Off to the South Island!

 I had one bit of excitement early Friday morning when I thought I  felt the earth move! Later Mike did confirm that there had been an earthquake  - he slept through it!

Just as we were about to make a rather early departure to the port a message came in to say that the sailing was delayed by an hour - no reason why! Finally at the port there was another hour delay! It was a bitterly cold morning, just to add to our discomfort!

Once on board the temperature improved marginally! The 3.5 hour journey was uneventful and the sun made an appearance! It was rough for a short time but it is such a scenic journey that it didn't matter.

We headed to Blenheim which wasn't too far but is in wine country.

Mike had organised bikes, electric of course, for our cycling tour through the vineyards. I was a little nervous about the bike but once I got the idea that I didn't have to get my leg over the panniers and needed to bend my knee to get on the thing I was fine!!! It was bitterly cold but that wasn't going to stop us!

We visited three wineries. Thankfully the first one had an open fire and we thawed out sipping the fruits of the vine. The lady, telling us about the wines, actually came from near where we grew up - small world!

Once more into the cold and onto the next vineyard.

I am not a white wine drinker - doesn't seem to agree with me - but I tried a couple of Rieslings and they were delicious!

Back onto the bikes once again - managed to knock the bike into turbo and off I went!!

 This vineyard only produced organic reds and they were pretty good. The owner was a collector of corkscrews and there were hundreds on display!

It was time to head back as I fancied checking out the gin distillery. Mike suddenly pulled into another vineyard where they produced sparkling wine. We were taking off the biking kit and chaining up the bikes when we decided to give it a miss. It was back on with all the gear and I was laughing so much I couldn't get on the bike - well get my leg over the bar! At that moment the owner comes to the door and says, "Are you coming in or not?" We told her we didn't  have enough time. Meanwhile I'm still trying to get on the bike, laughing so much that it was impossible for me to sensibly get on it. The lady is back at the door, with her customers looking on and laughing at my antics and she shouts, " Do you want me to hold the bike?". 

Mike was no help he just peddled away laughing! At least I made some people laugh - probably put then off taking a cycling tour!With one huge effort I managed to get myself on and off we went to the gin distillery. Where I tried a couple of rather interesting  gins.

It was a fabulous day, lots of fun, although parts of my anatomy were glad when I finally dismounted! Might have to bring a cushion for the saddle next time! I  look forward to touring around the vineyards again as there were so many we didn't get to!

Arrived Wellington.

 Tuesday was a total wash out! Continual, torrential rain all day!!

We went for a drive hoping to see 1 - Mt Taranaki and 2 - the rain abating. Neither happened!

We found a cafe open from 10 - 3. Looking forward to some lunch - we'll it was 1:45 - we dashed inside. Once inside we were told that the kitchen was closed! - I  burst out laughing because this seems to be a general thread running through the cafes here! We were able to have 'food from the cabinet' i.e. sausage roll or cakes. We did get a cuppa but by the time we were half way through our food the staff had their coats on and refused to serve a couple a takeaway coffee as 'the coffee machine had just been cleaned'! Has the world gone mad or just here?

After this excitement we had an afternoon of relaxing and reading!

Wednesday Mike and I headed for Wellington. Long drive through heavy rain. We were able to find a cafe with the kitchen Open so were able to have breakfast!

Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we reached Wellington.

A walk around the water front and up into the city, with a stop for a G&T, gave us enough appetite to search for food. I was amazed that on a Wednesday evening the restaurants were full!

No this is not Mike!

We had an exciting (?) moment at 3:30am when we met the locals.

Nothing worse than a false alarm standing in the rain. Being a true traveller I made it out of the room with my bag - I wasn't going to lose my passport. Unfortunately getting back to sleep wasn't easy!!

We had a rather wet walk along the waterfront before we found a pleasant cafe for breakfast. Our bedraggled, wet, entrance must have confused some of the local 'gentry' because they immediately ceased their conversation, coffee cup centimetres from lips, to turn as one to stare at us! There was lifting of the brows and we could imagine them thinking that they weren't used to the hoi polloi in their cafe. Mike and I carried on regardless 😆.

With the rain falling we headed to the Museum and had a wander through a couple of interesting exhibitions. 

The rain eased so we headed to the cable car and took the journey to the top.

It has definitely been a cold day but here's hoping the South Island will be better tomorrow!

Off to New Zealand.

 A 9:30 take off meant a 4:30 wake up! Luckily I woke half an hour earlier because just as I was unloading the dishwasher I received a call to say that my ride was here! What! Half an hour early!! Luckily I was organised and off I went into the dark, rainy day.

There has been a change at Sydney airport since my last trip in February with open shops and eateries in evidence - still a long way to go to get back to pre Covid days!

The flight was really quite empty and three hours went by quickly. With only hand luggage, a quick walk through passport control and a bit of a queue through immigration I was out of the terminal. With a bit of a wait until my domestic flight I found a place to have a snack.

It is an easy 10 minute walk, following the green line, to get from the international to domestic terminal. A little more walking around and it was time to get into the 'little tin can' for the flight to New Plymouth! Unfortunately I had to wedge my case under the seat as it wouldn't fit in the overhead locker but as it was only a 35 minute flight it wasn't a problem. We did manage to reach 10,000 feet and were above the clouds for a while.

As you can see I had the window seat!

We landed to a lovely sunset.

Disembarking I was met by brother Mike who was rather surprised when told that I had no luggage to pick up! I did have to remind him of our dad's words when going on holiday - "If it doesn't fit in a paper bag it doesn't go!" 

I haven't been to this house before. Last time I visited it was just a piece of land with ideas of the house to go on it! Now it is established with lovely views out to the ocean.

I was worked to birds twittering and cows moving!

Mike had a physio appointment so we went off to town and later had a long walk by the ocean. I had forgotten about the black sand - so different from our golden beaches! There was an awful lot of driftwood lying around - it seems that it is better for nature to leave it rather than clean up. There must have been some serious storms for the amount piled up.

Nearly time to head home!

 I enjoyed my couple of days in Chicago - did plenty of walking!I ventured through the parks and along the lake edge.

Although I have been to the Field Museum, a natural history museum, a few times I still found some very interesting sections in there especially about there work with conservation. The Field Museum does a lot of work with conservation in the Amazonian rainforests. I found the work they have done fascinating.

The next day I headed to the Art Gallery and went to see the Cezanne exhibition being held there.

Strange to think this will be my last visit to Chicago with the family moving to South Carolina. I do love Chicago so made the most of my visit. I will be interesting, at a later date to explore new places in the USA!

Time has flown with Ivy and I having a pedicure - she also had a manicure - as she chose the polish I now have silver toe nails!

I have watched her at horse riding 

Went to Benny's graduation!! I'm saying nothing!

We have played in the park.

Watched Benny's last game of soccer. They had a high scoring win.

I flew down to Dallas yesterday to ensure I was here on time for my flight home - there have been lots of flight cancellations! It was very emotional saying goodbye and I have strict instructions, from Ivy, to 'face time' as soon as I get home!

It will be strange to be  back in Covid restrictions after so much freedom! I have to follow these rules:

You must travel directly from the airport to your home or accommodation and self-isolate until you receive a negative result from your COVID-19 test (rapid antigen or PCR) taken within 24 hours of your arrival in NSW.

I have my test kit in my hand luggage and will test as soon as I reach home. Not looking forward to wearing a mask for 16.5 hours!

It is amazing to think that 15 weeks have passed since I left - it now seems to have passed so quickly!!!