Flying to Christchurch over the Southern Alps on the South Island of western New Zealand.
A plot near the entrance to the gardens.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Photos from the Journey Back
Flying to Christchurch over the Southern Alps on the South Island of western New Zealand.
A plot near the entrance to the gardens.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Journey Back!
The first step is the hardest or some saying like that. After spending most of the day packing, playing my final rec league ultimate game with Shiny Happy People, and chatting too much with my roommate, I took my first steps towards my car and Antarctica. If I got in and drove to my brother's wedding in Pittsburgh instead of flying it would mean that I'd be leaving home, leaving Sabah and heading back to the Ice. They were tough steps. Denver was finally feeling like home again and the idea of leaving Sabah just sucked. It felt selfish.
Short version:
Long Version:
The first leg of my journey was spent with Sabah and I alternating between driving, sleeping in the car, and playing at rest areas. Just after Des Moines, IA, I accelerated a bit too quickly out of the city and got pulled over. I didn't get pulled over until at least ten minutes later though. It was weird. The officer asked where I was going. I told him I was on my way to my brother's wedding. He asked to see the invitation or present. I didn't have either. I had forgot the invitation and had planned on buying a card in Pittsburgh. At this point, the officer decided I might be a smuggler because my story wasn't checking out. He asked me to open my trunk. I couldn't because a friend had used my car and the trunk hadn't really been working since then. He was skeptical, but let me go and even just gave me a warning. Just thirty short hours after I left, I pulled into Pittsburgh rush hour. Luckily, I didn't have any traffic troubles because everyone stayed home to dodge the G-20 road closures.
After two short days at my old haunts and friends' houses in Pittsburgh, I was off to Greensburg to see my family for my brother's wedding. For some reason, getting together with my family is never easy. This one, I'm pinning on my brother. He neglected to tell me about some of my duties as a groomsman and made me track down a grand kilt to wear for the ceremony. Once the headaches were out of the way, it was a great couple days and fun to see everyone. Sabah even managed to slide down her tallest slide yet, eight feet high. Seeing my brother off on his honeymoon at an Eat N' Park brunch also led to one of the great undiscovered ideas of my life:
Oregon Chai Tea Milkshake
Oregon® Chai tea and vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Unfortunately, the end of wedding festivities meant I had to hop back in my car for another drive to my mom's place in Wisconsin. The trip was uneventful until I got to the thunder and wind storms in Wisconsin. Crazy and beautiful. At my mom's place, I got to start on three quiet days of getting Sabah acquainted to her new home. In the time it took me to toast a bagel, she was already playing with the 100+ pound Alaskan malamute. The springer spaniel wouldn't warm up to her until I left and last I heard my mom wrote, "sabah is doing well. She and princess play tag in the yard and garage." Great stuff.
My flight back to Denver was supposed to get me home in time for practice. I landed at 5pm, but public transit did not get me home until 8:30pm. I timed it about as poorly as I could have. I had just missed a bus and had to wait an hour for the next one. Ugh. Thursday, I packed and had a small goodbye gathering. Friday, I flew down to AZ for Southwest Regionals for ultimate frisbee. My team had been hoping to finish top 3, but ended up 9th. We played pretty well so I left with a smile, especially after seeing my old friend Missy from college. After getting delayed on the flight home, I got one last road ride in back to my house.
On Monday morning, it was rise and shine for one last mountain bike ride with Dave at Lair O' the Bear. Instead of doing the entire ride, we pulled up short to work on a couple technical sections. It took me about a hundred tries, but I finally got them. Such a treat since I hadn't been able to get them most of the summer. Unfortunately, all the goodness of the ride was dashed away when I went to get some gourmet grilled cheese at Chedd's and it was closed, possibly for good. It looked like it was being remodeled, but had no sign. This followed on finding out the month before that another Chedd's had closed in southwest Denver. The only one left may be in Austin!!
After saying goodbye to more friends, I was off to the airport. It was weird to see so many old faces. I hadn't seen some of them for eighteen months, but they were as fresh as when I left the Ice. I still had some apprehension about heading down though, but my course was set. I hopped on the first of three very long flights, watched a bunch of movies, crossed the international date line, wondered what the experience would be like, and soon found myself back in Christchurch walking in the gardens, eating out, and playing ultimate with old friends like I had never left. Playing ultimate with the Christchurch team again was a treat, even in the cold rain. Afterwards, we went to an indian restaurant and it happened to be playing my favorite Michael Franti and Spearhead album. Yum, yum.
After two quick days in Christchurch, it was time to hop on my final flight. I still had a lot of emotional backwash, but when I finally touched down, it felt right. It felt natural. I stopped questioning things and just knew that this was going to be a good season even if I don't know why.
"Wise folks count their blessings. Fools count their problems." -Spearhead
Short version:
- Tuesday-Thursday, 22nd - drive to Pittsburgh, 1447 miles, 30 hours in the car
- Friday-Saturday, 24th - drive to Greensburg, PA, 40 miles, 1 hour in the car
- Sunday, 25th - drive to Wisconsin Rapids, WI, 740 miles, 11.5 hours in the car
- Wednesday, 30th - fly to Denver, 1035 miles, 10 hours door-to-door
- Friday, 2nd - fly to Phoenix, AZ. 589 miles
- Sunday, 4th - fly back to Denver, CO 589 miles, arrive 1am and bike home
- Mon, 5th - Wed 7th - fly to Christchurch, NZ, 9533 miles, 26 hours in planes and airports
- Friday, 9th - fly to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 2415 miles, 5 hours on the plane
My journey back.
Long Version:
The first leg of my journey was spent with Sabah and I alternating between driving, sleeping in the car, and playing at rest areas. Just after Des Moines, IA, I accelerated a bit too quickly out of the city and got pulled over. I didn't get pulled over until at least ten minutes later though. It was weird. The officer asked where I was going. I told him I was on my way to my brother's wedding. He asked to see the invitation or present. I didn't have either. I had forgot the invitation and had planned on buying a card in Pittsburgh. At this point, the officer decided I might be a smuggler because my story wasn't checking out. He asked me to open my trunk. I couldn't because a friend had used my car and the trunk hadn't really been working since then. He was skeptical, but let me go and even just gave me a warning. Just thirty short hours after I left, I pulled into Pittsburgh rush hour. Luckily, I didn't have any traffic troubles because everyone stayed home to dodge the G-20 road closures.
