Unfortunately i am no longer on holiday. Back to work today, technically, as i have to get my ass in to gear for the martinborough fair - now only three weeks away! uh oh!
The boy and i headed away on our little summer meander a bit sooner than we planned. It was a case of, um we're not doing much but sitting around, so why don't we go sit around somewhere else? Like New Plymouth for instance? And then Tim got a bit confused between Napier and New Plymouth as he knew of some people heading east, so we went there too.
It was the most relaxing fabulous time. Apart from all the freaking crazy drivers that were out. I am constantly flabbergasted at the amount of people who believe that 100ks an hour is too slow. One of my agreements with Tim was no speeding, and he stuck to it, most of the time. I honestly can't understand speeding for several reasons:
1. It uses something like 13% or more fuel than if you stayed at 100. And the petrol prices aren't going down, that's for sure. Let's save the planet eh?
2. You have to brake a whole lot harder for corners. More petrol, people?
3. I have known too many, and seen too many accidents due to excessive speed. Why do drivers thinks that being one position further up the line of cars is going to get them somewhere faster? Unbelieveable.
4. Why work yourself up at the need to go faster and then get stuck behind slow cars/trucks/trailers/tractors. How about relaxing and looking at that beautiful, beautiful scenery instead? (while still paying attention, of course).
anyway, rant over.
We managed to stop every few towns on our travels and check out the second hand shops. It was interesting. Tim has revived his vinyl addiction and seems to acquire a huge new pile at every place we go. I seem to have got more selective in my choices. I scored some great old girls' annuals, and another polaroid. But there didn't seem to be much around of what i really wanted - great fabric. I'm trying to avoid picking up too many things that clutter my life at the moment. It's getting to rationalise buying things like beautiful ceramics that realistically, are just going to sit around gathering dust. Instead, i'm going to try and save some money this year - i was very tempted by real estate in the 'naki!
We picked up a couple real estate brochures and some of the house prices were just incredible, compared to what we're used to here in Wellington. Houses that go for around $400k here were about $250-300 there. There are still many around, that are perfectly decent, for $170 odd thousand. And i still love Taranaki even though i only lived there til i was 8. That majestic mountain, the moody black sand beaches, the wide, wide streets. The art. Pukekura park. It's too beautiful for words.
I treated tim to all the usual naki sights - we went up the mountain, to the park for the lights (the neon section, sadly, isn't the same without the neon gravel. that was magic when i was 7), the bowl of brooklands, my old school (it still has the giant tree that i was always petrified would fall on the school with all the kids inside), my old church with the Michael Smithers murals. And we took loads of evening walks along the beach...
our road to Napier was endless - because we kept stopping for second hand shops. Typically, one of us would spot one, yell shop! the other would say, do you want to? the answer was always yes. And we'd walk out with more vinyl...
We stayed out at Waipatiki beach - tim's pick, from the advertising photo. He didn't realise it was 30k out of Napier, but by the time we got there, it didn't matter - it was the most amazing place. White sand beach, decent but not intimidating waves for our swims. The sun dropped behind a cliff in the evening to relieve us from the heat (which was pretty full on). We had a potter round in Napier itself, taking photos of buildings, looking at antiques (as you do). And the today we had to come home...which meant last night i started thinking. Of all the things i have to do in the next three weeks. Find or make a dress for the wedding. Make a load of stock for martinborough fair. Find a new flat. Pack up current flat. Attempt to find a way to pay for dress/hair cut/flat moving/wedding shoes all before Martinborough fair (if only it was after the fair).
So i should go and get on to it. Dishes need doing. Dinner needs cooking. Embroidery needs to be done. Sigh. Holiday is over. Back to work on monday...Hopefully before then i will do a new year's goals post. And add some photos!
