Now on the second leg of my trip across the States back to San Francisco, I have a few hours to do some debriefing about the reunion weekend.

What just happened?

The short answer is I had a hell of a good time.  Shockingly so.

There were activities throughout the weekend and my reunion festivities started on Friday night when me, Cathy, and Lisa met for dinner with two other ol’ pals, Joy and Diane.  The five of us and a handful of others used to pal around throughout high school and go to and host lots of parties together.    My god, it was fun to see them.   We were thrown back to our high school antics, when at the restaurant which was filled with geriatric dancing seniors, we asked and were allowed to move to a more ‘quieter’ table and nearly burst out into tears when the owner/manager made us take our napkins with us as we switched tables.  What, you couldn’t wash the extra napkins?   Two hours flew by in an instant as we bantered about and caught up on the gossip.    Here we are then and now:

We then descended next door to Uncle Henrys bar where we caught up with about 30 of our classmates.  Oh my gosh, I hardly recognized some of the guys.  But once I was reminded of their names and I could recall their faces, I could still see their boyish features now disguised as men.  And yeah, most have lost their hair, so they looked a little different from their wavy-locked looks of the70’s.    That’s what happens when you’re almost fifty.

The women, on the other hand, were easy to recognize.   We don’t seem to age as much as we’re fortunate to have culturally accepted died hair.  Our thing is the big M – menopause –  and we shared a whole lot of laughs as we talked about the sweating and the change.   So I don’t know which gender has it worse and I guess it’s all just part of life.

I was nervous about coming and attending the reunion but some older friends of mine said that it would likely be fun because at this age, the pretenses are all gone, we are who we are, we’re in or out of our careers, we’re married, divorced, single, whatever.  We could be comfortable in our skins and just let it all hang out.

And that’s exactly what it was like.

Saturday evening’s event was held at fellow classmate Kevin’s wedding banquet hall and motel in Hopewell Junction, NY, about an hour north of Harrison.   Another fellow classmate, Ralph, who owns a bus transportation company, offered to drive a bus load of attendees to/from the reunion.   I elected to drive myself and spend the night at the motel.

The party started at 7 pm and it kicked off with a bang.   As soon as one walked through the doors, one was transported back in time.   Every time I turned around, I was saying ‘Oh my god, there’s so and so.’   Everyone was in such good form, so chatty and full of life.     And certainly the open bar and home-made skull-and-cross-bones vodka punch helped loosen the tongues.

I had so many fine conversations with people, I barely sat for any length of time.  Two of our teachers were there – Mr. Taischoff, one of our math teachers;  and Mrs. O’Donnell, one of our English teachers.    How magnificent that they could come.

At our age, life’s happening, full steam ahead, both good and bad.  I heard stories about how bitterly expensive it is to live here with exorbitant tax rates, high food prices, gas prices, and healthcare costs, just high everything.    Those with kids seem to be never-ending taxi drivers, carting kids from one function to another.  Some had kids as old as 26 right on down to one with a bun in the oven!   Many of us are caring for or dealing with aged parents or have recently lost their parents.   Divorces, marriages, births, deaths, sickness, health — it all comes full circle round.   That is the duality of life.

People have had all sorts of careers too, both blue collar and white collar – airline pilots, engineers, financial planners, recruiters, gardening businesses, flooring businesses, dental hygienists, paralegals, moms galore, book-keepers, accountants, executives, teachers, artists, dancers, photographers, private investigators, the whole nine yards.  It was just amazing to share and listen and laugh and take lots of photos!

Our graduating class was about 325 students and judging from the group photo, I’d say about 80 of us were there (with spouses, we were about 110).   That’s a pretty good turn-out.   Of course, I could not talk to everyone, and I was quite shocked when in the midst of a good conversation, the lights came on and it was time for the night to end.  Where did those five hours go?

There was so much more I wanted to know.  Were you happy?  Did you achieve what you wanted to in life?  What’s left on your bucket list?   Hopefully I won’t have to wait another 10 years to find out.   Let’s stay in touch.

The reunion committee,  Jackie, Wendy, Kevin, John, Carey, Ralph, and Pete deserve special thanks as they did a truly exceptional job.  They worked so hard to put together such a fine weekend.

Will I return for my 40^th?   I think it is highly likely!

I haven’t been to New York since 1998 when my parents sold the house and packed up for their Floridian retirement.   I’ve never kept in touch with folks since I left for California in 1989; and I didn’t see too many people when I came in 1998.    So what prompted my short visit back?    30^th Year Harrison High School Reunion.

