A Mini Family Reunion

Friday

Mark has been working a lot of evening shifts lately, so yesterday afternoon was the first time Ro had seen him in days! Ro's always off to school by the time Mark gets up, and he's asleep by the time Mark gets home. Ro needed his daddy fix, so Mark took him over to Coronation Park after dinner for some guy time. A little rugby, some hide & seek, some tiggy, and some sort of leopard impersonation thing Ro made up...lol.

Laying a sand castle foundation at Pilot Bay this week

This rugger doesn't look too menacing

That's more like it!

We were up early this morning, thinking we had to meet Mark's parents at the airport at 7:25am, but their flight ended up being delayed nearly an hour. Fortunately, we checked the new arrival time online before leaving the apartment. We saw Norma as soon as we walked into the tiny airport; she laughed and exclaimed, "We're freezing and you're in shorts!" Ro clung to Sherry's leg when it came time for hugs, as he doesn't really know Mark's parents that well, and it's been 9 months since he's seen them. Carver was busy sorting out their rental car, and we all put our names on it as drivers in case they found negotiating New Zealand roads too much of a challenge. Ro helped Norma retrieve the bags from the small carousel, and we were on our way.

Signing our lives away

Sherry took Norma and Ro in our car to drop Ro off at school, which doesn't start until 9am here. Meanwhile, Mark played driver's ed teacher with Carver in the rental. Mark had forgotten just how unfamiliar driving on the left can be to someone who's not used to it. Just as we had done when we first started, Carver kept turning on the windshield wipers when he wanted to use his turn signal, and bumped a few curbs as it's tough to judge distance on your left. Passing the local college (i.e. high school) and intermediate school, Carver mentioned that he had seen football fields from the air, to which Mark replied, "No, those were rugby fields." "But there were no nets on the goals," Carver stated. Ahhh...much to learn, grasshopper. We all made it safe and sound to Ro's school, then drove home along Marine Parade, giving N&C their first view of the beach.

Mark's parents are staying at another apartment in The Anchorage, so after picking up the key from the front desk, we helped them settle in. Although on the same floor as us, you have to go down to the pool or lobby to walk between the North and South towers, and we finally understood why when we got into their room. Their place spans both sides of The Anchorage, giving them a view of the city to the east and Pilot Bay to the west, overlooking the pool.

N&C's view of Pilot Bay

Thankfully, N&C brought some comforts of home for us that are either unavailable or crazy expensive here: Mark's favorite deodorant (Mitchum unscented clear gel), reasonably priced boxer shorts for Mark and Ro, Johnson & Johnson Dento-Tape, and Crest toothpaste. The things you take for granted! And best of all, duty free Bombay Sapphire. They were eager to stretch their legs after the long red-eye flight from San Francisco, so we walked down Maunganui Road, through Drury Park and onto the Mt Maunganui Main Beach. We ventured to the tip of Moturiki Island to take in the great views of the ocean and Mauao. They likened the terrain to California's northern coast, although there's a much wider sandy beach here.

Norma, Carver, & Sherry on Moturiki Island

Same spot, looking in the other direction

We stopped for brunch at a cafe on Marine Parade; Sherry got the veggie frittata but everyone else had Eggs Benedict, which was very good. We thought briefly about taking a walk around Mauao, but Carver and Norma were pretty tired from their travels. As Carver put it, referring to their apartment, "I want to see how the remote works." For a different view, we walked back along Pilot Bay. It became abundantly clear to N&C that the temperature at The Mount varies widely with sun or shade, but most importantly with which street you're on. The streets parallel to the shore, like Maunganui Road, are relatively sheltered by the buildings and comfortably warm, but the wind whips through the waterfront roads and cross-streets, chilling you despite the sunshine...not unlike San Francisco as Norma observed. Thankfully no major hills, though, save Mauao.

