went out 4 times, 2 evenings and 2 early mornings. Our guide and tracker said that we were so lucky we witnessed more in 2 days than some people see in 2 or 3 trips.  He had clients that are on their 5^th trip and still haven’t seen as much.  Our biggest surprise was, we witnessed a lion kill.  We came upon a watering hole and there was a Kadu trapped in the water and being attached by the wild dogs and the rest of the pack were around the parameter of the watering hole. As we were watching this, a Lioness came, the dogs ran the lioness spotted the Kadu and it was over from there.  We watched as the lioness killed the Kadu and carried it into the bush for her cubs.  A true act of nature at its worst and best, as after the kill the cubs curled up with mom and I witnessed a tenderness that after seeing the kill would never have imagined could happen.  I would say to you if this is something on your bucket list it is well worth it. Let me help you create a trip of a lifetime. at the amazing Medikwe Reserve and Mataya Lodge.

See more pictures on my face book page.

Happy and Safe travels, God Bless.

Mauritius, a tropical paradise. The Oberoi is made for romance. 2 days is not enough time to spend on this beautiful island. There are so many things to see and do. We Kayaked in the Ocean and went on a Glass bottom boat ride, went into Port Louis for a couple hours (you should spend an entire day there). It only takes about an hour to drive from one end of the Island to theother, next time we rent a car and explore. (they do drive on the opposite side, so that may be a problem) and then we watched the sunset on the Indian Ocean. This island is perfect for a little relaxation and romance and apparently is used mostly by the Europeans; it is very unusual to have people there from the US.  
We were picked up from our hotel to be taken to the airport.  Our driver pulls up to this little building away from the terminal.  We ask him if this is was the right place and he said yes.  We were greeted by several people given our choice of champagne, wine or beer.  We were brought inside to a wonderful waiting area with snacks.  Now we had no idea what was going on we hadn't checked in and it was only about and an hour and half until we left.  They asked us for our passports and tickets and Bert and I were like what is going on.  I finally asked and a lady came out and explained that this is a special service that is offered by this company on Maritaus and soon on St Kitts.  They treated us like royalty, checked us in took our bags right to plane and at time of boarding put us in a wonderful car and drove us to the gate, took our carryons and walked us on the plane.  It was simply amazing to learn that this service exists.  No other way to fly and one note we were economy fliers you don't have to be first class.
Now on to Safari in South Africa.

God Bless, Happy and Safe Travels.

 

Dubai Wonderful

Dubia loved it, Actually the United Arab Emerites as a whole.  I wasn’t sure about visiting this country either, I thought I would feel like a second class person being a women and not being Muslim, and the not showing affection and having to wear more clothes was giving me second thoughts, but it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated.  The people there were very nice. The architecture there was so amazing.  They have not only the world highest tower, of which our hotel was in.  They have the world biggest shopping mall, (now you know I am not a shopper but one level entirely of shoes, even made me swoon.  Every color and kind you could imagine and really not bad prices. It also held an indoor ice rink and an aquarium.  The décor was amazing; they have a beautiful waterfall and a gorgeous starry sky inside the building. Yes they are a little indulgent, but the government really takes care of you if you are an emirate. Yes their price of gas is cheap but the cost of Water is outrageous.  I think I would rather have water.  The Armani hotel is fabulous.  Every detail was perfect and right out our window was a fountain like at the Bellagio in Vegas designed by the same guy but 3 times larger.  It was beautiful.  I learned a lot about this country.  The head of the country drives himself around in a jeep, He has no security and mingles with the people.  He seems to be a very nice man. We went to his Palace and although you couldn’t go in you could walk around the grounds without a guard in site.  Women’s rights have come along lately which is a good thing, actually there are 7 women on their government board not sure what it is called and many women didn’t wear the traditional outfits, some were even a little daring in their dressing.  That was a surprise.  We visited the Gold and Spice Souks.  It is surprising to me was the number of people buying and selling gold from every country in the world.  One thing that impressed me most was how clean it was. Overall Dubai is a destination I would visit again.

We went from Dubai to another province of the UAE and stayed 2 nights at the Banyan Tree Al Wadi Resort.  A very interesting place in the middle of the desert.  We had a villa with a private pool.  The first night we sat in the Moon bar a rooftop bar where you can watch the sun go down, have a good drink and listen to music, and then the second night we went on a sunset camel ride, there was a lot to do there 2 days wasn’t enough.  During the day they have a beach resort that they shuttled us to.  Now this is the place I would go to when I go back, beautiful sand beaches, warm clear water in the Arabian See, beautiful Golf courses absolutely someplace to put on your bucket list. 

Will be posting more pictures soon face book.  Internet a little slow.