After two short days at my old haunts and friends' houses in Pittsburgh, I was off to Greensburg to see my family for my brother's wedding. For some reason, getting together with my family is never easy. This one, I'm pinning on my brother. He neglected to tell me about some of my duties as a groomsman and made me track down a grand kilt to wear for the ceremony. Once the headaches were out of the way, it was a great couple days and fun to see everyone. Sabah even managed to slide down her tallest slide yet, eight feet high. Seeing my brother off on his honeymoon at an Eat N' Park brunch also led to one of the great undiscovered ideas of my life:
Oregon® Chai tea and vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Unfortunately, the end of wedding festivities meant I had to hop back in my car for another drive to my mom's place in Wisconsin. The trip was uneventful until I got to the thunder and wind storms in Wisconsin. Crazy and beautiful. At my mom's place, I got to start on three quiet days of getting Sabah acquainted to her new home. In the time it took me to toast a bagel, she was already playing with the 100+ pound Alaskan malamute. The springer spaniel wouldn't warm up to her until I left and last I heard my mom wrote, "sabah is doing well. She and princess play tag in the yard and garage." Great stuff.
My flight back to Denver was supposed to get me home in time for practice. I landed at 5pm, but public transit did not get me home until 8:30pm. I timed it about as poorly as I could have. I had just missed a bus and had to wait an hour for the next one. Ugh. Thursday, I packed and had a small goodbye gathering. Friday, I flew down to AZ for Southwest Regionals for ultimate frisbee. My team had been hoping to finish top 3, but ended up 9th. We played pretty well so I left with a smile, especially after seeing my old friend Missy from college. After getting delayed on the flight home, I got one last road ride in back to my house.
On Monday morning, it was rise and shine for one last mountain bike ride with Dave at Lair O' the Bear. Instead of doing the entire ride, we pulled up short to work on a couple technical sections. It took me about a hundred tries, but I finally got them. Such a treat since I hadn't been able to get them most of the summer. Unfortunately, all the goodness of the ride was dashed away when I went to get some gourmet grilled cheese at Chedd's and it was closed, possibly for good. It looked like it was being remodeled, but had no sign. This followed on finding out the month before that another Chedd's had closed in southwest Denver. The only one left may be in Austin!!
After saying goodbye to more friends, I was off to the airport. It was weird to see so many old faces. I hadn't seen some of them for eighteen months, but they were as fresh as when I left the Ice. I still had some apprehension about heading down though, but my course was set. I hopped on the first of three very long flights, watched a bunch of movies, crossed the international date line, wondered what the experience would be like, and soon found myself back in Christchurch walking in the gardens, eating out, and playing ultimate with old friends like I had never left. Playing ultimate with the Christchurch team again was a treat, even in the cold rain. Afterwards, we went to an indian restaurant and it happened to be playing my favorite Michael Franti and Spearhead album. Yum, yum.
After two quick days in Christchurch, it was time to hop on my final flight. I still had a lot of emotional backwash, but when I finally touched down, it felt right. It felt natural. I stopped questioning things and just knew that this was going to be a good season even if I don't know why.
"Wise folks count their blessings. Fools count their problems." -Spearhead
Friday, October 09, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
The Choice to Go Back
I'm going back.
“The voyage of true discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes (Marcel Proust).” When I returned to Colorado, I was sure that my new vision would take me to newer and richer places than I ever could have visited on my trip around the world. Looking back at the happiness times in my life, they have always been defined by group goals and experiences versus personal ones, even if it is was just a group of two. Individual goals, like my marathons or traveling the world, do satisfy me, but they have never brought out my best.
Unfortunately, the pursuits I went home for did not end up taking me to happier places. The failure of those pursuits didn't take me anywhere, good or really that bad. However, my continued effort to maintain parts of those pursuits took me down a dark road. Like trying to hold on to sand by gripping it too tightly, they slipped away despite my best efforts. I thought continuing to choose a path of understanding and hard work would lead to success. It failed, repeatedly. I did not learn from those failures and I started to take it personally. I let it affect my judgement of myself when it was probably never about me. For the first time in my life, I felt I was looking at what I didn't have instead of celebrating what I did have (I have no idea how some people live their entire lives like that). It left me a little jaded, but I'm slowly kicking that garbage attitude to the curb where it belongs.
I hope that going back to Antarctica will help me complete the transformation of my attitude. After seven months spinning my wheels in Denver, I was finally starting to find my way again. However, some small pieces were still missing. I could probably find them in Denver eventually, but I believe going back down to the Ice where I'll feel like an integral part of a community, where my work will have a purpose, and where I last felt complete will put me back where I want to be quicker.
I'm going back to find something I lost. I am going back to learn to trust my judgements and decisions again. I am going back to find my confidence. I am going back to find a way to love myself because I can't fully accept the love of others (thank you friends) until I can accept and love myself. I am going back to take responsibility and find forgiveness for myself.
Along the way with all that serious stuff, I'll reconnect with old friends. I'll make new friends from around the world. I'll get a close up look at more of the science in Antarctica. I might get to see more of the continent. I'll skate ski. I'm considering learning to kite ski. It will give me a small chance to play with New Zealand team at the World Ultimate Frisbee Club Championships in Prague in July. I should get to visit old friends in Sydney and even visit Hawaii for the first time. It will also remind me to appreciate the great things I have back home that I don't have access to like friends, team, family, and (probably most importantly) Sabah. Yes, I probably have more separation anxiety about leaving my dog that she does about being left, but I've never chewed anything up when she left me. Maybe I will this time.
Sabah and Nala at Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
“The voyage of true discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes (Marcel Proust).” When I returned to Colorado, I was sure that my new vision would take me to newer and richer places than I ever could have visited on my trip around the world. Looking back at the happiness times in my life, they have always been defined by group goals and experiences versus personal ones, even if it is was just a group of two. Individual goals, like my marathons or traveling the world, do satisfy me, but they have never brought out my best.
