Minerva Reef

We left Tauranga, New Zealand on June 1st. Seven days later we arrived almost 900 miles north at Minerva Reef. Minerva Reef is a large circular reef (about 3.5 in diameter) that sits more or less smack dab on the Tropic of Capricorn. Sitting at S 23* 37.029 and W 178* 54.775, we were anchored in the middle of nowhere (technically belonging to Tonga), in thirty feet of gin clear water. The day we arrived, it was flat calm. As we came through the pass in the reef, we could instantly see all the way to the bottom at about eighty feet. We ended up spending seven days at Minerva waiting for the north winds to pass before we could continue the last 400 miles to Fiji. We spent our days fishing, snorkeling and just enjoying being at anchor after a week at sea. We even celebrated my birthday at Minerva Reef. Mark baked me a wonderful carrot cake and the champagne flowed freely in the company of our friends on the yachts, Asylum, Rasa Manis and Nomzano. Next on to Suva, Fiji
Leaving NZ, all bundled up

We had on at least 5 layers for the first 5 days at sea Mark doing some repairs to the mast at Minerva Reef

Pressies on my birthday

New Adventures

As I write this blog we are just days away from sailing to Fiji. This latest blog will celebrate two new adventures. One is the wedding of my brother Matt to his wife Phronsie. Below are many beautiful photos of their amazing wedding that took place in Santa Barbara, CA last week. The photos speak for themselves. It was a blessed day with all our wonderful family and friends. The newlyweds are honeymooning in Fiji as we speak. We told them to save some Fiji for us.

The Other adventure is getting Scholarship back out on the road so to speak. After 1.5 years in New Zealand working and living we are ready for cruising life again. The trip to Fiji is about 1200 miles and will take us anywhere between 8-10 days. We hope to arrive to warm weather (40 degrees in NZ today) We look forward to sharing it with you. Liz & Mark

Here comes the bride...... Married!
Mark and I had such a great time
So cute!
Dave, me, Phronsie, Matt and Mom
Matt and Phronsie cut the cake with lots of help
Dad and Sue enjoying dinner
And they danced....
And then so did everyone else...

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

This year my trip to Phoenix was made even more special by the reunion of nine college friends. We all have busy lives, but managed to make it Phoenix for a weekend of reminiscing, catching up on the new, and making new memories. Our hosts were our dear friends Karena and Josh who welcomed us in their Phoenix home and the Westin hotel which served as a perfect back drop for a bunch of sun starved MN girls like us. Thanks everyone for making this come together. I know we are all wondering when and where for the next time. Bren, Keri, Andie and Mel Our hosts Josh and Karena
Karena, Mel, Lisa, Liz and Carla Mel, Kari, Carla and their new BFF, Maggie

Mark, Maglet and Matt playing in the backyard

Mark with Tracey and Mel Me and Kari Kari, Liz, Keri and Andie The whole crew out for dinner at Kona Grill

Andie, Damond and Lisa
Karena, Brenda and Kari enjoy martinis

Our trip to the states was wonderful but as always, it went way too fast. In late April I flew to Los Angeles to spend some time with my brother and his bride to be, before all the busyness of the wedding happened a few weeks later. We had a great time exploring LA, and I finally got to visit the Getty Center which has been on my list of things to see for years.

Matt and Phronsie My bro poses at the Getty Center in Los AngelesMy next stop was San Francisco to see the Brandons and meet new baby Aubrey. It was excellent to spend some time with them.

Baby Aubrey and proud big brother AidenMe and my dear Amy

After a week in CA I flew home to Phoenix to meet up with Mark who had spent a little more time in NZ. Again this year, Marks' mom was kind enough to host us for time in AZ. We had a blast with Mark's family and we were lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with our dear little Maggie. We had busy ten days and got a chance to see lots of old friends.

Mark and his Mom, Margaret

Tara and Maggie

Maggie, Mark and Margaret with Mother's Day flowers
We got to spend some time with Sean and Cody

And some time with the Rowleys, Becky and Chris and our friend Steve

New Zealand's Wild West Coast

Just before our trip to the US we took one last New Zealand road trip in our trusty Toyota Hiace (which has now been sold!). First we spent a busy weekend in Auckland before we took the long way home back to Tauranga. We made our way to the west coast which is a wild and scenic part of New Zealand. Rugged, windy and cold, the west coast is a bit more dramatic than the sunny beaches at our east coast home. Not a place for swimming but the surfers were out in full force. We camped one night on the black sand beaches and then visited more wineries along the way. Below are a few pictures of our last New Zealand adventure for now.