Next stop Mauritius.God bless and Happy Travel

 

The Mekong Delta

The MeKong Delta was very much an eye opener to the fact that even though I may think I understand the word poverty, I had no idea.  This was an excursion that I am very glad I took.  There are parts of it that is beautiful and then there are parts that will tear your heart out. It began with on a normal little boat and we were lucky enough to have 7 other people with us.  5 of them were a family from Canada with 3 children who were traveling the world for 3 months.  They took their children out of school to give them some world experience and to see this through their eyes was enlightening.  As we proceeded past the city we came upon a lot of I guess you could call them homes, they were big sticks in the ground on which these people had placed floors and walls made out of tin and metal.  They did this because they could not afford a home and since no one owned the river banks they could stake their claim and have someplace to live.  They used the river as their bathroom, and trash bin for what they couldn’t burn.  So it was very polluted.  As we proceeded further we were served sandwiches, fresh fruit and beverages, there were plenty of leftovers and as we moved down the river the children on the banks would wave to us, they are charged for schooling, which made educating these children impossible.  A couple of times the captain would blow his horn and pull over to the side and the children would come some carrying their baby siblings to get our leftovers.  It caused my heart to ache, but these children were smiling and happy because they knew nothing else.  We stopped in one village in Mekong and a family kindly invited us into their home.  There were no doors, there was 1 bed and 2 hammocks, a dining room table a picture of Jesus on the cupboard.  This 2 room home housed a family of 7.  Grandparents of 90 or so, of which the grandfather still worked every day cutting fire wood.  There was a measuring cup hanging off the gutter to collect water, which they would boil for drinking.  The all do have a TV, because that is the only way they get there news. The good thing was the government was now spraying for mosquitos so Malaria is not very prevalent anymore.  There is definitely a age gap on the Delta you are either very young or very old.  The majority of the young men go to live in city and the young girls are usually sold to older men from other countries for brides.  If these young people are lucky enough to make it in the city, they don’t come back.  We visited an orphanage which I was hesitant to visit but actually these children were well taken care of, received education, had physical activity we watched them play soccer and were fed well.  It is sad to think you are better off as an orphan than a child with a family.  The women of the village prepared the food that we brought and it was a little unusual but really very good, and when we were finished the orphanage children cleared the tables.  They were very happy to see us. One thing that really made me think is we watched a 70 year old woman that had a boat and that she paddled across the river as a makeshift ferry.  She did this about 100 times a day, I have never worked so hard. We returned to Saigon feeling very unsettled as witnessing those conditions and then walking into this amazing hotel and see such economic differences was hard to swallow.  This was a trip that anyone visiting Saigon should take as it shows the real Vietnam. We also learned that our tour guide who was about 24 was one of the lucky children that was able to leave MeKong where his family still lived.

Next article a complete turnaround the city of Dubia.

Our journey to Vietnam part 1

Just the word Vietnam conjures up so many emotions, many of them unsettling and this was one place I was very anxious about visiting.  We arrived at the airport and were met by an airport assistant to walk us through the immigration and visa process.  I would suggest this, as the only way to go as we skipped all the lines and confusion and had our visas and luggage in less than a half an hour.  As we drove to the hotel, we found out that this city is called the city of motorbikes.  There are 8 million people living in Saigon and 6 million registered motor bikes and that doesn’t count the regular bicycles.  They are like ants, they are everywhere and very few street lights or traffic direction.  We were told if you need to cross the street just be confident and start walking and the bikes and cars will go around you.  I will never complain about my husband or sons driving again.  I witnessed every type of person on these, business men and women wearing 6 inch heels, an entire family on one bike, a water delivery guy carrying 10, 5  gallon jugs, a man with boxes of copy paper and even a man and women nursing her child.  It was very frightening for me.  When we got to our hotel it was beautiful and our guide made us dinner reservations at a local Vietnamese restaurant across the street.  It was down an alley that opened up into about 3 restaurants and a very lively bar.  We walked over to the restaurant and they actually grabbed a table and stuck it behind a bush in the walkway of the patio area, I didn’t really know what to expect but it wasn’t bad.  I did have a really good drink. The next evening we went to the night market, the thing that stuck out the most here were the children selling the goods. I had little girls about 8 coming up to me to sell me items. I was also approached by young girls holding sleeping babies; this was very hard for me to understand.  We went on a little walking tour we visited a beautiful little church, a replicas of Notre Dame in Paris, it was beautiful.  Then on  to the Vietnam War Museum, I was a little young to remember this conflict but It really affected Bert and made me understand a little more about the part of history.  Then we found a little gem.  There was a new shopping mall down the block from out hotel so we decided to go through it, we entered the doors and found 6 levels, the main level was the high end level but every other level was everything you would ever need from a grocery store, to furniture stores, and one level was a food court with a wonderful French bakery.  Everything was very reasonably priced and someplace you would just pass on the street if you didn’t know about it.  I will write about our MeKong Delta experience in its own blog as it was very emotional.   I hope you enjoy some of the pictures I have posted and if you would like to see more visit my facebook page.

God Bless and Happy and safe travels.

Hong Kong quite the city.

