Napier week 2 (2017-02-12)

 

We have spent the past week doing a lot of biking and a lot of walking around Napier.  Nothing too exciting....2 circuitous rides to Clive and back, on routes that we had not tried before, and a couple of rides (into the wind in both directions) up to Bay View.  The temperatures have varied from low 30s at the beginning of the week, to mid-teens mid-week, and back into the 30s today.  But somehow we survive.  We also managed a few library visits, for me to retrieve information critical to my family history research (or so I told Marlene), and several meals with cousins, Maureen & Denzil.

 

On one of our walks we spotted this cat, safely on one side of the gate, while the dog stood on the other side, barking his head off.  Cruel!

 

Cat tormenting dog through the gate

It has also been a busy week for our daughter, Heather, and family.  Last weekend they bought a house in Sunshine Hills (Delta), prepared their current house for sale, and by Friday night it was sold.  They do not get possession until May, so we will be home to help.  They are going to be cashtrated for the next few years.

 

Cashtration - a definition

 Until yesterday, we had not seen any cruise ships in the Napier harbour, and then yesterday we saw the Dawn Princess arriving, and today the Noordam was in port when we cycled by on our way to Bay View.  This coming week is Art Deco week in Napier (starts in earnest on Wednesday), so there will probably be cruise ships in harbour on most days.

 

Dawn Princess backing into Napier Harbour

 We will probably not see much of Art Deco week this year, as on Tuesday we have to leave our current home and head out to Taradale for our last week in the area.  We were not able to find one place for all three weeks of our stay.  We have already riden past our "new home" and it looks very nice, but we have been happy in our Napier unit, so are somewhat disappointed to be leaving it.  But we will be away from the tourist throng, and it will give us the opportunity to explore a little further afield on the bikes, so a good outcome.

 

Donald Trump features very frequently in conversation and in the media over here, as I am sure he is where you are also.  The cartoon in yesterday's local paper was particularly apropos.

 

 

Speaking of Donald Trump, I dreamed that I had researched his ancestry, and found that one of his ancestors was a buffalo and another was a baboon....that would explain why he is such a buffoon.