Ashort,  steepish climb up a track from there gives you a good view over the lake:

If you carry on up the track you get to Rocky Point which gives wonderful views across Lake Wanaka:

There are also good views up the Matukituki Valley and had the weather co-operated we’d have been able to see Mt Aspiring which is somewhere under the cloud:

It took us an hour and two minutes (and 19 seconds if you want to be precise) going up the west track.

Last time we did it we took an hour and 10 minutes up the east track – I”m not sure if the difference in time is due to the walkers’ condition or the different route.

Diamond Lake Lodge accepts pets, so we had the kids with us.  By the time we got checked in, fixed and ate dinner, it was pretty late, so we just chilled…..

Sunday was in the 80′s, bright and clear.  We went to the South Shore where Ed went out fishing, and the kids and I played in the water.  Last year the boys and I would hike about 6 miles every morning, then join Ed on the boat in the afternoon.  This year we had Bonnie with us, so we had to adjust our plans to accommodate the old girl.  We parked very near the lake, so she wouldn’t have to walk very far….

Jakey, who is normally terrified of water, was jazzed about playing in the lake! (Jake is one of those rare dogs who CANNOT swim! He sinks!!) 

Jakey playing in the lake.

Cooper took off chasing sticks in the lake, and didn’t cry once!  He used to cry and squeak the WHOLE time he was swimming, as if it were an ordeal, but he just kept going after those sticks!   This time, he was quiet as a mouse, except for those big belly flop dives into the water!  He made this dramatic show of jumping into the water, which was maybe 2 ft. deep …..

 Bonnie, who normally glides off into the deep water, looking back a the boys like they are nuts, slowly waded out to chest deep, and stayed there.  I tried to lure her out deeper, to trigger her memory, but she stubbornly stayed put (as usual).  Bonnie recently gave us a big scare – she’s 12 1/2 yrs old, has hip and elbow displaysia, a heart murmur, and she ended up at Laurelwood, with Dr. Erdman, with an acute case of pancreatitis.  In the process of diagnosing her illness, the docs found a tumor in her liver, and anemia ….  So, she’s entitled to hang where ever she wants to these days.  We just go with the flow …..

Bonnie just stayed in one place...

Monday was in the 60′s, with high clouds.  We went back to the South Shore, and played in the water, then joined Ed on the boat in the afternoon.  He bought a flat bottomed boat so it would be stable when we take all the dogs out fishing.  The boys quickly claimed the navigator post. 

They got pretty excited when we spooked a flock of Coots (birds, silly!).

There are hundreds of Coots resting in flocks all over the south end of the lake.

Dad hooked a fish and ended up with a “long line release” .. but Cooper was very excited!  He was on the alert from that moment on!

Cooper's on the lookout for fish!

And Dad couldn’t disappoint Cooper. He kept catching these tiny fish, but Cooper didn’t care what size they were, as long as they splashed a lot!

Nose to nose ....

That was it!  He was “hooked”!  He perched on the bench beside me …

Cooper perched on the bench, waiting for another fish ...

I couldn’t figure out what he was doing with his rear end until I looked back, and he was using Bonnie as a seat! If it had bothered Bonnie she would have said something – she’s NOT shy!  I told him he couldn’t sit on his sister like that!  So, he went back and hung with Jake and Bonnie.

Jake was getting bored …. so bored he was cleaning Bonnie’s ears and face.

Okay, I'm done fishing ... what's next??

Bonnie used my feet as a pillow – she always has to have a pillow! 

Bored out of my gourd, says Bonnie ...

Can we please go back and play in the water????

But, Cooper was on the hunt for more fish!  It doesn’t take much to entertain Cooper!

Pullleeez, Dad, just one more fish????

Dad said he caught big fish in the morning, but he just kept catching those little stinkers while we were with him!  Cooper didn’t care – as long as they jumped a lot!  I had to grab the assist handle on his life vest several times to keep him in the boat!

Oh, boy, another fish!

Jake had no clue we had another fish – by this time he was napping in the sun …

Jake catches a little snooze .... who cares about those little fish???

