The Other Day

The other day I left 10 Tudor Street in Devonport to go to work in Auckland City....

Snowy, the cat, wondered where I was going....

Snowy's real concern may have been that I had to pass this place on the way; creepy...

I really wanted to stop to get one of these, but had no time to spare...

This kid had no shoes on, but was rocking the cold weather on his skateboard through town...

On the way to Auckland City, I got jealous of this guy's bike...

I walked 5 minutes from the ferry building to The Grove...

After work, I took a picture of the Sky Tower...normally blue, but will be pink all month in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month...

I missed the 11:45 pm ferry from Auckland City to Devonport, so I got one (ok, two) of these while I waited for the 1:00 am ferry...

I took another shot of the pink Sky Tower while I walked back to 10 Tudor Street...

Random Shots...

I like to call this one "Dear on Deck"...

Waipara Valley...

Brighton Beach in Canterbury...Ahhh....

Auckland; night (from the Metropolis blding) and 

day (from the top of Mt. Victoria in Devonport)...

Devonport...

Snowy the cat...

I (heart) Devonport

Ferry view of Auckland on my way to Devonport...

Ferry view of Devonport on my way to Auckland...

View from the bottom of Church St. in Devonport...

So...thanks to the Garcia crew, I have been staying in Devonport with one of their friends. It's a beautiful home and I feel very comfortable here. I will be here until I can get off the schedule at The Grove; hopefully after this Saturday night! From there I plan on going up to The Bay of Islands (Russell) to visit Carolyn in her temporary 'hood. Meanwhile, the owner of the house, Simon, is taking care of me! He calls me sweetheart, wears women's reading glasses when he is working and wants to make sure I am home for one of his home cooked dinners before I leave.

Colin and Charmaine took me out to breakfast on Sunday. We drove out into the country; our first stop was a great farmer's market in the middle of a bunch of paddocks.

I made sure to sample the homemade buffalo mozzerella cheese, some toasted hazelnuts and a honey fig spread. Yum. Then we went to a place called Log Cabin. I ate a little too much because I had not had food for 17 hours. Some of you know that that doesn't go over well with this kid. Anyway, I had great conversation, great coffee and a full belly after that was all finished.

I called Carolyn to see if she wanted to take a ride to a kauri forest with me and Colin. Charmaine had work to do. :( So on our way to get Carolyn in the city we took a scenic route and stopped here when my camera suddenly leapt from my bag....

It's called Maraetai; I wanted to jump in the water soooooo bad!!

Anyway, from there, Colin and I picked up Carolyn in town. We drove to Matua Winery, bought a couple glasses of wine and a snack. We sat on an old picnic table in a huge field next to a creek and some of the estate's vines. We were the only ones down there; it was quite pleasant!

After our little picnic, Colin took us on a little loop trail through Waitakere Regions Nat'l Park...

So...that is what has happened lately. Oh! And I went to a cool japanese place last night with friends of the Hanafin family; Sander and Bex. They are a really cool couple that live and work in Auckland. Carolyn and I met them last Sunday night and then it was just last night that I hung out with them again. They gave me suggestions for how to spend my New Years Eve when Jill and her friend Martha are here!

Until I go to The Bay of Islands, I am just going to hang out in Devonport and go to work at The Grove.

I'm off...cheers!

Cruisin' Around

While I was cruisin' around town the other day, I read a chalk board behind a bar. Instead of entitling the specials board with the standard "Happy Hour" it said "Attitude Adjustment Hour." I liked that.

Plan B

If The Grove was a person, we would be polar opposites. He is a fine-oiled machine. He is concerned about cleanliness, timely, and he's kind of fancy. I knew from minute one that it wasn't a good fit, but I convinced myself that getting used to it was the answer. BUT then I thought, "I'm in New Zealand. Why would I want to spend the majority of my time here polishing cutlery and discussing fois gras and quail with people that, on on regular basis, spend $500 on dinner for two?" I think that is exactly what my brain said to my brain when Plan B started to brew.

You know what though? I am really doing this for you, Blog Followers of America. If I were to stay at The Grove, each blog visit would be as boring as the last. So this is Plan Better - better for you.

Item A of Plan Better has yet to be determined, but I am ok with this. I am not staying at the Y anymore by the way. More on that and more on more later...

Phenomenally Fortuitous!

Yesterday at noon I sat down on one of the 2 or 3 decks on a ferry boat from Auckland City to Devonport. There was one seat between me and a small family and a few other people standing up taking pictures. The sun was out and I was enoying the sea view. A woman sat down to my right, so I glanced over like you would. I looked back down at my phone, but realized I knew her, so I pulled my sunglasses down to make sure. I tapped her on the shoulder, we looked at each other and neither one of us could belive it. Her name is Carolyn McCarthy; our families grew up together. I knew she was in town, but had no idea of her whereabouts, plans, etc...So we spent most of the day together and she came into The Grove last night for a bite and a glass of vino.

Good stuff.

Village People??

The Village People sang YMCA and well, I stay at the YMCA. The Y has come to the rescue this week. I checked in to the Y yesterday morning and then went to my first shift at The Grove. I stayed from 11:30 to 3:00 and then went back from 6:00 to 11:00. I got a drink after my shift with Michael, my new boss, and then finally layed down in my bed. It honestly isn't that bad here; clean, quiet and comfortable. That's not to say that I haven't been calling and texting people for the past 2 hours in hopes of a more permanent situation that will miraculously be available - hopefully with a live-in chef or something. Ha! Just kidding, but please do keep your fingers crossed that something serves itself up to me sooooon!

It's too early to say much about The Grove, but I can say that it will take some serious getting used to. The food and the service is not too crazy and not too robitic, but definitely has some fine-dining aspects and guidelines. A wee bit different from good ol' Wine Steals, my last gig. Anyway, my next shift is creeping up on me, so I should be off. Cheers.