Terry's Birthday

We were invited for 'a lazy Sunday afternoon' to help Terry to celebrate his birthday. It was such a beautiful, sunny winter's day, and Lucy's house was well suited for the occasion.



Jonathan Acorn was there with his bag of tricks to amuse children and adults alike.



Djim, Terry and Acorn kept us entertained throughout the afternoon.



It was lovely to catch up with the Grandies.

Trip to Whitianga

We've been taking our 'weekends' mid week, lately as Doug always seems to be working over the weekends. We were happy to postpone if the weather stayed yuk, but it seemed to perk up Wednesday, so off we went.

Our first port of call was Cambridge, to collect a power steering system for the MX5. WE had to wait for a while so we amused ourselves by eating our lunch, and listening to the tuis.



Back on the road again, we pointed the car towards Whitianga travelling through Morrinsville, and Te Aroha.



We arrived at Whitianga at 3 o'clock and soon found our motel. It was comfortable, and in a quiet location. After unloading our stuff, we set off to explore Whitianga. We were quite surprised at how large the town is. It was nice to come across the Verissimos, also enjoying a bit of a stroll.

We had hoped that we might be able to have a stroll on the beach the next morning, but awoke to a drizzly day. What a shame - the beach must be lovely on a fine day. We located where Robert's rental property is, then began our journey home.



We decided to go home via Coromandal. It was a slow trip in places. We called in at Coromandel and had a walk around - reminiscing about those 'sailing days' when we used to come across from Waiheke and anchor up in Peacock Bay.



Here is where we used to land our dingy after rowing in from Juliet.

A visit to Thames wouldn't be complete without locating the plum tree, and a visit to the hot bread shop.





This photo was taken for Kristina - sadly the shop was shut.

Soon, another excuse to 'swing the lamp' Aputu Avenue at Te Puru. The old bach has long gone, and this flash lockwood is now on the site. I bet the neighbours hated that going up. The plum tree has gone..........






Our final stop, before home, was Thames. We drove up to the War Memorial to eat our lunch and admire the view, then had a quick look at the town. Thames shops looked busy and more alive, than on a previous visit.