We finally take a break from fishing, and put Bonnie in the car in the shade.  She’s happy waiting in the car while we take the boys for a little hike.

Ah, this is more like it!  We can stop and catch all the smells, chase chipmunks, have some REAL fun, Jakey says!  We had some pretty pooped puppies that evening!

Monday you could definitely see the smoke from the Forest fires nearby.  It was getting cooler, too.  I hoped that would help the fire fighters…. Ed and I used to work for the Forest Service, and work on fires, so we know how hard they work!

You can see the smoke from the nearby forest fires...

Bonnie decided to assert dominance over Cooper, and took his stick away from him.  He was just having too much fun – she’s the fun police….. She headed off to chew it up, but I took it away from her before she could even start …. 

I'm taking this stick, and I'm gonna tear it to pieces!!

It suddenly started getting really chilly, so we headed back to the lodge.  I put Jakey’s red fleece sweatshirt on him, but he had other ideas… He snuggled up under the covers.  I got the message and turned on the heater…

Ahh, that's better!

By evening this is what the lake looked like …. it was COLD out there!

It was as cold as it looks here!

Tuesday was too cold & wet to sit in the boat for hours, so the kids and I went exploring.  Last year we toured Crater Lake.  To do something different, we drove south, and ended up in Prospect.  We saw some gorgeous views!  

Bonnie insisted on getting out to walk to the the bridge with us.  When we got to the bridge, she started looking around, as if to say, “Oh, Harness Boy!  I’m ready for my harness now!”  We help her get around with a Lift Up and Out harness that wraps around her girth, and handles to lift and support her, so it doesn’t hurt her to walk…. Except we weren’t planning on Bonnie walking, and we didn’t have the harness with us!  I couldn’t leave her there and go back to get the car, so we walked very slowly back to the car …..

Looking south (?) on the Rogue River from Woodruff Bridge

Looking north (?) from the Woodruff Bridge.

The Rogue Gorge

 I decided this trail was too dangerous for me to take the dogs. The Gorge hike was fenced for safety, but I could just envision the boys chasing a chipmunk over the side …. They stayed in the car for this walk….

Looking west (?) at the Rogue Gorge.

Rogue River canyon in the Gorge.

I have to show you this!  It was so cool!  Here’s the chart of what you are going to see – it’s 2 lava tubes – one is full of solid rock, and the other one is partially collapsed.

The full lava tube is illustrated on the lower rightish, and the partially collapsed tube is above it and a little more to the right.

The full lava tube ...

The partially collapsed lava tube....

Now, this tree got in the way, but here’s the whole thing!

The full lava tube is lower center left, and the partially collapsed tube is at the top right of the picture.

We met Ed about 3:30 pm, and it was about 36 degrees!  He was just pulling out of the lake – no one else was out there!

Here’s a shot of the snow that started to fall that afternoon.

It was 36 degrees, so the snow wasn't sticking yet.

We had to leave Wednesday morning.  When I looked outside this morning the landscape was covered in snow!  I ran out to get a picture before we had to start packing up. 

Okay, I was in my pink striped pajama bottom, and a  blue whatever tee, with a bright red sweatshirt over it, and I had rooster hair!  And, wouldn’t you know it, a man stepped out of his room just as I was taking the picture!  I nonchalantly commented on how it was 80 degrees a couple of days ago, and a winter wonderland today!!  I slipped back inside and Ed asked if I scared the guy!  No, I said he looked like he was used to seeing a vision like myself early in the morning …. definitely NO pictures of that sight!

Following Diamond Lake, we headed for Corvallis.  On the way, we met Paula’s parents for dinner in Roseburg (they happened to be driving up to WA to visit her brother).  Oregon has many, many wonderful campgrounds that are state owned, but they tend not to be along the 5 freeway.  So we stay at a cheapee motel in Corvallis. 