Unfortunately, the pursuits I went home for did not end up taking me to happier places. The failure of those pursuits didn't take me anywhere, good or really that bad. However, my continued effort to maintain parts of those pursuits took me down a dark road. Like trying to hold on to sand by gripping it too tightly, they slipped away despite my best efforts. I thought continuing to choose a path of understanding and hard work would lead to success. It failed, repeatedly. I did not learn from those failures and I started to take it personally. I let it affect my judgement of myself when it was probably never about me. For the first time in my life, I felt I was looking at what I didn't have instead of celebrating what I did have (I have no idea how some people live their entire lives like that). It left me a little jaded, but I'm slowly kicking that garbage attitude to the curb where it belongs.
I hope that going back to Antarctica will help me complete the transformation of my attitude. After seven months spinning my wheels in Denver, I was finally starting to find my way again. However, some small pieces were still missing. I could probably find them in Denver eventually, but I believe going back down to the Ice where I'll feel like an integral part of a community, where my work will have a purpose, and where I last felt complete will put me back where I want to be quicker.
I'm going back to find something I lost. I am going back to learn to trust my judgements and decisions again. I am going back to find my confidence. I am going back to find a way to love myself because I can't fully accept the love of others (thank you friends) until I can accept and love myself. I am going back to take responsibility and find forgiveness for myself.
Along the way with all that serious stuff, I'll reconnect with old friends. I'll make new friends from around the world. I'll get a close up look at more of the science in Antarctica. I might get to see more of the continent. I'll skate ski. I'm considering learning to kite ski. It will give me a small chance to play with New Zealand team at the World Ultimate Frisbee Club Championships in Prague in July. I should get to visit old friends in Sydney and even visit Hawaii for the first time. It will also remind me to appreciate the great things I have back home that I don't have access to like friends, team, family, and (probably most importantly) Sabah. Yes, I probably have more separation anxiety about leaving my dog that she does about being left, but I've never chewed anything up when she left me. Maybe I will this time.
Sabah and Nala at Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Choice to Come Home
A lot of people that I've talked to do not understand why I am back in Colorado. Those people know I've been infected with a severe case of wanderlust for a long time. They thought I was going to be at the beginning of a long world tour right now. This is my attempt to explain why I'm back in Colorado.
At the start of the Antarctic winter, Brian Nelson and I had talked about buying around the world tickets. We were going to bike Tasmania and the Great Ocean Road, surf in Bali, explore Angkor Wat, hike the Sapa Highlands, seek out a Thai Ice Tea and white bread for Raja in Thailand, ski indoors in Dubai, spend a month biking from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal, be awed by the temples of Jordan and scarred by the conditions of the West Bank and Gaza strip, summit Kilimanjaro, safari in Tanzania, and finally return home with who knows what extras in between. Brian might have left after Africa to catch an Oregon summer while I would continue on a longer walkabout to destinations unknown in Africa and beyond.
We both had saved for a long time. We had choices. We had opportunities. The world was our oyster. So many ideas. So many dreams. I had wanted to travel the world and explore other cultures for so long. Since I could never afford to study abroad while in college, it was all I dreamed and talked about. After working on Semester at Sea, it became an obsession to get out of debt so I could travel again.
Given all that, why am I sitting in Colorado writing this?
By May or June (eight-nine months into my time on the Ice), I realized my heart wasn't into traveling the way it has been in the past. I was tired. I was no longer certain of my path. A lot of winter Ice veterans told me that it was just that I had been on the Ice for too long. Once I hit New Zealand, my drive would come flooding back to me. I wasn't so sure that was the case. I saw my priorities shifting while I was on the Ice. What I wanted out of life was being redefined, but I refused to be honest with myself and embrace those new definitions even though they excited me. I just couldn't believe that I was on the precipice of realizing a life dream to see the world and that I'd willingly choose to walk away from it to put down roots at home and chase other dreams.
When October hit, I was forced into making a decision because I was leaving Antarctica in 16 days. I made the decision to try to travel. I'd travel around New Zealand for a couple weeks. If traveling was working for me, I'd buy an around the world ticket. If not, I'd follow my heart home. I felt that plan was a good compromise between what my heart was telling me to do (go home) versus what my brain was telling me to do (travel) because I had chased something for so long. I'd get a chance to see if my priorities had truly shifted or if I was just beaten down by the Ice.
When I landed in Christchurch, my senses were intoxicated. I fell in love with its beauty and greenery. After a couple days soaking it up with Ice friends, I headed off to start my travels. I hiked the Abel Tasman track and then joined Katie Folts on the Banks Peninsula Track. Both hikes were great experiences, but something was missing from both of them.
When we got back on November 1st, Brian Nelson was in town. While the three of us were walking towards a bus stop in Christchurch just two weeks after I had started to try traveling, I had my moment of clarity. “The voyage of true discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes (Marcel Proust).” What was missing was not going to be found while traveling. It was waiting for me at home to see with a new perspective and appreciation for what I wanted.
I told Brian that I would not be joining him on an around the world trip. He was very cool about it and said he had expected as much for a couple months based on how I was talking (I wish he would have clued me in sooner.) I didn't tell many people about my decision because I liked the idea of surprising people back home and also didn't have a ticket booked yet.
One of the first things I did was check to see if I could still buy a Colorado season ski pass. Luckily, I was able to and did. Then, I had to decide when I would go back. My heart was telling me to go home sooner than later, but I also knew it would be stupid to leave without exploring a little bit of New Zealand first. I decided to return home on November 9th, the day before I was told my leave of absence expired at my old job.
Unfortunately, there was a mix up and my leave of absence actually expired in October. When I discovered this in early November, I had just been invited to play ultimate at New Zealand nationals with the defending champs out of Christchurch in the middle of December. I decided to stay longer so that I could play in their nationals and also go on the Ice reunion canoe trip that B-Nelson had planned. That would put me home in time for Christmas.
At the end of November, I was trying to book my flights. Getting home for Christmas was proving to be an ordeal because I didn't plan ahead enough and I also didn't have a credit card. It had expired on Ice and they wouldn't send me a new one in Antarctica or New Zealand for some reason I can't remember. Near the end of that frustration, I went on an amazing bike ride through Christchurch's Port Hills. I hadn't been on a bike in so long, I was loving it. Brian was on his way to Tasmania to bike tour after my nationals, so I figured I might as well join him since I had enjoyed biking so much and getting home for Christmas was proving to be an ordeal.