After relaxing for a bit and freshening up, Sherry and Norma walked to Ro's school to help out with their Friday gardening. Mark and Carver drove over about an hour later to find the ladies working hard on a mosaic. Kathryn and Bill showed up just before the bell and Mark introduced them. Of course, conversation soon fell to Syria, since they lived there for 2.5 years and some of Norma's extended family is still there.

Didn't waste any time putting Mom to work

Jack & Ro tending their class garden

Deisha introduces herself to Carver

Once Carver drove us home (no curb checks this time), Sherry and Norma set off again for New World to pick up groceries while Mark and Carver watched Ro play in the apartment and caught up over some Waikato Draughts. Once the girls were back, we retreated to N&C's apartment for a while to leave Sherry in peace to prepare a delicious dinner of lamb racks and roasted veggies.

Carver nodding off, beer in hand

"Look, it's our deck, daddy!"

Ro making room for plenty of lollies tomorrow

Our lobby features live entertainment

As dinner approached, we gathered back in our apartment for hors d'oeuvres and gin & tonics. Afterwards, Ro was anxious to hit the spa tub downstairs before bed, so Mark took him down to give Sherry and N&C a chance to chat. After Mark and Ro dried off, Carver presented us with gifts he had given out on his 70th birthday back in April, at which he gave everyone some sort of jewelry. Ro and Mark received tie tacs (an airplane and the Caduceus, respectively), while Sherry got an ornate silver and onyx charm. They also gave us a beautiful brass nativity set to use at Christmas.

Everybody say Kiwi!

For dessert, we had tea and TimTams as Ro read his homework books to us at the table. We figure that he would only be a few months into kindergarten in the States, so he's well ahead for when we return home. We switched on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the tele as we relaxed, but N&C were fading fast, so we said our goodbyes for the night and put Ro to bed. It seems strange to have family here in NZ since it's been so long we've seen them. If only we could talk all our friends and family into moving here, we'd stay! [Hint! Hint!]

Our Humble Playa

Tuesday

After a pleasant holiday weekend in The Mount, Mark had to work Labour Day yesterday. It was easily one of the 2 or 3 busiest shifts he's had since we've been in NZ. The department was already bursting at the seams when they got word of a major car accident up in Waihi. But, the whole hospital came together to quickly move patients upstairs and out of the ED to make room for the deluge in an encouraging display of solidarity. Now, why can't they do that all the time?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10605565

Ro had his second Ball Blitz sports fundamentals class today after school. The afternoon rain shower didn't phase the kids or the instructor, and they moved underneath a large covered area adjacent to the play yard. The instructor brought along a "Player of the Day" trophy which immediately captured Ro's attention. Ro, being the youngest in the class, asked who was going to get the trophy, to which the instructor replied, "the person who works the hardest on today's skills."

Ready for an AC/DC concert

From that moment on, Ro gave the instructor his absolute attention, and ran through the motions of each exercise with complete focus. By the end of the hour, Ro had probably said at least three different times, "I sure hope I get the trophy!" The older kids could obviously care less, although they were all having a blast! Since they have participated in Ball Blitz before, they knew that they would all have a turn each week taking home the trophy. Finally, as the instructor gathered them in a circle, she announced that it was time for the trophy. Ronan piped up, "Who's the person who's going to get it?" The instructor said, "Well, their name starts with an 'R', and they worked really hard today!"

"RONAN!" shouted Ronan.

Everyone smiled as Ro excitedly grabbed the trophy and came running to show Sherry. Ro was so proud and couldn't wait to show Daddy!

Showing off the hardware

Go The Bay!

Sunday

Ro was up early, prompting Barnaby to go downstairs to his place, "to get some sleep." Then Ro woke us up in short order, finally convincing Sherry to get out of bed and feed him. Mark is still on his evening shift hours and slept in, waking up around 10am to find fresh blueberry muffins coming out of the oven. He watched Ro and Barnaby while Sherry walked down to the farmer's market to stock up on fresh goodies for the week.

