Last day in Sydney- heading home tonight!

Greetings from Sydney, the last stop on our honeymoon! We have been busy touring this city, (leaving Chad making such remarks as “I can’t feel my feet! My pups are barking, can we take a cab?) City reminds me a little of San Fran in terms of size and features (harbors, hills, sprawling), though Chad apparently disagrees wholeheartedly (I’ll let him defend his honor on this one)!

Some of our activities summarized below:

-Walked around the city and through a neighborhood called ‘The Rocks’, which is (I think) the oldest and coolest part of the city. They had a great open air market on Sunday, where I restrained myself from buying things like scented candles, flavored hot sauce, unattractive jewelry, etc. Great neighborhood, great views of the harbor!

-Went to the Opera house twice, both of which times we were denied tours (no tours on Sunday, booked on Monday). We’re going to try again today before we leave today.

-Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb!! This was definitely our highlight for Sydney. There is this beautiful bridge that an engineer with a little foresight built about 100 years ago, complete with a very safe infrastructure to tour guests around all day/night. We climbed up over the arcs of the bridge at dusk, so we got to see the sun set over Sydney, and all the lights come on … SO fun




-Bondi Beach: We went to bondi beach (see picture of chad and I on cliffs- clearly not ‘beach weather’), to do a mini hike on the cliffs between bondi and other nearby beaches. I had recently done my first bit of real shopping before our walk, so was in great spirits.


-Blue Mountain Wilderness Tour: I nearly killed Chad for booking us into a very expensive and non-refundable tour through the “mountains” (hills) outside of Sydney. After beautiful queenstown, I pretty much never wanted to see a mountain again, but we made the best of it and it was highly educational (and kind of pretty, AND I got free wine at lunch).

Today, we’re going to try to break into the opera house, go to the zoo where chad is undoubtedly going to leave disappointed because it’s illegal to hold a koala (and that’s all he’s wanted to do in Sydney). Our flight to Honolulu leaves @ 6pm, and we’ll have a day to kill tomorrow in Hawaii (I have a few ideas)!

Love, Chad and morgs

Days 13-14: Sydney & Meaghan O'Rourke (by Chad)

We departed Queenstown after 8 amazing days in New Zealand. The pics dont even begin to show how beautiful the country is. One of their favorite sayings (for tourists) in NZ is that you can experience 4 seasons in one day. While this is a slight exaggeration it was not uncommon to wake up to a colder morning with rain, and by the afternoon be walking on the lake on a perfect 68 degree day. White water rafting, jet boating, wine tasting, glacier & heli hiking, boat cruises, and casinos. That's a wrap on NZ. Mark it on your list of places to visit.

We arrived in Sydney last night, and are staying in Darling Harbour. We're received tons of restaurant and activity recommendations so the 4 days will be fully booked. We should have some pics up in the next 1-2 days of the sights. Oh, and I'll be waking up at 6am tomorrow to watch the Pats-Chargers at a bar nearby. The crowd at 6am will either be 1) those who have been on a 10 hour bender, 2) or pathetic Americans like me watching a sport that no one in their country likes. Morgs will be sleeping, then shopping I assume.

And finally, New Zealand will forever have a place in the heart of Meaghan O'Rourke after I saw this bottle of wine in when we were leaving New Zealand yesterdayyesterday. To say this bottle desribes Megs to a T is an understatement. The things that a bottle of white wine will do to her can only be fully understood if you been at an all day BBQ with her on the Jersey Shore. ROARING MEG.

Day 12

Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand

Today, we took a helicopter to the top of a glacier. For those of you who are too shy to ask , I will answer the question, “What is a glacier”? (I posed this exact question to our guide approximately 4 minutes into our trip). I thought a glacier was a big, nasty ice cube floating around with rocks and snow and, of course, ice. Like the one in “Titanic”. Apparently, it is roughly just that, but resembles a mountain so much that I was tempted to believe we were just hosed out of 500 bucks.

We arrived about midway up the glacier after a ten minute helicopter ride. I was busy alternating between praying and photographing what would possibly be my very last look at the world, so the trip was a blur for me. I figured as long as the helicopter pilot was sipping on his morning coffee without a care in the world, we would be fine.

