We woke up and drove 10 minutes in our pjs to town. We needed to shop and dump before driving 20 minutes to Shantytown – a historic mining village.

As one would expect, bigger towns have larger grocery stores which offer more variety and increase the chances of finding bread and other foods with better ingredients. Interestingly, every store, even if part of the same chain, sell different things.

Andy parked at the beach 2 blocks from New World supermarket and opened the back doors so Laurie and the kids could have views of the ocean.

The breeze meant no bugs so we all enjoyed the refreshing air and sounds of the crashing waves.

Miles really did not want to leave the van so he and Laurie stayed to color and do crafts.

Ani wanted to go with Andy but once in the market she wanted to be carried, refused to sit in the cart (or trolly as they’re called here) and Andy had forgotten her shoes. So after 15 minutes he brought her back to the van.

We had hoped it would be a quick shopping trip since we mainly needed perishables but it still took an hour. Andy is very attentive to making sure we put good quality foods in our bodies so shopping takes time. And since every store sells different things, reading ingredient labels is a continuous task.

It has to be done so Andy does it but Laurie and the kids get impatient. We learned quickly on this trip that it works best when he does the shopping solo.

Laurie and kiddos ate berries, apples and cheese on the bed while watching the waves and people come and go. There is something so special about sitting on a bed with feet nestled in a comforter gazing out at the beautiful world.

Just as Andy was walking back to the van he saw Laurie and the kids clambering out to walk 20 feet to the beach. It took some convincing but Laurie believed this would be the last beach of our trip and wanted to make sure the kids got an opportunity to dig and play if desired.

We spent 90 minutes at the beach. The top layer of the sand was warm but cool sand was found only an inch below. We took turns burying each others legs and building castles.

Andy came down to join after putting away groceries and took Ani to the water. Laurie and Miles started to build a driftwood teepee but Laurie accidentally knocked it over, greatly upsetting Miles. Following the release of strong emotions, we built it again.

After the teepee was made, we stood back once more and had a moment of awe. It felt so cool to gaze at snow capped mountains while our feet were buried in sand.

Once back in the van we shared a second breakfast and eventually around 120pm headed north 4 minutes to the dump. Around 2pm we were finally on the road to Shantytown.

It was past Ani’s nap time, but Laurie kept her engaged and awake as we drove. Unfortunately as we walked up we saw a big puff of smoke rising from behind the front buildings.

Initially we thought there could be a fire but it lessened rather than grew. We realized it was the coal engine of the train, which had just left the station. Biscuits!

After a short stop at the model train exhibit, we walked 5 minutes through a rainforest to the gold panning site. Nobody was there, but a sign said they were out on the train and would return shortly. We wandered around and played games, trying to keep Ani engaged so she didn’t get cranky and crash.

At 2:45 we watched a demonstration of a technique used in gold mining called sluicing. High pressure water was sent into the hillside by a metal fire hydrant and was funneled down through a channel with wooden slatted boards.

Each of these boards sat on top of wool or some other fabric. The theory is that since gold is heavy, it would fall into the slats and get caught in the fabric while dirt and rocks would tumble down the channel or fall off the fabric. This technique was effective but costly both in man power and to the environment.

Finally around 3pm we walked back to the gold mining area. This was the main reason we came and the heat and long wait was making us all cranky.

Once we got to panning, we all started to have fun. And it turns out Andy is a natural gold miner! He helped each kid sift out the dirt and rocks until all that was left in the pan were some sand sized speckles of gold. Each kid got a small vile with their gold as a souvenir and we decided to leave so Ani could finally get her nap.

But as we walked toward the entrance we noticed that the train was leaving in 5 minutes. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to ride on a coal engine, we walked through the waiting room of the makeshift town and onto the 1 car train.

Unfortunately it was running late so we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Ani was starting to lose it. She nursed when we finally took off and was falling asleep as we rode, but got a second wind when the train stopped at the turn around spot.

We walked through the engine car and got to feel the heat of the stove and touch the coal that was going in to power the train.

Once back at the entrance, both kids wanted to play; Miles with the model trains and Ani at the playground. We gave them 15 minutes before a hard stop.

We finally left around 345pm. Once on the road Ani fell asleep almost immediately. At one point she was trying to take bites and chew her bread, butter and honey with her eyes closed. It’s the cutest thing when she tries to do this.

