We woke to a cloudy, misty day today, one of the first we've seen like this but it's hard to complain since the land around here is in such desperate need of rain. Our plans were to walk to the city and take the bus to Mission Bay. First though, the baker at the Tart Bakery in the nearby community of Grey Lynn promised to bake some apricot scones for Stan today. We walked there and sure enough, there she was with the biggest most luscious scones you have ever seen - and made especially for Stan! Three of them cost $11.00 but who is counting. Once you get started on one of those babies, it is very, very hard to stop! Plus it was simply great visiting just once more with the fine and fun folks who run that shop. Seems they spent the prior evening coming up with Atlanta and USA trivia that they wanted to run past us for confirmation. Ha!

The damp weather just seemed to remain persistent so we decided to push it aside and resume our beach plans. By the time we walked to city center we were thoroughly misted but we went ahead and caught the bus to Mission Bay. Not a good day for sunning or swimming but we did enjoy visiting with others who like us moved from park benches to shelters when the mist became drizzle. We chatted for a long time with a young mom with two kids who were burning off their Wheaties on bikes. Kids here and in so many other places we have visited love and get great use of their Razors, but folks around here start the kids out young. By the time a kid is three, he is put on a wooden balance bike, if you will, with no pedals. The youngster gets the hang of the bike by simply pushing with his feet and gliding. Virtually all kids here get around on a scooter/razor, this little balance/running bike or a skateboard. Only older guys ride actual bikes.

The little family who got me on this topic consisted of the mom, the daughter who was about 7 and a son, Liam, who is 3. Liam was tough. He rode that balance bike like a motorcycle. He reminded us of our little Lance. And when he drove past, he gave us the eye in a very teasing way and growled like a lion, not once but many times. When we finally asked him his name, though, at first he said "Dog!," and growled again. Shocked, we asked "Dog???" Then he rethought and said "No!! Giraffe—a really big one!!" Stan and I both agreed that if we had ever had a little boy, we would want him to be like Liam!

We ended up having lunch in Mission Bay and then headed back to Ponsonby, our little section of Auckland, to relax, do laundry, pack luggage and get ready for a 7 am flight tomorrow to Cairns, Australia (Cans, as the name is pronounced here) to begin the last 10 days of this journey. I'm a little sad; this is a good place.

Gosh . . . I'm really in dire need of a mani & pedi!