Corvallis is home to Oregon State University and supposed to be the quintessential college town, but it was hard to get a good feel for it in a few hours.  However, there was nothing pulling at us to stay longer.  We don’t have a schedule, but we do need something to grab our attention to make it worthwhile to stay in one place.  So after driving around town a little bit, walking around OSU for an hour or two, and eating lunch at American Dream Pizza (something about being on a campus made us want pizza), we headed up to Portland.

With the exception of the 5 freeway, it seemed all of the roads in Oregon seemed to follow rivers or waterways. This is one of the many scenic streams we saw while driving.

Our $12/night campsite at Diamond Lake. This is one place we really wished we had a screened-in enclosure for the picnic table... the bugs were relentless during our Scrabble game.

Mining operation: the boys dug for hours, pretending they were miners, complete with head lamps and laterns. Unfortunately, they didn't find anything of value - they only succeeded in becoming filthy.

Lumberjacks in training: the boys found a floating log that they rolled around Diamond Lake.

But DH did get to take the boat up to speeds no less than 8mph. I’m glad my mom wasn’t there because IT WAS SCARY!

We bonded with Uncle Steve as we complained about those jerk Diamond Lake fish who were apparently too good for us.

Later in the day, DH duped me into climbing a mountain. I was under the impression that it would be a leisurely hike to a viewpoint over Diamond Lake. I couldn’t figure out why no one else wanted to come with us, until I realized (half way up the mountain) that we were actually going to the top of Mt. Bailey. DH must have forgotten that I grew up in the city, where I gained absolutely no mountain-hiking experience. Thanks a lot, Moscow, Russia! Here’s DH looking smug:

The views on the way up were great, so I couldn’t complain.

I think the view was worth the all the deceit and lies:

The trees thinned out as we got higher, and at the top the terrain was all rocky. This big ol’ crater was there, too:

Diamond Lake as seen from the top of Mt. Bailey:

At this point in the hike we discussed the exact definition of the term “summit.” I concede that according to the technical definition of the word, we did not summit Mt. Bailey, but I hiked 4 and a half miles to the top (although I could have sworn it was further) under false pretenses, and all that kept us from the summit was vertigo and this scree:

The picture doesn’t capture how steep it was on each side of the path, but it was STEEP and TOTALLY UNSTABLE. We didn’t really experience vertigo, but it was scary up there, and windy, and neither of us were comfortable crossing the scree. However, I still maintain that we basically summited. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. In fact, despite the information flagrantly posted on the interweb, I firmly believe that Mt. Bailey is Oregon’s equivalent of Mt. Everest. If you disagree with me, you will hurt my feelings. And you don’t want to hurt my feelings, because I’m a Missionary Kid, which means I’m already messed up enough as it is. Don’t you read my blog?!

Victory!

But DH did get to take the boat up to speeds no less than 8mph. I’m glad my mom wasn’t there because IT WAS SCARY!

We bonded with Uncle Steve as we complained about those jerk Diamond Lake fish who were apparently too good for us.

Later in the day, DH duped me into climbing a mountain. I was under the impression that it would be a leisurely hike to a viewpoint over Diamond Lake. I couldn’t figure out why no one else wanted to come with us, until I realized (half way up the mountain) that we were actually going to the top of Mt. Bailey. DH must have forgotten that I grew up in the city, where I gained absolutely no mountain-hiking experience. Thanks a lot, Moscow, Russia! Here’s DH looking smug:

The views on the way up were great, so I couldn’t complain.

I think the view was worth the all the deceit and lies:

The trees thinned out as we got higher, and at the top the terrain was all rocky. This big ol’ crater was there, too:

Diamond Lake as seen from the top of Mt. Bailey:

At this point in the hike we discussed the exact definition of the term “summit.” I concede that according to the technical definition of the word, we did not summit Mt. Bailey, but I hiked 4 and a half miles to the top (although I could have sworn it was further) under false pretenses, and all that kept us from the summit was vertigo and this scree:

The picture doesn’t capture how steep it was on each side of the path, but it was STEEP and TOTALLY UNSTABLE. We didn’t really experience vertigo, but it was scary up there, and windy, and neither of us were comfortable crossing the scree. However, I still maintain that we basically summited. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. In fact, despite the information flagrantly posted on the interweb, I firmly believe that Mt. Bailey is Oregon’s equivalent of Mt. Everest. If you disagree with me, you will hurt my feelings. And you don’t want to hurt my feelings, because I’m a Missionary Kid, which means I’m already messed up enough as it is. Don’t you read my blog?!