We landed on the glacier (about 200m above sea level) next to a pile of barrels (provisions incase we got STRANDED ON THE GLACIER) and began our journey through a maze of snow covered moguls and ice caves. It was a beautiful, clear day, one which had been preceded by a few days of snow. The snow made walking around a little easier (than walking on ice), though it was still possible to fall hip high into icy, slushy water hidden beneath the snow… if you deviated from the instructors footsteps. (Which some middle aged Indian women in our group did…. Not pretty).

Throughout our 2 hour stroll, you could hear “mini” avalanches. Each time I started to hear the ice sliding, I resisted the urge to throw myself on the ground and cover my head, but instead distracted myself by hitting Chad for saying things like “I bet you’d die in a second being anywhere near that thing, huh?” Or, “Has anyone ever died up here?” Or, my favorite Chad comment du jour: as we watched a helicopter find it’s way out of the glacier valley, it came very close to the mountain. “Boom!” Chad yelled in front of our group of 10.

Anyway, I’ll turn it over to Chad to describe the awesomeness of our adventure, but I’ll just say that it was one of the niftiest things that I have ever done. Chad here. Before going into more details of our Glacier Experience I had a few thoughts….I’ve learned a few things in the 3 weeks I’ve been married. One being that when your spouse is clearly better at something than you, let her/him take the reigns. In the case of domestic tasks it completely works to my advantage. However, since the start of this blog I’ve realized that I write at about a 9th grade level, where as Morgan writes a level closer to her college degree. I’ve accepted that this will never change which is why we post at about a 5:1 ratio and will continue to do till we are back stateside.

Ok, back to the trip details.

Yesterday, we drove 5 hours from Queenstown to to the Franz Joseph Glacier. Driving on the left hand side of the road was definitely an experience. Especially when it down- poured for part of the 5 hour drive to Glacier Country. The roads were narrow, winding, and at times on cliffs over the ocean. (Side note I’m watching Ellen Degeneres and she just showed the video of a 13 yr old girl using a stripper pole in her bedroom.)

The glacier/heli trip was outstanding. On the drive up here from Queenstown I must have said about 5x that this place better be really cool for this long a trip. Holy sh*t it was. If you come to NZ it’s the #1 must do. We’ve attached a number of pics showcasing todays experience. Unfortunately the middle aged Indian’s fall into the freezing cold water was not captured on film. She totally deserved it for holding up the group. And yes Morgan hit me when I told another couple on the tour that. They agreed with me.


We drive back to Queenstown tomorrow for one night during which I will probably lose all my gambling winnings, then we’re off to Sydney to wrap up the trip. A few misc notes: -Frank’s bday is next week
-I went 1-1 last week in Fantasy Football
-We DO NOT get espn at this hotel
-Apparently you can not hold the Koala’s at the Sydney Zoo.
-Morgan sent back her food at lunch today

love, chad and morgs

Pics from our last post!

Chad and I at wine tasting (I tasted wine, chad poured it in the bucket)









Our trip to Doubtful Sound

Days 9-11

Days 9-11

Still in NZ!

Two days ago (Monday for us, Sunday for our readers), we visited the end of the middle of nowhere. Our day looked like this:

• 7am: 2.5 hour bus ride past mountains, fields, farms to a town called Manapouri (population 300), where we boarded a boat for our next leg of the journey
• 9:45am: 45 minute boat ride (it was snowing) through fiords (water masses created by glaciers)
• 10:am: 45 minute bus through the mountains and rainforests (still raining/snowing) to a place called Doubtful Sound.

Doubtful Sound (named by sailors in the 1700s because it was ‘doubtful’ that it would be a safe place for boats to enter and exit this part of NZ). It is absolutely beautiful and completely desolate. These people don’t even want animals there… they actually trap rabbits, possums, etc so that they can keep the area a safe haven for birds. I don’t really get the logic here, but fine. It was a rainy day, so pics won’t do it justice, but it was absolutely beautiful, and we saw exactly one seal and one penguin. Both of these animals were gigantic red flags that we were in the wrong climate, and we were happy to return back to Queenstown (five hours later) where it was sunny and 50 degrees.

