#12 Deep Thoughts

I've been spending a lot of quality time at work lately. There is a convention going on and they have a gigantic tent set up outside for dinner. We have to cart all of the silverware, dishes, linens, bar items, etc back and forth from the main kitchen on these dodgy trolleys. When you roll them across unpaved asphalt and grass the dishes make a great rattling sound. This gets even more fun after dark, because there isn't much light out there and the grass if full of potholes. Oh and it was raining.

At one point I was trying to get a trolley full of plates and glasses through a doorway when one of the wheels pops off. So I'm lifting the thing while William is trying to put the wheel back on and the handle pops off. Pure comedy. Later, William pushed me around through the back hallways of the kitchen. The trolleys move much faster on linoleum. This was the highlight of my day.

Then we rolled a trolley full of glass water jugs over to the bar. Naturally, this ended up being the trolley with the loose wheel. I went into the bar and heard a familiar sound. (You know the one. You hear it occasionally at restaurants. Sometimes people clap. Why do they do that? Idiots.) Ah, the distinct sound of crashing glass. Broken jugs everywhere. Sidenote: The reason we were taking the stuff to the bar is because the dishwasher in the main kitchen broke. So we put 300 wine glasses, 300 water glasses, and all the bar glasses though the bar's mini washer. Did I mention it was raining?

Earlier, back in the tent, there were 4 of us standing in the corner near the makeshift bar. This woman walks up, grabs a bottle of wine, and quickly takes off toward her table, trying to be all sneaky-like. Seriously? Did she really just try to steal a bottle of Merlot right in front of us? Sarah and I look at each other because we both saw it. After some debating, we decide (I decide) that Sarah should be the one to go up to her and ask her to sign for the wine. Unbelievable. At the end of the night we all enjoyed ice cream from one of their booths. So there.

Now here are some pictures from a sunset at the lake, on a night when I wasn't working.




Reminds me of Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey.

#11 Coromandel

I took a trip to the northern central area of the north island, know as the Coromandel Peninsula. The first day I got there it was pouring all day, but the rain cleared by sunset.


Near the town of Coromandel there is a pottery workshop that operates a train ride through the hillside. The tracks follow a narrow path, and the engineer would often hop off the train and switch us into reverse. We would back up onto another track and zig zag up the hill.

No one wants to sit by me. I'm smiling to hold back tears.

All that rain keeps the place pretty lush.

The tracks were surrounded by clay pottery and sculptures.


The train took us to this building, called the Eyefull Tower.

Great Barrier Island from the tower.

I drove from the town of Coromandel, which is on the west coast, across the peninsula to the eastern side.

Hot Water Beach

Looking left and right.

Obviously the beach was overcrowded so I left for Hahei.

The second I arrived there was a sudden downpour. Perfect timing. I got back in the car for 5 minutes and it started to let up. I began the 45 minuted trek down the cliff to get to the beach. By the time I stepped onto the beach it was sunny. I got down to my bathing suit and it started raining again...but then the sun came out again. Typical NZ weather.

If I were a stump, this is the spot I would pick too. Good choice, stump.

I have been taking a lot of fern photographs. They just never get old.

It's not every day you see pine trees and ferns growing together. Unless you're in New Zealand.

Cathedral Cove.

Tree growing out the top of the archway. So cool!

Super close-up of the sand.

Gemstone Bay, around the corner from Cathedral Cove. I want to come back and go snorkeling here. Anyone want to join me?

At low tide I went back to Hot Water Beach. There is a hot spring right on the shoreline. You can hire a spade (rent a shovel) and dig a hole to make your own hot pool.

There was this old man who kept waiting for me to dig, then he would come over and touch the water and tell me it wasn't hot. So I would move over and start another hole and he would do the same thing. I started throwing the scooped mud in his direction.

That's deep enough. I'm done.

Made friends with a few Americans, some of the first I've met. I let them join my pool in exchange for beer. Everybody wins.

#10 The Neighborhood

This was my first day on the lake shore. I am very excited.

The top of my street.

Trail through the woods behind my house.

The neighbors are nice. They keep to themselves.

Craters of the Moon, Taupo's thermal park.

Hot mud bath, anyone?