Victory!

Seeing it for the first time was spectacular and it took my breath away (although that may have had something to do with running up a hill to get my first glimpse). Yay, I’m a bona fide Oregonian now!

DH could probably tell you all about the science behind Crater Lake, but I just know that it was magnificent.

Some places around the lake were scary – no barrier between you and death-by-plummeting-to-the-bottom-of-a-cliff.

It was so nice to be at Crater Lake with DH’s family. He and his sister are cute:

I think DH and I make a pretty good couple, too. Except for the occasional plotting of each others’ deaths, we get along really well.

The plant life around the lake was also amazing:

We stopped for lunch at the Crater Lake lodge for lunch. The view was wonderful (I’m running out of enthusiastic adjectives, can you tell?) and the food was good, too. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised to learn that I had a burger for lunch. It was called the “Lodge Burger” and came loaded with carmelized onions and a side of delicious, beer-battered fries.

We also stopped at the gift shop and took pictures instead of buying anything. This ‘Bear Hug’ nightie was at least $35.00, I think.

The view from the Lodge:

The view from a scary look-out that was built into the rock:

After lunch at the Lodge, we drove the 33 miles around the lake, and stopped at all the lookouts. The rocks sticking up out of the lake in this picture are referred to as the “Phantom Ship”:

The orange pillars of rocks are known as the “Pumice Castle”:

The water in this picture can be described as “really really really blue” (you can quote me on that):

We spent the evening back at Diamond Lake, where we saw deer, biked around the lake, and ate food. Then we gotten eaten by ravenous mosquitoes who were not thwarted by our layers and layers of protective clothing. End of Day Two.

Seeing it for the first time was spectacular and it took my breath away (although that may have had something to do with running up a hill to get my first glimpse). Yay, I’m a bona fide Oregonian now!

DH could probably tell you all about the science behind Crater Lake, but I just know that it was magnificent.

Some places around the lake were scary – no barrier between you and death-by-plummeting-to-the-bottom-of-a-cliff.

It was so nice to be at Crater Lake with DH’s family. He and his sister are cute:

I think DH and I make a pretty good couple, too. Except for the occasional plotting of each others’ deaths, we get along really well.

The plant life around the lake was also amazing:

We stopped for lunch at the Crater Lake lodge for lunch. The view was wonderful (I’m running out of enthusiastic adjectives, can you tell?) and the food was good, too. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised to learn that I had a burger for lunch. It was called the “Lodge Burger” and came loaded with carmelized onions and a side of delicious, beer-battered fries.

We also stopped at the gift shop and took pictures instead of buying anything. This ‘Bear Hug’ nightie was at least $35.00, I think.

The view from the Lodge:

The view from a scary look-out that was built into the rock:

After lunch at the Lodge, we drove the 33 miles around the lake, and stopped at all the lookouts. The rocks sticking up out of the lake in this picture are referred to as the “Phantom Ship”:

The orange pillars of rocks are known as the “Pumice Castle”:

The water in this picture can be described as “really really really blue” (you can quote me on that):

We spent the evening back at Diamond Lake, where we saw deer, biked around the lake, and ate food. Then we gotten eaten by ravenous mosquitoes who were not thwarted by our layers and layers of protective clothing. End of Day Two.

We drove over to the Diamond Lake lodge area for kicks. The marina provides a good view of Mt. Bailey, which is a hike-able mountain. That’s FORESHADOWING in case you were wondering.

