Wellington

I just got into Wellington tonight around dinner. Mike and his son Ethan picked me up at the hostel I got dropped off at. Mike, Deb, and Ethan live in this great house with floor to ceiling windows in every room. The room I'm in right now, if i look out the windows, i can see the harbor... the view is incredible. It kind of reminds me of a house that would be in West Chester or in Doylestown. They have great taste in abstract art and they have all these cool paintings covering the walls and tons of black and white pictures in big frames. it's so homey... it's not like the houses where we live that are enormous and hardly lived in.

Mike and Deb fed me some fantastic quiche, gave me some tasty red wine and let me do all my laundry. I was so happy to take a shower in a nice bathroom with hardwood floors, a fluffy towel, no flip-flops and a big bathtub with all sorts of toys for ethan... it's amazing how much you miss all the little stuff. staying here will definitely be a tease. Mike and Deb are fantastic and have just made me feel so at home which is what i needed after today....

Today was kind of hard, I've been traveling with mostly the same people since Auckland, and now that we've hit Wellington, everyone is splitting up and taking more time for the south island. I won't have Bods for my driver anymore, which sucks because he is the coolest guy and so knowledgable and so very excited to tell everyone about where he's from. Some people stayed back in River Valley for another night, and I'm staying in Welly until the 28th, so some people will be ahead of me and there's a chance I won't see them again. A big part of backpacking is mental. You meet so many people and you form these really quick friendships and right when things are getting settled and you're comfortable, you go your different ways and you don't see each other again. Then you have to go to a new city and start the friendship process all over again. It's mentally tiring at times... like everything was going great and i was traveling with a crew, and now i have to make friends all over again. But the good thing is that the way this bus pass works, i will see people who are a few days ahead of me or a few days behind me depending on how many days i choose to stay in one place. so there is a chance i can run into people i've already traveled with, and if not, then i make a new crew of friends on the next bus i'm on... it'll all work out in the end... it's just been a exhausting day. well, i need to hit the sack. I think Deb and Ethan are going to show me around a little tomorrow. I may go hit up the free museum and just explore.

NZ time: Wednesday, January 24th, 11:33pm
Philly time: Wednesday, January 24th, 5:33am (i think)