The boys got a little crazy with the sidewalk chalk

The Senior Busking Championships were today; with Maunganui Rd blocked off, The Anchorage was surrounded in a sea of diverted traffic. After Sherry got back, Ro went off with Barnaby, Craig, and Paulette to take in the scene. Mark soon caught up with them after stopping by the bank. There were tons of musicians and other street performers along the sidewalks. The musicians were all very good, but their numbers diluted their impact, and the biggest crowds hovered around the more unique acts. The jugglers, in particular, were a big hit with Ro and Barnaby. Ro briefly (less than 30secs) got lost in the crowd on our way home, eliciting a few crocodile tears.

An early taste of summer crowds on Maunganui Rd

The boys captivated by the fire juggler

Clowning around at The Cruise Deck

Once home, the six of us crammed into our car and headed down the road to Baypark Stadium, for the final Bay of Plenty Steamers game of the season. They play half their games in Rotorua and the other half right here in Mt Maunganui. The Steamers started the Air New Zealand Cup season strong, but have since fallen to the middle of the table, just ahead of today's opponent, the Taranaki Amber and Blacks. Of note, Taranaki is where Ro's Rarotonga crush Kelsea is from.

We were in line to buy tickets when a couple ladies with some extras gave them to us, freeing us from paying admission. Combined with the free parking, and the gorgeous, warm, mostly sunny weather, things were looking good. Once inside, Mark headed for the merchandise stand to pick up a jersey (which were discounted since it was the last game - Woo Hoo!), while the rest of our group got their faces painted. Barnaby didn't like the way the paint felt on his face and promptly rubbed it off, eliciting whines from Ro who now wanted Sherry to wipe his off, too. Sometimes you just can't win.

In the right place at the right time for free tix

The concession stand has a remarkable way to keep the lines to a minimum: beer comes in six-packs! Mark was duly impressed with their efficient solution. After finding seats near midfield (general admission), Sherry went on a food run to pacify the younglings. She normally avoids greasy stadium food, but the hot chips were some of the best we've had in ages. Ro and Barnaby dug into their sausages on a stick (akin to corn dogs) with gusto, although it was probably not the best choice for Ro, who'd been ripping truly rank ones ever since we were in the car.

Savoring a rare treat: candy floss!

Ro & Mark enjoying the 1st half

Halftime show featuring local Catholic schoolgirls. Not exactly the Raiderettes

Sherry happy with her coffee in hand

The Steamers made it look easy at first, mounting a 24-6 halftime lead despite the absence of their vice captain, newly elected All Black first five-eighth Mike Delaney, who's currently with the All Blacks on their end-of-season tour. Unfortunately, the Steamers took their foot off the gas, and the second half saw Taranaki mount a remarkable comeback. Even so, the Steamers almost prevailed at the end, crossing the goal line as time expired but the ball carrier was held up and prevented from placing the ball on the ground to score the try, so we lost 30-24. Still, it was a fun afternoon, and a perfect day for rugby.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10605384

Ro found Barnaby's Omnitrix more enthralling than BOP's play in the 2nd half

Leaping for a line-out

Ro pointing us out to classmate Ruby

Final drive

As we were leaving the stadium, Ro and Barnaby darted ahead of us, disappearing into the crowd. Unable to pursue the fleet-footed kids through the throng of fans, we were left hoping they'd stop and wait for us at some point. As Sherry, Craig, and Paulette patrolled their likely exit point from the stadium, Mark went on ahead to the car in case they got swept into the parking lot by the crowd. About halfway to the car, Mark heard Ro call out, "Daddy!" Fortunately, Barnaby was with him. Mark tried not to be too hard on them, since they appeared sufficiently shaken by the experience. "We nearly drowneded!" said Ro, referring to the crowd that surrounded them. Mark didn't have his cell, so he took them on to the car, rolled the windows down and locked them inside with strict instructions to stay put...or else. The initial look of panic on Sherry and Craig's face when Mark returned without the boys quickly changed to relief when they knew the kids were accounted for.

