Colorado Avalanche vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last spring, when I heard that Air Canada was coming to the Salt Lake City airport, I got really excited!  That meant that I could fly directly from SLC to Toronto for a reasonable price.  I knew that I wanted to plan a trip because I hadn't been to my hometown since 2005!  I've always wanted to see my favorite hockey team, the Colorado Avalanche, play a road game so I thought it would be epic to see them play the Maple Leafs in the Air Canada Centre!  I mentioned it to my Dad and we eagerly awaited the release of the 2016-2017 hockey schedule to see when the two teams would be playing.  When we learned that they would be playing on a weekend, it seemed feasible.  We bought our tickets about a month ago and I flew to Toronto last weekend for an amazing trip (My Dad got there a week earlier).  I can't tell you how amazing it was to be back home for a few days!  My Dad picked me up at the airport and took me visiting people who have known me my whole life and love me.  Brian, my Dad's best friend from childhood, and his wife took us to dinner and we didn't stop talking or laughing.  I got to visit all of my favorite spots, including a quick trip to Niagara Falls to see them illuminated with colored lights, several trips to Tim Hortons for donuts, a visit to my grandparents' graves, and a visit to the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway (a big cargo ship had just entered a lock when we got there and I got to see it go through).  Sunday night was the game and it was absolutely thrilling to be in the ACC!  I loved all of the Stanley Cup banners!  It was fun to cheer for the road team, especially in a place that loves their team as much as Leafs fans do!  I did, however, see quite a few people in Avalanche jerseys and we would high five each other in solidarity!  My Dad's friend Brian, despite the fact that he lives there, had never been to a game before so we got him a ticket.  He took me to my first Blue Jays game back in the day so I thought it was fun that I got to take him to his first Maple Leafs game!  I asked him who he was going to cheer for and he emphatically said, "Toronto!"  Although, I did catch him cheering for the Avs so maybe I converted him!  It was a great game!  Colorado scored two really pretty power play goals and, after the second one in the third period, the usher in my section came and told me that I was being too loud!  The Avs got two penalties in quick succession late in the third so the Leafs pulled their goalie and scored.  The guy sitting next to me gave me a hard time throughout the whole game so when he started cheering like a crazy man after the goal, I told him that the only way the Leafs could score was when they had a six on three advantage!  The Avs scored an empty net goal in the last few minutes to win 3-1!  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and having the Avalanche win was like icing on the cake!

It was so much fun to watch my Dad and Brian interact with each other!  They were like two teenage boys!  I think it is amazing that they have been such good friends for so long!

This was definitely a bucket list game for both me and my Dad and I am so glad that we got to do it!

Note:  I have always considered myself to be Canadian and it was very emotional for me to be back home.  While my life is in SLC and it would be difficult for me to pull up stakes and move back, I have to admit that I shed a tear when I boarded the plane to leave!

Auckland

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and I had less than a day to explore it!

On our drive into the city, we stopped at the Michael Joseph Savage monument.  Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand and he is known as one of the best and most revered Prime Ministers in the country.  It was a lovely park.  Then we headed to our hotel, which was in a prime location.  The locals say that if you want to play, you turn right and head to the Sky Tower and the casino, and if you want to pray, you turn left and head to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I did both during my short time in Auckland.

I decided to play first and headed to the Sky Tower.  I went up to the observation deck for some spectacular views of the city and the harbour and to watch people base jumping from the top!

After playing, I decided that I had better pray so I made a stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral and got there just in time to hear mass.  I hadn't been to a mass since I was in Lithuania a few years ago and it was lovely.  The priest thanked God for allowing Wellington to beat South Africa in rugby the night before!

Cathedral Square was a great place for people watching.  You can see the Sky Tower behind the cathedral.

I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon down by the waterfront and imagine my delight when I found the iconic "Red Fence" along Captain Cook Wharf on Quay Street!  Look at those amazing lamp posts!

I found this lovely lamp post near the Ferry Building.

I decided to walk up Queen Street, the main shopping area of Auckland, to look at the beautiful Victorian buildings and found some more amazing lamp posts!

After wandering around Queen Street, I went back to the hotel for our farewell dinner and just like that my adventure Down Under was over! I got on a plane to come back to the United States (and start school shortly thereafter) the next morning!  You can read all about my adventures:  Melbourne, Alice Springs, The Kangaroo Sanctuary, Sunrise Ballooning in the Outback, Uluru, The Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda Rainforest, Sydney Harbour Cruise, Sydney, Whale Watching, The Beautiful South Island of New Zealand, Milford Sound,  and Hobbiton.

Hobbiton

Me in front of Bag End! (Yes, I am a nerd)

After several days in Queenstown, we flew to Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand.  On the way from Roturua to Auckland, several of us opted to visit the Hobbiton set from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  It was seriously cool!

Peter Jackson wanted a location with rolling hills, a water source, and no power lines to obscure the view.  He found a farm near Rotorua that was perfect and contracted with the owners to use the land with the proviso that he remove all of the sets after filming.  When Jackson decided to film The Hobbit, he asked to use the farm again.  This time the owners asked Jackson to leave the set so they could offer tours to the public.  Here are some pictures from the tour I went on.

I loved all of the hobbit holes!  Some of them are full size and some of them were made 3/4 size to make characters like Gandalf look much bigger in comparison.  Most of the hobbit holes are just doors (the interiors were shot on a sound stage) but there was one that you could go inside (I'm peeking out from it).

For The Hobbit movies, Peter Jackson wanted some smaller hobbit holes in the distance to make the Shire more realistic.  They are only seen in the movies for a few seconds!

The sign posts are really cool!

I loved this water wheel!

After the tour we were able to visit the Green Dragon which is a fully functioning pub.  We ordered some ale and sat by the fire!

This was such a fun experience!  I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see this magical place!

Milford Sound

While we were in Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand for a few days, we took a day trip to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been: Milford Sound!  It is a fjord that runs fifteen kilometers inland from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise up to 1,200 meters with many dazzling waterfalls.  We took a cruise through the fjord and it was absolutely amazing (even better than the fjords in Norway, in my opinion).

 

The pictures do not do this place justice!  It is incredible and it is no wonder that Milford Sound is one of the top tourist destinations in the world!  It does take some effort to get there, five hours from Queenstown, but it was worth it!

Note:  We almost didn't get to see Milford Sound because it snowed over night and created an avalanche hazard.  We had to wait over an hour at a roadblock before we were cleared to continue on our way!  I am certainly glad we were able see this amazing place!  The South Island of New Zealand is breathtaking!