Success is getting what you want; happiness is liking what you get

Saturday 24 March 2018

Busy Weekend at Hastings

It’s been great to be back in sunny Hastings, parked amongst the apple trees at one of our favourite places to stay.

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Happy to be back in Hastings again

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The fruit trees are laden and the pickers have been busy.

We had another chat to Karen of Travelling K fame (find her link here) and swapped names of favourite blogs to check and see what we think.   Perhaps we will have some new ones to add to our respective lists, which will be great.  

And a trip to Hastings wouldn’t be the same without a visit to the Arataki Honey centre to replenish Robin’s honey supplies.  They fill our empty containers with liquid gold – we refilled a jar both manuka and rewarewa honey, that should last for some time.  Did you know that honey can last forever?  (Unless a honey lover eats it all up)  With an indefinite shelf life, and the properties of processed honey keep it from becoming a hotbed of microbes and other things that may spoil or contaminate it. 

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Arataki Honey

We had two family events to attend here in Hastings.  Friday night was the 50th Birthday Bash of our niece Lisa.   Lisa’s Birthday Bash had a 50’s theme, with the guests dressed in their rock’n’roll inspired clothes, ready for a night of music and fun.  Older ones, like us, had lived through these years, and reminisced about  our dancing days when full skirts and stiff petticoats were all the rage as we rocked the night away.  The juke box pumped out the music, the candles were lit, the birthday cake was cut, and the gifts were opened.  There were even a couple of Pink Ladies on the dance floor – hadn’t we seen them in a movie a while ago?

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Lisa’s 50th party

The photo board was particularly interesting, with snaps of Lisa’s life through the years.  And look what I found, a photo of Lisa, her brother, and my two children, perched up high having an elephant ride at Wellington Zoo.  That would never happen these days - no rides allowed.  And who can remember the Chimps Tea Parties at Wellington Zoo?  They were always a favourite with the kids.  But things have moved on, and the animals live a more natural life these days, which is certainly a good thing.

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On top of the elephant – my son Michael, Lisa, her brother Shane, and my daughter Nicky

On Sunday we gathered for a family lunch at Breakers, Napier for an anniversary lunch for my sister Kathleen and her hubby Dennis.

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Happy Anniversary

Wonder of wonders – West Coast whitebait was on the menu, so there’s no surprise in what I ordered.  The whitebait omelet was quite nice, but I must admit, whitebait fritters would have been better.  But I can’t complain, I’ve been hanging out for whitebait for ages.

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Lunch at Breakers, Napier

We took a drive back along beautiful Marine Parade, lined with two rows of Norfolk Pines, planted about 1893 in order to create an English-style ‘noble promenade’. There was a cruise ship in town, so buses and tourists were everywhere.  There was plenty to keep the visitors busy, beautiful gardens, cafes, and the National Aquarium close by.

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Marine Parade, Napier

It’s been so nice to catch up with family over the weekend, but it will be time to move on in the morning.  Next stop, Taupo.

1 comment:

Janice said...

What a fun time. I’m pretty sure we called in at that honey place when we were over there, but didn’t buy anything as customs are pretty strict on honey over here. I think there was a vintage Airstream coffee van in the car park and there was another in at Napier. Rather lovely.