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1970	Fiji - Emosi took us out on the town: Details in Peace Corps Journal.
1972	Took all morning to find someone to bring us to the airport - finally, Kincy did it. Gail and I flew to Boston to visit David and Kelera. They live on the third floor of an old house in an attic that David has fixed up quite a bit. We drank and talked until around 2AM.
1973	Whites drove us to Suva. Had a last drink at Club Hotel. Brought us to Nausori to find a mix up on reservations and ended up on a quickly thrown together flight to Nadi. Flew to Auckland arriving at 11PM. Had to sit on tarmac 30 minutes while plane was sprayed for bugs. Then 90 minutes to get through customs making it 1AM when we found a taxi. Cab driver brought us to his flat for a coffee and said we could stay there and he would take us surfing tomorrow. But we already had a room booked, so he brought us to the Monument Travel Lodge in Otahuhu around 3AM. Room left unlocked ready for us to enter without bothering manager. Welcome to crime-free, friendly New Zealand.
1974	Rented a mini in Timaru and Murray drove us past Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki with Mt Cook in the distance and brown rolling hills below. Had lunch at Lakeland Diner in Omarama. From there it was pleasant countryside along the Clutha River and gorge. Stopped at one of the many fruit stands and got a little of everything. Viewed the Roxburgh dam and then set up at Heasleys' crib right on the river. Interesting old camp houses. Played a game of pool and ate at Altenberg's Diner and Fish Supply where they "can't recommend the steak".
1975	Ian back from So Island with sprained ankle due to his Southern Alps tramping with Heasley, "Silent" Jeff and Murphy. Heard his stories while playing billiards and drinking whisky until 3AM.
1977	Doug surfed while the rest of us basked on the beach. I put Te into the water with his beach ring on him. He loved it until a big wave submerged him. Lia ended up with large blisters. Mike broke a contact lens while chopping firewood.
1978	Su - Brought mom to Auckland Winter Gardens, Museum and a great planetarium show about constellations.
1980	T - KV: Last one up and it took me two hours to get a fire going to boil water for my coffee. Went for a hike along Kauaeranga river. David and I crossed over and worked our way back through the thicket. Mike and I made a rock crossing - took us an hour and I crushed a finger. Everyone except Mike went back to the pool for a swim, including me! Set up Sanders' small blue tent in the woods by our tent. Hamburgers and sausages for supper with my birthday wine. Spent an hour in the big tent telling stories by candlelight. Ne and I slept in the small tent.
1982	F - Tunicci's for Mehus' farewell. Frank and I switched our identity cards and the guard let us in anyway. Tim tried to explain to us all the projects we have to do. John put me in charge of PACII. Walleyball again. I couldn't jump or move much but I had fun. Windchill down to -90°F tonight.
1985	T - Hooked the computer up to the TV and played Space Quarks. Watched "Who's the Boss" episode Paint Your Wagon.
1987	Went to Aldies for non-finding - Ne was able to only find 3 plums (100s last year), Doug couldn't find the Peter Wilkins article and Trish couldn't find our Seasonal Greetings card from Asan. James was naked and had a great time with the kids while we oldies chatted. Inflation rate = 18%. Watched Are You Being Served?.
1988	T&K shocked that it cost them $1.05 to mail a postcard. Went to an empty Maraetai beach (Clevedon). Clouds cleared at 6PM and no wind, so it was perfect. Kids on pantoon, me in inflatable boat and T&K in kayak (video). I was blown quite far out and it took a lot of paddling to get back in.
1989	David and I went to the Grand Prix at Pukekohe complements of Mike. I had a media pass and David had a competitor's pass (saving us $30 and allowing us to access the track area). Mike had a car running - unfortunately, No 9 dropped out so there was nothing to video. We watched the race with Stewart Clark from the first bend. Over to the stands until it was time for the second heat and we taped it from the spectator hill. We watched the Grand Prix race from the track at the hairpin. Local hero, Paul Radisich won the race but picked up a penalty for a slow exit from pits and ended up in 6th. (video 1  video 2). I came home with a migraine and too much sun. Watched The Happiest Millionaire.
1991	Karioitahi with Matt, Tracy and Trisha K. Only ones in the water - I got 4 good rides. David and Matthew climbed to top of cliff over the waterfalls. Cup of coffee at Whites while Granny told me all about the Isle of Arran.
