Week 7

A thought for this week: There is little in this world worth more than good friends.

Monday, 25 January 2010

We packed a picnic lunch and set off for the coast and a visit with Ann and Murray Blackwell. The Blackwells (Phyllis's family) farm at Mangamaire near Pahiatua but have a vacation home at Ngawi near Cape Pallisser. The weather was beautiful. When we got out to the Cape, Buzz decided to walk up to the lighthouse. He took the camera with him. When he got to the top (250 steps), he found that the battery was dead. No photos of the cape or of the seals lounging on the rocks. We'll have to go back! Back at the Blackwells, we shared our picnic lunch with them, and they gave us 3 of the 31 crayfish Murray had caught that morning. The crayfish dinner was delectable, and we had an early night. All that sea air makes us tired!

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Tuesday we again packed up our chilly bag with a picnic lunch and drove over the Wainuiomata hill and then out to Eastbourne. At Eastbourne we checked out the shops, found some picnic tables by the sea and had a relaxing lunch watching the activity in the harbour. The afternoon found us in Lower Hutt checking out the shops. In a Dutch shop, I bought a bag full of the largest variety of licorice I have ever seen. A few pieces of each! As always, we went to the 2nd hand and antique stores..not as many as there were a few years ago. On the way home, we stopped to see where Craig (one of the Ross children) lives with his family in Belmont Hills. We were treated to beautiful views of the Hutt Valley and Wellington Harbour. The evening was filled with a BBQ supper and a game of Scrabble. I won!

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

An at home day. I did the laundry, Buzz helped Darcy with some work in the garden, and I got a scone baking lesson from Phyllis. They were delicious, and we had them for morning tea with butter and raspberry jam...what could be better? In the afternoon, Buzz left with Darcy who went to play croquet. Buzz took the opportunity to have a long walk (about 10 miles) back to the house. Silly man.

Thursday, 28 January 2010

We got out our picnic bag once more and headed out for a ride along the Wellington Bays. This beautiful drive along the west side of the Wellington Harbour and out to Cook Strait is fascinating. We stopped to take many photos. Check out the one of the private "lift" to get up to the house at the top of the hill...leaving the car in the driveway or the locked garage at the bottom! We walked a short track to the Marble Burial Memorial of William Fergusson Massey who was Prime Minister for 30 years, and then continued our drive around to Owhiro Bay where there is an excellent information center and the beginning of the Marine Reserve. We had our picnic at the reserve and planned to go to the Botanic Garden next. We found our way to the Garden, but couldn't find a place to park. We drove through and then went to see a few antique shops. As we were walking along, we met Jessica, a Ross granddaughter, near her flat. She invited us in. It is a beautiful two story flat with all mod cons that they rent for about NZ$2700/US$2000 per month. You would never find anything as nice in Boston for that price. tonight we took Darcy and Phyllis out to dinner at the Silver Spoon in Silver Stream. The food was excellent, the company was great.

Friday, 29 January 2010

We packed up our stuff...which seems to be growing...said our good byes, and headed for Feilding. It took us 7 hours (avg 25km/15mi/hour) because we had to stop at every look out and view point and historical marker and second hand store and antique shop we saw as well as taking a short walk to a bridge memorial and stopping in Pahiatua. From Silverstream through Upper Hutt, over the famous Rimutaka Hill through Featherston, Greytown, Carterton, Masterton, Eketahuna, to Pahiatua. Pahiatua was the first place we lived when we came to NZ in 1971. The town has changed considerably. The hospital where Kate and Laura were born is now a convention center! Then on to Woodville, through the Manawatu Gorge, Ashurst, and Colyton to Feilding. We got to Feilding, did some grocery shopping, and settled into a quiet evening back at 3 Woodland Grove. Cathy and Max will be back from their trip on Sunday.

Saturday, 30 January 2010

This morning we went to the New Zealand Dairy Cattle judging at Manfield Park. It was good fun to pick the cows we thought were the best and see how they ranked with the judges. We did pretty well. It is sort of like a school concert though. Only the people whose kids or spouses have entries come, and they leave once their loved one is eliminated or done for the day. Anyway, we had fun. The rest of today is just quiet time. Reading, catching up on the blog, and fish and chips for supper. Sometimes you just need that on vacation.

Sunday, 31 January 2010

Yesterday was a glorious, hot, sunny day. The wind and rain came in overnight. I baked some scones this morning in honor of Cathy and Max coming home. We were planning to go to the "Picnic in the Park " concert this afternoon, but the weather has changed those plans. I'll cook a nice dinner for the returning trravellers.