California Dreams

My journey to the US landed me in LA in the early hours of the morning and I'd finished the

customs and baggage collection procedures by the end of the morning.

I reached the hostel at check-in time and, to my delight, positioned next to the hostel,

a power yoga studio was at my disposal. So I signed into the classes straight away as a
measure to combat the jet lag. The jet lag lasted about tow days as I was trying to get my
head around the fact that I landed at an earlier time than when I had departed.

So LA was more of a resting place than a place to visit although I did get to know some great people through the yoga studio who showed me the nice bars by Venice Beach.

By Sunday, San Francisco was calling and it was time for me to fly out. I reckoned on

reaching San Francisco in the early morning in order to make it for the 50th anniversary semianr of Frank Doran only to be thwarted at the car rental bureau of San Francisco aiport where I discovered that the replacement credit card had already reached its limit and the only way to free it up was to call my bank and request the card to be reset. Meanwhile I had no cash that day and no other card so all I could do was to wait until the bank opened at 9am Dutch Time. So, good as my intentions were, I ended up missing Doran sensei's seminar. Almost 24 hours later with a new friend, Danielle from San Diego, Bus Company director. One of the coolest people I met on my trip, she took me for lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf in downtown San Francisco to the famous Fishermans restaurant with a view of Alcatraz accross the water of the bay area.

San Francisco is one of those cities where its inhabitants are so much in love with their own

city that they cannot stop talking about how beautiful it is ... and, let's face it, it is beautiful.

I clearly didnt reserve enough time in this city to give it justice and only manged to get to places where tourists get (the Golden Gate bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Alcatraz, North Beach and the surrounding areas). In addition my last day in San Francisco tied in with thanks giving and a lot of shops and services were not open and the streets were pleasantly unpopulated.

There was a great Aikido club in the centre which I managed to attend on two occassions which, coincidently, is the club of Bob Nadeau, one of the few non-Japanese Aikido men who trained

with O-Sensei (the founder of Aikido). Although I didnt make it to Nadeau sensei's lesson on Tuesday, I did enjoy the lessons of Nick Scoggin Sensei and Elain Yoder Sensei on Monday and Wednesday respectively.

Instead of attending Bob's City Aikido lesson, I made a small 3 hour trip north of San Francisco, with Amtrak bus and rail services, to Petaluma and Bodega bay, where I was welcomed by Paul Rest. Paul took me to the Two Rock Aikido Club of Petaluma, the lesson being given by Richard Strozzi-Heckler. The lesson was full of experienced people and I felt this was a club which had a lot of Aikido knowledge coming from it.

Bodega Bay

The night was spent in Bodega Bay, Paul's home and I woke up to the faint sound of fog horns and a crisp morning sun which, apparently, is atypical for this time of year. After a brisk walk around the Bay, I came back to Paul's house and was treated to Bacon and Eggs, a wonderfully substantial breakfast before my little trip back to the heart of San Francisco.

San Francisco is calling me to come back again very soon. Great Aikido, great views and scenery, amazing national parks. So much more to discover than I could afford in time. It felt easy for me

to just take my guitar out of the guitar case and start singing.

I leave San Francisco with this reflection:

As I took a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge I realised that one more photo has been added to the collection of photos taken of the most photographed bridge in the world. Then I asked myself should I be feeling insignificant, like just another number at this point? Needless to say, it is the collective which adds to this sight being so greatly appreciated. Is my photo contribution as significant as the billions of others before me. Then I understood what an Aikido master had taught me once. He said “big plus small equals bigger”. That’s to say, we can be small in numbers and still achieve great things collectively with other parties no matter how big they are and, even when we are big in numbers, we can make greater strivings if we add smaller parties to our collection. I dont know if the photo of the GG bridge is a clear enough analogy. It simply triggered me to think about it.

Golden Gate Bridge

This has maybe something significant to do with understanding one’s purpose. Wishing my new American friends a great thanks giving.

New Zealand Last Days

Headstand on Sugarloaf Hill, "Steve's Hill"

No Kiwi birds this time it seems. Oh well I did get to see some wonderfully

spurting geysers.

In Napier I passed the time with fun interrupted

by moments of concern as to when my new credit card would turn up.

Thankfully I was hosted by some great friends who I've known

since the days I used to live in Bath in the early 1990s.

The wonder of having such friends is that we realise that

most of the cases in life we are faced with conditions in order to

get on with people and it is always a welcome change when friends

like these show their unconditional love.

On my arrival in Napier with the intercity bus from Wellington,

I was grandiously welcomed by Steve and his son, Christopher John,

who I hadnt seen since he was a little three year old toddler.

Now, at the age of 9, CJ, demonstrated amazing talents for sports,

music, dancing, designing games and, above all, playing the XBox!

Steve had some nice little activities lined up for me while I was staying

in Napier, starting with a wonderful visit to the pub to see some local

rock bands playing. Our first little expedition was for a short walk up the local

hill viewable from the house, Sugarloaf Hill, now proudly defined by

Steve as "his hill".

