Sun, sand, and small children on Waiheke Island.
Whenever I am on Waiheke, I don't want to leave. Then I get back here and I don't want to leave here. Orewa and Onetangi are both wonderful places to be and for different reasons.
On Waiheke, the beach and the pace is much nicer. Facilities are whatever you make them, and I don't miss the late shopping and and other hall marks of city-style living. I can sit on my balcony in the canopy overlooking the Royal Forest and Bird Reserve and let the rat race rush on by. Even the cinima, in Oneroa, is laid back: all decked out in old sofas, and playing non-stop "Isn't Waiheke Great" reels.
Back in Orewa, it is nice to be able to just do what I want without planning it out first. Shops close late and takeaways deliver. My cell works, and the roads are well maintained.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about being back.
But I have to tell you about this: on the way to Half Moon Bay we stopped for brunch at an eatery in Takapuna called Sumo Salads. This is a Sydney-based franchise, so a chunk of your money is going to Oz, but it is a refreshing change from the usual coffee-and-panini thing you usually see. The salads are not just a bit of lettuce and rocket, but a whole mouthwatering range you can mix and match. Portions are ample, we struggled to finish the "medium" salads we ordered, which makes up for a rather steep price. Overall it was fun and worth the detour.
While away, we played host to a friend of Cathy's, from the buddhist thing she goes to, and her 4-year-old son. It was quite nice to be looking after a small kid again, so he got spoiled rotten while his mummy had a break. Cathy enjoyed it so much she's still there, while I get to slog back and feed the cats. I have photos... somewhere: more on that later.
I have discovered that the cats like frozen chicken mince ... frozen?!
Nothing in the fridge last night so I had to do takeaways - it's a hard life. Watched late night TV: I don't seem to sleep well by myself lately. Dreamed of Corwin - vividly - so this morning was a bit of a let down. I went to the supermarket and managed to lock myself out of the car - which shows how distracted I was. Fortunately there is a spare set of keys at home so I jumped on a bus.
Now to get back.
Maxx timetables are pretty good - it tells me that the bus back is at 6:34, unless I want to walk the 6096m (which takes about an hour and a half). It's a nice day, I may yet.
So here I sit, with a computer and several hundred emails. It's achingly hot and eye-stabbingly sunny. And I'm sunburned. I think I'll soak in the pool.
Tomorrow, I have to pull out the pool pump to take to be fixed. Yay.
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