Beachside with Binnie

Ahhh, the beach, the sun, the waves and the hills - life has been exceedingly normal the past few days compared to the week I just came from, but they contained all these wonderful things Kiwis often take for granted. I left off, standing in the rain, waving goodbye to my friends as they drove off down the street in Wellington, gung-ho for more fun, while I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been living out of a van for many days and the thought of an actual house, with my own room and bathroom sounded like a funny joke too good to be true. When traveling, you often have to shift your frame of mind, so I immediately began to think of this weekend as my 'down time' at home. So far, it's been amazing!

I wandered the streets of Welly-wood for a few hours before meeting Binnie, mom's family friend from Branksome. She picked me up and we drove to her place, and I could tell instantly that we'd get along really well. Binnie is from Toronto but moved to New Zealand many years ago, so it was cool hearing her Canadian/Kiwi accent but also nice to be with someone from home.

Binnie has an adorable 3 year old son named Josh who we picked up from daycare then went home. It was Thursday night and we kept it low key, with wine and chicken for dinner, followed by an early bed time. While this doesn't sound too exciting, it was for me - I have my own room, my own bathroom, and an internet I can use without having to deposit $2 every half hour. Luxury!

Friday was a day that will go down in history as one of those surreal yet totally comfortable experiences. I slept in til 11 at Binnie's insistence and then we went for a drive to the Kapiti coast, near her house but right on the beach. We walked along the beach, ate fish and chips, and paused for photo ops whenever possible. The day finished off with a ride up to the Mt. Victoria lookout that overlooks the entire city, and a stop at the park where Josh played by the beach.

Today, I awoke earlier to go watch Josh's super spectacular soccer game. Every Saturday morning here in the summer kids 1-7 play soccer (wow, alliteration!), which is more like describing little ones in oversized Beckham jerseys kick the ball a distance of two feet (and this is with all their might) and miss the goal when they are only inches away. It's adorable! It's like watching someone really inexperienced play Wii or Xbox - you just want to help but you also know you can't. Josh is a super energetic kid and he actually ran around more practicing soccer with me before the game started.

Afterwards, Binnie and I headed to the local fair, where at least 6 blocks of a main street in Petone were blocked off for various shops and rides. We were both sucked into one particular booth selling gorgeous and unique wrap dresses and I bought two - yikes! One for Kates, of course, but we can both share. Kate you will LOVE THESE. I tried one on and a few people gasped, they were so nice. Or, maybe they gasped in horror, either way, I bought some. I then sampled a hot dog, followed by a quesadilla, then it was time to head out.

I'm very excited. Firstly, tonight I'm going to a real live Rugby match downtown. Wellington is playing Perth and I'll be cheering for Wellington. Second, tomorrow I have successfully rented a car and am driving myself to Rotorua and then to Auckland. Binnie is so amazing and has already let me practice left-hand-side-of-the-road driving here, and we'll do some more tomorrow. Luckily, the highways are very straight forward, literally, so she thinks I'll have no trouble, but I'm going to be texting her every now and then just in case to check in. I can't wait! One of my biggest to-do's has been to rent my own car and sail down the road with the window down and good music, so if all goes to plan, that's my life for the next 3 days. I'm still unsure if it will happen, since there is a shortage of rental cars in New Zealand and I was already turned down by another car rental place because of availability. If I'm turned down again, then I have to take a bus and it'll delay me a day. Everyone cross your fingers!

So, I'll let you know how things go when I get to Rotorua. I can't believe my NZ trip is almost over and I'll be so sad to think about that, so I won't do so yet. Can't wait to meet up with my a-team in Auckland.