Last weekend DH, Son#5, and I had the opportunity to return to DH's childhood stomping ground. DH has always considered this area the most beautiful in New Zealand in which to live, but I've always silently disagreed. It is lovely but I've seen other areas equally lovely. But it did have some advantages that our town is sadly lacking ...
There has been a photo doing the rounds that shows a computer programme loading and then underneath the caption, Programme aborted. Summer could not be loaded in your area. It has certainly felt like that where we live, but this weekend we got to experience summer temperatures (30 degrees Celsius - yay!). It was certainly a treat.
DH was also able to return to some of his childhood haunts. We began with the school ...
And then turned our eyes across the road to these views ...
Whilst away, we took in some sightseeing, watching the sunset from this fabulous peak ...
And while all this was very good, I was especially thrilled that we managed to get a good portion of our Christmas shopping done in less time than it took us to find a car park (we somehow managed to time our entry into town at the same time as the Christmas Parade - and not just this town but two other towns on our journey). Afterwards, DH, who knows my hatred of shopping in general and Christmas shopping in particular (too many people) commented, "That was easy." And it was.
So even though I'm reserving judgement on whether his childhood town is the prettiest in New Zealand, I will willingly admit that it offers the most stress-free shopping experience I have ever known in my life!
There has been a photo doing the rounds that shows a computer programme loading and then underneath the caption, Programme aborted. Summer could not be loaded in your area. It has certainly felt like that where we live, but this weekend we got to experience summer temperatures (30 degrees Celsius - yay!). It was certainly a treat.
DH was also able to return to some of his childhood haunts. We began with the school ...
And then turned our eyes across the road to these views ...
Can you just imagine little schoolboys sitting in class on a hot summer afternoon, bored with geometry or English or whatever subject the teacher was trying to drum into their beads, and gazing out to sea and wishing they were down there on the beach? When I mentioned it to DH and Son#5, the latter said that he daydreams at uni and all he has to look at is a car park! I'm thinking I could have had several under-achievers had they been educated in their father's old school (which may explain why DH's mother said he was a 'late starter' and only begun to flourish at school after the family left the district and he attended a school with less than spectacular views).
We also decided to get in the view ourselves ...
(Please note: I do not have a cardigan on! Okay, it's a weird photo but I haven't been this warm since our trip to South East Asia at the beginning of the year.)
And then returned the next day ... (where Jules stayed in the car feeling yuck due to car sickness and/or sinus infection) ...
And while all this was very good, I was especially thrilled that we managed to get a good portion of our Christmas shopping done in less time than it took us to find a car park (we somehow managed to time our entry into town at the same time as the Christmas Parade - and not just this town but two other towns on our journey). Afterwards, DH, who knows my hatred of shopping in general and Christmas shopping in particular (too many people) commented, "That was easy." And it was.
So even though I'm reserving judgement on whether his childhood town is the prettiest in New Zealand, I will willingly admit that it offers the most stress-free shopping experience I have ever known in my life!
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