I never would have called myself a reunion person.  My past was the past and I was far, far away in California and now even further away in New Zealand.  But a funny thing happened.   Early this year I awoke from a dream about one of my high school classmates.  For years I’d wondered how he’d been, often trying to find him through Google without success.   This time, something prompted me to check Facebook.  Lo’ and behold, there he was, and that moment of reaching out set me off on a trajectory of amazing connections over the last six months.

Through connecting with him, I found out about the upcoming October reunion.   I knew back in March that we were going to be in Kauai for the September wedding, but I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to make the effort to come to New York.

Facebook is truly an amazing gift to the world.  Through Facebook I connected with so many high school classmates and as the momentum for the reunion started, I began feeling a bit nostalgic to head back full steam into my past.  I pulled out my yearbook and went through all the photos.   Who are these people now I wondered?   What a fascinating longitudinal study this would make to see us all 30 years later.   (A documentary called the Up Series has done just this – followed a small group of children from varying London socio-economic classes starting at age seven and were re-filmed every seven years since.  They are now at 54-up.)

By the time July rolled around, I needed to make a decision and I decided to come back as part of my personal healing journey.  I needed to see if I still had things in common with people; if I would like them; if I could reconnect.  I consider myself a pretty progressive open-minded fiscally responsible and spiritually guided fun loving liberal and I wasn’t so sure that Westchester bred too many of those types of folks.

About a month prior to leaving for our trip, random other people from my New York past found me on Facebook too –  a cousin whom I haven’t seen in 27 years;  a couple of guys from my teenage work days at Finast Supermarkets whom I haven’t seen in maybe 20 years; and another dear friend who was part of my deaf family circle whom I  hadn’t seen in 30 years.   Oh my god, I needed to see these people.

Flash forward and here I am in New York for five days, two of which are dedicated to the reunion.   So much has happened in five days and it’s all been exceptional.

I have immense gratitude for my host, Maria.   When I put the word out on Facebook for hotel recommendations, Maria reached out and offered up a downstairs studio unit in her home.   I haven’t seen Maria since the day we left high school. I thought it over for about a day and then graciously accepted her offer.    As if that wasn’t special enough, she also let me use one of her cars and she and another friend Cathy dealt with my transportation to/from the airport.      Thank you.

I truly believe fate brought us together for Maria is on quite a journey of discovery with  new doors opening to her all the time; doors that I’ve walked through myself.   We had so much to talk about, so many similar ideas about life, and it was nothing short of a true pleasure to be so relaxed and comfortable in her home.   Her three daughters are gorgeous and her youngest such a ball of fire and her little white dog Baci took to me like my little Nina and I enjoyed her feisty company.

I saw my second Cousin Tre (my grandfather Santora’s sister’s daughter) whom I had not seen in 27 years – the last time was at her parents 50^th wedding anniversary celebration with the extended family.  I hadn’t spoken to any of them since.   Tre was an important mentor to me when I was a young girl.   Six years my senior,  we used to spend time together over the years from my early childhood through my early teens.  At that age, six years older meant a lot, and I would follow her and her teenage girlfriends around, watching, noting, questioning.   She was always nice to me and we used to laugh a lot.  And she hasn’t changed a bit – she’s still spunky and has a wicked sense of humor despite facing difficult times in her life.   We laughed quite a bit over our two hour meal together, talking about the past when we were kids and then about our adult lives.  I found out things about ‘the family’ I’d not heard about which gave me a different understanding about a few things that occurred way back when.

I also saw my third Cousin Sharon (my grandmother Masticiollo-Santora’s sister’s daughter’s daughter!) whom I last saw in the 1990’s.   She’s only three years my junior and we spent many Thanksgivings and Christmases together as well as many holidays in Florida at Grandma and Grandpa Santora’s and Aunt Bea’s houses.    She’s still the same and again, over a two hour meal, we got caught up on the past two decades.  So much to say, so little time.   She has also worked very hard in her life, facing many obstacles, and now has a wonderful 12 year old daughter.

My friend Mona I knew from around the time I was nine or ten through 17.   I am a child of deaf parents and so is she.   In my youth, my family and other deaf families spent a lot of time together on summer camping trips, often heading somewhere for a week over July 4^th and two weeks over Labor Day.   Our most formative years of teenage exploration with alcohol, love, and romance took place on those KOA campgrounds.   We only saw each other occasionally during the rest of the year, which is really hard to believe since she lived just right over the Tappan Zee Bridge.  What my memory recalls as being SO FAR AWAY is really just a 20 minute drive in adult world.   Go figure.