We drove south for a short bit, then turned inland and east toward Christchurch.

The road to the town of Arthur’s Pass, and the pass itself felt like the passes we’re used to; steep climbs up twisty roads that are narrow and exposed.

The kids were asleep as we crested the pass under stormy skies. It was wet and windy but we stopped at the top m to get a view of a spectacular bridge and were met with a strong wind and 2 friendly Kea birds.

These mountain parrots were the same type of bird that was pecking at our windshield in Milford Sound.

Both kids slept until we got to camp at 6pm. We had said we were not going to let them take late naps but their bodies and minds needed the extra sleep so we’re ok with it and will give them grace to ensure night time isn’t a struggle.

Camp tonight was at Klondyke Corner, a DOC operated campsite on the shores of the Bealy River with plenty of space for people to spread out.

Laurie got out another toy surprise for the kids shortly after we parked at camp – cling on decorations. She didn’t think it would be a hit but the kids were engaged and played for an hour with them. First by themselves, then together.

We ate mac and cheese for dinner with minced bacon Andy bought from the butcher the day before. It was a hearty and filling meal. Andy used gouda in the mac and cheese, which happens to be a great cheese for this application.

The kiddos drank two servings of apple and blueberry juice with dinner, then played more until it was time for bed around 10pm.

From the moment we parked at camp, Ani asked Andy to go outside. As much as Andy wanted to go outside himself and take Ani with him, he didn’t want the plethora of sandflies to come in.

Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered because we killed 15 sandflies in the 20 minutes or so before bed. We saw zero since being at camp from 630pm until 10pm. Where did they all come from?

We have a few theories, including the sandflies hiding in the gaps in the windows and coming out when it gets dark after we turn on the bright interior lights.

But why would they wait until right before bed? Those lights were on for at least two hours. We give up trying to figure out where they are coming in from and just want to make it through the next two days and return the van.

At 11pm Ani was all of a sudden afraid of monsters being in Blue Wave. To put her at ease, we turned on a few lights and conducted a monster check.

After she felt better about the van being monster free, we listened to piano music for 2nd night in a row as we all dosed off to sleep.

This is our 2nd to last night in the van. Andy and Laurie are ready to be done getting bitten by pesky flies and Miles is ready to play with his toy ambulance Avi.

Ani seems to just be going along with whatever as long as she gets sweet treats and “bootie”. But Miles is a week past his limit for how long we can travel before he yearns to be back home.

Andy and Laurie were up until 230am hunting down a mosquito. They were unsuccessful and gave up the hunt with hopes it was a male mosquito and would not bite them.

We are very much over the biting pests. Andy always looks for a silver lining in every situation and is grateful the kids have been bitten considerably less than us. He is also grateful for our camper at home – for its ventilation and many screens that keep the bugs out.

We were all awake around 915am, some of us feeling more groggy than others. Our routine lately has been Andy getting out of bed first, usually because he’s too warm in the top bed. Then the kids push the button to send the bed up to daytime mode and sit more comfortably on the bottom bed and draw, read or make foil art.

We left camp around 11am and drove toward Whataroa River with a campsite along its shores.

It was only 40 minutes from our camp the night before so we didn’t need a spot to land that early, but Andy was intrigued by the location and it wasn’t too far out of the way.

It reminded him of dispersed camping back home – no toilets, no facilities of any kind. Just a spot by the river on public land. It seemed idyllic on paper.

This little excursion was a win-win-win. Andy enjoyed driving down side roads that turned to dirt and became more rural, the kids loved climbing on sand and rock piles where we parked and Laurie was just happy that everyone was enjoying themselves and not wanting much from her for a little while.

We ate a late breakfast and went down to the water. The kids dug along the shores of the river while Andy submerged his body on three different occasions and Laurie just once. The water was very refreshing under the intense sun so the numbness from the cold didn’t last long.

All was well and we were enjoying the moment until Ani ignored Miles’ multiple requests to dig somewhere else and leave his space.

Unfortunately Miles hit Ani’s shovel full of sand with his, sending all of the sand from her shovel flying into her face. The laughter and lightness quickly turned into yelling and crying. It was a sour ending to a fun few hours by the river.

Once everyone was calm and we were all in a better place, we buckled up and hit the road once more.