Yesterday, we paid a visit to my kind of nature… the vineyards. Each vineyard was super boutique… the biggest produced 6000 cases/year, the smallest produced 800 cases/year. (I think that a good size vineyard produces 30,000 cases per year, so these were obviously really small). After dinner, I went to bed, and Chad went to the casino and won some money. Everybody won yesterday!

Today, we’re heading to the glaciers, where we’ll stay for two nights. It’s a five hour drive (Chad driving on opposite sides of NZ highways—pray for us), so we’ll get up there tonight, hike tomorrow, and drive back on Friday. Rumor has it that this is as cool as it gets in NZ, so we’ll update you with pics when we get back.

PS- For those of you that don’t know, Chris Tully and Lisa got engaged… congrats guys! We’re so happy for you and can’t wait to celebrate!!

Love,
Morgs and chad

Day 8

GUEST POST

With Morgan struck by allergies and a cold, she has gone to bed for the 5th night in a row before 930pm. I decided it was time to give this blog thing a shot. Here is my run of thought commentary:

-100% of what Morgan has said about football and the NFL is true. Our hotel here doesnt have ESPN. Thankfully the internet is free.
-The first night we got here I played poker at the casino till 1130pm and made three friends. Pig in sh*t.
-I am waking up at 530am tomorrow to watch the Pats-Ravens game on the internet. If Ramsey's DirecTV log- in doesnt work he is getting cut city.
-As Morgan mentioned, yesterday I went white water rafting, while she stayed behind and read a book and drank wine. The main reason being is that she is a big wimp and doesnt like cold water. What she didnt mention is that an hour into the trip while on my raft people were wondering (since I was the only person in the entire rafting group of 50 people by myself) who I was, where I was from. Just as I mentioned that my wife was too afraid to be on the raft, a nearby boat with two 65 year old woman who weighed a combined 500 pounds floated by.
-Today we went to the thermal hot springs and hung out in a private jacuzzi overlooking the mountains. When we walked into the place the person at the desk told me that Jason's Season of the Bachelor (2008) shot footage there. It immediately made Morgan and I (and by that I mean me) more excited. Check out the picture.
-We also took the gondola up to the top of a mountain today overlooking the entire Queenstown region-- to ride sleds down a luge track. As I was standing there with the sled in hand I realized that they shot a scene from Road Rules Real World Challenge (MTV) on this luge track. In 2007. Again this made me awkwardly excited.
-After getting to our room on the day we checked in Morgan became quiet for about 5 minutes. This happens rarely and only when 1) she is mad at me, 2) she's way over-served, or 3) she is unhappy with accomodations. In this case, it was the latter. She said, and I quote, "I'm like staying at really nice hotels Chad! Im very upset we paid for 6 nights in advance." Mind you- you have to pay for all nights in advance in Queenstown. And more importantly, 15 minutes ago (now 3 days later) as we walked into the hotel for our 3rd night, Morgan says "I LOVE this place. It's so nice and cozy." Im guessing this is because the wonderful 65 yr old husband and wife who run the bed and breakfast make her a special gluten free breakfast every morning.

And finally, I have never been to place in the world that I like more than Queenstown. Rio is a close second. The place is Lake Tahoe on crack. I have already decided I am moving back here to live full time (probably sans Morgan) and that Frank is going to be the chef at the restaurant we open. I am going to play lots of poker and continue to complain that this part of the world has NO IDEA IN HELL what hot sauce is.

Off to the Doubtful Sound tomorrow!

Day 8: October 16, 2010

Yesterday, per my photographic evidence, Chad and I arrived in Queenstown.

Queenstown one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Think Lake Tahoe views with a Park City/Aspen cute town vibe. So great!

Queenstown is also the adventure capital of this very far away corner of the world in which we find ourselves. People come here from everywhere to jump out of planes, flying on small crafts dangerously close to large mountains, in hopes of getting a better view of the landscape than the one available on dry land. (Please see exhibit a). In short, they come here to scare the sh*t out of themselves.