While we were waiting for our crew to get ready, we toodled around on bikes. The last time I was on a bike was when DH raced me on the Oregon State campus and I collided with another cyclist. I had a limp for at least a month as a result of that harrowing experience. This time was much more pleasant, and later in the day we biked the whole 13 miles around the lake. It was a leisurely ride, but I’m going to tell my cyclist father that we went at break-neck, record-setting speeds. I JUST WANT HIM TO BE PROUD OF ME!

To Be Continued…

We drove over to the Diamond Lake lodge area for kicks. The marina provides a good view of Mt. Bailey, which is a hike-able mountain. That’s FORESHADOWING in case you were wondering.

While we were waiting for our crew to get ready, we toodled around on bikes. The last time I was on a bike was when DH raced me on the Oregon State campus and I collided with another cyclist. I had a limp for at least a month as a result of that harrowing experience. This time was much more pleasant, and later in the day we biked the whole 13 miles around the lake. It was a leisurely ride, but I’m going to tell my cyclist father that we went at break-neck, record-setting speeds. I JUST WANT HIM TO BE PROUD OF ME!

To Be Continued…

After lunch with a friend, we headed over to see DH’s lovely grandparents:

We drove their Cadillac down to Corvallis. It was a very sweet ride:

In Corvallis, we stopped for the addictive libation known as Dutch Bros. Coffee. Withdrawal symptoms include: extreme grouchiness, crabiness, and facial ticks. We are in the throes of these symptoms as we speak.

The drive down Highway 99 brought back a lot of memories for DH. These are his old stomping grounds:

DH’s parents’ house is across the road from this a vineyard. It kind of makes our Indiana apartment view of a parking lot seem less appealing.

After stopping at DH’s parents’ house, we drove straight for Diamond Lake, our campground destination. We saw mountains for the first time in a while, and we were very happy.

We usually visit Oregon over Christmas, when it’s rainy and dreary. We don’t mind Oregon winters, but sometimes we forget how breathtakingly beautiful the whole state is. This drive was a good reminder.

Thanks Oregon!

After lunch with a friend, we headed over to see DH’s lovely grandparents:

We drove their Cadillac down to Corvallis. It was a very sweet ride:

In Corvallis, we stopped for the addictive libation known as Dutch Bros. Coffee. Withdrawal symptoms include: extreme grouchiness, crabiness, and facial ticks. We are in the throes of these symptoms as we speak.

The drive down Highway 99 brought back a lot of memories for DH. These are his old stomping grounds:

DH’s parents’ house is across the road from this a vineyard. It kind of makes our Indiana apartment view of a parking lot seem less appealing.

After stopping at DH’s parents’ house, we drove straight for Diamond Lake, our campground destination. We saw mountains for the first time in a while, and we were very happy.

We usually visit Oregon over Christmas, when it’s rainy and dreary. We don’t mind Oregon winters, but sometimes we forget how breathtakingly beautiful the whole state is. This drive was a good reminder.

Thanks Oregon!

Izzy and Kenna enjoying the lake

I just got back from a family vacation on Diamond Lake in Eastern Washington. We had great weather on Saturday with temperatures around 95 degrees! We woke up to sprinkles and gray skies Sunday, but the clouds burned off and we ended up having a great day. Sunday night, a pretty good thunderstorm blew in and we watched the lightning across the sky. The wind was cool and brought the smell of summer rain. Monday brought constant showers all day so we watched movies and cleaned the cabin. Tuesday morning looked to be a beautiful day, but obviously I had to drive home and was gone by 9:30 AM. I’ll add pictures once I’m re-united with my camera. Jenny and the kids stayed at the cabin with my in-laws for a few more days. All in all, it was a great vacation, but way too short as always.

Pár csendes percemben a neten kalandoztam és rátaláltam egy igen magas olvasottságnak örvendő bolgra, aminek tulajdonosa épp nyaralásáról számolt be.

Ott nyaralt, ahol én egy éve. Ebben nincs semmi különös, elvégre véletlenekkel mindig számolni kell. Az viszont már kicsit sok volt számomra, hogy a szent helyemen parádézott kedves barátaival. Azon a helyen világot rengető mondatok hangzottak el, örök és gyönyörű volt minden, a telihold halványan ragyogva a dombokba veszett, én pedig egy álom kezét fogva bámultam az igéző tájat.