Holidaying At Home

Saturday

Mark worked late last night, so Sherry got up early with Ro and took him to Drury Park, letting Mark get some much needed quiet shut-eye. The smell of bacon and pancakes with real maple syrup (which is tough to get here) finally roused Mark from his slumber. Looking down at the bustling streets below our apartment, you could tell this was no ordinary Saturday morning. In addition to it being Labour Day weekend, the regional Busking Championships were being held along Maunganui Road. Today's competition was for the juniors, so in addition to the throngs of onlookers you had the doting stage parents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busking

Ro sporting his new Ben 10 Heatblast costume

Junior busker at work

We took in a couple of the acts as we walked to the beach a few blocks away. Warm and sunny, although a bit windy, the beach was a popular place to be today. According to Kathryn, the beautiful wildflowers that cover the dunes aren't native to NZ, but came from people dumping out their ornamental potted plants. Ro soon found a couple of boys to play with, who had dug a fairly impressive hole in the sand, and Ro was all too happy to help them dig it deeper. In the States, we say that you can dig all the way to China if you go straight down, so we were trying to guess where you'd end up if you started digging in NZ. Ireland?

Sherry relaxing on her makeshift boogie-board chair

They were content to let Ro do the work

Ahh...the point emerges. Something challenging to jump over

Mark took a brief dip in the clear water, and Ro enjoyed jumping the waves for a little while, but the ocean is nowhere near warm enough yet for cold-natured Sherry to venture into it. Ro played beach rugby with his new friends while we sunned ourselves, watching the half-dozen or so kite surfers in the distance down at Tay St Beach. As the afternoon wore on, there was a slight nip in the air, and the spa tub at our apartment was calling our name.

Ro bites the dust going for a tackle

The blue Jawa and mum heading home from the beach

Being a three-day weekend, the pool at The Anchorage was unusually crowded, mostly with a few families up on holiday from Wellington. Sherry fixed some eats upstairs while Mark entertained Ro. We were soon joined at the pool by Barnaby, Craig, and his lady-friend Paulette, then Sherry brought down the barbecue she'd prepared. We congregated around the picnic table, sipping white wine and snacking on hors d'oeuvres, chatting while the boys played in the pool. Grilled sausages and veggie kebabs soon followed.

After about a half-dozen picture attempts, this was the best

As the sun was setting and the air cooled considerably, we retreated upstairs. Mark and the boys rinsed off (they were the only ones who got in the pool), and we all met down at Craig's place for some more wine and conversation. Craig and Mark took turns wrestling with the boys, much to the amusement of the ladies. When a wine spill doused the table, Craig's leg, and a bit of the carpet, we decided we'd had enough and it was time to put the boys to bed. They wanted a sleepover, so we took them upstairs to our place where they promptly fell asleep in Ro's bed, despite their pleas to play some more.

"On shoulders, daddy!"

The boys getting in over their head

Subduing and cuffing Craig

It Ain't Over 'Til The Fish Stops Flapping

Thursday

This past Tuesday, Ro started a sports skills class that meets weekly after school for an hour. They will cover the fundamentals of basketball, field hockey (it's a co-ed sport here), soccer, rugby, etc...until the end of this last school term. They started off with basketball, and Ro had a blast learning to dribble and shoot with all the other kids.

The local home improvement warehouse has a playground, which Ro put to good use

To Ro, anything that bounces is good

Window washer at The Anchorage

Today, Kathryn invited Sherry and Ro over after school to watch Bill bring the kentiki in. For those of you who aren't in the know, the kentiki is a fishing system that utilizes a motorized hauler that carries a fishing line with multiple hooks out into the water, and is connected to a winch for retrieval after letting the lines sit in the water for a long period of time.

http://www.kentiki.co.nz/

Kathryn and Sherry dropped Mat and Ro off on the beach with Bill, and went up to have a coffee, since they live just across the road from the beach. After a relaxing chat, they decided to go take snacks and water to the boys since it was time to bring in the kentiki. Ro and Mat were building a sand castle along the dunes, having a great time. Bill had already started the retrieval, and what a catch! He caught 12 large fish, mostly golden snapper.

