Today when I arrived in LAX, I had to buy water to go with my lunch/dinner. And later on, still thirsty, I had to buy another bottle. I didn’t see any water fountains along the way.
In New Zealand, every single place we went into there was either a pitcher or bottle of water with glasses at the ready on the counter or there was a bottle of water with glasses on each table. Free and gladly provided.
You know you’ll get home no matter what when, after a moment’s pondering, you use an earring as a SIM card tool. That’s right. Not bad for a couple hours of sleep.
Next time will be in LA.
Spent part of the day today in Auckland, and no, I didn’t eat the entire time. I could have settled for a quick breakfast in the hotel except they were hosting some horde of hundreds of kids. Mostly boys, a few girls, who knows why? They were being fed family-style in the restaurant which last night meant several of us waited for the dust to clear before attempting to acquire food. The staff looked weary.
Today I gave up on the idea and stashed my suitcase and started off. The street was quiet, it being Sunday. A couple ahead of me were looking for breakfast too. We all went into a very nice looking cafe only to be informed that they don’t serve breakfast on Sunday… I’m not sure where they ended up but I went with a place in a narrow arcade. They served a quite nice breakfast with a good cuppa tea. I took the “add avocado” option, expecting a few slices and got a whole peeled and pitted fruit. Eeks!
Thus fortified I went off in search of the sky tower. Hard to miss it – it’s pretty tall in the landscape. Quite the crowd there already but I got in and up pretty quickly. The elevator had a partially glass floor and gave glimpses of the view as it went up. We all got off at the main observation deck where I grabbed a seat at a newly opened table and sat down. (This walking around stuff was wearing me out this morning.) Ordered another round of tea and sat admiring the view and soaking up the free wifi. Amazing isn’t it when you’re able to hear a friend’s good news, reply to it and get a reply back in real time – back and forth across the world?
Hung out there for awhile taking some photos and then started back towards the hotel. Stopped at a park where the Auckland Art Festival was in full swing. I grabbed a seat along a shady stone wall and enjoyed listening to some live ragtime music and people watching. The sky tower was in view and all of the sudden I saw a row of orange appear near the top. I brought my camera up to ready position! I’d seen the people getting ready to bungy and they were all fitted out with orange jumpsuits (guess they don’t approve of people losing bits of loose clothing on the way down). Sure enough – out came a hand over the edge and there went a jumper.
Although I’d found the couple of jumpers going by the windows as I sipped tea a little disturbing, this was just fun. Other people watched the pigeons and other people and I watched the people crazy enough to jump off this really tall building.
Finally, I walked slowly up the very steep hill and back to the Kiwi and retrieved my suitcase. I sat in the lounge awhile before heading out to get the airbus express back to the airport. Once there I had a really good lunch and ginger beer and figured out what the heck I was supposed to do next. Now I’m ensconced upstairs watching the landscape as the afternoon starts to fade.
This morning Marge and I went to the nearby school gala – rummage and fun fair all rolled into one with a schmear of performances as well. We spent most of the time looking through books and I had to restrain myself – you know – bulging suitcase and weight limit. But I did get handed and go home with a copy of Red Shoes by Elizabeth Smither the 2001 NZ Poet Laureate.
Then it was time to sit on the suitcase and get it into the car (what’s IN there? Not Gingernuts!) and off to see the American Memorial at Queen Elizabeth Park near Paraparaumu. There were a few groups of people enjoying some nearby shade as we looked at the memorial stone and the simple, striking memorial to the US marines and soldiers who were sent there during WWII.
Nearby there are paddocks that were used for close up filming of downed Nazgûl and mûmakil during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Then finally it was off to the Kapiti Airport in Paraparaumu. We waited in the car until the plane actually arrived before going in but we couldn’t delay it anymore – it was time for me to start my journey back home. There and back again as some wise hobbit wrote. It was hard saying goodbye after such a wonderful time spent with my long-time friend but she saw me off and took a few final photos as I went.
Arrived in Auckland in under an hour, figured out where to get the bus to the hotel and here I am thinking about the past three weeks and being so glad to have come.
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
