How could I forget

Looking back over the postings from the trip I realized I forgot the parrot attack.  Yes, you read that right, we (well specifically our van) was attacked by parrots.  Coming back from Milford Sound I saw a parrot running along side the road in one the turn offs.  I was able to ID it as a Kea as we went past.  Shortly there after we came to another turnoff on the road, and this time there was a car parked in it with 2 keas perched on top of the car.  We turned off to get a picture and the birds flew over to our van.  I got out and started taking pictures.  One of them flew down to the door and my mom told me not to let it get in the van.  It apparently heard her and expressed its annoyance by biting the rubber door insulation and taking a pretty good chunk out of it.  You could totally see the resemblance to falcons in the way it bit and twisted.  I decided that it could take my finger off it it wanted, and since I want to keep Aub as a friend of mine (she has a strict policy regarding missing appendages, when you meet her she expects you to keep everything you got on day one), I decided to stop trying to poke it.  Eventually they both went on top of the van, and then as a car drove by one flew over and rode away.  We started driving too, and our bird stayed put for quite a while.  We tried getting a picture of it hanging on to the sky light, but it didn't take in time.  Apparently this behavior is common as their destructive nature regarding cars is noted. 

14 xii 2011 (part 2)
0245- sleeping
0716- almost to my grandpas house in Anaheim
0905- catching up on email
1537- hanging around the house while my parents went to the grocery store

Lunch- Wahoo's steak tacos with rice and beans
Dinner- Green Chile Dish my mom use to make all the time with chile, tortillas, cheese, and meat

Random Fact: At the soda fountain my grandfather worked at in high school they had not hot running water, so dishes had to be washed using water boiled in a bucket.  Apparently the dishes that had had gravy on them were the worst.

It's always nice to be back in the US, especially when you get to visit family along the way.  My grandfather just turned 97, so hearing stories of the past is always an interesting part of the visit.  Today though mostly he wanted to hear about New Zealand- someplace he always wanted to visit but never did (although he use to talk on his HAM radio to lots of New Zealanders).  I'm glad I can point people to this blog for trip details rather than trying to remember (and often forgetting) every story.  It's also amazing how much email I had after 48 hours without internet.