Andy has been doing research each night using Google Maps. We’ve had reception a lot of the time at camp but even when we didn’t, he’s been able to map out the following day using points of interest he sees on the offline maps.

The next stop today was Thomson Homekill. We think and hope this is a butcher, but only time will tell. Google maps had no pictures, description or website, but there were enough positive reviews to be compelling.

We enjoyed the pretty drive with snow on distant mountain tops. The road then twisted through rainforest and many scenic reserves.

Once out of the rainforest, we crossed many bridges over beautiful rivers. Speaking of, the rivers in this area were stunning.

After driving past one in particular and commenting how pretty and blue the water was, we turned around and went back to take a closer look. Turns out this was the Whataroa River, the same water we dipped in earlier in the day, now at a different point in its journey. The incredible turquoise water with snow capped mountains in the distance was incredibly picturesque.

After soaking in the views of the river while Ani slept, we turned our barge around and headed north again.

Shortly after we arrived at Thompson Homekill, which turned out to be a butcher after all. People inside were purchasing a leg of lamb and other light, summery foods in preparation for Christmas.

Obviously this is a joke, but we still can’t get used to Christmas in the summertime. Andy bought 2 packages of minced bacon, the only non-frozen food in their fridge that didn’t have preservatives in it and we were back on the road.

As per usual on this trip, our slow mornings led to us arriving at destinations later than ideal so we skipped the planned treetop walk and went to the Hokitika Gorge instead.

The treetop walk looked interesting but we didn’t want to pay a lot of money for only 30 minutes there. The gorge however, required 30 more minutes of driving, but we wouldn’t be under a time crunch.

The trail through to the gorge was a wide, gentle path that led us through a beautiful tropical rainforest. It was a busy trail too, with good reason. This is a family friendly hike that almost everyone can do without much assistance.

At one point we spotted a rather large bird on a branch right over our heads but before we could attempt to identify it, it flew away. The kids ran on the path being controlled like remote controlled cars and powered by gummies and a Clif bar.

Laurie and Andy were annoyed with Miles for getting in Ani’s space and blocking the line like another kid does in his school. This irritated all of us, particularly Andy who was still harboring some resentment from the incident at the riverbed earlier in the day.

We did our best to breathe and calm ourselves all the while distracting Miles by commanding him to do various things as a remote controlled car.

It worked well and after about 20 minutes we arrived at a really cool and wobbly suspension bridge with amazing turquoise water flowing through the impressive rock-walled canyon below.

It was so pretty, we were glad we took the 30 minute detour.

On the hike back the kids continued to eat their respective snacks. Ani was willing and wanted to share her Clif bar (because she really wanted gummies) but Miles would not (because he didn’t want any of Ani’s Clif bar).

Once back at Blue Wave Andy looked at the map and saw a place called Sunset Point in Hokitika. Wanting a place to cook with potential for more wind, and for the camper to be cooler at camp, we headed there to cook dinner.

It was a great spot and we were not alone! Many people were walking toward the point to catch the sunset. There were also a few black bunnies. Of course the bunnies in New Zealand would be black 🙂

After dinner, we walked to the beach and caught the sunset with beautiful, snow capped mountains in the distance. Miles really wanted Andy to race so they raced twice on the way back to Blue Wave, Ani winning one of them thanks to her head start.

We drove to camp under a pink and orange sky, beating yesterday’s record for arriving to camp the latest yet – 925pm.

We really like doing things before we get to camp so that when we stop for the night we do not open windows or doors to minimize bugs coming in.

We drive with the screens taped to the outside windows to accomplish this, but tonight we didn’t even bother opening the windows. It was cool enough and we were tired enough to just want to go to bed. At least the adults were.

More on that in a bit, but first the drive into our camp at Lake Mahinapua was especially magical and noteworthy. We turned off of State Highway 6 into a pitch black forest. It was such a contrast to the fading light we left behind on the highway.

After 30 seconds or so, we emerged into the remaining light once again and the lake came into view. The camping area, which was a large open field that could easily be mistaken for a rugby or soccer field, was filled with vans of all shapes and sizes. We picked a level spot and called it home.

Laurie was ready for sleep but alas, fate had in store for us the familiar struggles with bedtime routines first. Miles and Ani were being rascals and Laurie was getting really annoyed.

