It's crazy to think that "cruising" down to New Zealand has become a regular trip for myself and the SMS crew, but that's how it is. Two days of airport and airplane madness seem to fly by, and perfect East Coast summer days quickly become winter in NZ when the final airplane door is opened. My intention is not to come off jaded here, but to marvel a bit at our fortunate lifestyles.
The entire crew handled the trip like pros, and yet we all arrived in Wanaka full of excitement and chomping at the bit to get our shred on tomorrow. One deviation from the usual in this trip to NZ for me, sadly, was the pillaging of one of my duffel bags somewhere between NY and NZ. Moments after feeling the relief of seeing both my bags arrive in the NZ baggage check I was irked by the fact that my duffel was sliding around the carousel with its back compartment unzipped and wide open. My chagrin increased when said compartment was empty of the two tuning bags, the bag containing all my A/V cords and chargers, and last and least my toiletries bag. As I was in no way notified of a reason for the absence of these items, it was clear that my bag was ransacked. This trip is my reintroduction to work after a nice summer break, and I was already STRUGGLING to maintain my composure. I guess making it safely across the world with 9 high school kids put my loss into a bit of perspective, but these losses were surely tools of my trade and are sorely missed. Oh well, if that is the biggest hurdle in my trip I will be content.
This year's trip is lined up to be one of the best. We have a young, energetic crew that includes new faces. Biba Turnbull and Quincy Court-King are two hungry rippers from Canada and Australia who not only bring talent, but international flare to the team. Guest shredder Ty Walker adds not only energy and skills, but blossoming fame and world-traveler experience. And while on the new addition topic, ROSS POWERS is officially guiding SMS and I we are so stoked to be working with him on his first days at work. This is all quite exciting, yet I haven't even mentioned the rest of the crew which consists of guest coaches Chris Waker, and Pete Davis, seniors Hunter Wood, Kyle Dorfman and Spencer Shaw, and one of the best young female crews led by Serena Shaw and Phoebe Novello.
Before passing over the name of Pete Davis so quickly, let me comment on how much he has already brought to the trip. Aside from taking to guest coaching like a duck to auga, he brings much positive energy and wisdom. His excitement to be here matches the kids and makes me happy to provide the experience for him. More Pete in future trips please!
When we arrived in Wanaka we settled into our first-class condos and purchased food for the week. As I type, Phoebe is fixing our first NZ dinner, which I can smell now. Time to stop typing! As any past reader of the blog can expect, the upcoming days will provide stories which will make for much better blog material.
Bottom line is, the crew is here safe, and what a crew it is!!!!
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