In the spring of 2001, I left Yahoo, and Susan and I packed up Molly and Eimile and moved to New Zealand for a few months of quality family time and some much need decompression for me.

We settled down in the small town of Russell, in the Bay of Islands, which is located in the northern tip of the north island. Our days consisted of playing with the kids on the beach, sea kayaking, sleeping and enjoying the fabulous restaurants along The Strand in Russell.

When Jamie came out with her daughter Caelin, they watched the kids for us while Susan and I snuck off to the south island to do the famous Milford Guided Walk.

It was a very civilized trip, with nice accommodations, showers and meals all provided. The trail is well maintained, you can drink from the streams, and the scenery was incredible.

After the 5-day walk, we stayed in a nice hotel. The next day we took a cruise around Milford Sound. We also chartered a helicopter to take us back over the the Milford Track so we could see the route. It also stopped at the top of Southerland Falls so we could peek down the falls from the top.

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