I chose Martin Luther King Junior Day as my new target date. Yeah, I knew I was missing home more acutely every day I didn't go home, but I figured I was there so it wouldn't hurt to explore just a little more. It is amazing how much more energy I had to travel once I realized that I was going home. Also, since I was surprising everyone and hadn't heard about any big changes at home, I decided that a few extra week shouldn't change a thing and no one would know the difference anyway.
I flew to Tasmania on the 20th and met Brian. We got started on our bike tour the next day. Unfortunately, from day one I was thinking about things at home so much that I just wasn't enjoying the trip. I was trying to hurry the trip along so that I could finish it and get home sooner. On Christmas Eve, this came to a head and I went from thinking about home a lot to thinking about it all the time. Less that a week later, I realized that Tasmania had been a mistake for me because I wasn't mentally there.
On my way to Davenport, I finally decided that instead of thinking about things at home I should go home. I wanted to sleep on the decision for a night though. When I got to Davenport, I started trying to book flights home. It was going to be difficult and it was going to be expensive. That night over dinner, I told Brian that I planned to go home, but would sleep on the decision. After dinner, we wanted to go to a movie but couldn't settle on what we wanted to see. We went to our hostel instead. When we got there, I realized the daily ferry to Melbourne hadn't left yet and knew that it would be a lot easier to get home from Melbourne. With 45 minutes until the ferry left, I said screw it. I didn't want to sleep on it. I didn't want to wait a single day more to get home. I packed up all my stuff and started biking for the 8pm ferry.
My sleeper cabin on the ferry.
This ferry looks awful like the MV Explorer from Semester at Sea (which is a cruise ship).
When I got there, they told me they were sold out of the cheap seats. I only had enough cash for the cheap seats and no credit card. I biked away to an ATM, took out my max for the day, and went back to barely afford a sleeper cabin ticket instead. At 7am, we pulled into Melbourne. The bike shop that was supposed to be open was closed for holiday hours. I went to another bike shop I remembered nearby and someone happened to be opening the store when I got there. She sold me a bike box and the tools to take apart my bike and then closed the store right back up. She had only been opening the store at that hour because she didn't realize they were on holiday hours as well.
The Davenport Harbor lighthouse for a friend.
A second picture of the lighthouse with the sunset as I sail home.
At 9am, I got a cab and went to the airport without a flight home. I called the travel agency that the Antarctic Program works with to let people use a route other than the one they came down to the Ice on. I also called the Antarctic Program to see if they could get me home on my original route. The travel agency was only able to find unbelievably expensive tickets to fly from Melbourne to Denver. The day before a major holiday and with zero days notice, who would have thought that? The soonest the Antarctic Program could do was the 31st. It was the 30th and I didn't want to wait. After some humming, hawing, and serious finagling with my credit card company I decided to get the expensive flight home that left in two hours at noon.
I broke down my bike in the airport terminal, boxed it up, checked in, and got back to Denver around 5pm on January 30th. I had spent about 45 hours traveling and way too much money, but it was worth it. I don't regret it. I wanted to get home to follow new life dreams.
So that is a long winded version of why and when I chose to come home. I simply saw my priorities shift after being gone from home so long. I saw the new priorities, but just couldn't believe the old ones were fading so I didn't give the new ones the attention they deserved.
Am I done traveling forever? No. I'll take long vacations or I'll find a way to explore that keeps new goals in the forefront. I'm just not willing to let my desire to travel be my sole guide to decision making anymore. Other things are more important. Other things can fill my soul up more. Is it time to put down roots? It might be. I'm looking at houses and a dog. I should probably get a job first though.
At the start of the Antarctic winter, Brian Nelson and I had talked about buying around the world tickets. We were going to bike Tasmania and the Great Ocean Road, surf in Bali, explore Angkor Wat, hike the Sapa Highlands, seek out a Thai Ice Tea and white bread for Raja in Thailand, ski indoors in Dubai, spend a month biking from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal, be awed by the temples of Jordan and scarred by the conditions of the West Bank and Gaza strip, summit Kilimanjaro, safari in Tanzania, and finally return home with who knows what extras in between. Brian might have left after Africa to catch an Oregon summer while I would continue on a longer walkabout to destinations unknown in Africa and beyond.
We both had saved for a long time. We had choices. We had opportunities. The world was our oyster. So many ideas. So many dreams. I had wanted to travel the world and explore other cultures for so long. Since I could never afford to study abroad while in college, it was all I dreamed and talked about. After working on Semester at Sea, it became an obsession to get out of debt so I could travel again.
Given all that, why am I sitting in Colorado writing this?
By May or June (eight-nine months into my time on the Ice), I realized my heart wasn't into traveling the way it has been in the past. I was tired. I was no longer certain of my path. A lot of winter Ice veterans told me that it was just that I had been on the Ice for too long. Once I hit New Zealand, my drive would come flooding back to me. I wasn't so sure that was the case. I saw my priorities shifting while I was on the Ice. What I wanted out of life was being redefined, but I refused to be honest with myself and embrace those new definitions even though they excited me. I just couldn't believe that I was on the precipice of realizing a life dream to see the world and that I'd willingly choose to walk away from it to put down roots at home and chase other dreams.
When October hit, I was forced into making a decision because I was leaving Antarctica in 16 days. I made the decision to try to travel. I'd travel around New Zealand for a couple weeks. If traveling was working for me, I'd buy an around the world ticket. If not, I'd follow my heart home. I felt that plan was a good compromise between what my heart was telling me to do (go home) versus what my brain was telling me to do (travel) because I had chased something for so long. I'd get a chance to see if my priorities had truly shifted or if I was just beaten down by the Ice.
When I landed in Christchurch, my senses were intoxicated. I fell in love with its beauty and greenery. After a couple days soaking it up with Ice friends, I headed off to start my travels. I hiked the Abel Tasman track and then joined Katie Folts on the Banks Peninsula Track. Both hikes were great experiences, but something was missing from both of them.
When we got back on November 1st, Brian Nelson was in town. While the three of us were walking towards a bus stop in Christchurch just two weeks after I had started to try traveling, I had my moment of clarity. “The voyage of true discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes (Marcel Proust).” What was missing was not going to be found while traveling. It was waiting for me at home to see with a new perspective and appreciation for what I wanted.