She and I gabbed for five hours as if we’d last seen each other yesterday.    We had so much in common:  thoughts on healing and holistic health, similar interests in literary fiction, similar explorations with energy and body work, a desire to eat organically and mindfully.  It was fascinating.   She’s also been on a long healing journey, facing many health challenges, but she seems well on her path to good health and a deeper understanding of herself.

I spent a bit of time with my childhood friend since grammar school, Cathy.  She picked me up from the airport, she met me at Sals for pizza, we went and got our nails done together, we went over to the high school, and she showed me around the ol’ hood.   It was so fun to see her – still the same girl deep down, now a mother of two grown children and happily married for 20+ years.  She still lives in Silver Lake and so she was a wealth of information as we went down memory lane.   Thank you Cathy!

And most surprising of all was my re-connection with my high school pal Lisa.   She was not on Facebook, the reunion people didn’t have her contact details, and the details I had from the early 1990’s were no longer valid.   I wasn’t sure if I’d find her but someone told me they saw her working at the local vet.  So I called and though she only worked there once a week, the receptionist heard the plea in my voice when I begged her to get in touch with Lisa and pass along my number.   Lisa called me my first day back and I got to see her on three different occasions.    We had so much fun, laughing as usual.  Now divorced with two teenagers, she’s happy and as gorgeous as ever.   We vowed not to let the distance get in the way of staying up-to-date with each other.   This is me with Lisa’s dog Sonny:

For our junior and senior year in high school and some time thereafter,  Lisa and I worked at the local supermarket which was a few towns over.   Those were some of the best times and years of my life where we did some crazy stuff together with our band of checkout counter girls and shelf-stocking boys.   One of whom was Ricky who I happened to go to the Westlake prom with.    Lisa and I met up with Ricky for an evening and again, it was a night of laughs interspersed with the stories of our not so always happy adult lives.   Ricky, also divorced, has two teen/t’ween children.

I spent an hour or so driving around my neighborhood enclave of Silver Lake.  I went and saw my old house (102 Woodside Avenue) that I lived in from aged 2 through 24;

I drove by my elementary school and church:

I went down to the park where I spent many, many summers at day camp and playing on the softball team.

I had a Cinema Paradiso moment as I stood gazing upon the main street and the park.  Just as the protagonist glances around him hometown, gazing at 30 years of changes,  I too stood in awe as I recalled the changes from my youth, from the empty fields and rinky dink park to now what has transformed into a much more dense suburban community with nary an empty lot to be found and our rinky dink park matured with a state-of-the-art astro-turfed field and an additional swimming pool recreation area complete with slides which has been built in what was a wooded area.  All in the name of progress.

And I just gotta love being back in the land of the Italians!   I gorged on pizza, pasta, and Italian baked goods.  I went to Carvel for a big fat ice cream cone.  The neighbors across the street whipped out their wine barrel press one Saturday and started pressing the grapes to make wine.

These are my roots, my home town.  It was good to be back.

And for the reunion?  Well, that deserves it’s very own post.  Stay tuned.

We’ve had quite a hectic three weeks of non-stop movement as we’ve traversed the wider Bay Area catching up with friends and family. I think we managed to visit with *almost* everyone though there have been a couple of folks we just couldn’t manage to see (really sorry).

It’s been great connecting with people and having in-depth conversations about each person’s life. For most folks, things are just chugging along, though several are concerned about job security. Health-care costs are on the rise again, food prices are high (about the same as New Zealand), the roads are in various states of disrepair, and social services are being drastically cut. Over 70 California State Parks are slated for closure.  One of my friends in the non-profit sector said it was a good year as the company was still operating unlike several other well-known non profits which had closed down.

Life is hard, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. The Bay Area is still one of the best places to live – there are many beautiful aspects, especially the nearby parks and reserves and I’ve been able to get out and do a few good hikes: Mt. Tamalpias, China Camp State Park, and Armstrong Redwoods State Park.

We’ve also managed to stuff ourselves with lots of great food and I fear that a diet will be in my future upon returning to NZ!

I’ve had great fun visiting with all my little friends and bonding over some yoga poses.

And the family….. I’ve spent a lot of time with my 2 year old niece who is just gorgeous (yes, I am biased) and my sister and brother-in-law.

My parents flew out from Florida for a week and we all went up to the Russian River for the weekend where we just hung out, hiked, played tennis, and enjoyed some quality time with each other.

We went apple picking for an afternoon which was fun until some of us had a melt down.

Libran birthdays abound and I’ve had fun celebrating with my fellow Libran friends: Suzy, Manny, Roni, and Sienna.