By now it was getting late, and Kathryn and Bill insisted Sherry take home two of the large snappers, but as she doesn't eat fish herself, she just took one to surprise Mark with when he got home from his evening shift for midnight supper. She asked Bill for the quick and dirty on gutting and scaling, and he and Kathryn made it sound so easy, Sherry was certain she could do it on her own for the first time in her life and make Mark proud.

Her confidence began to dissipate as the huge snapper Bill had bagged for her kept flapping...and flapping...and flapping. And that was just the walk from the beach to her BIKE. Ro was delighted at every little squeal Sherry let loose every time the fish flapped. On the bike ride home, with the fish flapping in the bike basket and Sherry squealing, she kept wishing it a quick and merciful death. Sherry stopped at Sunny's to see if there was such a thing as a fish scaling tool for sale there, and left her bike with the fish still flapping outside the store. Alas, remembering Bill's advice to "just use a sharp knife," she settled for a sharp kitchen utility knife and brought the flapping fish home as the skies blackened and threatened rain.

Sherry set about cooking tacos for Ro per his request and put the fish in the sink, where it continued to flap, albeit less frequently. After Ro had eaten, the fish had finally stopped breathing, and the moment of truth had arrived! Was she Womouse or Woman? She armed Ro with the camera to document events, starting with a smiling shot of her and the fish. The smile evaporated quickly as she laid the fish on the stainless steel sink sideboard and made the ventral cut, "not too deep, to keep the gut intact."

How hard can this be?

The fish flapped violently! Sherry screamed and held the new slit together. Ro snapped a photo but ran to hide when Sherry continued squealing and the fish kept flapping! Sherry had to coax him out of the hallway, begging him not to leave her please, that the fish was not going to bite her (as Ro thought), but explained that mommy was just sad because the fish might be hurting. Ro patted Sherry on the legs and said, "Oh mommy, you can do it!" but quickly retreated to a safer vantage point behind the bar.

Gotta love that woman

After the flapping ceased, seemingly eons later, Sherry quickly realized she would have to now pull the insides out. "EEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!" she squealed with high drama. Ro offered to "do this part" with frighteningly morbid interest, but Sherry declined. After the insides were outside, the scaling saga began.

Sherry made one pass with the knife in the direction shown to her by Kathryn, and three things happened. First, scales went everywhere, including her hair and down her shirt. Ewww. Second, she pricked her finger on something sharp - on the fin? Her own knife? She was too busy spitting out scales to notice. Third, she fruitlessly consulted YouTube for a "how to" video to make sure she was scaling correctly. She was. Turns out, scales just go everywhere, and if it wasn't pouring rain outside, she would've been out there. Instead, she put the fish inside a clean garbage bag and just went for it.

When fishy was prepped and ready to throw in the oven, she stuck it in the fridge and set about cleaning. She found scales all the way over by the dining table, a good twelve feet from the scene of the crime. While tidying up, she noted that Ronan did not offer to help with this leg of the journey, and was more interested in drawing ancient sea creatures (think megalodons and orthocones) on the patio with his colored chalk.

Most of Ro's self-portraits were blurry because he would turn the camera around too fast to look at the picture

When Mark crawled into bed at 5am, Sherry woke up and asked him if she'd done a good job. "It was tasty, honey!" and when asked if he bit into any scales, "only about a half-dozen." Oops!

Pool Party!

Saturday

Ro's class is now bursting at the seams with 11 new kids this term. His class has "news" every day, basically like show-and-tell. To keep it short on Monday, Ms. Carr told the kids to only tell their ONE favorite thing about their holiday. Ro got up in front of everybody and said that the favorite part of his holiday was, "going to Fiji. And we also went to a smaller island that was also Fiji, and a big wave was coming, but instead it hit Vanuatu. And that made me sad because MJ's dad lives there. And, well, MJ...I think your dad is dead." This elicited saucer-plate eyes from MJ while Sherry was emphatically saying, "No! No!" from the side of the classroom. Meanwhile, Kathryn (Mat's mom) was cracking up. Ms. Carr settled the crisis by saying that MJ had called his dad and he was fine.