Well the second leg of our trip is almost complete.  Three days ago we arrived in Hong Kong and we were greeted by a wonderful young lady named Rosita.  Yes that’s right Rosita.  Apparently most children are given a western name in addition to their formal name and because she was smaller than the girl in school that was named Rose she was called Rosita.  After we were greeted by her and a driver we were taken to an exquisite hotel The Peninsula, if you ever have a chance to splurge a little, everyone should experience this kind of treatment at least once in their life.   The hotel is 85 years old but the rooms are very modern and full of technology and the service an attention to detail is so far unsurpassed. We are on the 25^th floor the hotel only has 27 floors so we are nearly at the top and we look out at the Victoria Harbor.  A bustling harbor during the day and a beautiful sight of lights at night, almost all the buildings in the harbor join in this light show every night.  We did a 45 minute cruise on a Chinese Junket and watched the light show from the center of the harbor it was amazing.  On Sunday Rosita took us on a tour of the real Hong Kong.  When we arrived and walked around the town ourselves we just noticed the extreme amount of people, traffic, and congestion and thought oh my God this place is crazy, You could not go ten feet without someone trying to sell you a watch, handbag or wanting you to come to their tailor shop to be measured for a suit they would make for you in a few hours.  Yes Bert did follow one of them down a little alley to see what they had to offer and I’m thinking really we just got to Hong Kong and my husband is going to disappear in an alley?  It was quite the experience. But then we were introduced to the local side of Hong Kong.  Went to the local markets, ate Wonton Noodle soup, (yes I did step out of my box a little.) and had what they call milk tea.  We saw all their special herbs and some parts if animals I really never want to see again. She also brought us to a very special temple that was beautiful and serene.  I learned a lot about Hong Kong and its history that I never knew and it reinforced by decision to always have at least one day of a destination specialist when I travel.  On Monday Bert and I ventured out on our own, used the subway system which is clean, efficient and you would never know that there is really a city below city here.  It was very easy to use and we traveled to a Zen Garden and Nunnery.  The Garden was so peaceful and the nunnery (like a monastery), felt surreal.  You could feel the presence of a higher being surrounding you.  Now being the good Catholics that we are we had to find the Catholic Church and visit there a very quaint little church but that same serenity was there.  Hong Kong is a thriving City not a truly relaxing place to visit but for culture and business and shopping it is a destination that I am very glad I was able to see.  Today we venture on to Saigon, Vietnam, Ho chi Min City, whatever you want to call it.  I’m a little anxious about this destination as I have a feeling it is going to be very emotional.  I will write again in a couple of days until then God Bless. You can see more pictures on my facebook page.

New Zealand a wonderful start.

 

So today is Thursday March 6, 2013,   I got on the plane in LA on Sunday and after about 5 hours it became reality I was traveling to the other side of the world.  The flight was good kind of like sitting in a theater, watched Good movies and the food was very good for airplane food.  As we landing in Auckland my anticipation grew.  What should I expect; what if there was no one there to pick us up.  What if it was a dream, but we got off the plane customs was a breeze and standing there when we got our bags was a delightful man holding a sign saying Gina and Norbert Kemper.  I have never been greeted like that.  He was our chauffer and led us to a beautiful BMW to a half hour ride to the Sofitel Hotel on the Harbor.  The hotel was beautiful and the people here are amazingly friendly.  I have never seen so many sailing boats and racing Catamarans in my life.  The town itself is a lot like downtown Denver but not as rushed.  Something like 90% of the population on the north Island live here, so there is a lot of people and so many cultures, this is really a melting pot.  If you are a sailing fan, the American’s cup is held here and the ships are fantastic.  We got on a ferry and road over to Devonport.  A very cute little town went back to Auckland and enjoyed a gelato (love it) with my husband as we watched the sunset on the harbor.  It started to mist and we went back to the hotel wondering what tomorrow would bring. The next day began being greeted by our same driver and taken to the airport for our 40 min plane ride to Napier.  Anxiety kicked in as I am not a fan of little planes, but Gina is learning to come out of her box.  The plane ride wasn’t as bad as imagined and when we landed, again there was a driver holding up our names.  We drove about 45 minutes to one of the most beautiful spots I have seen.  The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, we were personally greeted and given a tour, we were told to treat this as our home.  (Ya like my home has a beautiful golf course. With views looking out to a bay that will take your breath away), we were shown to our own private cottage, stocked fridge, heated bathroom floor a shower bigger than my bathroom at home and a balcony that is looked out to serenity.  As we were to be a dinner at 7:00 we had some time, so we walked they have many beautiful trails here and so off we went.  I need to thank my son Nick for getting me in shape, after an 8 kilometer walk I was exhausted but we witnessed breathtaking views and stood with a colony of gannets.  We return and dressed for dinner.  (Who new Bert would need a jacket for dinner; thank god they have them in all sizes for their guests.) We were greeted by a sommelier and enjoyed a wonderful glass of wine, a sampling of appetizers and then were served a wonderful dinner as we looked out to the golf course and the bay.  We enjoyed the Sunset as they played some soft jazz and big band music.  I sat and tears actually came to my eyes as I never thought a regular person like me would be able to experience this kind of service and attention.  I knew it was out there but I felt it was always reserved for someone else.  I thought I would always be on the giving end not the receiving end of this type of lifestyle .We returned to our cottage and fell into bed.  The blankets enveloped us like a giant marshmallow.  I slept like a baby.  Today we are going to hike to the lavender fields and enjoy a day by the pool.  Tomorrow we head to Hong Kong.  I hope you are all safe at home and I will right more from Hong Kong

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God Bless and safe travels.