They were climbing on her, bumping into her, laughing carelessly when she asked for space and also when she asked them to stop jumping on her.

Miles was the instigator and Ani followed everything he did. It takes a lot for Laurie to lose her cool but tonight she was beat and her reserves were running low.

After many threats they finally calmed down and layed in bed. Miles requested piano music. Two minutes later everyone was asleep around 11pm.

We’re hoping for a restful night with no interruptions or bites.

Woke up around 915am. It was already warm. All were bitten multiple times last night, including the kids. We believe it was the work of just one sandfly.

Sandflies can’t see at night so they usually don’t bite during the darkest hours, but this sandfly happened to be at the right place at the right time.

After reading more about them, sandflies are also known as black flies and the females draw blood and feed on it to produce more eggs, similar to mosquitoes.

We ate breakfast while people watching our neighbors playing soccer and doing yoga. We continue to question how others leave their van doors open and bask in the outdoors with the presence of these annoying bugs.

Have we turned that soft? We simply don’t want to cover ourselves or the kids with Deet and believe this is the biggest difference between us and everyone else.

On the boat ride at Milford Sound we saw someone spraying themselves from head to toe, literally. Then closing her eyes and spraying her hair and face.

No thank you.

Around 11am we finally left camp. Our first stop was 20 minutes away at Māori Beach. The kids were excited to dig with their shovels and make sandcastles.

They had lots of fun with Andy while Laurie took a few minutes cleaning the floor of the van. We do our best to keep shoes near the door but sand and dirt keep migrating all over and eventually end up on the sheets which is not fun at bedtime.

Eventually we made our way to the water and waited for the waves of the Tasman Sea to crash into us.

Predictably Miles was hesitant at first but when the three of us went, he came too. And also predictably, he had the most fun.

Miles enjoyed dada picking him up with one arm like a dumbbell when big waves came. Ani was content in mama’s arms. Then mama and dada lifted Miles up together to avoid big waves. Ani was still content in mama’s arms. Miles was having so much fun, it was lovely to hear his giggles and see his mannerisms pretending to fight the ocean monsters.

The temperature of the water was so pleasant. What was not so pleasant were the waves bringing rocks with them. Compared to the sandy beaches in the north, the West Coast has rocky beaches. This beach in particular had beautiful white rocks, some of which we collected to bring home.

The rocks were fun to look at, particularly when wet because the colors would pop so much. But the rocks hitting our feet with each wave didn’t feel particularly good.

After about 30 minutes in the water, a larger rock hit Andy on the inside of his ankle. This was our signal that we had overstayed our welcome and it was time to go.

Ani was also tired because it was around 130pm and she wanted to nurse and go to sleep. Naturally it took some convincing for Miles to leave the beach but we gathered our stuff and climbed the rocks back to the van parked at a pullout 100ft or so behind an ice cream shack. Thankfully Laurie nor the kiddos noticed it.

We ate lunch consisting of smoked salmon, cheese, crackers and apples while listening to the sounds of the crashing waves. Eventually, around 215pm we got in our seats and headed inland.

Miles rode shotgun and Laurie sat next to Ani, who peacefully fell asleep for her afternoon nap.

Thirty minutes later we turned on to Gillespie Beach Road in hopes of seeing Fox Glacier from a viewpoint.

Our initial plan was to camp at Gillespie Beach where apparently you can see the glacier while standing on the beach. While seeing both an ocean and a glacier without moving our feet sounded spectacular, it made for a very long drive the following day.

Time spent in car seats are some of the most challenging moments of travel for us so we like to spread it out. We figured we’d get to Franz Josef today and take care of the town chores and hopefully see another glacier.

As the road turned right and became gravel, Laurie spotted Fox Glacier peeking through below the clouds. Andy parked and got out to get a closer look. Laurie stayed behind since Ani was sleeping and Miles wanted something to eat.

We didn’t stay there very long because we didn’t want Ani to wake up. The glacier was a nice surprise as we didn’t think we’d see it given the afternoon cloud cover.

Not so surprisingly, these mountains share traits with other mountains around the world. Mornings tend to be clear, clouds gather in the afternoon, and eventually disperse an hour or so before sunset, gifting those lucky enough to be watching them a magnificent sunset.

