Zen's spa treatment is halfway done. She's sanded down and ready for her new paint job. That's the biggest project. Other items that were voluntarily upgraded were fuel tanks, water tanks, fridge/freezer closures, new non-skid, sails, and wheels. But saving the best for last...electric toilet!! You may wonder how that could be considered a voluntary upgrade. What the heck did we have before? No, it wasn't a bucket. Our heads (aka toilets in boat speak) were hand pump units. Our arm and chest muscles are in really good form.

Whangarei has definitely become our home away from home. We know the streets, the short cuts and the cashiers at the stores. Kids are enrolled in ballet and karate. One more month here and it would be very hard to pry us away. In one week from today, we pack up and move out of our lovely rental home in nearby Onerahi. There's a big carrot....the Barkman Family!! They arrive to celebrate LollyFest Down Under and to reunite with us. The 8 of us are flying into Christchurch on the South Island, where we pick up our 2 rental camper vans. That will be some funny home videos for sure. Touring South Island with our best buddies will be comical, adventurous, beautiful and emotional.

Until then, life is all about organizing, packing and project managing our catamaran's mini-refit. Now, it's time to eat some local fish and chips up on a mountain overlooking Whangarei. Tomorrow we host m/v Karma at the Burgess B & B for a night! Friends are wonderful on the water and on terra firma.