Checking in

 
  Tuesday, February 6, 2018

  So it's Tuesday 2/6 here, a New Zealand national holiday, Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1840 (I feel like it's my duty to give everyone reading this blog about our New Zealand adventure, some New Zealand history/ culture).  Most businesses are closed, which is why yesterday we were racing to complete all van repairs and the vehicle title transfer, since the kids are leaving New Zealand tomorrow, and we ended up the day mentally exhausted, so I did not write a blog post then.

   I spent most of yesterday here in the flat, while Morgan and the kids took the van to AA Auto Center about 3 blocks away to do the repairs, which took from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.   They walked back and then walked the other direction to a Post Shop (New Zealand's post office) to complete the title transfer.  We are really lucky to stay in a place that has everything we need in walking distance, as we no longer have a rental car.  I found a book in the bookshelf of the flat, the short stories of Katherine Mansfield, a renowned early 20th century New Zealand author, and read most of it outside in the back lawn, which has a hillside view (I give it a 5-star review - excellent author, I plan to read more of her stories).  I came inside to read a few times when it started to rain - the weather here is very strange on rainy days.  It rains a very light and dainty rain for 5-10 minutes, let's up for about 20 minutes, then starts the cycle back again.  And the sky always has white clouds, even on sunny days, that turn dark just before the rain comes.  Maybe that's why the Maori, the Polynesian people who first settled this land, named this place "Aotearoa, " which translates to The Land of the Long White Cloud.

  The kids were concerned about the cost of the van repairs, since the worst case scenario would have cost them $1500 NZ.  As it turned out, AA Auto Center told them they didn't need to replace the park brake, as initially thought, that it just needed an adjustment, which cost $54 NZ instead of $500 NZ.  AA Auto Center could not replace the bump stops (shock absorbers) that needed replacing as they didn't have the parts in stock, but after making some calls, Morgan was able to get a place a few kilometers away (look at me, getting into kilometers now) that has bump stocks to do the repair on Wednesday, at a cost of only $200 NZ instead of $500 NZ as it turned out only two of them need to be replaced.  We are deducting $200 NZ from the purchase price for that repair, as the kids won't be here to pay for that on Wednesday.  The back and forth on the repairs and title transfer is what mentally exhausted all of us.

  At lunch time, I tried to buy the kids a decent meal (they live mostly off $5 NZ Domino's pizza, they said) at a Chinese noodle soup cafe just around the corner, but they declined and just watched Morgan and I eat.  Vincent tried to teach me the proper way to use chopsticks, but I'm an uncoordinated mess with chopsticks.  No forks were to be had but I may have discovered a not so messy way to twirl noodles into a soup spoon using chopsticks.  Later, after they picked up the van, the kids bought their Domino's pizza and ate it here.  Paula said the first thing she's going to eat when she gets back home is a ham and cucumber sandwich, one of her favorite meals.  Never heard of that combination, but I will have to try it now.  Vincent said he'll probably never eat pizza again the rest of his life.

   Later in the afternoon, the owner of this airbnb, Marie, stopped by to see how we are doing.  We told her how impressed we are with this place - she stocked us up on supplies, with a full kitchen that includes coffee and teas and canned and package food supplies, and a living room stocked with books and DVDs (we watched "Total Recall" one night already, or I did as Morgan fell asleep, but I will have to give that one only a 2-star review).  Marie also gave us some ideas of what to do in Auckland, including the adventure we are planning for today, a ferry trip to Waiheke Island off the coast here.  So I will finish this post now, as we are getting ready to head out, and will tell you later about last night's walk where we discovered some western-style bars and cafes to check out later off New North Road.

   Bye for now!

Our flat on the left side - 2 George Street, Auckland, NZ