What’s different about New Zealand though is that these glaciers are visible from the ocean! This country is just on another level of spectacular. Oceans and beaches give way to rainforests which have glaciers as their backdrop.

And that’s just the West Coast of the South Island! Every part of this country offers something special and is very unique. We have been in awe every day.

There have been many times when our awe has been overshadowed by sandflies or mosquitoes but we know that when we look back at this trip in the years to come, we’re not going to remember the itching and late nights as much as we will the stunning landscape and how the kids appreciated and immersed themselves in it.

The twisty road with hairpin turns through the rainforest led us to Franz Josef 40 minutes after leaving Fox Glacier. Ani woke up just as we pulled into town and parked at the playground.

Miles stayed behind with Laurie for a moment while Andy and Ani went to the playground. Ani went up the steps and just as she was about to go down the slide, a boy Miles’ age came up the slide and started pushing Ani around.

Andy moved the kid away from Ani and asked him politely not to push her around. He continued to try to push her and get in her space. Ani was scared at this point so Andy removed her from the slide. The kid’s mother finally came over to speak to him after she lifted her head and peeled herself away from her phone. He wasn’t listening to her either so she removed him from the playground momentarily.

Andy held Ani, who just wanted to leave, but Andy explained to her that kids can be rough and he would keep her safe.

Miles and Laurie arrived and Ani stared running after Miles and tried copying whatever he did. This was just the distraction and redirection Ani needed.

Laurie played with the kiddos for a few minutes while Andy went to check out the dump. He returned and tagged out Laurie so she could shower.

The shower was not getting hot. At first we realized the propane was not on. But Laurie still was not getting hot water.

Remembering what tech support had said when this happened 5 or so days ago, Andy reset the circuit breaker and voilah, we had hot water again.

Miles was hot and didn’t want to go back to the playground. Andy and the kids read a few books while Laurie finished her shower, with neither kid unsurprisingly wanting to join Laurie in the shower.

The wet bath is small and gets very steamy during a shower and stays quite steamy afterwards. Unless you leave the bathroom door open, then the whole van gets steamy and hot. We may not have mentioned this but there’s no fan or even a vent in the bathroom.

Neither kid liked the warm air initially but Miles did enjoy standing on the toilet and feeling the warm water splash on him ONCE he got in.

Andy and the kiddos read Goodnight Moon to the continuous backdrop of helicopters flying by. Helicopter tours are very popular here. Some even drop you off at the foot of the glaciers for you to hike on them.

The kids didn’t want to go back to the playground, which was not only exposed but small, wet and a bit run down, so they chose to stay in the van with Laurie while Andy dumped the tanks and filled up the fresh water tank.

As Andy pulled up to the dump he couldn’t hold back his frustration with a hipster-type camper washing his socks, feet, hair and face at the fresh water spigot.

New Zealand has public showers available in many places. This was the first time we’ve seen this type of behavior at a filling area and we know this is probably uncommon but seeing someone improperly using a service that so many rely on was infuriating.

Andy dumped the grey tanks and the cassette toilet. As he tried to turn around to fill the water, which is on the other side of the van, another campervan showed up. Thankfully they pulled far enough forward that Andy could fill the fresh water tank.

With that done, Andy hurriedly put the hoses and gloves away and got in the van as fast as he could to minimize the number of sandflies that followed him in.

Andy got eaten alive. He was in flip flops, t shirt and shorts. That’s the last time he would be doing that.

After Miles helped Andy fill up on diesel, we parked a block away and went to the 4 Square supermarket.

Similar to diesel, groceries cost more in this remote town. The selection at the grocery store wasn’t to our liking either so we bought a few essentials and headed for camp.

We were only 15 minutes from camp but remembering how nice it was the day before to cook before getting to camp, Laurie saw a turnoff to a lake, which we took so Andy could cook and Laurie and the kids could enjoy more time by the water.

While standing on the dock, Laurie chatted with a gal who was slowly entering the lake for a swim. She and her husband were from North Carolina and were traveling for 2 weeks.

We both agreed that one needed at least 3 weeks to fully appreciate the diversity of this island. The lady grimaced at one point, admitting to seeing 2 eels as she walked deeper in the water.

Laurie could never imagine swimming knowing there were eels around and gave the gal a lot of credit for doing so.

