Finally! A home without wheels!

After spending our New Years hanging out in a trailer park drinking rum&cokes with Bubbles, Cheryl and I made the rough ferry crossing back to Wellington and to our new flat. The seas were angry that day my friends... Wow - storm force winds in the channel - it was almost impossible to stand out on the ferry deck without the handrail to support you. Huge swell and lots of people hanging over the railing looking mighty green.

Our new flat is pretty neat. First off, admittedly, it is wierd going back to living in/renting an apartment since we have our own house in Kingston, but obviously one of those things that we need to do. Shelter is good. After a while of searching in early December, we found a nice one-bedroom "basement" flat in a suburb of Wellington called Roseneath. It just so happens to overlook Evan's Bay, which is sweet to check out the wind conditions. Roseneath is just around the corner from Oriental Bay and downtown Welly, about a 1/2hr walk to the edge of the CBD (central business district). Not all that ideal, Cheryl has a 1hr+ ride to work, depending on the wind, and I have about 25-30min ride. It's all riding or busing for us - we are committed to leaving Storm at the flat. The term "basement" apartment is a bit misleading. When you think of a basement apartment at home, you automatically think dingy, dark and damp. Well, slightly different here since Wellington is very very hilly. We back into the hill, and our view out the front is spectacular. There are however, two large floors above us with two people living up there.

More about the flat: It's a "cozy" one bedroom with wood floors and a "conservatory" or sunroom on the front overlooking the garden and Baleana Bay (off Evan's Bay). The bedroom and living room are in the front too and get lots of sunshine - they are both decent size and will be even more roomy once Cheryl has her way and I get my stinky windsurf gear out of there. The kitchen and bathroom are in the back. The kitchen is a touch small but we can definitely work with it. We have the kitchen and bath almost all set up, but the living room and bedroom have a slight lack in furniture at the moment (some of the old renters' stuff is still here for now). Thank goodness for the Salvation Army - buy stock now!

So - we are getting nicely setup in Wellington now, ready to start work :( We will soon have a futon or pull-out in the living room, so book your flights and come out and see us. We'd love to have some visitors! I'll even get my stanky wetuit off the bed for ya! Cheryl got me some neat little coffee making gadgets for Christmas, so by the time you get here, I will have perfected the mochaccino's.