I am grateful for the time I’m getting to spend with them and it will be sad to say goodbye. But my heart isn’t in San Francisco anymore and I don’t know what I’d do if we had to return. There’s a small part of me that misses the hubbub of city and business life but I don’t think that would be good for my soul. I’m still morphing into a Green Acres girl and not quite finished with developing my horticulture and homesteading skills. Birdsong calls. There’s still work for us to do in New Zealand. But despite the vast ocean that divides us, we will always remain connected to our hommies by the Bay (and elsewhere!)

Forty or so people were summoned to Kauai, to participate in and witness the nuptials of Ken Vollmer and Christina Nelson.

Destination weddings are always fun. Destination weddings in Kauai with a dozen of your closest friends makes for heaps of fun!

We had a great week with many of our dear friends who are now spread out all over the place. In addition to New Zealand, folks flew in from Tokyo, San Francisco, Portland, Arizona, Florida, New Jersey and a few other places in the country.

The hub of activity centered around an old 1950’s styled plantation home right on the long, white crested Hanalei beach. The wide grassy lawn, surrounded by palm trees, made the perfect setting for an outdoor wedding and celebration.

Pre-wedding activities included a trip to The Blue Room (or Waikapala’e) – a fresh water cave that supposedly only royals were allowed in to. A short hike up and then down into the mouth of the cave leads you to an underground fresh water ‘lake’. Although one is not supposed to swim, a dip in the frigid waters will surely help one to purge any negative feelings. This is a sacred healing site and approaching it as such will help you feel the mana and connection to the ancient Hawaiian ancestors. It’s a great way to start your day and sixteen of us made the sojourn for a purifying morning activity.

A group of us also made it to another sacred site — The Queens Bath. The name comes from ancient times when only royalty were permitted to bathe in its sacred waters. This natural lava rock pool is worth the semi-hazardous trek to get there. Located on the bluffs in Princeville, the pool is filled with fish and other sea life and makes for a great snorkeling outing.

A tiki-themed gathering was held at the house two days prior to the wedding where we all participated in a knot-tying ceremony. Each of us was invited to share a story about the couple and then tie a piece of cloth around a length of twined flax which symbolized the union of their body, mind, and soul (I hope I remembered that right!). There were lots of laughs and a few tears as family and friends all took a turn at telling a tale of the twosome!

There was no rest for the weary as we were all in motion day and night. Boogie boarding, snorkeling, farmers markets, hanging with the lifeguards, hiking, gaming, and eating were all on the schedule.

The pre-wedding lead up allowed all of us, old and new, to get to know each other and I feel like I’ve added several new friends into my international pool of peeps.

The wedding day was perfect. God shed tears of joy with a downpour in the early afternoon which got us all on our toes. But at the time of the wedding, the skies cleared, and it was a perfect breezy setting for the wedding nuptials.  The groom’s pals all helped him get ready while the bride was kept out of sight to all.

Our friend Darek presided over the ceremony. Each of us had the opportunity to bless the rings as they were passed around the circle of guests.  Christina looked absolutely stunning in her form-fitting mermaid-styled gown with trailing train and Ken looked pretty darn good too.

After the “I do’s”,  photo opportunities abounded….

The after-party was lovely with delicious vegetarian food and some bhangra dancing which was not for the faint of heart. A bonfire was enjoyed by many until the skies opened up again.

It was a great week and a week to remember. Till next time…… aloha!

We were no sooner back from our restful trip to Tonga when the day came that the much anticipated and long-planned family trip finally arrived.   My extended family – sister Joy, brother-in-law David, one year old niece Sienna, and my parents Carmella and Hugo, made the long journey from San Francisco and Florida and arrived bright-eyed and bushy tailed on a Saturday morning.

We’d been planning this trip for the better part of a year and I wanted to really show them a good time.    This would probably be the only time my parents would make it to New Zealand and it would probably be a number of years before my sister & family would journey back again.

I rented a large ‘people mover’ so that everyone could fit comfortably as we toured around and managed to purchase or borrow several key pieces of gear that a one-year old needs.

It was a great trip!    We spent several days at our new place in Christchurch, reconfiguring the house so that everyone had a room.  Bruce & I moved out into the sleepout while the rest of the family took over the house.   On their first night, Christchurch welcomed them with another aftershock which jolted most of us from a peaceful slumber.

We spent five days at our place in Wainui and the weather gods blessed us with some stunning sunshine and warmth.   I took my sister and mom to a Italian cooking demonstration class at The Gables where we were treated to Lynn and Chris’ culinary delights, learning how to make stuffed peppers and onions, fresh pasta, and amazing desserts and finishing with a formal sit-down lunch in their beautiful B&B.

