We had a great turnout of costumed guests, who brought some fabulous snacks as you can see. I have to say I was especially impressed with the Tim Tam truffle eyeballs—thanks Rosa!

Super KPMG man has the power to balance your accounts at lightning speed! (Matt and Voon Shan)

Kilt-wearing Scot (with Tim Tam eyeballs) and Cavegirl (Mark and Sylvia).

I didn’t get a picture of backwards man’s front. Bringing back the ‘90s memory of Kris Kross. (William)

Pirate Carolyn and Troll Bevan.

Paula showed her star-craftiness as Wonder Woman.

‘80s aerobics girl and her equally fit cyclist partner (Rosa and Hamish)

Charles got confused about what kind of green character he was supposed to be.

Oh yes–Robin Hood! (with Maid Marion, of course)

Our house is right by the airport, so it was easy to keep the trip a surprise. Even when I parked in the airport carpark, Sally still thought we were just there to meet someone. It was great weather to fly out of Wellington.

The flight path to Queenstown is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. At one point, we got close enough to quite clearly make out the skiers.

Combined with gorgeous views of the mountain lakes, it was easily the most scenic flight we’ve taken.

As we picked up the rental car, we saw a sign announcing we were 45 degrees South…the closest to the south pole that Sally has ever been.

We drove along the lakefront from the airport into the city. A very pretty drive, and a beautiful day for it.

I’d previously picked out a small boutique hotel, a short walk from the town centre, and with free wine tasting every night. The staff knew that I was planning to propose, so they’d given me a free upgrade to one of their fanciest suites with mountain views from every window.

Fortunately Sally is not the suspicious type, and genuinely believed it was all just an early birthday present.

I hadn’t been to Queenstown for years, and had no engagement spots in mind. So as we went for a walk into town, I was trying to scope out a good place. I’d previously decided that I wanted to do it outside, somewhere private, with beautiful scenery in the background. Fortunately, I was spoilt for choice.

Being the middle of winter, it was fairly chilly (about 5 Celsius, or 40 Fahrenheit), but we found a bar with outdoor heaters and a nice view, and Sally occupied herself with artistic photographs.

At this point, I was fairly exhausted, because I’d been up all night packing for the trip. In my sleepy state, there was grave danger that I would try to push the ring onto the wrong finger, and so I decided to leave the proposal until the following day. We walked back through the gardens to our hotel for the evening’s wine tasting.

The next morning was the big day, and I had numerous proposal locations in mind. Unfortunately, it was raining, and so we went shopping while I desperately hoped for it to clear. Along the way, we stopped for some mulled wine to calm my nerves (and to lower Sally’s standards).

When the rain continued into the afternoon, I decided I had to be more proactive, and so we went on a drove around the lake in search of better weather. Thankfully, the rain was eventually replaced by a light snow – far more fitting for a proposal.

Seeing a spot the fulfilled my goal of beautiful scenery and a private place, we stopped at a lookout point, which had a short track leading down to the lake. Thankfully, Sally is a fan of both lakes and snow, and so she was happy to leave the warmth of the car.

I got down on one knee (Sally was considerably closer than in the re-enactment below), and thanks to the mulled wine, Sally accepted.

We had a panorama of snowy mountains, but the mist obscures them from the above pictures. So here’s a close-up of one of them.

It’s a stretch, but I proposed on this rock, thinking it was shaped a bit like a heart.

My back-up proposal plan had been the restaurant at the top of the gondola. Earlier, I’d had an argument with the woman on the phone, because she refused to guarantee me a window seat even when I’d said I was planning to propose. I’d still made a booking though, so now we got to dress up and celebrate.

Luckily, the woman was a lot more cooperative when face-to-face. We ended up getting the best seats in the restaurant, right in the corner with full-length glass windows. They even gave us free champagne to celebrate.

The next morning, Sally video-skyped her parents with the news. Then, we headed back to the airport to fly home. All-in-all, a very memorable weekend!

Now that we’ve been in the house since February…here are some early empty apartment pictures! See below for pictures with furniture and people.

    A new bed!                     Charles working diligently to set up his new desk.

Do these drapes go with my shirt?             Charles’ office during the daytime…

Here’s one with some furniture! (Apparently we both like reading while on the ground…)

Some adorable nieces enjoying the tour of our place (and their raisins, too.)

The local dairy (that’s Kiwi for 7-11). The nice shop owner says “If you can’t find it anywhere else, you can find it here!” Some of the stranger items we’ve purchased so far: cinnamon, tortillas that expired in 2009, and vanilla essence.