Most, ha arra a helyre gondolok, elfog a rosszullét. Életem egyik leggyönyörűbb jelenetének helyét sikerült bemocskolniuk. Pontosan tudom, ez csak hiszti, de az a hely, azok a percek megérnek bármilyen hisztit, egész pontosan bármit.

Igyekszem elfelejteni az olvasottakat.

Neked pedig, kedves író, ideje lenne megkomolyodnod!

Jessica Brooklyn Vicious

It’s never too early to start planning.  I know for sure where I’m going to be the third week of August through September.  With Buoy 10 expected to draw more than a million coho and liberal limits being considered, it’s a no-brainer that I’ll be spending plenty of time in the Astoria-area.

That’s only one of a dozen or more fisheries that should be off-the-hook excellent this year.

Starting with Spring Chinook.  The season’s only partially set at this point.  It well could re-ignite in early May brining a bumper crop of opportunity.  One thing’s for sure, 300,000 spring salmon is nothing to sneeze at. Also, with seasons in place up and down the Columbia River there should be plenty of room for everybody.

On the heals of springer season will be cascade of shad that will invade the Columbia and Willamette into the millions. Needless to say, it’s a productive fishery that gets going around the end of May and continues through June.

During and after the shad run, expect to see another strong return of summer steelhead.  The fishing for these was pretty good some days in the Columbia below Bonneville Dam and was downright ridiculous upriver in places like the Clearwater River and Snake where fast limits and mega catches (catch and release) were the norm.

Though the season hasn’t been set yet, I’m hoping for a longer summer Chinook season this year.  Generally, mid-June is when the opener kicks-in.  These are amazing, thick and wonderful eating fish well worth your effort and focus.  Hopefully, we’ll see a season that starts in mid-June and runs well into July.

If last year is any indication, you really should make at least one trip to Diamond Lake.  When this lake was re-opened last year it was jaw-dropping good.  Big fish, lots of fish and lots-of-fun! From open to close it was an unconditional winner.

The Grande Ronde River was another trouting highlight.  It’s a long drive to Troy but up and downriver from that little town is some of the best stream trout fishing to be found anywhere.  There’s also lots and lots of smallmouth in the catch as well making it a wonderful destination for a multi-day getaway.

Speaking of smallmouth, the Willamette above and below the falls in Oregon City has established itself as a near-world class fishery.  Big fish to 6 pounds are caught and it’s become surprisingly productive.  Best fishing starts during the pre-spawn period in April and continues right up to the first serious chill in November.  Spend your time exploring rocky points, saddles, pockets and river and creek mouths and you’re sure to start logging some fast catches.

Sturgeon fishing has become an all-year avocation for many.  It’s reliable and the action is fast.  Get on it now though.  It’s been so good that it will likely shut down to the retention of sturgeon soon.  You’ll still be able to fish for them, just not keep them. The Willamette’s been surprisingly good this year and the Columbia from May through October is a safe bet for fish of all sizes.

As mentioned, Buoy 10 should be a barn-burner with coho swarming the Columbia in numbers we haven’t seen for too long.

Upriver bright Chinook may be constrained in the Buoy 10 fishery but further upriver those restrictions should loosen considerably.  Look to the Bonneville Dam fishery in September and maybe into October as a very strong prospect for these big beautiful salmon. Fishing for this run continues all the way to the Hanford Reach in Washington near the town of Vernita with good fishing available in places like the mouth of the Deschutes and Klickitat Rivers.

Fall Chinook on the Oregon coast is still a bit of a question mark.  With recent reductions in commercial harvest in place in Canada and Alaska there’s hope that we see a nice bounce this year in returns.  We’ll see.  It’s been a little slow the last couple of years on those fish. Still, a trip or two or three to Tillamook or Nehalem Bay is worth the effort.  That season generally is peaking around mid-September with good fishing available all the way in November.