I told Brian that I would not be joining him on an around the world trip. He was very cool about it and said he had expected as much for a couple months based on how I was talking (I wish he would have clued me in sooner.) I didn't tell many people about my decision because I liked the idea of surprising people back home and also didn't have a ticket booked yet.
One of the first things I did was check to see if I could still buy a Colorado season ski pass. Luckily, I was able to and did. Then, I had to decide when I would go back. My heart was telling me to go home sooner than later, but I also knew it would be stupid to leave without exploring a little bit of New Zealand first. I decided to return home on November 9th, the day before I was told my leave of absence expired at my old job.
Unfortunately, there was a mix up and my leave of absence actually expired in October. When I discovered this in early November, I had just been invited to play ultimate at New Zealand nationals with the defending champs out of Christchurch in the middle of December. I decided to stay longer so that I could play in their nationals and also go on the Ice reunion canoe trip that B-Nelson had planned. That would put me home in time for Christmas.
At the end of November, I was trying to book my flights. Getting home for Christmas was proving to be an ordeal because I didn't plan ahead enough and I also didn't have a credit card. It had expired on Ice and they wouldn't send me a new one in Antarctica or New Zealand for some reason I can't remember. Near the end of that frustration, I went on an amazing bike ride through Christchurch's Port Hills. I hadn't been on a bike in so long, I was loving it. Brian was on his way to Tasmania to bike tour after my nationals, so I figured I might as well join him since I had enjoyed biking so much and getting home for Christmas was proving to be an ordeal.
I chose Martin Luther King Junior Day as my new target date. Yeah, I knew I was missing home more acutely every day I didn't go home, but I figured I was there so it wouldn't hurt to explore just a little more. It is amazing how much more energy I had to travel once I realized that I was going home. Also, since I was surprising everyone and hadn't heard about any big changes at home, I decided that a few extra week shouldn't change a thing and no one would know the difference anyway.
I flew to Tasmania on the 20th and met Brian. We got started on our bike tour the next day. Unfortunately, from day one I was thinking about things at home so much that I just wasn't enjoying the trip. I was trying to hurry the trip along so that I could finish it and get home sooner. On Christmas Eve, this came to a head and I went from thinking about home a lot to thinking about it all the time. Less that a week later, I realized that Tasmania had been a mistake for me because I wasn't mentally there.
On my way to Davenport, I finally decided that instead of thinking about things at home I should go home. I wanted to sleep on the decision for a night though. When I got to Davenport, I started trying to book flights home. It was going to be difficult and it was going to be expensive. That night over dinner, I told Brian that I planned to go home, but would sleep on the decision. After dinner, we wanted to go to a movie but couldn't settle on what we wanted to see. We went to our hostel instead. When we got there, I realized the daily ferry to Melbourne hadn't left yet and knew that it would be a lot easier to get home from Melbourne. With 45 minutes until the ferry left, I said screw it. I didn't want to sleep on it. I didn't want to wait a single day more to get home. I packed up all my stuff and started biking for the 8pm ferry.
My sleeper cabin on the ferry.
This ferry looks awful like the MV Explorer from Semester at Sea (which is a cruise ship).
When I got there, they told me they were sold out of the cheap seats. I only had enough cash for the cheap seats and no credit card. I biked away to an ATM, took out my max for the day, and went back to barely afford a sleeper cabin ticket instead. At 7am, we pulled into Melbourne. The bike shop that was supposed to be open was closed for holiday hours. I went to another bike shop I remembered nearby and someone happened to be opening the store when I got there. She sold me a bike box and the tools to take apart my bike and then closed the store right back up. She had only been opening the store at that hour because she didn't realize they were on holiday hours as well.
The Davenport Harbor lighthouse for a friend.
A second picture of the lighthouse with the sunset as I sail home.
At 9am, I got a cab and went to the airport without a flight home. I called the travel agency that the Antarctic Program works with to let people use a route other than the one they came down to the Ice on. I also called the Antarctic Program to see if they could get me home on my original route. The travel agency was only able to find unbelievably expensive tickets to fly from Melbourne to Denver. The day before a major holiday and with zero days notice, who would have thought that? The soonest the Antarctic Program could do was the 31st. It was the 30th and I didn't want to wait. After some humming, hawing, and serious finagling with my credit card company I decided to get the expensive flight home that left in two hours at noon.
I broke down my bike in the airport terminal, boxed it up, checked in, and got back to Denver around 5pm on January 30th. I had spent about 45 hours traveling and way too much money, but it was worth it. I don't regret it. I wanted to get home to follow new life dreams.
So that is a long winded version of why and when I chose to come home. I simply saw my priorities shift after being gone from home so long. I saw the new priorities, but just couldn't believe the old ones were fading so I didn't give the new ones the attention they deserved.
Am I done traveling forever? No. I'll take long vacations or I'll find a way to explore that keeps new goals in the forefront. I'm just not willing to let my desire to travel be my sole guide to decision making anymore. Other things are more important. Other things can fill my soul up more. Is it time to put down roots? It might be. I'm looking at houses and a dog. I should probably get a job first though.
Biking Tasmania
In short, Tasmania wasn't what I had hoped it would be. I loved getting on the bike and riding every day, but a bunch of things just weren't working for me. First up, after the beauty of New Zealand, Tasmania just wasn't that spectacular. Also, even though I had decided not getting back to Colorado before Christmas would be alright, it wasn't. There were things at home that I had been missing for too long and they were overwhelming my thoughts daily. Because of that, I wanted to get home sooner than later and biked harder that I should have to make that happen. My mind was just elsewhere so I wasn't enjoying the journey.
Brian Nelson, my bike touring partner, finding out how to undo our first wrong turn on the trip.
Our plan was to ride counterclockwise around the island starting and ending in Hobart in about three weeks. We wanted to finish up by the 13th so I could fly to Sydney for a couple days to see old friends and still get back to Colorado by Martin Luther King Junior Day, my second target date since my Christmas date hadn''t pan out. Our first day started out tough. We were near a lot of city traffic and we took a wrong turn. However, we also managed to find a roadside stand that sold some of the best cherries I've ever had.
B-Nelson rediscovers an old friend from the Ice, Frosty Boy!
I don't know how this hill got its name, but I was excited to ride down it.
