Back to Months

10th	11th	12th
1963	Barely passed my driver's test with a 73. Dad bought an apartment building.
1973	Valery drove us to the Edmund Hillary staff do at Papatoetoe Hotel. Met Sandra McCullum's parents.
1985	Th - Chris called at 6:30AM and Gail talked to him. He kept telling her to call my dad. So she left the phone off until 8AM. Meanwhile, Chris called again and got no answer so he figured we must have left. He got a cab to the Amtrak depot. After arguing with the clerk about it he decided that maybe the train did leave in the evening. He called at 8:30AM and all he said to Gail was he was in St Paul. He showed up at 9:30AM with breakfast from McDonald's. He spent the day in bed at Mom's. Said our goodbyes to Dad. Meanwhile, our passports arrived at 10AM. Made many phone calls to arrange the trip. Bank to get traveller's checks and cashier checks for us and the travel agent and $100 in cash to pay for the train (clerk was from England). Travel agent, Dee, from Australia so they actually knew where NZ is. JR's for a fantastic meal with Chris, Mom and Bob. Oysters Rockefeller, escargo, shrimp cocktail. I had the most fabulous shrimp/scallop creole, made by Jeff. Had a $21 bottle of '79 Clos Du Val Cabernet (best drop of Calif wine I have ever had). Had a hazelnut bisque dessert and it was great. Tearful "goodbye" to Chris and over to Mom's. Angi called out of the blue - just got my letter. Another tearful "goodbye". Amtrak where we sold the car to Lesser for $2500. They gave us a bag of books and magazines and hung around until after we boarded, so I went back out and talked to them at the fence until it was time to go. Had family sleeper which is a double room (windows on each side) at the end of the car. A double bed below and kids above on singles. Left at 11PM.
1986	Stopped at Tokoroa for a snack along a creek with a falls. Stopped briefly to get a photo at Wairakei Geothermal Power Plant. We wandered about the nearby Craters of the Moon. Checked out Huka Falls and went along a walkway into the bush. Stopped at Taupo where a salesman was very helpful setting Ne up with a reel, line and lures. Kids got fishing licenses. Got to Tauranga-Taupo Fishing Lodge just before sunset. Walked to the lake for a quick view. Ne carried back two gigantic pumice pieces. She wanted to go fishing so I spent an hour setting up the line. Sure enough the line got all screwed up. So I spent two hours unravelling it and re-spooling.
1998	Sa - Picked Peter Menzel up at the Papakura train station. He gave us a hammock [tossed in 2019], caiprihna kit (with a t-shirt in it), a t-shirt for David and a necklace for Ne. Spent the evening listening to his NZ stories: How much he loved Napier, Pipeline bungee, ride of his life with a drunken chemist from Auckland. He visited 3M in St Paul about 20 times, so we were close to each other in the early 80s without knowing it.
2002	email from Kay changed my immediate life. Joyce in hospital! So I called to find out that she was about to be moved into ICU with emphysema. I shifted into high gear, sent a reply to Kay, left a message at Gail's Wellington hotel, let Sandspit know that she would need a sub next week and called Dr to get a script for 3 month supply of medicine (David went to Papakura to get it). Did a hasty pack, into town to take care of any outstanding bills and into Waiuku Travel to have Shannon arrange for a flight at 8:45PM. Home to do more packing, told Ne at work so Steph wouldn't have to when she picked her up. Meanwhile, Jeanie from Strathallon called and wants to give Gail the job. (What a day!). So when Gail called at 3PM I had some good news and some bad news for her. Took right up to the last minute before I remembered where my International Driver's License was stored. Called Emery to tell them that they should try to sell my Warriors season ticket. David brought me and Ne to airport, where I had a Kiwi Burger for old times sake before I left Godzone. The trip is a story on its own. Because of the International Dateline I arrived in Prescott at the same time that I left. Joyce was sleeping when I got there, so I went to her place. Waited until 2AM and called home but Gail wasn't back yet.
2003	Ne was up all night fending off rats with her torch. Filled a couple small boxes with sand (forgot to bring the bags) and Ne wanted to try driving the van so she drove it over and loaded them up. We hit the road around 1PM and Ne drove us to Tairua where we checked house prices and a few shops. Ne asked me if I had turned the water tank valve off - no! So we drove back the 30-some Km.
2013	Th - Gail arrived with David around 11AM. He just escaped a snow storm and was bumped into business class from Premium Economy and had a luxurious flight from LA. Ne joined us for a few hours of visiting. Saw Dr Giles who told me the lump in my hand is Dupuytren's contracture.
2016	M - Up at 8:30AM to get to hospital for X-Rays of back.
2020	Sa - Day 17 of lockdown. Washing machine cold hose leaking big time so I removed it and switched over to the hot water hose. A simple washer would fix it, but of course stores are closed for the duration.
10th	Back to Top	12th