We did quite a bit in our few days as we were generally on the go in short spurts always mindful of baby Sienna’s napping and eating schedule!   We managed to get over to Akaroa for an afternoon of meandering and shopping,  down to the beach for a quick dipping of the toes and a play in the sand,  got in a game of tennis, and we did manage to sit around and enjoy Wainui and our lovely views from the front porch.

Oh, and everyone had a chance to do something in the garden!

We did a lot of eating and cooking and my mom got a kick out of Bruce’s bread-making technique and my sister and I had a go at making crackers from freshly made juice pulp.

Sienna got along fantstically well with her first cousin Nina!   And gramps and nana got a lot of quality time in with both of them!

Then it was off to Kaikoura for a couple of days.   Joy & David managed a dolphin swim while Auntie Kathy got to babysit for Sienna.   We did a couple of walks, saw the Seal Colony (represented by one lone seal), did a bit of shopping, and a whole lot of eating.

Next it was over to Hanmer Springs for a night and a soak in the tubs with a few stops along the way for a proper Kiwi roadside picnic!

Then back to Christchurch for their last few days which happened to be over American Thanksgiving.   We passed on the turkey and instead had mom’s famous home-made manicotti and meatballs along with several other yummy dishes.   It was another gorgeous day and I had a few friends over to meet them.

Sadly, the trip ended too soon and it was time for them to head off.   It was a whirlwind trip indeed.  I am grateful that they were able to come all together and appreciated the time we were able to spend together as a family!

Why Tonga?

• It’s the nearest Pacific Island group to New Zealand with less than a three-hour flight from Auckland.
• Air New Zealand offered really, really cheap tickets ($349 RT from Akl).
• It’s the first nation to see the start of each day.
• Our American ex-pat friends who have been living in Tonga part-time encouraged us to come for a visit.

We always like to take advantage of seeing new places with the help of a ‘local’ so we eagerly said ‘yes’ and bought our tickets months ago.  We were super excited for our ‘easy’ trip to Tonga – no planning, no research, just pack our bag and show up.   Unfortunately, due to personal issues on their end, they were not able to be in Tonga for our trip which led us to have a very different holiday than we first thought we were going to have.

Suddenly a lot of research and decisions had to be made.  And with the craziness of the preceding months, we decided we really needed a restful, pampered holiday, which meant:  resorts!   Bruce & I do not usually do ‘resorts’ as we rather spend the money doing activities and eating out, etc.   But this time, we did it totally differently and it was perfect.  Our bodies really needed to chill out and so we did absolutely not one thing except stay at our resorts and sleep, read, play games, snorkel, swim, and eat.   That about sums it up!

Well, here’s a bit more about it.

Tonga is an island group of approximately 176 islands of which 31 are inhabited.   The islands are grouped into three main groups:   Tongatapu,  Ha’api, and Vav’au.       Tonga is the only nation that has never been colonized; the people are super friendly, and the islands still have that ‘remote’ feel to them.

The local currency of Tonga is the Tongan Pa’anga or TOP.    $1 NZD = $1.31 TOP or inversely, approximately $.75 NZD = $1 TOP;    $1 USD = $1.48 TOP or .$52 USD = $1 TOP.

Temperatures don’t vary much and range between 18C (about 65F) to 28C (84F) which makes it quite comfortable.

The amount of sunshine does not vary much throughout the year.  Sunrise at approximately 5:30 am; sunset by 7 pm.

TONGATAPU ISLAND GROUP:

All international flights come into Tongatapu.     Several people told us, and most of the guidebooks say, that there’s not that much to do in Tongatapu and recommend going to the other island groups, especially if you’ve come for the beaches and water activities.     Most folks have to spend a night in Tongatapu because one cannot generally make a connection flight to the outer islands in one day.

As a consequence, we spent two nights in Tongatapu on our way in and another night there on our way home.  We had two full days to roam around.

Our first two nights we stayed at the Waterfront Lodge ($220 TOP/night), billed as a upscale recently renovated villa right on the waterfront.   Under new Italian management, the hotel boasted only eight rooms all located on the second floor, with an Italian restaurant and bar on the first.   The rooms were nice, fitted out with European décor, air conditioning, wi-fi, marble bathrooms, and high ceilings.   Having the air-conditioning was such a plus as we acclimated to the tropical heat of the islands.     Continental breakfast was included with the room.   We booked a room with a balcony and it was quite enjoyable sitting out there on our first day, reading, and watching the goings-on in front of us.

The downside of this place is that it’s right on the main road and across from the fish market which operates daily.   We had to sleep with the doors and windows shut, and even then, I could hear the yammering and racket of the fishermen who come early to drop off their fish for the market.    That was a bit annoying and would prevent me from staying there again.