Maria Island National Park
The absolute highlight of the trip for me was a sidetrip over to Maria Island National Park. It was peaceful. It was quiet. We could bike and not worry about cars. We had a campsite infested with wallabies. We saw our first kangaroos and wombats. We heard the cockatoos call. We saw a fantastic sunset and a sunrise to match. I highly recommend it.
I saw my first kangaroo on Maria Island (check out the use of the tail).
I also saw my first wombat there which was my favorite critter by far. John Bain wants you to know they have a rump shield for defense.
A beach just down the way from our campsite.
Sunset on Maria Island.
Our failed attempt to bike down the isthmus through sand, painful but beautiful.
Painted sandstone cliffs.
Sea critters. I think the red one is an anemone.
The view from the Fossil Cliffs on Maria Island.
Through Brian and my's biggest adversary was a headwind that fought us 12/14 days in two different directions, the logging trucks of Tasmania normally give bike tourists the most difficulty.
One of the best things about bike touring is that you are almost hungry and everything tastes so good. We stopped to buy roadside fruit at every chance we could. This one was a little too big to take.
Freycinet National Park.
The town near the national Park, Coles Bay, moves at a different speed (Think about it, John Franco).
One of the many great views in Freycinet National Park.
Wineglass Bay.
A wallaby (basically a small kangaroo0) with a joey in its pouch.
One of the great things about Tasmania is the number of free campsites. Some people were clearly setup to be there a while. Some tents could have held a car.
An echidna is basically a marsupial porcupine with a small version of an anteater snout. Very cute when you can actually see their face.
Christmas dinner.
The Bay of Fires National Park had red algae on the rocks.
The welcoming statue to Bingalong Bay reminded me of the 1950's California (aka the TV show Gidget)
On the way up to the Bay of Fires, we had our only tailwind of the trip that I can remember. However, the Bay of Fires wasn't on the way. It was a side trip. If we hadn't made a detour out to see it, then we would have a headwind the entire way. The headwind was ridiculous. On my final riding day in Tasmania, it was all I could do not to quit. Well, I guess I did end up quitting, but it wasn't because of the headwind. It was like the wind didn't want us to get anywhere. I'm not sure if Brian got a tailwind when he returned to Hobart.
A beautiful valley and home to the Pub in a Paddock which is near absolutely nothing else, except cows.
I have no idea why, but these cows follows us for almost a quarter of a mile, but if we approached them they backed up. Any ideas?
Random wood carvings. These were pretty cool. Unfortunately, the park they are in is now treeless.
This picture is for Ben Bachelor, the ultimate way to catch a ride.
Opium fields.
Cataract Gorge in Launceston. Amazing just because it is so close to the city.
In the back of Cataract Gorge, I was reminded that this beautiful peacock has one of the most screeching bird calls I've ever heard.
A sitting spot onthe side of Cataract Gorge.
My final sunset on Tasmania at the Swan Point campsite.
Tasmania by the Numbers (719 km/446 mi):
Brian Nelson, my bike touring partner, finding out how to undo our first wrong turn on the trip.
Our plan was to ride counterclockwise around the island starting and ending in Hobart in about three weeks. We wanted to finish up by the 13th so I could fly to Sydney for a couple days to see old friends and still get back to Colorado by Martin Luther King Junior Day, my second target date since my Christmas date hadn''t pan out. Our first day started out tough. We were near a lot of city traffic and we took a wrong turn. However, we also managed to find a roadside stand that sold some of the best cherries I've ever had.
B-Nelson rediscovers an old friend from the Ice, Frosty Boy!
I don't know how this hill got its name, but I was excited to ride down it.
Maria Island National Park
The absolute highlight of the trip for me was a sidetrip over to Maria Island National Park. It was peaceful. It was quiet. We could bike and not worry about cars. We had a campsite infested with wallabies. We saw our first kangaroos and wombats. We heard the cockatoos call. We saw a fantastic sunset and a sunrise to match. I highly recommend it.
I saw my first kangaroo on Maria Island (check out the use of the tail).
I also saw my first wombat there which was my favorite critter by far. John Bain wants you to know they have a rump shield for defense.
A beach just down the way from our campsite.
Sunset on Maria Island.
Our failed attempt to bike down the isthmus through sand, painful but beautiful.
Painted sandstone cliffs.
Sea critters. I think the red one is an anemone.
The view from the Fossil Cliffs on Maria Island.
Through Brian and my's biggest adversary was a headwind that fought us 12/14 days in two different directions, the logging trucks of Tasmania normally give bike tourists the most difficulty.
Freycinet National Park.
The town near the national Park, Coles Bay, moves at a different speed (Think about it, John Franco).
One of the many great views in Freycinet National Park.
Wineglass Bay.
A wallaby (basically a small kangaroo0) with a joey in its pouch.
One of the great things about Tasmania is the number of free campsites. Some people were clearly setup to be there a while. Some tents could have held a car.
An echidna is basically a marsupial porcupine with a small version of an anteater snout. Very cute when you can actually see their face.
Christmas dinner.
The Bay of Fires National Park had red algae on the rocks.
The welcoming statue to Bingalong Bay reminded me of the 1950's California (aka the TV show Gidget)
On the way up to the Bay of Fires, we had our only tailwind of the trip that I can remember. However, the Bay of Fires wasn't on the way. It was a side trip. If we hadn't made a detour out to see it, then we would have a headwind the entire way. The headwind was ridiculous. On my final riding day in Tasmania, it was all I could do not to quit. Well, I guess I did end up quitting, but it wasn't because of the headwind. It was like the wind didn't want us to get anywhere. I'm not sure if Brian got a tailwind when he returned to Hobart.
A beautiful valley and home to the Pub in a Paddock which is near absolutely nothing else, except cows.
I have no idea why, but these cows follows us for almost a quarter of a mile, but if we approached them they backed up. Any ideas?
Random wood carvings. These were pretty cool. Unfortunately, the park they are in is now treeless.
This picture is for Ben Bachelor, the ultimate way to catch a ride.
Opium fields.
Cataract Gorge in Launceston. Amazing just because it is so close to the city.
In the back of Cataract Gorge, I was reminded that this beautiful peacock has one of the most screeching bird calls I've ever heard.
A sitting spot onthe side of Cataract Gorge.
