Kia ora is a Māori language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It means, literally, be well/healthy and is translated as an informal hi. It is also used as a farewell and expression of thanks.
16 hour flight from Los Angeles, 19 hour time difference – meant I left Friday night but didn’t arrive in Auckland ‘til Sunday morning. Yikes, where did Saturday go? EVERY day’s a run day but my first run in New Zealand would be on Colorado time 🙂 Restroom stall change-of-clothes, packing service watched my luggage, then logged 4 miles on NZ’s North Island. Heavy humidity & cloud cover, but no rain. Hung a right outta International, mile+ past Auckland’s Domestic Terminal, then north…running roadside – pasture on the left, swampy waterway on my right. Much of this former swamp’s been drain — ‘reclaimed’ in New Zealand talk. Meanwhile…my CT bestie Dawn arrived via San Francisco. Airport splash bath, taxi to town centre, first night digs at the Grand Millennium.
Luckily, caught a few zzz’s in Economy…’cause my NZ two-island itinerary didn’t include a rest day. LOL> Bags at the hotel, prepaid voucher on Auckland’s Hop-on Hop-off Tour. Double-decker YELLOW bus, four long blocks toward the Harbour.
Rode thru a handful of stops, already afternoon so was super selective with my Hop-offs. Auckland Museum, check – that’s my stop. Walked the perimeter, viewed the War Memorial Statue, then crossed Auckland Domain (city park) to Winter Gardens [self-toured past a local cricket match]. The grounds of Winter Gardens, stunning. Introduced to a multitude of tropical flora native to the Island.
2nd stop – quick hike up Mount Eden. Off a plane for 6 hours now…so why not? 🙂 Short quarter-mile trek UP, long walking path ‘round the rim of an ancient/sacred crater, depression from a dormant volcano. Absolutely serious. WOW, just WOW!
Hotel return, power nap, Sky Tower before night fall. Similar to Seattle’s Space Needle, great view of the harbour. Bit unnerving on the Skywalk, standing high above traffic on see-thru glass. Yikes!
730am bus to Rotorua in the morning – but not before a 10K treadmill trot at the hotel gym (running on NZ time now).
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- Hello from New Zealand!
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- Auckland Museum
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- Auckland War Memorial Statue
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- Winter Gardens
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- multitude of tropical flora native to the Island
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- Auckland Domain (city park)
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- quick hike up Mount Eden
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- volcanic crater depression
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- Auckland skyline
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- Mount Eden summit
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- Sky Tower
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- YIKES!
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- high above on see-thru glass
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- Auckland Harbour Bridge
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- Good nite, Auckland 🙂
Auckland Domain (city park)
…ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country — John F. Kennedy
$98 roundtrip — airfare WOW price — so late-registered for a third February marathon…the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth. 930am Saturday morning, touchdown: Dallas. My first landing at Love Field, same airport President Kennedy used in November 1963.
Ya’ll know I’m a HUGE history fan – first stop: the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Housed in the former Texas School Book Depository, museum retells the events surrounding JFK’s assassination. Waited 40 minutes for ticket admittance – who knew so many people [on a Saturday morning] would be museum trekking?
Self-guided tour lasts ’bout an hour half – I finished in under 30. Placard-to-placard trail, ’til each tourist receives their moment at ‘the Corner Window’ – spot where Lee Harvey Oswald fatally head-shot the President as his motorcade turned onto Elm Street. Honestly, found the entire experience creepy, sad, voyeuristic. Upon leaving the building, walked thru Dealey Plaza & past ‘the Grassy Knoll’ where it’s believed another conspirator fired but missed the President. Again, not my thing. Live & learn.
50 minutes away, arrived in Fort Worth for marathon bib pick-up/hotel check-in.
Sunshine, breezy & 60 — BEAUTIFUL — lucky me, half day remaining. Short 2 mile run along the Clear Fork Trinity River (‘cause every day’s a run day), pre-race dinner at Hoffbrau Steaks (ate RED MEAT like a native) PLUS time for haircut (clipper close-shave).
