Napier

The journey to Napier went very well.   The roads in general were much straighter with only one or two passes.   It was great to see the family.   David and Gayle looked just the same but Nathan looked unfamiliar, even though we’ve seen photos of him and seen him on Skype.   Of course babies grow and develop so fast they are different even from day to day.

Gayle made us a Yummy roast dinner and we sat talking till late. 

On Saturday morning we got to experience our first New Zealand earthquake.  http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2012p923684

Then we got to have breakfast on Dave’s company, in exchange for his going in to work and sorting out the system on backup while electricians (Sparkies) installed some new component.   We went to a cafe called Divine Cafe and I had Bacon and egg on Turkish bread with rosemary.   Yummmm!

Then we got taken to a lookout hill where we could see over the port area.

 

On Saturday afternoon we borrowed Dave and Gayle’s bikes and went for a ride around Anderson Park.  We saw ducks being fed and a radio-controlled sailing boat.   At the far end of the park we went to the bakery where Gayle used to work and treated ourselves to cappuccino. 

Then we went to the nearby New World Supermarket and tried our hand at self- checkout.   We put our groceries on the scanner and scan them, then at the end we push checkout and pay and (with trepidation) insert our credit card.   No problems.   Yaay!

Saturday night we watched a DVD “Slum Dog Millionaire” and ate popcorn.   This is the life.  Brian keeps pinching himself to make sure it’s not a dream.

Sunday we went to church and heard about “Defining moments.”   These can be small but can make a large difference.   The people at church were so friendly and we managed to chat to a couple of them.   Sunday afternoon we went to Gareth and Dianna for tea.   Their pure bred boxer was busy giving birth to puppies.   12 by the time we left but we hear there are now 13.   Go Roxy.   Good luck with the single parenting of 13!.

It is so good to see Dave and Gayle as parents.   They are such good parents – as we knew they would be.