A few blocks down the road, Lyall Bay. This is what it looks like on a grey day. The surfers don’t seem to care, as long as there are waves:)

A little more inviting on a sunny day:)

In a pinch, we could walk to the airport.

And a few bays down, this is Princess Bay at sunset.   

Some other bay on our way to lunch with Chris and Aimee   

Pretty nice drive! “Scorch-o-rama” for lunch (named after Scorching Bay).

I took followed Aimee’s lead and got an iced chocolate. Yum.

  If there’s a shell, I’ll find it.                     Nice day for lunch on the beach!                

Somewhere along Queen’s Drive. And in case you can’t speak Dog, the signmakers have kindly translated this sign for you.

An Easter Island-y statue. (I’ve forgotten the details on the historical plaque.)

An island…somewhere along the way…

We had the luxury of landing on a paved runway next to this dirt ditch.

The capital of Palawan-Puerto Priscesa…pretty small airport!

  Surprisingly we rode on an Airbus. I think there were one or two flights out per day.

The first challenge was negotiating a price for one of these 3-wheeled taxis to take us to our hotel…and then fitting all our luggage in one. They were slightly more powerful than your average riding lawnmower.

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Amazing lunch at an open-air place a short walk away from where we stayed. The clam soup and seaweed weren’t my favorite, but the fried eggplant, lobster, fresh sautéed fish and fruit salad dessert were all delicious!

Can you see me? This Christmas tree by the sea was giant! The clouds were a relief from the heat that afternoon.

More walking around the city, making sure to stay hydrated:)

Near the “downtown” walkway.

Church we saw while trying to find our way back. 

First touch of the sea at Palawan!

And a very cute little lighthouse near a dead end road.

In case the HobieCat needs a little company…this one’s for sale!

Next day: Island hopping around Honda Bay!

This may become my new computer background—awesome weather and very calm in the morning.

We both needed this picture prior to taking off:)

A little better view of the 3-wheeled primary mode of transport on the island. (This was the common “family car” as well as the taxis for hire.)

Safety first!

Except for this guy—hopefully he is a strong swimmer.

Getting closer to one of the islands…

Enjoying the ride!

If this isn’t a tropical paradise, I don’t know what is.

Tropical paradise continued…

No tropical paradise is complete without palm trees.

Or starfish.

Showing off the crystal-clear water. Nice and warm.

Mangrove forests in the distance.

Chillin in the lunch hut.

Awesome lunch on Starfish Island. Fresh-caught crab, lobster, shrimp, cucumber salad and presumably local bananas:)

Walking along Snake Island (luckily named after its snake-like shape, not after its inhabitants!)

Charles chilling with some mangrove seedlings popping up through the sand in the background.

Mangroves are one seriously cool plant.

Look at these roots!

A storm was blowing in.

Which didn’t stop Charles from enjoying the water.

Look! I found a coconut! I think I could survive on this deserted island.

The snorkeling hut is on the right…

We got to explore a really colorful coral reef. Boats docked to the hut. It was getting choppy and time to go home!

The only picture we took in Tokyo. Charles is looking fresh after 13 hours on the plane!

On to Manila! We visited a fort and learned about the history of Manila. Everyone offered us a ride in the horse carriages (above with Charles’ fellow groomsman, Matt), which was tempting because of the heat! We toughed it out and stuffed 4 people in a little taxi there and back!

We put on some sunscreen and headed out on the town.

After lunch we visited this church/museum, San Augstin. Finished in 1606, it is a world heritage site.

Chandeliers and organ pipes inside St. Augustin.

Enjoying the temperature and surroundings within the church.

I was excited to be drinking this Pepsi since it was so hot, but also because it cost about 10 pesos (20 cents!)

I wasn’t sure what to make of this playground featuring a helicopter near the U.S. Embassy…

We walked to the bay for a nice (although incredibly smelly) view.

It was definitely odd to drive around in our air conditioned car and see these slums along the river. Certainly a different picture of life as compared to the shopping malls near our fancy hotel in another part of town.

The “Jeepney” is the popular public transport seen above…Charles and I didn’t have the pleasure of riding in one, but apparently it is quite an experience hailing one, passing up your 7 pesos to the driver (something like 0.15 cents) and figuring out where to get off!

Enjoying a healthy breakfast complete with ice cream.

View from the hotel where Charles and the rest of the wedding party was getting ready to be a part of our friends’ Chris and Aimee’s wedding.