My final sunset on Tasmania at the Swan Point campsite.
Tasmania by the Numbers (719 km/446 mi):
- 12/19 Hobart to Sorrel 54km
- 12/20 to Maria Island Nationals Park 80km and a ferry ride
- 12/21 to Swansea 74km
- 12/22 to Freycinet National Park 64km
- 12/23 Rest/Hiking Day
- 12/24 to Lagoons Beach (near St. Mary's) 74km
- 12/25 to St. Helens 51km
- 12/26 to Binalong Bay, Bay of Fires, and St. Columba Falls 64km
- 12/27 to Scottsdale 61km
- 12/28 to Swan Point campground 107km
- 12/29 to Davenport 90km
- 12/29 night, leave Tasmania
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tasmania!
I have fourteen minutes to write this. It is going to be a rant. I'm in Melbourne, Australia waiting for my flight to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. On my way here, I got heavily dinged because I was 14kg (30lbs or so) over the checked bag limit. I went over the limit because I had a bike.
My rant is this. I don't weigh much. In fact, I bet that I weighed 14kg less than over half the people on the flight. If they sell tickets by the space that you take up, why can't they sell baggage the same way? I'd like to see a consistent system so that I can diet to carry more crap around with me. OK, I don't think this system is going to work, but I was definitely frustrated to have to pay an extra $100 USD when I still had less weight overall than a lot of other people.
In more positive news, I finally own a road/commuter bike and I'm super excited about it. I bought a blue Surly Long Haul Trucker. It is going to be a sweet ride. Surly is based just outside of Minneapolis in Bloomington, MN. My decision might have been influenced by a few factors including the fact the winner of the masters division in the UPA series this year was based out of Minnesota and named Surly, but I think that had to do with the Surly Brewery. It might also have to do with the fact that B-Nelson had a surly shirt that he wore all winter long. It might also have to do with that it is a sweet bike.
It is really hard to get North American sporting goods down here right now. The North American production cycle ramps up for our spring in March/April. Places in the Southern Hemisphere need that gear now, but it just isn't too be had. I called five bike shops in NZ and ten in Australia before I found it. I got lucky and even got a used one. I got double lucky because the US dollar is so good against the NZD.
Current plan: Bike Tasmania for 2-4 weeks, possibly hike the Overland Route in Tasmania, possibly bike the Great Ocean Road between Torquay and Warrnambool, go to Sydney to see friends, return to Christchurch, NZ for the World Busker (street performer) Festival. I'm going to be blogging less in the future.
My rant is this. I don't weigh much. In fact, I bet that I weighed 14kg less than over half the people on the flight. If they sell tickets by the space that you take up, why can't they sell baggage the same way? I'd like to see a consistent system so that I can diet to carry more crap around with me. OK, I don't think this system is going to work, but I was definitely frustrated to have to pay an extra $100 USD when I still had less weight overall than a lot of other people.
In more positive news, I finally own a road/commuter bike and I'm super excited about it. I bought a blue Surly Long Haul Trucker. It is going to be a sweet ride. Surly is based just outside of Minneapolis in Bloomington, MN. My decision might have been influenced by a few factors including the fact the winner of the masters division in the UPA series this year was based out of Minnesota and named Surly, but I think that had to do with the Surly Brewery. It might also have to do with the fact that B-Nelson had a surly shirt that he wore all winter long. It might also have to do with that it is a sweet bike.
It is really hard to get North American sporting goods down here right now. The North American production cycle ramps up for our spring in March/April. Places in the Southern Hemisphere need that gear now, but it just isn't too be had. I called five bike shops in NZ and ten in Australia before I found it. I got lucky and even got a used one. I got double lucky because the US dollar is so good against the NZD.
Current plan: Bike Tasmania for 2-4 weeks, possibly hike the Overland Route in Tasmania, possibly bike the Great Ocean Road between Torquay and Warrnambool, go to Sydney to see friends, return to Christchurch, NZ for the World Busker (street performer) Festival. I'm going to be blogging less in the future.
New Zealand Ultimate Mixed Nationals - we won!
Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to play on the winning team, Credo, at New Zealand Ultimate Mixed Nationals in Christchurch. Being a national champion in a country that isn't your own feels a little odd, but I'll take it and be really happy about it.
In order to head down to Antarctica last year, I had to quit my ultimate team in Colorado. I was playing with Johnny Bravo, the best team I'd ever played for by far. When I was with them, we made semifinals for the first time. I left in early October 2007 and three weeks later, they went farther than ever before and made finals at nationals.
When I quit, I decided that I might also retire from competitive men's ultimate and just play recreational leagues and possibly competitive coed. My body just wasn't healing as fast as it used to. My priorities were shifting so that I wanted my weekends free to go play in the mountains instead of play on the ultimate field. Also, I never had the drive on Bravo that I had on other teams I had played for. That could have been a number of reasons (the commute, shifting of priorities, desire, or unity). Either way, I was going to think about it while I was on the Ice and go from there.
After not playing anything but low level mini ultimate in a gymnasium for a year, I thought barefoot pickup in the park might be a fun way to kill an afternoon in Christchurch. I hopped online, googled up the local game, and showed up to play in a park just past the botanical gardens. The pickup wasn't low level. It was fantastic. While there, a couple players asked me if I'd be around to play on the one of the Canterbury Frisbee Flyers Club's three teams at nationals. I wasn't sure. I was planning on heading home. However, my leave of absence unexpectedly expired at my job so I wasn't in a hurry to get back and Mike and Mel harassed me enough times that I decided, why not.
From there on out, my time in NZ was defined by leaving Christchurch to hike as much as I could in 6-10 days before returning back for practice, pickup, and league. While out hiking with friends, I'd be doing my own plyometric and sprint training in the morning while they slept. When I got back to Christchurch, I bided my time remembering how to play the game after almost 14 months away and trying to score free cleats. I eventually just bought cleats. Relearning the game again wasn't nearly so easy.
