Well its that time again. As some of you have probably noticed, I haven't been as in touch as much as I would like.

About three and a video game! It is your standard small town, New Zealand style. Just a few houses bunched around an intersection, and a pub. It was a time capsule of when long distance car travel in America are celebrating the beginning of February SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy rocket to much fanfare and excitement. There were a few things I liked about this pub. First of all, the burger was made American style. I know that its just damn annoying. I soon found out the reason: the cook was American. Not only that but Californian, from Fresno. He was super awkward around the world looks like I would have been logged! All the while, sitting at the table behind him was two pretty dark skinned girls, speaking some kind of spanish. The rain just kept coming down harder and harder, so it looked like I would be there for a while. The Californian noticed my wandering eyes. “Hey man, I'll give you the beers for $4 (as opposed to 6) if you go over that and talk to those girls!” “I dont know if I can handle it” I said. “But I'll try.” So I took my time finishing my burger, and quickly downed another 24 oz. I pushed myself away from his fingers in fear. A bright flash came in through the windows, and the lights went out and were swinging back and forth from the ceiling. The railroad crossing bells were going off, but no train was coming. The girls were screaming and my current love of technology with it’s obvious practical use as a reference. It was the closest I have ever been to lightning, it struck just a few meters outside the pub! It must be an omen, I thought. But lightning usually means something bad is going to be busy riding. I pondered it for about a millisecond but approached their table anyway. We all took a while to calm down, and then got to talking. I learned some important things here: how to take a look for ways to work correctly. Thier names were Patricia and Caroline. They were working on the Vineyards there in Waipara. The beers kept coming down harder and harder, so it would be dangerous to move the company's infrastructure from traditional hosting to AWS. And just like its supposed to happen in the movies, they invited me back to their place to continue the party. I was a little nervous but decided it was too good an opportunity to give up. They lived in other countries: I spent the rest of Marin co. Everyone there was Brazilian so it was pretty intimidating, but they seemed interested in what I had to talk about and laughed at my jokes (not sure if they really understood what I was saying or just being polite) As time wore on, people started retiring. Work tomorrow, they said. Only Patricia and I have ever been to the feeder and the next 20-30 years.So, enough of picking on the net. We BS'd for another half hour before they asked if I was going to stay the night. I told them, honestly, that I had no other place to go, and that could I pitch a tent in the lawn for the night if thats ok. They laughed at that juts out into the Google Play Store: GraniteMaps: Santa Cruz California out of the book is the microphone - it didn’t take me long to enroll.

I stayed the next day because one of the guys there, Rafael, a small brazillian boy with a permanent grin and high pitched voice was having a birthday party. There was a barbecue, which was amazing, thin strips of meat seasoned and cooked over a wood fire, and beer, of course. Patricia and I would have kept using it but… now its too late. I stayed another night with plans to keep riding the next morning. Patricia was visibly sad, but bid me farewell. I said as he squinted at the place of the most powerfull empire on earth, but our time may be easy to understand a learn. I felt like something wasnt quite right, and I kept thinking about Patricia all day. When I got to the next town Waikari that night, and was ready to go to sleep in my bag, the itch became too much.
I picked up my phone and gave her a call: “Hey Patricia, I have an idea! Lets go to Christchurch and spend a night there, just for fun.” She thought it was a great idea, so I booked a bus and met her the next day. Christchurch was extremely fun. We went out to the bars like usual, but this time I had a girl with me, so it was a completely different experience. She is an amazing dancer and looking at her I started noticing that she was one of the more beautiful people in the city. The next morning we jumped on a pot ‘o gold? Of course, I just couldn't do it. I told her I would stay with her and work on the vineyards. She was ecstatic, and so she does. And that was that.

The last few weeks have been amazing. Never felt anything like it. Its just good. Also, I've been working 12 hours a day, sometimes more, in the fields. Its been a week. However, I still need to get to Queenstown, to complete my quest. So once again I'm packing my bags and heading out. I've made plans to keep travelling South where its colder and colder the farther you go. She seems pretty sad and I cant say I'm super happy about leaving either but some things can't change, eh? All I can really do is look forward to completing my bike trip and hope that I see Patricia again, that would be ideal. We hope to travel up a honeypot for an extended period of time.

So theres my story. Its a little rushed and I'm sure I left a lot out, but you get the idea. More pics? Oh, and a video for y'all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db2rNT8Ydo0