From the lodge, it was an easy water-front 20 minute walk to town.  The main town and port of this island is Nuku’alofa.   It is the business centre of Tonga and the hub of all activity.    There are several ‘western’ restaurants to be found here as well as traditional local cuisine.     We didn’t get to sample too much as we only had time for a dinner at the Lodge restaurant (good) and lunch at Friends Café (excellent).

A very neat thing to experience in town is the Talamahu Market, the largest fruit, vegetable, and handicraft market in Tonga.   Hundreds of vendors are there touting their wares.   The edibles consisted of baskets of coconuts, peanuts, yams, taro, tapioca, eggplant, papaya, pineapples, watermelon, bananas, tomatoes, cabbages and a variety of cooked cakes and pies.   Handicrafts consisted of the beautiful tapa cloth and lots of woven baskets, purses, and other novelty items.    Upstairs in the market are heaps of stall owners selling ‘regular’ stuff to the locals – clothes, shoes, cosmetics, etc.

Other items of note:

Every 30 metres or so, we found a little shack with steel bars in front – these are the local NZ-equivalent dairies:

Tongans are subsistence farmers and many eek out a small living by selling fruits and veggies by the roadside.  We saw hundreds of these small huts everywhere.

The cemeteries were an amazingly cheerful place to walk through as they revere their loved ones with colorful banners and decorations.

Coconuts abound and are cheap as!

Pigs roam freely everywhere!

On our second visit through Tongatapu we stayed at Toni’s Guest House which is akin to the familiar New Zealand backpackers’ accommodation.   Toni’s gets very high ratings as being a clean and friendly place and we were not disappointed.   We stayed in the blue house which was perfectly fine.    We had a private en-suite room for $60 TOP (about $48 NZD or $32 USD) and if you were willing to share a bathroom, you could get a room for as little as $15 TOP.     They are located in a small, quaint neighborhood about 5km from Nuku’alofa and they operate a shuttle several times a day for $1 per person.   They’ve got a good thing going there and I’d consider staying there again.

The airport is located a 30-minute drive from Nuku’alofa.   Cab rides should run about $15-20 TOP per person one-way.  Toni’s Guesthouse will transport you to/from the airport for $10 per person.   The Waterfront Lodge charged us $25 per person which I now know to be a total rip-off.

HA’API ISLAND GROUP:

One wanting to get away to pristine long-white sandy beaches is advised to go to the Ha’api island group.   Located a half-hour plane ride away, we were very eager to get to our destination.    Chatham Pacific has a monopoly on inter-island transport and have no qualms for charging exorbitant prices – the regular fare is $178 one way (the round-trip fare equals the cost of getting to Tonga from New Zealand)!     We arrived one hour before departure as required and had a good chuckle looking at the flight board (see photo below).   Tongans are famous for doing things at their own pace and there was no rush to check in the few of us destined for Ha’api.

Once ready to leave, I was not so amused to find out we were traveling on a little 8-seater propeller plane.  Hmmm, had to work hard to calm my anxious nerves, but once in the air, I enjoyed the feeling of flying through the clouds with practically a 360-degree view!

We booked our stay at Serenity Beaches Resort or Patti’s place as it is locally known.   A five-minute taxi ride from the airport to the main town of Pangai got us to the small pier where we met Patti and another guest and made the 1-hour boat trip to Uoleva Island.

If you clicked on the link to Uoleva above, you will have read that Uoleva is inhabited by approximately 6 people!   And that sounds about right as there are three accommodation places on the island – two backpackers and then Patti’s ‘resort’.

What a treat!  Patti’s a 69 year-young American who has lived many lives.  At 50 she divorced after 35 years of marriage, went and studied Lomi Lomi massage in Hawaii, lived there and in Alaska for many years, then set her sights to the Pacific Islands where she sailed for 2 ½ years, and then at the ripe young age of 65, decided to open a resort on this remote island in Tonga.   She’s currently partnered with a lovely Tongan man, Semi and, we had many hours of wonderful conversation with both of them.

There are five Balinese-styled bungalows or ‘fales’ (fahlay) as they’re called in Tonga for accommodation and one large hexagonal 30 foot diameter gorgeous open-aired gazebo which serves as the main room for dining and socializing and also hosts the open-air kitchen.   There’s no electricity.   They power the fridge and other electronic devices twice a day for about an hour each time by running a generator.  They have very cool solar lights from Ikea for evening use or you sit and talk by candlelight.     All the fales are open-air with blinds that serve as your walls.   Each fale is hidden from the others so you can sleep with your blinds up which we did most nights.   The toilets and showers are also open-air yet private.   They’ve now hooked up a few of the showers with a Califont gas heaters so you can have a warm’ish shower!

