It's been such a good month (or so) the weather has been terrific! There's been lots to do!! And the blog has waited...
Firstly at the beginning of the month my very bestest friend feels like sister Maxine turned 50. As begets her birthdays now and then over the years I organised a sneaky treat and had her husband abduct her to join us early in the morning swinging through the tree canopies in the Mamaku Ranges not far from here. It was a beautiful day and a fun experience after which we joined family and friends for lunch in town. It was great secretly organising it all and trying not to get caught out :)
Then it was the Bruce Springstein concert. I have never considered myself a fan but I was impressed with both his music and with his on-stage presence. I went up with friends feeling that maybe it was a mistake and had a ball.
Next we had a visit from another great friend who now lives in Sydney. Sam and her family (daughter & husband and 2 children) came over to Max's daughters wedding and did us the honour of coming to stay at our house and we loved it! It was great having a full house and having everyone just bustle about and look after themselves.
Soon after they left my daughter Corrin arrived with gorgeous Miss Georgia, my newest wonderful grandchild. I got to have her for a weekend on my own while Corrin and Adam went to a friends wedding in Tauranga then they came and stayed and I got to enjoy it all for a few days before they whisked off north again.
The next weekend it was WOMAD - World Of Music And Dance - held each year in New Plymouth. I go down every year I can and the last 3 years Max and I have gone. We go down by bus and camp in our $20 tent at the racecourse right next door to the venue, which is set up as a campgrounds. The WOMAD venue is a beautiful park in a gully, a fantastic setting. This year there was a cyclone due over the country. It came right down the middle of NZ but we only got a bit of wind and a smattering of rain luckily. WOMAD is an amazing event with 6 stages operating, 3 stages at any one time. There is music - artists (individuals and groups) from overseas and NZ, workshops, meet the artist, cooking, foodstalls from all over the world, stalls selling all sorts of things, etc etc etc. Three days of it from 5pm Friday until midnight Sunday, all for $200, a bargain!
The following weekend my oldest brother and his wife came to stay, which was great. I can argue with him and he doesn't get mad or frustrated with me and I love his new wife Lijun. We left them to stay in our house the second night and we headed to Napier, in the car because the weather was still bad, to Kent's brother Darrens engagement party to his lovely partner Paula. It was a great and fun party, well worth the trip down. It was great to catch up with Kents parents and also his brother who was down from Whangamata. And hence whilst there the plan was hatched to go the next weekend up to Whangamata to 'The Beach Hop' with Darren and friend.
The Beach Hop is a gathering of classic cars from all over NZ. There is no entry fee for spectators, everyone just descends on the town and the cars drive up and down the main street and get judged for certain catagories etc. There are bands playing on every street corner and everyone is in good humour and out to have a wonderful weekend. The weatherman joined in and granted us the most perfect weekend anyone could have asked for. We rode up on our bikes (Muppet on the tank of my bike) to Kevin's quintessential Kiwi Bach which is perfectly situated to be both close to town and on the route that all the classic cars took around the town and all we had to do was take our chairs out to the grass verge and sit down with a beer and watch them all go by. Yes another wonderful weekend.
That was the month of March! What a wonderful full on fantastic period of time!!!
April has been spent starting the planning of our USA Route 66 trip later in the year. That will have to be another blog on its own. Just to slip in a small hint of our plans - we are hiring (from Gails HD shop in Kansas, they are being so helpful and patient with all our questions) a big Harley Davidson FLHTK Ultra Limited Google that! Well you have to do Route 66 on a Harley don't you?
