Week three update ...

Yep, its been three weeks since we arrived. Time does move at a fairly fast rate. A few more trivia facts about NZ to commemorate this week

• Roundabouts are awesome. Not sure why the US does not have them, but they make traffic flow so much smoother and faster in low density areas. I suspect its significantly better than a stop sign even in medium traffic but probably worse than traffic lights?
• Very few homes in Nelson (and probably NZ) have a dryer. So you wash your clothes in the washing machine on a non-rainy day and hang your clothes on the drying lines. Quite a fun activity with the kids
• Most of the roads are fairly windy and max speed is 100 km/hr (62 miles/hr). In general your average speed is more like 60-70 kmph ( 40 mph) since most roads are 2 lanes. A fair number of vehicles are towing something behind them (boat, additional gear)
• Things have changed significantly since our first visit. There are more shops open on weekends past 3:00 pm. Previously most shops would be closed on Sundays. The large chains operate 7 days a week
• Its a good place for kids. In every small town, there will be a good playground, public restrooms and most likely a swimming pool or a swimming hole (if a river runs thru town)
• I have some strange problems with my cell phone. Our current phone works in the Nelson area but did not work in Blenheim and does not work downtown :(. Mari's phone which has been unlocked does not work at all. Any tips to debug the hardware/software would be appreciated :)
• Dec/Jan seem to be peak tourist months with spots booked weeks/months in advance. Guess we'll be spending time in Nelson and surrondings over the next month. I'm hoping to start taking some big boat sailing lessons in the New year.
• Last item on our TODO list is to get us some bikes so we can go on a long bike ride and find some longer term help for the kids (so we can get work done)