Tag Archives: LAX

. . . And Back Again

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
Gleams that untravell’d world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
. . .
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from “Ulysses”

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Departure day! We had no plans for this day except to pack up, clean up, and return “Big Bertha,” our campervan, to the Britz headquarters in Auckland. We slept in (by our standards), somewhat unsuccessfully. We meant to wake up at 7 AM, but all had to go pee at 6:40. Ah well! We really had made a rhythm to all of our days on this trip.

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Journey to the Real Middle-earth

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Monday, August 31, 2015

After many months of planning, all condensed into one red binder stuffed full of confirmation sheets, emails, brochures, maps—which we fondly called the Red Book of Westmarch—the day to go to New Zealand finally arrived.

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