Right on the heels of coastal fall chinook is winter Chinook which start to show in November in Tillamook but it’s really a December fishery.  We schedule a combo crab and fishing trip around these fish each year.  Starting in early December and timing our trip between winter sqaulls we drop crab traps and then troll the Ghost Hole, along the jetty or near Garibaldi with herring.  We’ve had some pleasant surprises on a couple of those adventures taking home fresh crab and salmon.

Of course, you’ll definitely want to drop some crab traps in October, November or December.  That’s just too good a fishery not to take some advantage of that opportunity. I prefer the Hammond area on the Columbia but it can be equally as good in Tillamook Bay, Nehalem Bay and Netarts Bay.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! There’s plenty more to add to the list ranging from our incredible tuna fishery in the summer, near shore halibut, ocean coho, other trout fisheries, lots more bass fishing, plenty more steelheading and several dozen excellent river salmon fisheries.  My list identifies just a few of the many regional highlights to get you started that are relatively easy to fish, accessible and should deliver truly phenomenal fishing.

If your calendar’s not set maybe you’ll get to it now knowing what’s ahead.

Good fishing and safe boating!

www.LakelandCom.com

Call: 847 245-4800

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Need your communications equipment repaired or maintained ?

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Malfunction and down/time, how many times have you heard these words? As you know, it adds up to one thing… dollars lost because your personnel can’t function efficiently. Pick up and delivery is available in most areas Loaner radios are available for most frequencies too.

We dont’t just repair communications equipment, after the repair process, our experienced staff checks each function of the receiver and transmitter to prevent possible problems for the future. We have current diagnostic equipment, and we train our staff on the latest service techniques by Motorola, Kenwood, Vertex, ICOM, Yeasu, Maxon, Midland, Nextel, Sprint, Verizon, Cingular and many others… By the way if you didn’t notice above we repair Cellular phones too !! Scheduled maintenance plans are available for your Radio Systems. Repair and Scheduled (PM) “Preventative Maintenance” Checks maximize your UP TIME for our Radio System Customers.

As a receptionist at The Crowne Plaza my job allows me to connect with my Kiwi and non-Kiwi co-workers (heaps of them are from Brazil, Australia, England, India and Japan). Each shift we gladly assist our guests and tour groups with their ever present holiday desires.

The Crowne Plaza Queenstown

Last Sunday, Matt and I “connected” with several of my co-workers over a few pints at Monty’s Pub while watching the Warriors (rugby league team based out of Auckland) game. In between hoots, cheers and howls, several of my co-workers tried to get me to use phrases such as, “cheers, bro,” “ya, bro” or “cheers, mate.” We’ll see where I’m at with my Kiwi lingo in a month or two!

I found myself feeling a slightly different kind “connection” last week. Matt and I ventured out in Bongo, as we typically do on our days off, to tour the Central Otago region, once a scene of a mighty gold rush and now famous for wine. It was a rainy day so we decided to indulge in some Pinot and Sav Blanc.

Rippon Vineyard in Wanaka...no grapes on the vines yet.

Each winery has a different flavor, taste, smell and feel. Some wineries are fancy with cafes, open fires and lounging areas. Others are more rustic, or down-home. Aurum (which means ‘gold’ in Latin) was by far one of our favorites. Not only did they grow their own grapes and produce their own wine, they also grew olives to make fresh olive oil and walnut trees, just for “a good crack!” Now here’s where the “connection” comes in… The Aurum vineyard is situated on the 45th parallel south. Gaylord, Michigan, a small town en route to my favorite northern Michigan vacation spot, is situated on the 45th parallel north. We used to drive over “the 45th parallel” sign at least once or twice a year growing up. I remember thinking the imaginary line, 45 degrees north of the equator, was a glorious sight.

Diamond Lake hike, overlooking Lake Wanaka

With each new Kiwi experience, new group of people and new location we discover, I find ways to “connect.” Often the connection reminds me of a similar experience from home and I hope there are many more to come!

Cheers, mates~