I am sitting on the couch with a stuffed dog at my feet, sipping yummy Earl Grey tea and reviewing the NZ Lonely Planet Cycling New Zealand guide with Jay. Chris and Kelly’s two beautiful girls, Millie and Penny, are in the back watching My Little Pony and the sun is shining bright in the New Zealand morning sky. Chris is off on his bike commute to work while Kelly and the pups are enjoying a wee lie-in before starting another busy day.

Our journey down under was easy despite one or two glitches on our way to LA. We enjoyed hanging out with the Peterson clan in La Crescenta, including a mouth watering dinner at Masion Akira with Dad and Luminta (Thanks to you both!) and a yummy breakfast at Jeremie’s with Susan, Trevor and Michele. We love you all, including the couch loving Rocky.

Some of the Petersons in Los Angeles

Rocky and Jay spending quality time on the couch

Trevor Peterson will be happy to hear that we “hung out” at LAX with the Nitro Circus Crew – and met Travis Pastrana.  I saved Jay the embarrassment of asking for a picture.

The BEST welcoming committee ever!

We arrived in New Zealand safely and were greeted at the Christchurch airport by a welcoming crew – complete with sign. Jay noticed the sign immediately, but I guess I was a bit oblivious at first and walked right on by!  Not having met my cousin since we were little, we introduced each other and the kids. Then I introduced myself to the woman sitting next to Christopher – assuming she was Kelly. It turns out Kelly was parking the car- the lady enjoyed a good laugh with us.

With the help of Millie and Penny, we transferred the bikes to the car with little incident…if you don’t include dropping a large bottle of duty free Jim Beam as a causality.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with the family. Chris and the kids took us into Christchurch to run some errands and explore downtown.

Penny spinning the Twister wheel

We “geocached” the Stand Strong Giraffes, played twister in the rain on a big stage and ate fresh berry ice cream.

Giraffes – Stand Strong in Christchurch

In the evening, the girls introduced me to a fun game – Mimiq – which I can see having fun with in the future. What a great start to our down under bicycle tour!!!

JP