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1966	Went to used record shop in DinkyTown at U with Norm, Keith and Gary. Asked the guy for Bongo Stomp. He asked me which one and brings a box labelled "Bongo Stomp"! He had the Little Joey and the Flips version.
1969	Hawaii:  Details in Peace Corps Journal.
1971	Murphy gave me a lift to Suva. Bus to Nausori. PC office staff was there but not to see me off. Connie was also on on the flight. Hung out with her at Nadi and found out that she's marrying a Fijian. We sat together on flight to Hawaii. There was an Indian guy next to us going to live in California and boy was he nervous. Helped him fill in his forms. Customs guy was suspicous of the yaqona that I had in a brown paper bag. He smelled it and let me keep it after I explained what it was. Because the plane was late I was put into a car and driven across the landing strips to the Northwestern terminal. I was paged at the LA airport. Turned out that there were two Ken Stone lithographs from Judy to bring to Mom. Got to Mpls at 11PM (-4°F) but my luggage didn't. Gail was there with short hair and Chris with long hair. Up all night talking to Gail.	Connie
1973	Rodewald's to set up a cassette recorder. Forsmans visited. Gurmit is getting married.
1988	Mike Milne took me to Bronze Goat on Ponsonby - we sat in the "garden" and then upstairs decking. Very good all around (dry Morton Estate '87 Blush) and we spent 3 hours chatting. He gave me a bottle of Wolf Blass chardonnay and a Christmas pudding.
1989	Met Whites at Bombay (their van leaking getting everyone wet). Stopped at Totara Winery to get a cask of Gold, an apricot liqueur for Gail and a kiwifruit one for Lessers. Info Center in Thames. Traditional stop at K Store for ice cream cones despite the rain. Boom's Flat around 3:30PM. Set up our big tent (video). We did Murray's Walk by the Education Camp, using the guide book to identify the native plants. Got back at dark.
1993	Dad had the sweats last night so first thing he washed the sheets, only he didn't turn the water on, so they came out pretty dry, eh? David, Dad and I went to the Auckland Museum. We joined a group being led by a Maori, only to find out that we needed to pay for that tour. So we went off on our own to explore the 1858 Meeting House and a war canoe from 1836. Upstairs to see the American "Invasion" during World War II. David can't cross over from one side to the other because of the opening to the lower level. Had a look at the Moa before we left. Georgie Pie's for a photo and then Mike's shop.
1994	Went with Nick to his Opoutere property for the first time. He listens to jazz as he drives. We brought a load of timber - after we unloaded he gave me a tour of the 13 acres. Met Ernie, local Barry Crump who lives off the land. Watered the plants and returned at 2:30PM. Had to stop and rehook the oil line on his Combi. Gail bought a kauri rocking chair for $550 from SolidWood Furniture.
2001	Walked down to the nearby bay and watched Chris have fun in the stream (video). Ann and Russell's first visit to the Awhitu and they loved it.	view from camp
2007	We were up at 4AM and then waited until after 6AM when the Waiuku boys picked up David. Drove over to the Whites. Almost all of us went to see Gary's Amazing Aussie Alpacas. Two new borns for us "ooh, ahh" over. Gary named the white one "Snow White". They have one named "Mango" after Matt. Barbecue meal on his deck accompanied by his own Alpaca red, a blend of 5 reds in his own label. Gail did the first stretch driving north. We stopped for a Coolabah Tree coffee and swapped. Short stint to Bonny Hills and Seaview B & B. Big let down from web description. No staff, just Nasa (Egyptian lady). No champagne, just a cheap red. No chocolates. No internet. In fact, hardly anything as described. Our room smelled of cedar, incense and roses, so I set up in the bathroom. We had a swim in the pool - bit dodgy as the filter not running.	Kris-Leah-Su
2021	Th - Day 119 of Delta lockdown (6860 cases). Birthday card from Angi. It was sent US Post Priority Express on the 24th of November. Cost US$69.95!!!! Arvida gave us a cooler bag, picnic blanket and cookies. Sold the Coca-Cola truck set for $50 in about 5 minutes on Trade Me.
2022	F - Residents Committee gave us a card, 3 scratchies (won $7), mince tarts and a fruit cake. Played Archipelago. Crashed for two hours trying to defrost (Ne and the bloody airconditioning). Then I was dizzy for the remainder of the night and crashed into walls twice.
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