Toshiba Motha @$%@#!!!!!

I couldn't get myself to write "My Best Friend's Wedding" as the title for this blog post, so i put something that Jim coined ever so eloquently while pulling out in front of a Xerox van in Sandpoint. Friday, post wedding rehearsal and a really good steak at Anthony's, the crew of guys went and played laser tag (forgetting Chris at the restaurant... oops.)There were a few (Lowery!) skeptical of playing laser tag as a bachelor party activity, but everyone had fun, got sweaty, and there were even reports of being sore the next day. We proceeded to the youth center to roll a fatty full of fun and fellowship. Halo on the big screen (see picture above) and a few games of slightly intoxicated "Righteous Ball" a Whitworth special. (Not really sure why people took their shirts off... well except Justin, because his shirt always comes off)After hanging out we got serious and broke out the box of cigars. We stood outside reminiscing stories of Jim , encouraging him, and praying for him. When the cigar smoke cleared and the group returned inside to thaw their frozen appendages we ambushed Jim making sure he was prepared for his honeymoon. The group pinned Jim in a chair and began shaving lovely racing stripes in the hair on his legs... We got a little carried away and he ended up with hair shorts. He was a good sport about it. The next day we all organized at Dr. Bob's house to get ready. Some of us had trouble with our tux's- not to name any names, Andy. After being loaned black socks and undershirts we managed to get ready for some of the coldest pictures ever taken in a tuxedo. For the next several hours the guys just lounged around waiting for the call to look presentable for the next onslaught of paparazzi. All in all the night was a lot of fun. Joelle looked amazing, the reception was relaxed and fun, the food was good, the music was good, and the purpose of the wedding was fulfilled... they got hitched. So the first one is down... who will be next? I thought i heard Zach and Leslie say they were going for Dec. 20th of next year... the race is on! We love you Jim and Joelle we hope you have fun on your honeymoon. Running around in Hawaii in designer hair shorts... :)

Day 48

The day has finally come, my last night in New Zealand... and i am posting on my blog. Somebody should kick me.

The last week has been mostly uneventful. Markus and I both decided we could have shortened our trips by a week and probably been just fine, so we have been the masters of useless/ meaningless activity.

Like Markus losing at the card game pleasantly named "shit-head" or as Jim would say the Indian girl's name Shithead.
This is what happens when I am about to strangle Markus with a seat belt (i make him use a camera to keep him busy).But the last week hasn't been completely uneventful. I sailed an old sailboat on the ocean... fun.
Hung out on a beautiful harbor for a few days, ate some awesome fish and chips, and took a lot of pictures.
Before we made it back to Christchurch we stopped at Mt. Cook - the tallest mountain in NZ. This mountain is in clouds for 250 days a year, we had 3 days of bluebird skies. (FINALLY!) The views were awesome, the water was the color of blue highlighter, really really really cold glacier highlighter.
Mt. Cook sunset... pretty sweet. But not as sweet as the stars. There are probably 5 times as many stars visible in the sky compared to the northern hemisphere (i don't know it was just a guess, they were amazing).
A view of the glacier (left) and Mt. Cook to the right.

We saw some big rocks too. (I had to laugh that i paid thousands of dollars to come see some giant rocks on the other side of the world. At least i wasn't the only one.) This place was called elephant rocks. They filmed some of the most recent version of The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe here.
"You little sailor you!" Some ancient round rocks. Again, thousands of dollars for rocks.

Yup, so that's about it. Lots of time in the car, lots of sun (yah, and some tan too). This is the catholic church dead center Christchurch, just across the street from my hostel. Not bad. Oh yah, Markus lost his passport. Not recommended when in a foreign country and your flight leaves in 2 days. So i carted him off to the police station, airport, blah blah blah... note to self, don't lose your passport.

I am excited to see you all (i'm probably talking to a total of 3 people who actually read this). pray for safe travel, good conversations on the airplane... that or extended periods of unconsciousness. :) I get back in the states about 10:40 am so if you wanna call me i'll have my cell. And to end this portion of the blog i will leave you with words of wisdom.

Never pet a burning dog.

10 Days!

So here I sit, ten days from my departure from the islands of New Zealand... and i've yet to see a whale, find cheap gasoline, drive on a straight section of road, or learn more than "diarrhea" and "hello my name is" in German.But that's ok, i will return, poor, an expert at driving on the left hand side of the road, and really ready for a shower. (its been 4 days... God bless wet wipes, and the distinctive baby smell they leave on your skin for the next few hours.)
In the last few days Markus and I have been spelunking in limestone caves (one flashlight, no guide, and 300 meters in the dark crawling on our stomachs and dodging hot tub sized pools that we had no idea of their depths).
We also figured we should enjoy a few moments being the closest to the south pole that either of us will be for quite some time. (there were about 50 mph gusts of wind... and it wasn't warm) Though not all of our days have been spent looking like idiot tourists, we find some beautiful parts of nature to enjoy, take naps and work on our daily dose of skin cancer... when its not raining. All in all the last few weeks have been rather uneventful, well minus having to have our brakes replaced, and trying to talk some crazy vegetarian German girls out of stealing a boat. (Don't worry mom, we didn't steal a boat, only showers at a hostel)

Since i posted last we have traveled south along the west coast of the southern island to Te Anau a small tourist trap before the Milford Sound. The sound was nice, the scenery was better. We did a few small hikes (you have to do a 4 day hike on the big tourist treks and pay $40 per person at each hut you stay at... not really worth it, plus it rains a total of some ridiculous amount like 3 meters in a year) and tried to take advantage of some of the good weather. Many of our days have been confined to cafe's playing the same 4 card games over and over and over and... yah you get the idea.

We hung out in Queenstown, which is beautiful, and i saw some sweet bike trails , Markus bungee jumped, and we hiked to a peak at 1700 meters , half in snow, the other half in mud (we slept well that night). We are now in Dunedin a city on the southern point of the island, the last big city before we arrive in Christchurch for our departure from this cold little island. I have taken a lot of pictures, 2 DVD's full, but i didn't bring them to the cafe tonight, so these are from the last few days of what i have on the camera. Ok, i'm sure you all are tired of reading... i love you all, and look forward to hanging out and sharing this little chunklet of my life over a beer that costs less than 7 dollars, unless you're buying. I'm excited to be home, search for a job, start some sort of career, have friends to hang out with, and have a bed that isn't on wheels. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and emails/messages. In Him... Nate.