Early to bed, early to rise – ’cause tomorrow I’m running Cowtown 🙂
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- America’s Camelot
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- the Corner Window
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- fatal motorcade turn on Elm
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- sixth floor ‘Corner Window’
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- JFK Memorial
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- Welcome to Cowtown
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- Midnight (1910-1936), “World’s Greatest Bucking Horse”
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- Saturday FUN run/Crystelle Waggoner Trailhead
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- pre-marathon TEXAS dinner
November 22, 1963
Margaret “Maggie” Brown (July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932) (posthumously known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She is best remembered for exhorting the crew in Lifeboat No. 6 to return to the debris field of the 1912 sinking of RMS Titanic to look for survivors. During her lifetime, her friends called her “Maggie”, but after her death, a 1960 Broadway musical based on her life and its 1964 film adaptation were each entitled The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Marathon Sunday in Pueblo…time to pull out the folder. AAA articles, newspaper clippings, emails/FB posts from friends, pages ripped from airline magazines – all activities/places which spark interest & light my heart. Doesn’t everyone have a folder? 🙂
First Colorado marathon of the year so…decided to celebrate a famous Coloradan – the Unsinkable Molly Brown. Saw the 1964 movie (starring Debbie Reynolds) on Netflix. Over-the-top energy, hillbilly drama. Set in Leadville, the Browns would move to Denver (after a successful mining claim) & try to join the social elite…sorta like a movie version of “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Of course, there’s no place for Molly at anyone’s table (despite her wealth). Freak circumstance puts her on the Titanic – and she becomes a national celebrity.
Kicked off ‘Molly Brown Day’, the night before in nearby Longmont. Purchased dinner theatre tickets for a local adaptation of the Broadway play. Reality: all ‘Dinner Theatre’ is not created equal. Tonite’s performance was light on talent & the hall struggled with food service. Show started 45 minutes late – but overall, a FUN experience. Something new to do on a Friday night. Check, done. No regrets.
Saturday morning: short 2-mile run, packed an overnight bag, quick shower. Dropped Ro at the kennel, next stop: Denver – specifically, 1340 Pennsylvania Street…the actual Molly Brown House. History nerd alert – LOVE LOVED it.
Movie: ‘Molly’ Brown
Reality: Margaret, Maggie — but never, Molly
Movie: illiterate mining girl
Reality: high school-equivalent education, well-educated vs her [female] peers
Play & movie were based off articles published in the Denver Post, written by socialites who disliked Molly because the Browns represented ‘new money’. Most of Denver’s elite wanted to be accepted in East Coast social circles so went to great lengths to distance themselves from ‘new money’ (their parents’ generation). Colorado only achieved in statehood in 1876.
Turn of the century wallpaper, stained glass, kerosene lights, Victorian furniture, bear rugs & animal mountings (inspired by President Teddy Roosevelt)…like walking back in time.
Post-Titanic ‘Molly’ Brown fought for women’s suffrage. Colorado became the first U.S. state to provide the vote (Wyoming, technically ‘the first’, was a territory). Mrs. Brown ran for US Senate twice. She purchased land to create the City’s first parks & fought for worker’s rights – an issue which ended her marriage (technically though, they never divorced).
Really really interesting day. If ever in Denver, take the hour-long house tour ($11). Highly recommended.
New York Deli News for lunch (well-known Jewish deli, another ‘first’ experience), followed by my first Colorado visit to IKEA. Haven’t seen dollar hot dogs & cinnamon buns since leaving Connecticut. LOL>
Sometimes the best vacation is in your own backyard. LOVE LOVE my Colorado life!
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- Longmont dinner theatre
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- community player performance
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- highly recommended
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- Turkish statue
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- original cloth wallpaper
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- lady’s favorite colour: GREEN
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- cinnamon rolls & DIY furniture
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- Jewish deli MAGIC — DELISH!