Chad and I have known eachother for over five years. During that time, I have been an open book of likes and dislikes. Things I like: the jersey shore, reading, shopping, wine, socializing, a combo of any of the above, working out, the occasional round of golf and possibly a sporting event once or twice a year to pat myself on the back for being a well rounded individual.

I have also been transparent about things that I don’t like. Chief among these is the feeling of being wet and cold. (Please reference my infrequent trips into the ocean, despite spending plenty next to the ocean as evidence. This is also the reason why I ski once every five years). Unnecessary personal angst is also a major dislike, in the form of scary movies and very fast driving at an unsafe distance from the car in front of mine (Chad and taxis are often guilty of the latter).

Little did I know, but yesterday, I stepped off the plane in Queenstown- not with Chad- but with Captain Adventure, who apparently had a quick lobotomy in the bathroom of our two hour flight. After taking one look at the mountains as we “dropped” onto the runway (borrowing the pilot’s words), Chad suddenly found himself back in high school, coordinating class trips to white water rapids. By the time we arrived at the hotel, Chad had mentally signed us up for canyoninig and white water rafting, which stand in CLEAR VIOLATION of my bill of likes and dislikes.

I slept on it, thinking that maybe today I would wake up and want to be cold, wet and afraid. Unfortunately, I didn't have a change of heart, and informed Chad of this.

Captain Adventure took a few minutes to walk off his surprise and disappointment that our flight over the southern alps yesterday had not cured me of my fears. Once he recovered, we headed to find an adventure that I could handle. After waiting in line for 30 minutes behind four discombobulated Brazilians (two of which, Chad sneered, were wearing Brazil soccer jerseys, despite their loss in the World Cup quarter finals), we signed up for something called “Jetboating”. Chad also signed up solo for white water rafting with the Brazilians (who he vowed to push in the water), immediately following the Jetboat.

I have clearly lived to tell the tale of our day. I closed my eyes during 50% of our ½ hour jetboat ride, but made it through! Then, I enjoyed a glass of wine and read my book, while Chad took to the river in a unitard.



















Lots of love, Morgs and chad

New Zealand, Day 1

We're here!

Days 4-5

On our first morning in Fiji, we commented to our waiter how beautiful Fiji was. We asked, “What’s the weather for today?”

He responded, “Today is beautiful! Tomorrow is beautiful! Every day in Fiji… beautiful!!”

Yesterday we awoke to a downpour. We decided that this was likely a passing shower, and ran to breakfast in the rain. We stopped by the concierge on the way out to sort out some flight details. I had to do the talking as Chad had previously berated the concierge about a tardy shuttle to the golf course. She informed us without hesitation or an ounce of sympathy that it would rain like this for the next four days (and then I think she smiled at Chad).

Fortunately, Chad and I are great at entertaining ourselves. We purchased the internet and Chad spent hours catching up on the latest gossip and doing fantasy football related activities. I used gmail to make a few phone calls. (I like talking on the phone)! We took a field trip to a great indoor/outdoor bar, where we had mid afternoon cocktails and played cards. Things really got exciting when Chad decided that it was laundry time and washed his clothes in our bathtub. Let’s just say that in the 24 hours since the clothes have been washed, Chad has spent approximately 2 hours blow drying his shirts that likely will never dry in time for our 8am flight tomorrow.

Tomorrow we head to Queenstown where god willing, we’ll have something more exciting to report! On the docket we have: helicopter trips, wine tasting, a road trip to a glacier (driving on the opposite side of the road and navigating foreign roads should provide for a lifetime of entertainment) and some other items TBD.

Despite the rain, we have really had the best time in Fiji, doing a lot of what we do best- entertaining ourselves and eachother, though likely not our poor readership! Aurevoir from Fiji!

Days 2-3?

Greetings!

I’m not sure where we are or what day it is. My new bedtime is 8:30, and Chad’s new bedtime- I suspect- is somewhere around 8:40. We are living the old timers life in Fiji and loving it.