Nationals weekend finally came and our team was seeded 1st overall. On Saturday, we had 4 games. If we won all of them, we'd have a first round bye on Sunday. We blew through the first three teams (Wellington-B, Nelson NUDE, and Canterbury's Ethos) 39-3, I think. We just weren't challenged, which might have led to our let down in the final game of the day against Auckland/Australia's MRRP. For some reason, we were playing sloppy and the other team quickly went ahead. When the cap went, I think the score was 9-6. We switched up our personnel a little bit and rallied back to 10-9 going upwind. I dropped the goal to tie it up because I was looking to see if I was in. We lost 11-9 and earned a trip to quarterfinals. We weren't happy, but we weren't too worried because we knew we hadn't played our best game and would have a second chance tomorrow if we played well.
On Sunday, we came out blazing and beat a team from Auckland which gave us the #2 team overall in the tournament, Duke from Wellington, in the semifinals. We came out hot and went up 4-0 before the other team had even warmed up. When they got warm, they quickly brought it back to 4-3. I don't remember too much about this game. We would go on a run and then they would. We were only ever up by 2 or 3, but I felt like we were playing well enough that I was never really worried. I probably should have been. I remember finishing this game well because Mike worked ridiculously hard to get us a break and upwind goal so we didn't just trade points until we got to 15.
That win gave us MRRP again in the finals. We definitely wanted the rematch and were excited because it was windy. We have a lot of players who like the wind and so that probably worked in our favor even though we had lost the last game to them in the wind. I'm struggling for details on this game. I remember feeling the game was always in danger, but apparently we won 15-6 or 15-8 so maybe it wasn't or we just had a lot of close plays go our way. I remember Hannan skying their tallest guy early on. I remember Penny and Sammy being patient and eventually getting me to be patient. I remember our ladies dominating. I think this was the deepest group of women I've ever had the privilege to play with. I remember that I feel like I have no offensive awareness anymore. I felt like my D was pretty good. Bump, grind, and battle. Same recipe as always.
Game face? (photo by Neil Gardner)
To wrap up a long ramble, my tournament team was fantastic. The Christchurch ultimate community is great. They made me smile. It is made up of good, mellow people. They reminded me why I love this game. They've defined a lot of my time in Christchurch. Maybe, I won't retire when I get home. In fact, I'm eyeing up another tournament in February.
Major points to Ken, Mel, Brian, and Raja for coming out to see ultimate!
*All photos are from Neil Gardner's site.
In order to head down to Antarctica last year, I had to quit my ultimate team in Colorado. I was playing with Johnny Bravo, the best team I'd ever played for by far. When I was with them, we made semifinals for the first time. I left in early October 2007 and three weeks later, they went farther than ever before and made finals at nationals.
When I quit, I decided that I might also retire from competitive men's ultimate and just play recreational leagues and possibly competitive coed. My body just wasn't healing as fast as it used to. My priorities were shifting so that I wanted my weekends free to go play in the mountains instead of play on the ultimate field. Also, I never had the drive on Bravo that I had on other teams I had played for. That could have been a number of reasons (the commute, shifting of priorities, desire, or unity). Either way, I was going to think about it while I was on the Ice and go from there.
After not playing anything but low level mini ultimate in a gymnasium for a year, I thought barefoot pickup in the park might be a fun way to kill an afternoon in Christchurch. I hopped online, googled up the local game, and showed up to play in a park just past the botanical gardens. The pickup wasn't low level. It was fantastic. While there, a couple players asked me if I'd be around to play on the one of the Canterbury Frisbee Flyers Club's three teams at nationals. I wasn't sure. I was planning on heading home. However, my leave of absence unexpectedly expired at my job so I wasn't in a hurry to get back and Mike and Mel harassed me enough times that I decided, why not.
From there on out, my time in NZ was defined by leaving Christchurch to hike as much as I could in 6-10 days before returning back for practice, pickup, and league. While out hiking with friends, I'd be doing my own plyometric and sprint training in the morning while they slept. When I got back to Christchurch, I bided my time remembering how to play the game after almost 14 months away and trying to score free cleats. I eventually just bought cleats. Relearning the game again wasn't nearly so easy.
Nationals weekend finally came and our team was seeded 1st overall. On Saturday, we had 4 games. If we won all of them, we'd have a first round bye on Sunday. We blew through the first three teams (Wellington-B, Nelson NUDE, and Canterbury's Ethos) 39-3, I think. We just weren't challenged, which might have led to our let down in the final game of the day against Auckland/Australia's MRRP. For some reason, we were playing sloppy and the other team quickly went ahead. When the cap went, I think the score was 9-6. We switched up our personnel a little bit and rallied back to 10-9 going upwind. I dropped the goal to tie it up because I was looking to see if I was in. We lost 11-9 and earned a trip to quarterfinals. We weren't happy, but we weren't too worried because we knew we hadn't played our best game and would have a second chance tomorrow if we played well.
On Sunday, we came out blazing and beat a team from Auckland which gave us the #2 team overall in the tournament, Duke from Wellington, in the semifinals. We came out hot and went up 4-0 before the other team had even warmed up. When they got warm, they quickly brought it back to 4-3. I don't remember too much about this game. We would go on a run and then they would. We were only ever up by 2 or 3, but I felt like we were playing well enough that I was never really worried. I probably should have been. I remember finishing this game well because Mike worked ridiculously hard to get us a break and upwind goal so we didn't just trade points until we got to 15.
That win gave us MRRP again in the finals. We definitely wanted the rematch and were excited because it was windy. We have a lot of players who like the wind and so that probably worked in our favor even though we had lost the last game to them in the wind. I'm struggling for details on this game. I remember feeling the game was always in danger, but apparently we won 15-6 or 15-8 so maybe it wasn't or we just had a lot of close plays go our way. I remember Hannan skying their tallest guy early on. I remember Penny and Sammy being patient and eventually getting me to be patient. I remember our ladies dominating. I think this was the deepest group of women I've ever had the privilege to play with. I remember that I feel like I have no offensive awareness anymore. I felt like my D was pretty good. Bump, grind, and battle. Same recipe as always.
Game face? (photo by Neil Gardner)
To wrap up a long ramble, my tournament team was fantastic. The Christchurch ultimate community is great. They made me smile. It is made up of good, mellow people. They reminded me why I love this game. They've defined a lot of my time in Christchurch. Maybe, I won't retire when I get home. In fact, I'm eyeing up another tournament in February.
Major points to Ken, Mel, Brian, and Raja for coming out to see ultimate!
*All photos are from Neil Gardner's site.
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