Fate

 

Monday, August 29, 2022

This was 6AM this morning. Truly a picturesque dawn. 

Mom and I ate our apricot strudel and had a cup of coffee for breakfast and set off to take the bus to Greytown. It's known for lots of shops. Though I'm not much of a shopper, mom is on a mission to find a white sweater vest for dad to replace the one he currently has. Love the clouds and just taking in the sound of the birds as we walk into town. 

Is this not gorgeous? I need to find new adjectives and ways to describe what my eyes see and senses are taking in. 

Because we drank so much coffee and hot water at Sage Cottage...I had to go use the restroom. Good thing there are clean public toilets at the town square. We both felt so relieved. Here we are waiting for the 200 bus to come. While waiting, I said to mom, wouldn't it be funny/great if Heni were driving and picked us up? And guess what....?

Our half an hour "private" bus ride with Heni to Greytown was awesome! We learned she has five children. Four daughters and one son. She is Maori native. She's been driving for 17 years and had other jobs prior. She worked in a chocolate factory before. She has 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren? I think.  I sometimes have a hard time understanding her. 1) Accent (or maybe I'm the one with the accent). 2) She was all the way at the front driving. I told her that we'd love to take her out to lunch on her day off. Instead, she offered to take us out to Wellington. She's going to pick us up on Wednesday morning at Sage Cottage driveway at 9AM and we've got a date! So thrilled to meet a new friend. And wow, mom kept saying it's fate that of all the bus drivers on the route picked us up. Heni works from 6AM-5PM. She works 9 hours with some breaks in between. 

Some sights in Greytown. Flowers (the quince is coveted during Lunar New Year), the hotel and a cute house. 

Someone is getting a new toy! Grandchild #10. We picked something that Twixie will NOT destroy in 10 minutes. 

Lunch at Main Street Cafe and Deli. Mom keeps saying: I need to eat something soft. Order something soft for me because I have no teeth. Mom actually has 11 teeth and false teeth. But it's still difficult to chew. Our frittata and chicken pot pie were delicious. 

I couldn't resist checking out the kindergarten and watching the kids play. I didn't take photos of the littles cause I'm not sure I have permission from their parents. The kids were not wearing shoes and socks AND some were in t-shirts! My goodness! Mom kept saying how could the teacher let them go out into the play yard like that? The teacher was wearing long sleeves and a vest. 

You could say there's nothing to do in the town when you go visit the library. But we enjoyed checking out this beautifully laid out bright space and just relaxing in the warm area for 20 minutes before our bus back to Martinborough would come. 

So this display was a bit disturbing to me. "Journey of the New Zealand Founder from UK to NZ." Mmmm, does this remind you of Christopher Columbus and the Native Americans? I think the Maori people would have a different perspective of NZ being "founded."

Mom commented that you couldn't miss this big sign where the bus stops. Mom took a nap on the bus while I looked at all the vast pastures and greenery. Love seeing the sheep!

And we look for free wifi.. at the Union Square Bar and Restaurant. Pretty quiet at 3:00 which is perfect for us. I asked mom if she was "bored" traveling like this. This is slow travel to me- I love it. Meeting different people....talking to the locals...finding out what life is like in New Zealand. 

Today, mom is grateful for:

• seeing Heni again on the bus
• and free Wifi! (she got to use her iPad) She's watching Hong Kong news on the iPad

Today, I'm grateful for:

• not too much pain in my feet
• Victor purchased an international plan for $10/day when I use it. This will help me when I need to navigate/use Google Maps around NZ. Thank you, Victor!
• message/email from KS...notes made me smile! :)

Mom's finished her mocha...I need to finish my cappuccino! 

4:00PM