There is, once again, not much to report. It turns out that there is not that much to do in Fiji! We have mostly been lounging, trying to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (unsuccessful), current time to EST (unsuccessful), and searching for hidden gluten enemies in Fijian cuisine (playing it safe but actually had a waitress laugh in my face today when I mentioned that I was allergic to bread. Outlook is not very positive). As I have about 12 books on my Kindle (best invention since the ipod), ample free time and relaxation have suited my schedule perfectly.

Today, we did have one MAJOR adventure; we boarded a 2.5 minute shuttle to a beautiful GOLF COURSE, where played a fun and suspense filled round of golf. We were the only people on the golf course, beside a few stray cows, two horses, a pony, and one interesting family who lived behind a chain link farm fence and sold golf balls for a dollar (more on why we should have cleaned them out of their supply later). Chad and I started with a match in mind, but Chad was losing and I forgot we were even playing a match, so there wasn’t a lot of ‘action’ to be had out there (in every sense of the word).

You might wonder what type of suspense could be found during a round of golf with two people who were not keeping score. When we arrived at the course, Chad bought a bag of tees and a dozen golf balls. I was eyeing up the golf shop for any hidden gems, but Chad’s outrageous request caught my attention. 12 GOLF BALLS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE FOR 18 HOLES? How could we possibly need 12 balls???

Fast forward to hole #13, where I was frisking the rental bags for extra balls, and voluntarily trudging through some very questionable fescue in search of anything roud. We ended up finishing the last 4 holes with two golf balls between us. This has been the nail biter of our trip so far.

Tomorrow, we have big plans for snorkeling. Chad has also mentioned the possibility of doing some laundry in our bathtub. Who knows where the day will take us!??

Day 2: Saturday October 9- Sunday October 10

We arrived at the Fiji airport Sunday morning (Saturday afternoon, NYC time) pre-dawn, completely exhausted We were greeted by our very nice driver who taught us the following about Fiji:

• Tourism is the country's largest source of income.
• There are 330 islands composing Fiji • They have a military government
• Population: 760k
• There are many stray animals (horses, cows dogs) roaming around the side of the road at ay given time. (This will later cause me to yell at Chad for nearly petting some dirty itinerant dog on the beach. Lesson learned).

After arriving at our fab hotel and enjoying an extensive buffet breakfast, Chad helped himself to a BIG nap by the pool. He cited my presence in our row of seats on the previous evening’s flight as the sole reason that he could not sleep , and was therefore very tired. Either way, we spend yesterday floating around the grounds in a daze, and therefore have not much to report.

I’ve included a few excerpts from Chad’s conversations in the past 48 hours, which indicate that in the world of Football vs. Honeymoons, football still has a fighting chance:

Chad, approximately 48 minutes into our honeymoon, chatting with a Newark Airport ticket agent:

CHAD: “… yup, we’re going on our honeymoon…. Fiji, New Zealand, Australia.
TICKET AGENT: That is so great! I went on my honeymoon to Tahiti at this exact time last year… you’re going to really enjoy it!
CHAD: (Suddenly very focused) Tahiti, huh? What was the TV situation there? Were you able to catch any of the games.
GATE AGENT: (Looking confused… perhaps because he is aware that while Tahiti and Fiji may share an ocean, they probably do not share a cable company). Dude… it’s your honeymoon. You won’t be thinking about football.
Chad smiles and turns away, knowing that he has not found a kindred soul in this gate agent.

Chad, approximately 45 seconds into our 45 minute drive to the hotel:
CHAD: (to driver) So, what’s the NFL football situation in Fiji?
DRIVER: Oh, NFL? It’s on TV here! Should be on at hotel. (This turns out to be a pack of lies, but for the moment, Chad is in heaven).

Chad, at 7am this morning, trying to log into Ramsey’s direct TV account:
MORGAN: (After watching Chad enter and re-enter the same password five times) What seems to be the problem, Chad?
CHAD: I can’t log in to Ramsey’s direct TV account and ESPN isn’t even working on the television (we have 12 channels, and miraculously, ESPN is one of them).
MORGAN: Well, it says that there is another used logged in.
CHAD: DAMMIT!!!!! F*cking Ramsey, giving his password to everyone! I need to watch the pats game next week.

