Mt. Ruapehu Ski Trip...

This past weekend I went skiing with a big group of people from work. Mt. Ruapehu is a volcano right next to the Tongoriro Crossing which we hiked a few months back. I'm by no means the best skiier in the world, I think I've gone about 3-4 times my whole life and i was quite rusty. It was very strange skiing on a volcano becuase there are no trees, no borders, no real ends to the trails. So we would often cut back and forth or make our own new trails. Additionally, there were also large volcanic rocks everywhere for us to avoid.

I also found it surprising that my Steeler hap caused a stir as I met a few kiwi fans of my hometown team, small world.

Here are some pictures:

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:-)

9 Planes, 2 Weeks...

Hey all,

I just returned from my fabulous holiday to the Bahamas for a Wedding Cruise, College Graduation and visit back home to PA. I haven't been back to the States since before last Thanskgiving so I was really excited to see everyone again. It's such a long way to come back so I wanted to visit as many people as possible in my only trip back from New Zealand.

Jess and I started the trip by attending her sister's college graduation from Cal Poly...those kids are sure smart, and they really know how to party too. It was nice getting to spend some time with her and her family again. After that we raced back to LA to catch our flight

My best friend Jamie was getting married and all the Krumbs attending a week long cruise of the Caribbean, I couldn't miss out. Jamie and Heidi didn't know I was attending either so it was a great surprise.

We had the best time, in all we visited St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. John, and the Princess Cays, Bermuda. The highlight of the cruise was when Jess and I snorkled with sea turtles, priceless. Free room service wasn't bad either.

After the cruise Jess and I visited my family back in Pittsburgh and got to meet the Fockers. As alwasy we had a blast. I even managed to squeeze in a round of golf with my bro.

After that, I headed back to LA for a few days to relax with Jess and met a few friends for lunch to catch up. It was nice being back to where it's summer in June....I miss the sun.
I'm back to reality now, in all I was on 9 planes, covered about 20,000 miles,
I saw as many people as I could, for those of you I missed, I'll try to catch up with when I return for the holidays.

All the best!