The kids occupied themselves by throwing rocks and sticks in the water. With help from the couple, we saw one of the eels swimming below us.

All the while Andy cooked rice, tortellini and chicken with carrots, broccoli and red bell peppers for dinner. Even though the windows were open and the fan over the burners was on, it was very hot in the van when everyone returned.

Miles ate some tortellini, and eventually so did Ani. Andy needed a shower and decided to take one. We also decided that since we had accidentally bought bone-in chicken thighs and now had raw chicken in a paper bag along with our other trash, we would drive the 10 minutes back to town, dump the grey water again, top off the fresh water, throw away our trash and then head to camp.

Andy wore pants and shoes this time to dump and fill. Thankfully he had a breeze too. While he was filling he left the engine running so the kids could pretend drive. We’ve mentioned how much they like doing this, especially Miles. They especially like see-sawing the steering wheel, a lot.

Well, it just so happens that the tar layed down at the dump was very soft. Couple that with the weight of the van and the hard tires, big chunks of gravel and tar had stuck to both front tires. Driving on the paved road felt like driving on a washboard gravel road. Laurie thought we had a flat tire.

Andy knew exactly what the issue was so he parked on the side of the road and found a stick to remove the gum-like tar stuck on both front tires. It took some doing but he cleared off enough of the tar so that the driving experience was acceptable.

Driving into town we had noticed an excavator and made a note to stop by there to get a closer view of Franz Josef Glacier now that the clouds were parting.

We turned into the gravel entrance to find a very large river bed with a lot of construction going on. We drove to a rise in the road and parked.

The kids wanted dada to control them with his remote so he did and they ran and ran. Just after Laurie said to Andy, “I really hope neither of them faceplants here” Miles tried to make a quick change of direction and fell.

Thankfully he was ok. The glacier and the Minarets were both in view and very stunning. Miles really wanted Andy to race him from the dump truck to the steamroller but Andy had recently showered and really didn’t want to sweat.

But how could he say no to a 5 year old boy who needed to run out his energy before winding down for the evening?

The race was on!

Miles and Andy gave Ani a ten second head start and then they were off. Miles is very fast. But he’s still no match for Andy, who kept it close.

Laurie and Ani eventually caught up to the boys and we attempted to take a family photo. As we were saying cheese, the town’s tsunami warning siren went off.

It was loud and startled us all. Andy told the kids what the sound usually means and that it was probably a test the town was conducting. But it was 820pm and a very odd time to be testing the sirens.

Miles was really scared by the sudden alarm. Despite Andy reassuring him that he would be ok and if there was any danger we would keep him safe, he kept asking about the alarm. Miles may have heard our words but the scare remained inside him.

Andy checked to see if there were any earthquakes reported at that time but found nothing.

Around midnight, Andy was still awake and scratching his many bites. He looked it up again and read an article from the New Zealand Herald about a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that had struck near the island of Vanuatu around 2:45pm.

The article mentioned that at 3:54pm New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency officially stated that the earthquake posed no tsunami threat to New Zealand.

The siren remains baffling to Andy.

We arrived at camp the latest of the trip. At 850pm we rolled in to Otto/Mcdonald’s camping area. Otto’s loop was quite full so we went to McDonald’s and found many sites available.

Andy pulled into a very flat and level parking spot which for the Kiwis is a camp spot and called it home.

With dinner made there wasn’t much to do, so we relaxed and ate. Ani ate a good amount of rice, chicken, carrots and broccoli while Miles ate cheesy bread we had bought from the market earlier in the day.

Laurie started to consolidate our food and empty out a drawer that had a broken locking mechanism. We discovered this on our early days and taped it shut.

The kiddos saw the snacks and wanted everything in sight. Andy laughed because it looked like they either had the munchies or we just weren’t feeding them enough. Or most likely, they just wanted sweet treats!

They ate a mixture of snacks from New Zealand and home, consisting of fruit leathers, Justin’s white chocolate and peanut butter cups, pea crisps, more fruit leather and apple sauce.

Once full, the kids played doctor and helped Laurie put bandages on the self inflicted open wounds on the top of her left foot from scratching the bites way too viciously.

After the normal power struggle of trying to get pjs on, brush teeth and pee, Laurie read them books while Andy hunted for sandflies.

We know there’s at least one in the van and we hope it leaves us alone tonight.