30 Seconds Later:
CHAD: Hello, is this the front desk? ESPN isn’t working on my television. Is there anyone who can help?

Love!!
Chad and Morgan

Day 1: Friday October 8, 2010

Chad and I arrive at Newark Airport 2 hours early, only to discover that our flight is delayed by 2 hours. Normally this would send Chad into a tailspin, but thanks to years of saving amex points, Chad and I are proud owners of first class tickets. First class tickets= continental lounge.

And so we began our 'honeymoon' in the 'movie theater' room of the continental lounge, with Chad watching ESPN and me writing thank you notes and reading. Just like home.

Other than spending 10 hours on an airplane, there is nothing much to report today. Chad's spent the first 2 hours of the flight grappling with the fact that there was no Direct TV on this jalopy of an aircraft, and that he would be forced to watch what he later described as "movies so bad that he doesn't even remember what happened". At 9:45pm, my usual bedtime, I slipped on my eyemask and logged a good 3 hours of sleep, which put a nice dent in our 10 hour flight.

We now represent approximately 50% of the population of the Continental Lounge in Honolulu. It is almost 3am in NY, making it god knows what time locally. Shortly, we'll board our 7 hour flight to Fiji, for which Chad has made big promises to medicate himself (after a long and sleepless journey to Hawaii). Chad is watching Sports Center, and I have found free wine. All is well!

UNTIL FIJI!

Goodnight all!

Day -1: Thursday October 7, 2010

I arrive home from dinner at 10pm to find Chad in his favorite spot on the couch, surrounded by all the contents of our kitchen. Our kitchen is going to be re-done while we are gone, and therefore, we spent Wednesday night emptying all of our cabinets. Being slightly pre-occupied with our 3-week departure from the country, we neglected to get boxes, and instead resorted to stacking plates, pots, cleaning supplies and various other kitchen items on our coffee and kitchen tables, and the floor underneath them. It looks like a scene out of Hoarders, and I want to pull my hair and cry every second I realize that I live here.

“Yo honey, what’s in that suitcase?”, Chad begins, peering over a block of knives at my overflowing 26” suitcase.

I glance over at Chad’s neatly filled 22” suitcase. The fact that he has packed for 3 weeks and 3 climates in a suitcase that we use for weekend trips is outrageous to me.

“Chad, everyone goes on their honeymoon and looks like shiny new pennies, and we’re going to look like homeless people. CORRECTION: you are going to look like a homeless person. You are actually going to smell. How many shirts did you pack?”

I look over at Chad to see if I have sounded any alarms in his head.

“This is the best hour of television I have ever seen in my life”.

Based on the amount of television Chad watches, I am tempted not to believe this statement. The tears in his eyes, however, support his claim.

“4 Days in October. It’s about when the Red Sox came back to win…”

I decide that bedtime is the only place that I can safely go from here, and walk into the bathroom. I emerge to report to Chad that the 2oz tube of toothpaste he has set aside for our 3 week trip should work nicely with the 2 shirts that he has packed, and find him standing on a scale in his boxer shorts with his miniature suitcase in hand.

“My suitcase is 25 lbs. I’m taking bets for what yours is. We should call Jetstar tonight* with the weight. Zip up your suitcase, let’s weigh it”.

I pretend that zipping my suitcase is easy, and then do some more pretending as I wheel it over to the scale. I really want no part of this so I leave Chad, the bag, the pots and pans together and close the bedroom door.

“It broke the scale! The scale cannot register this weight!”

Having seen the biggest loser, I know this is indeed false, and that scales do in fact accept weights higher than 160lbs. We do some adjusting and conclude that I will have a mental breakdown if we continue with these reindeer games. BEDTIME!


*Jetstar is the “Jet Blue” of Australian airlines, except in a twist of total airline cheapness, they ask that you call in advance if your suitcase is over 20kg (whatever that means). Chad has been talking about calling Jetstar to report the weight of my suitcase since we booked our tickets two months ago. You need to let them know the excess weight 24 hours in advance.