Serenity Beaches is located on 8-acres of ‘bush’ on the tip of Uoleva Island.  It has access to both sides of the island with the walking distance between the two sides of mere minutes.     Three of the fales are on one side (where we stayed, in the Ika (fish) fale – highly recommended), the others are located near the main gazebo.

As we arrived at the end of tourist season, the hired staff had already been let go and only Patti and Semi were running the place, therefore, they were the ones cooking our meals.  They are both fantastic cooks.  We had the breakfast and dinner meal package which was totally sufficient.   Patti made most breakfasts and can do anything – we had french toast, eggs, and the best pancakes ever!   Semi made a few delicious dinners – lobster tail burrito wraps, seafood curry, and a yummy chicken dish.    We were not disappointed.

We stayed for five nights and it was perfect for us despite not having the best weather (lots of windy and overcast days).   There’s a coral reef right in front of their place which was pretty amazing – pristine large colourful coral abounded as well as various fishies and the bluest starfish I’ve ever seen!    There were only two other guests though one night a group of six ‘yachties’ came for dinner.  They were quite interesting to chat with having been sailing on their boats for several years.  Several said Tonga was one of their favorite pacific islands.  Oh, and there was a local guy spending a few days there chiseling out a canoe with a small hand-tool from a tree he felled with a little saw.  It was pretty darn cool!

We shared many connections with Patti which made our stay even more enjoyable.  We had heaps of discussions around gardening and permaculture and on a variety of spiritual topics.   They are not yet able to grow much due to soil conditions and they have to bring in a lot of food from Nuku’alofa.   They can source locally caught fish and some vegetables but not much is available.      I’d brought some veggie seeds for her and we talked a lot about proper composting methods.  By the last day, we were rested enough that we offered to help build her first raised garden bed and prepped it with layers of seaweed, dried leaves, and food scraps.    We’re hoping to go back some day to see her garden and/or help out again with prepping more beds!

VAVAU ISLAND GROUP

Our next stop was the island of Vavau, located a further half-hour 8-seater plane ride north.   This is the island our American friends have a small dwelling on and they offered us the opportunity to stay there for a few nights.  Their place is located on the old harbour in the port town of Neiafu, about a twenty-minute taxi ride ($20TOP) from the airport.   We found their one-room place to be simple yet quite cute and recognized the many things they had purchased in New Zealand to ship over to Tonga.    It rained quite a bit the two days we spent there so we spent most of our time enjoying their personal library collection of various spiritually themed books (THANK YOU GUYS!).

We also ventured into the town which is mainly a one street strip of western-owned and operated restaurants, shops, and tour guide centres.    The place was full of Palangis (white people) from America, Australia and Europe.     Apparently the ‘yachties’ flock to Neiafu’s protected harbour during the months of July – October to take advantage of the weather and the thing that Vavau is most known for – swimming with the whales.    Every year flocks of humpback whales migrate from chilly waters of Antarctica to the warm waters of Tonga to birth and raise their young.   We’ve heard from many that swimming with a whale is truly an incredible experience, but alas, it was not meant to be for us as this year the season was not so good and the whales left early.   Maybe this has to do with the now 20+ something whale watching operators that have set up in Vavau in the last few years.

Most tourists elect to stay at one of the outer islands from Vavau as there are over 20 islands and many resorts to choose from.   We stayed at Mala Island Resort ($180 TOP/night) as it was just fifteen minutes away.   Mala Island is a privately-owned small island (you can walk around it in 20 minutes).   A group of Americans invested through a Tongan partner in 2001 and built this small resort with only 10 bungalows.   The reviews I read for Mala were mixed as folks said the resort was in a state of decline and it was.  However, that did not take away from it’s charm.

This year the resort was being run by one of the partners, Terry, who hailed from Reno, Nevada.  He was a lovely man who was working quite hard to keep the resort going.   The island is a 5 minute boat ride from Talihau Beach which is a 15 minute taxi ($20 TOP) from Neiafu.    Mala has a small beach with a great snorkeling reef right from shore.  The ‘Japanese Gardens’, an underwater coral haven is just a stones’ throw away.  Terry said, however, that the Gardens are not as pristine as they once were due to the hurricanes of last year.  None-the-less, we enjoyed several afternoons of snorkeling in the area.  Other than that, we sat and read and relaxed.  There were few guests.  The food was fine – nothing to write home about except for the fries which were quite delicious.  The menu consisted of mainly western fare.

