Day out in Palmy

We hit the road today and drove up to Palmerston North – affectionately known to the locals as Palmy.  I always find this a difficult city, as it can be approached by several roads.  Robin, unlike me, is excellent with navigation, his sense of direction is top notch, and he always seems to find his way around, what ever city we may be in.  We drove here, we drove there, stopping as required at the various shops.  Then it was time for lunch.

 

Time for lunch

Our friends D & D had recommended Carl’s Junior, and enjoyed a meal there recently.  This is a reasonably new burger establishment in town, so we gave it a go.  You know what it’s like in this sort of place, you enter the door, walk up to the counter, then pause while you slowly read through the options on the wall behind the server’s head.  Mmm, shall we have one of the burgers, or maybe chicken, oh look, we could have fish as well?  It was our first time there, so perusing the menu took some time.

The burgers were delicious.  My choice was a Portobello Mushroom Burger, while Robin chose a Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger, served piping hot, with delicious crunchy chips.  And I’m pleased to say that the coffee came piping hot too, I really hate it when the coffee is not as hot as it should be.  So top marks to Carl’s Junior, great service, great food, and most importantly, all served hot!  It was a busy place, with a couple of the local constabulary popping in for their lunch on the go, and a whole gaggle of truckies wearing their high-vis vests stopping off for lunch.

After lunch, we still had a couple of things to tick off on the list.  Most blokes hate clothes shopping, and Robin is certainly falls into that category.  New shorts for summer were on the list, and I got a few grizzles about how he hates clothes shopping!  All that traipsing around, finding the right size, going into the changing room, undressing, trying the new clothes on, taking them off and getting dressed again is all a bit much. Thank goodness our clothes buying spree for him has now been successfully accomplished.

I left him settled in the car with the newspaper while I crossed over the road to get the last couple of things on my list.  But I couldn’t find the car on my return.  I was sure it was on the end of one of those rows.  Up and down I walked, starting to get worried.  Luckily I had my cell phone in my pocket, so gave Robin a call to see where he was.  Just hope he answers, his phone could well have been left at home.

Our conversation went like this:

Me:  Have you moved the car?
Robin:  It’s where we parked it.  Have a look around and you will see it.
Me:  Where?  It’s not on the end of the row.
Robin:  It never was.  Look over here – can you see me waving?
Me: No, I can’t. 
Robin:  You’re looking the wrong way – turn around.
Me:  Oh, there you are, I can see you now. 

I opened the door and slunk inside, mortified that I had lost the car.  Mind you, cars all look the same these days.  I admit I’m not much good at navigation, but then, Robin’s not too good at clothes shopping!