From Way Down Under to Down Under...

Lindsay and I are now in Australia! We would have thought Australia was 'down under' before we went to New Zealand's South Island - wow - we were "really" down under the rest of the world. We went below 45 degrees latitude in the Southern Hemisphere, possibly the lowest latitude we will ever be in our lives. And ya know what? People that live here are friendly, nice, and love their country.

The South Island was absolutely beautiful! Where most of the scenes from Lord of the Rings came from, we enjoyed God's amazing ability to create landscapes that are breathtaking. One of the most amazing was the Milford Sound - up for vote as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (a new contest that ends in July of this year. In fact, you can vote on your favorite places around the world on www.7naturalwonders.com) With the massive Fiords shooting up 1 1/2 km on average out of the Milford Sound, it was impressive.

For the last 8 days, Lindsay and I slept in a Campervan. Besides our front light going out (towards the end of our trip), the break pads that need to be replaced (also occurred during our trip), the leaky roof, the driving on the left side of the road in rain most of the time... in a standard! with the gear shift on the opposite side that I/we are used to, and the frightening shock Lindsay got one night from our electric heater, it wasn't really a bad way to go! :) Actually, seeing all the country side and having a nice little space of our own was nice, we didn't have to unpack for 8 days. Yeah!! BUT - that all being said, it is very nice to have a little space in a room of our own here in Australia.

This morning we leave to embark on a 3 night 2 day dive trip where we will live aboard a ship with other divers and go on various dives around the outer Great Barrier Reef. What a thrill - and a lifelong goal of mine! Lindsay and I were officially certified as divers when we were in Honolulu, on the way here.

Much more to say... so little time, but we are very excited about the opportunity in front of us to see and visit many of our neighbors under the sea.

Until next time!

God bless,

The Horton Divers

Gidday from Kiwi-land

We're having a blast here in New Zealand! We're up in the Bay of Islands for a few days. We've got cheap accommodations, but they're within blocks of the bay, so it's really convenient and beautiful. Yesterday we went skydiving, and it was sooooo awesome! Kate and I had been before, but this was JB's first time, so he was able to fulfill one of his life goals. Woohoo! The scenery from way up in the air was amazing! We also went to some glow worm caves and did a short bush (forest) walk yesterday. Last night we attended the Bay of Islands Country-Rock Music Festival. Since we're from Texas, it was really interesting for us to see a bunch of New Zealanders wearing cowboy hats and listening to country music. :) One of the bands from Australia, Carter and Carter, was really good, so check them out if you like country music.
That's all for now--more to come soon!

Aloha!

Aloha from the beautiful state of Hawaii! So much has happened since our last blog. We did get to see Frank Lloyd Wright's home, and although JB and I were both suffering from a cold, we didn't let that deter us from hiking in the Grand Canyon. It was my first time, and it was incredible. I could easily have spent a week there, but our time didn't allow. From there, we headed to Temecula, California, to visit some friends and had a great time! What a beautiful area with absolutely perfect weather! From there, we headed up the coast to visit friends in Montecito, also a beautiful area. Our friends' house is located right on the beach, so I was able to go on morning jogs along the beach. We also went to the 91st birthday party of our friend's mother. That was a really neat time. Making it to 91 is something worth celebrating! After Montecito, we drove up to Fresno to visit family. We don't get to see them that often, so it was really nice to be able to visit. We were even able to take a day trip to Yosemite. Neither JB nor I had ever been to Yosemite, so it was such a treat for us both. We did so much hiking and were exhausted by the end of the day, but we got to see some really beautiful vistas--gushing waterfalls, giant rock walls, valleys filled with pine trees. We even saw some snow still!
Our next stop, of course, was Hawaii. My former roommate, Kate, is going to be traveling with us for the next couple weeks, so we met up with her at the airport. Lucky for us, her aunt and uncle live outside Honolulu, so we're staying with them for the week. We've had some great beach time so far, and JB and I did two dives yesterday working toward our scuba certification. We have two more dives today, and then we're certified. Yea!! The water is a beautiful turquoise, and we've seen lots of colorful fish, sea turtles, eels, and more. Today after our dives, Kate, JB, and I are heading up to the north shore to watch the sunset and see the huge waves. We're having a blast!