The rooms were cute – wallpapered with tapa cloth and bamboo poles.  There were screens on the windows and a fan which came in handy during the days.   The main restaurant area was lovingly built in traditional tropical décor with lots of bamboo and a big veranda to take in the gorgeous aqua-marine views.   We were happy enough to spend four days there but I do not think I’d return again.     This is a great place to spend a day or at most two nights.

The owners are currently looking for investors, so if you’re keen to own a piece of paradise, this could be for you.  But beware, do your homework first!   We chatted with many Palangis who came to Tonga to realize a dream.  We heard story after story about how hard it was to navigate the beauracracy and how hard it is to assimilate.   But Patti but it best – patience and persistence is what’s needed to make it here otherwise Tonga will eat away at you very quickly.

Both Bruce & I liked the islands enough that we would definitely come back again.  The tourism market is growing and I’d do a bit more research about Tongatapu (to save  on the additional airfare), but I’d definitely head back to Patti’s in Ha’api when I’m in need of some true relaxation.

So now we’re home and back in Wainui.  The grass has grown quite a bit in just two short weeks so it’s time for another round of mowing.   And it’s time to gear up for the next adventure – my family’s visit from the States.  My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and 1-year old niece will be arriving in one weeks’ time.  I’m so excited!

Here’s a bit of a photo montage of my trip.

First stop – Portland – to see several friends:  Kat & Andrew, Scott & Anne, Ken & Christina, Sola & Inayat at Riversong, and Sebastian.   And thank you Kirk and Jim for coming up from Arizona!  What a busy few days we had.

We played Rockband and went sightseeing:

Lunched with Sebastian and visited Sola & Inayat at Riversong Retreat:

 Back in San Francisco, I hung out with my gal pals for birthday celebrations:

 And BBQ’d with friends Mary, Darek, Wes, Anthony, and Mary and a few others:

And I basically hung out and had many lunches, coffees, and dinners with all my pals.

Jack and Nane, Kelly,  Mei:

 Lillian, Daniel, and baby Nathaniel:

Lashon, Darek, Roni & Ella:

 And of course family:  mom & dad, Joy, David, Sienna, and my sister-in-law Laura! More Sienna photos can be found here.

I remembered that our friend Purple was minding a friends’ accommodation units in Golden Bay for the winter.  A quick email confirmed he was still there and that there was plenty of room for us.  Super.  Road trip here we come!

We left on a gorgeous sunny day and had a beautiful and easy seven hour drive through the mountains and Lewis Pass and then up and over Takaka Hill to arrive in the semi-tropical Golden Bay region.   The main town, consisting of approximately 4500 people, is Takaka.   We stayed just on the outskirts in a the popular summer resort area of Pohara at The Sandcastle  – a delightful 10 acre property with six self-contained little cottages, a spa and sauna, and complete with dog, chickens, and sheep.

We had four full days of relaxing, hiking, sightseeing, and just hanging out with our friends.     The weather was sunny and while not totally the tropical island holiday I was much in need of, it was much warmer than Christchurch (indicated by the fact that I did not have to wear my long johns every day!).

One day we drove out to Wainui Bay and did a nice long hike up to Gibbs Hill from which we had stellar views of the entire bay and Farewell Spit to one side and Abel Tasman Park and the Nelson region to the other.  We visited The Grove, an ancient Land of the Lost-like area with huge limestone boulders topped with Nikau palms and Rata trees which send their long tendril roots over the boulders and down to the ground.    We went to Te Waikoropupu Springs or PuPu Springs which are the largest fresh-water springs in NZ and apparently the clearest in the world.  About 14,000 litres of water a second is thrown up from a number of underground vents dotted around the springs.   And we paid a quick stop to The Naked Possum, to have a cuppa at the cafe and a quick browse in the Possum Shop — the couple who own and run The Naked Possum are dedicated to eradicating those nasty little possums who wreak havoc on the native bush.

And otherwise, we just hung around Pohara at The Sandcastle and at the beach.  I got a good chance to be around the animals and fed the chooks and petted a sickly yet friendly ewe.   Sally the dog was my constant companion and followed me around the property as I snooped around and picked grapefruit and oranges off the heavily laden trees.

This was our second trip to Golden Bay and I do love it quite a bit.  It reminds me of Kauai’s north shore with its large sweeping bay surrounded by mountains in the distance, lots of Nikau Palms, warm weather, and oodles of avocado, citrus, and kiwifruit trees.   People are very laid back and talk about being on Bay time – slow and relaxed.   It’s a community of alternatives – a tremendous amount of artists, musicians, and creative folks live there just like in Hanalei, Kauai.

And so it was time to make the drive back home.   Rest assured, it will not be another three years before I am there again!