1992	Called Dad to tell him that I would go to Austria with him. Letter and Longwood Gardens manual from Kirk Himelick. Mike S brought over a couple tents. Ian dropped Tracy off and a pile of stuff. We headed out at 2:45PM, meeting up with Whites at Bombay and then at Goldfields in Thames where we got food supplies. Ice cream at dairy and then Boom's Flat. Gail in van with dogs. I was in big tent with Whites.
1993	Got up from weeding in veggie garden and my left knee went "pop" with pain. TP at Pam's where we met Deanna.
1994	Karioitahi with Gail for gentle rides. Whites to visit with Charlie and Elspeth Wooley who had brought Granny back from their place. Couple of games of Upwords.
1995	Gail and I went car hunting. Nice '92 Daihatsu at MC Toyota [ed. - bought it]. At next car yard we had a real pushy guy - sounded Australian - who steered us into a beat-up ex-rental, '93 Hyundai, that needed a jump to start. Had been sitting on lot a long time. We didn't like it and it was still higher priced than the one we liked. So after failing to convince him, we walked and as we did he dropped another $4000 down to $12,000 which was my magic number. Still I insisted on looking around. Next place we found an excellent 1993 Mazda 323 with power everything and was a much better drive than the car we liked. Still a bit pricey. Stopped a few more places, but none to drive.
1996	M - Went to Broken Hills with Whites. We set up tents by the river and then went for a swim. Kids dominated the table and chairs playing dice games. We got stuck into an excellent Taylors Special Ruby Port that Ian brought. Gail and dogs in the van, Ian, Jackie and me in school tent. David and Matthew in ours and the girls in White's.
1997	W at Opo - Gail and I walked to Staircase Road and climbed a trail up and up for 40 minutes stopping for lunch at the top. Lovely ocean views. After supper we played golf until we lost our balls. In for coffee, cribbage and Upwords. Heard an ad on radio for Dave Fornusek (Paul's dentist brother) for his half-hour show as President of Thames Trotting Club. We heard that Kelly Mischewski will be crowned Miss New Zealand.
1998	Th - Doug over for RnR Scattergories.
1999	F - Ian over to romp in the pool with Billy, Ponky, Jackie and Matthew, so I joined them in the rain. TP at Irene's.
2000	Sa - Saw Dr Brown who said my leg injury from yesterday was an Achilles tendon tear and should heal in 10 days. Visited Whites. Repaired Titania's computer and they left.
2001	Postcard from Steve in Miami celebrating 25th anniversary with Roxane. Prepared van for WOF (Warrant of Fitness) which means removing rear seat, removing headlight protectors (because they are cracked) and removing rust spots. Whites for a meal and visit with Craig, son of Ian's schoolmate, who is spending a year wandering around the world. He is a pharmacist. Was mugged first night of his trip in Nairobi and had elephants tiptoeing around his tent one night. Gladly consumed a bottle of Wyndham Estate Bin 888 Cabernet Merlot that Craig had brought over from Oz.
2002	On the road at 11AM to Opoutere, so girls could leave. I brought along our old mower and used it mow the path to the toilet, plus other paths. Set up in the garage and began purging old NetGuides, heaps of reading and trying out software packages. Bed too small, mattress too soft, so I slept on the floor.
2003	Walked through town along the shore. Did the One Mile Creek track which follows the pipeline that ran from reservoir to the power station. Going part of the way with us was Mishiko, from Tokyo. Gail and I made it to a picnic area where we had lunch. It was now mid-afternoon as we returned to town and there were kids actually in the lake. An hour or so checking out shops in town. While sitting listening to a girl play bagpipes and watch her horse stand on a box, Gail found a $10 note. on the sidewalk.        QUEENSTOWN	LOTR
2004	Up at 10AM for Colleen's special breakfast that we love. Tried to update their ancient 25MHz Win95 computer and boy, do you need to be patient. Walked around the Mount. For lunch we had corn that we bought from a roadside vendor.
2010	F - Kathy and Mike stopped in for a coffee. Ian came by to test his new inflatable kayak. Emery's for a Wendy's meal before TP.
2014	W - email and photos of Aruba from Steve, who fell on ice and was concussed.
2016	F - Russell and James arrived with newspapers and 4 bars of Simple soap from Emery. Chatted until curry supper. Stroll around yard followed by cribbage games (I won all of them). Then it was a couple games of Survive. Talked to James until 2AM.
2022	Sa - Day 148 of Delta/Omicron lockdown (1051 cases). Omicron finally in the community (Auckland). Biked 34OC and finished the border bricks for the patio.
2023	Su - Gail back to the hospice on Sundays. 60 minute walk toward Bayfair.
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