The next day, we headed out for a more challengeable trek up the so called

"sunrise hut" a 1350 meter climb to a summit in the hills to the west of Napier.

This was something requiring a satisfactory fitness level and good preparation.

So, we took emergency rations, waterproofs and other necessities in case,

as so often can happen in New Zealand, the weather takes a sudden turn.

1350m up at Sunrise Hut

Awaiting us on our return from the trek was a delightful meal at the famous

Mission restaurant and winery (converted from an old monastary).

Dinner at the Mission

Two more glorious days were spent in Napier before heading out towards Rotorua and the

magnifican springs and geysers.

Large Geysers in Rotorua

Unfortunately, time did not allow a further visit to neither Auckland Aikikai nor the

dojo of Alan Wade sensei in Gisborne which I sadly regret though I think there is

a very good chance I'll be seeing these Aikido friends in the very near future.

The flight to LA was smooth and trouble free. Now there is a very great need for

sleep in recovering from the flight. Marina from Tel Aviv called me on Skype this

morning just as I had arrived and she looked stunning. I showed her the bags under

my eyes from the jetlag on the video cam much to her amusement.

California news coming soon!

New Zealand!

New Zealand - It's all about the coffee (it seems).

After having achieved my goal of locating a kangaroon in Australia,

the task of meeting a real Kiwi bird in New Zealand would be a logical

and obvious goal during my stay here. However, this is but a secondary

task as New Zealand's national bird takes the back seat these days to the

more popular modern day affinity to a good cup of coffee. In fact, the quality

of coffee in New Zealand is so important that it has become the subject of a

yearly national competition (the "Barista") to produce the best coffee in the country.

It has come into the limelight so much so that I can only conclude that

New Zealand is no longer about the kiwi but rather about the coffee.

Luciano Marcolino (champion coffee maker)

In Christchurch, I met Luciano, originally Italian, he moved to New Zealand and

set up a cafe business. Today, his business success has been increased by his

first place success in the national coffee making championship in 2008, named "Barista".

Luciano is also an aikido student of Andrew Sensei, christchurch's senior Aikido instructor and,

it was with this connection, that I got to sample some of the nation's best coffee.

I have to say, the long black is my favorite, a little lighter than an espresso but

slightly more potent than an americano.

Apart from coffee, New Zealand obviously has a lot more to offer in terms of nature and

native bush and wildlife. After my first stop in Auckand for the 10th anniversary of

Auckland Aikikai and Rosso Fernandez Sensei's Aikido friends, I flew down to Wellington

to visit my ex flat mate, Kate and her husband, Peter and their two little girls Kiera

and Erin. On my arrival, the girls' school was holding a fair and Kate had volunteerd to do

her bit at the curry stand. So, I joined up and sampled some of the best curry's in the

Kandallah community of Wellington.

Kate with Kiera

Lawrence and Peter with Erin and Kiera

After a few days of dwindelling around and practicing yoga and Aikido in the city of Wellington,

I headed for the south island by boat. The three hour crossing passes some of the roughest

waters in the world. However, I must have been lucky with the weather because the sea

was totally calm on the way to Picton from Wellington.

The ferry from Wellington to Picton

On my arrival in Picton, as the boat approached the harbour it appeared as if I

was entering a magical land. Indeed I started to feel like I was playing some kind

of role in a famous fantasy adventure film of hobbits :-)

At the ferry port, I picked up a hire car for 5 days of touring around the south island.

My first stop in the south island was at Andrew sensei's house and for some morning Aikido

training. After training, Andrew sensei kindly gave up his time to take me for a small tour of Christchurch, to the centre and the surrounding hills before heading to Luciano's famous cafe.

Andrew Williamson Sensei, 6th dan Aikikai, standing in front

of his dojo in Christchurch.

After 6:30am class photo.

In the Port Hills with a view of the city of Christchurch

After Christchurch, I headed further south where the wildlife and overwhelming natural

beauty awaited my arrival. My tour took me along route 6 to lake Takupo, Queenstown, and to

the other side along and up the west coast to Punakaiki before returning on the 5th day

to Picton. On each stop, mountains surrounded lakes and it started to be a habbit for me to

hike to the highest point and take photos of the views. The nature looked

almost surreal though I believe I was touring during a time when not so many tourists

were visiting so the lack of humans added to the surreal effect.

The roads were almost empty except for a few camper vans and trucks and some hire cars

like mine.

I managed to take some great shots (see below) as the weather had been very good to me.

Now heading for the north island again, I will make a second stop at Kate and Pete's before

waving goodbye and heading to Steve, Sarah and Christopher John in Napier. I'm looking

forward to a lovely hike in the hills which Steve has planned for me. More news coming soon.

Lake Tekapo

View of lake Tekapo from high above.

View of Queenstown from high above.

Queenstown from the cable car.

Queenstown, with the Remarkables mountain range in the background.

Morning mist on the road from Queenstown to the west coast.

A spectacular rushing river.

The West Coast natural debris.

The sun setting at Punakaiki.