Home again

The best part of a holiday is coming home??
It is for me this time at any rate.  I am now unpacked, washing machine filled and switched on, preparations for back-to-work-tomorrow all complete and the kettle on for a hot drink and some time with a library book.

We went up to Waitangi, three hours north of Auckland and the birth place of our nation.

The view from the flagstaff is amazing even on a grey day.

And on a sunny day the bays look beautiful.

In the evenings I stitched, read and watched TV so all in all it was a great break away.   However sadly, I think these mini-vacations are now too much for the HD3QBEM and we may have change to "stay-cations" from now on.   We shall see.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

This weekend the HD3QBEM and I have been for a road trip down wonderful  Memory Lane.
We went to Waitangi where 73 years ago she had joined in the Centenary celebrations of the signing of The Treaty (our country's founding document).   We found the Centennial Photo Album in the Treaty House so I secretly filmed the two pages that brought back most memories.
This is what she remembers of it then....

And today....

And haven't the fashions changed....

We spent a lot of the day looking back...

And what were the two words I heard most that day .... "I remember.."
It was such a worthwhile visit and brought such a lot of pleasure both to the HD3QBEM and to me.
Then in the afternoon we took a further diversion down memory lane and went past my late grandparents home in Kaikohe.   Obviously the current owners are in renovation mode.

We then went off the main road onto what could definitely be described as a lane: not sealed, just rough dusty stones, and we drove for around five or six kilometres to find her old school.   There was a small river, she said.   And a small hillock.  And a large prosperous farm. And two huge oak trees where we played.   Not in my eyes.   It was dusty, run down, and the only sign of a river were a couple of dilapidated bridges.   Stifling my incredulity we continued driving and then hey presto -  the memories were correct and here was the school house.

Although I couldn't see him there was obviously a very vocal unfriendly bull mastiff behind that gate, so I wasn't going to knock and ask to go see if there was another oak tree and a small river and a hillock.   Thank God for zoom lenses on cameras and for mothers with good memories for the days of 75 years ago and poor eyesight for the current state of dilapidation!
But the trip was not all nostalgia.
We found a yarn store

And a patchwork shop in a cute old cottage

Altogether a most satisfactory road trip.   We are both tired but happy!