As usual, the guys have some extra time before the wedding…

Matt, Charles, Chris (the groom), Jonathan, and Chris are ready to go. Their shirts are traditional Filipino barongs,  made out of pineapple fiber.

A little windy! The groom’s family is being photographed in the background on the left, and I think they are trying to keep him from seeing the bride leaving the hotel on the right:)

What a beautiful venue!

Charles and Judith- fellow “cord sponsors” at the wedding.

I wanted a picture with Charles and this crazy fountain too:)

Assembling at the back of the chapel and after the procession.

The event was well documented by the official photo- and videographers!

Charles and Judith place a cord over Chris and Aimee’s heads.

This picture was an apt Cinderella reference to my feelings of an ugly stepsister trying to buy shoes earlier that week that would actually fit me!

Having some fun with the new Mr. and Mrs!

A few more poses at the end of the evening.

Priscilla visited during her ‘dance weekend.’

Dad was here for Thanksgiving (pumpkin lasagna was our main dish).

Last views of Pittsburgh

Packing up our earthly possessions….

Messy. (This wasn’t the worst…)

Almost there…

Help!

Packed and ready to go!

Charles in front of our decked-out apartment front door.

Meant to get away in the morning, but left for Illinois around sunset…

Goodbye Pittsburgh!

Going away party at the Hofbrauhaus. Sabine, Steve, Jessica, Mike, Edi, Charles and Jill (Thanks to Amanda and Nate for stopping by earlier).

Travels: Pittsburgh to Urbana, Urbana to Lewistown (via Madison), Lewistown to Urbana, then near Wisconsin border, then Whitehall!

Brr…quick stop for coffee in Madison.

Many many hours of this.

With a bonus of a horse and buggy, since we veered from the interstate.

To Grandmother’s house we went!

Back to Aunt JoEllen’s and Uncle Eric’s for a wonderful Christmas dinner (these are just the appetizers!)

Did I say we were all packed up? Almost…

And since I have a picture of it…here is the eggplant Parmesan we had for dinner. I think I made enough since we ate it for at least 3 more meals…

This pumpkin is probably the most appropriate, given that it’s Halloween. Also features an apple and a bottle of Tylenol. In case any of my friends don’t know, I’m currently in the U.S. still, but we’re both moving to New Zealand in January. This means it’s my last chance to do any traditional American/Fall activities, carving a pumpkin being one of them (although actually Sally gets the credit for the work of art below).

As well as carving pumpkins, Americans also enjoy getting lost in corn mazes. This is pretty much what it sounds like – a maze through a cornfield. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day, so here is a random picture from the web to give you the idea.

Our experience was particularly challenging because the maze was cut in a certain pattern, and we had to try and draw that pattern as we walked through it, and then compare our result with the aerial photograph. She gave us a clue that it was a random combination of numbers and letters, and I did pretty well identifying a J, G, 1, T and L. What she didn’t mention was that there was also a celtic cross, something like this one, and not surprisingly it was unlike and letter or number I could think of. 

And that’s about all I have to say for today. By the way, if you noticed my reference to “bl*g” at the start, it’s because this site isn’t actually a blog. Sally describes blogs as “boring drivel that nobody reads” and wants no association with them. I did notice the insidious appearance of the word somewhere down in the page footer, but no doubt the michigander will quickly eradicate it now that I’ve brought it to her attention. So I’ll write more on this “site” another day.

We had a yummy dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and I forgot the name. Did it translate to “the buddies” or something? Anyway, it was super fun, and we got a deluxe tour of some monuments at night, including the White House, the Jefferson memorial, and the Capitol building.

I don’t have a picture of it, but we almost, kind-of saw VP Joe Biden! We were stopped near his house so the motorcade could go through his driveway, and he must have been in one of the two black limos passing through. It was fun to see all of the different embassies and residences. On Sunday, we had a nice hike around the Roosevelt memorial island. I think he got the best deal–a whole island for his memorial! Here is a picture of our lovely hosts doing their best impression of a family photo:)

And a trip to the Arboretum for some Frisbee!

We went for a walk in Gallup Park, which was cool, but nice with the sun. Of all the time I spent in Ann Arbor, this past weekend was my first visit to that park!

After walking around the State Street shops and having a delicious lunch at Cosi, we stopped by the new addition to the UM Museum of Art. Most of the museum was closed on Monday, but luckily the museum store was open, where we spent a lot of time!