Mark worked all this week - a rough transition from kickin' it by the pool in Fiji. Sherry was left to keep Ro entertained after school, so on Thursday he went for a playdate at Jack's house. This was their second playdate with Jack's Nan (his Mum works until after 5 p.m.), and his Nana Jean thought she would treat Sherry to a traditional New Zealand treat called pikelets. They are essentially little pancakes, but don't tell that to a Kiwi. The difference is in the presentation, as they are served with a dollop of preserves and fresh whipped cream, which Sherry found to be a refreshing alternative to syrup. When you add that to a fresh home-brewed espresso, you get two thumbs up from Sherry!

Jean had invited her good friend Philippa over, and with Jean's husband home from work, Sherry received an interesting perspective from the sixty-somethings on "how things used to be" in New Zealand. Jean and her husband, as well as Philippa, had emigrated from England when they were young. They talked of how "high tea" used to be a really formal ritual, as opposed to today's homemade pikelets and espresso (are you noticing how there is no actual TEA being served?). Sherry told them of how she and Mark were so surprised to learn that having "tea" simply meant having a snack, and that the drinking of tea was not necessarily involved. They laughed and laughed when she told them we had shown up at the meet-and-greet at Ro's primary school that had advised parents to "bring tea," and so we arrived armed with Ro's lunchbox full of snacks for him and a little Ziploc baggie with tea bags for Mark and Sherry. Especially funny was the fact that Sherry had stressed over whether or not the school would provide hot water for the tea bags. That was one of the early steps on our Kiwi learning curve; tea meant food and maybe tea, or maybe not, but ALWAYS food!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tea#High_tea

Mark woke up this morning after working late last night to find Sherry in the kitchen frying bacon to go with her first attempt at making pikelets. Ro initially didn't think they tasted as good as the ones by "Jack's Nan," then Sherry realised she had forgotten to put sugar in the whipped cream. She fixed it, but Ro had already been put off them. Sherry took a little solace in the fact that Jean was a traditional New Zealand farm wife who raised four kids and has been making pikelets since before Sherry was born. Ro did, however, eat nearly a half-pound of bacon while Sherry had gone to the store and Mark was in the shower. In thirty years, will that be considered child abuse?

Ro was restless all day today (and last night for that matter), because he was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mates for a little pool party Sherry had thrown together. We always said we would have one once he learned to swim, so now we had to make good on it. The weather looked beautiful all morning, but as the party neared around 3pm, the storm clouds rolled in, much to Sherry's dismay, "Every time I try to have a barbecue, it rains!" Carla showed up first, with MJ and Tori and plenty of food. MJ and Ro were running wild in the apartment, so we shuffled them down to the pool as quickly as possible. Mark stayed upstairs to keep an eye out for the other guests who arrived in short order. Next to arrive was Michael (with his mom Julia), who knew Ro from kindy, and had just been moved up to primary school in Ms. Dohnt's class (Ro's old teacher). Mat arrived soon after with his parents Kathryn and Bill.

Kathryn, Sherry, Julia, and Carla chillin' by the pool

Tori steered clear of the splash contest

The adults sat around a picnic table (with the food and wine) which was covered by an umbrella so we could stay dry. Fortunately, the rain let up and Mark and Bill were able to sit poolside to watch the kids, drinking beers and talking sports while the four ladies gabbed about whatever it is that women talk about. Ro's new inflatable ride-on crocodile was a big hit, although blowing it up was an exercise in frustration. The valves leaked with such regularity that Sherry finally gave up and used her trusty hot glue gun to seal them shut permanently. After plenty of snacking, drinking, and playing in the pool, it started raining again. Mat's family called it a day, but the other ladies adjourned upstairs to our apartment to start dinner while Mark watched the kids in the pool. Tori and Ro could swim, but Michael and MJ couldn't, so Mark tried to teach them with limited success. Teaching them to play Marco Polo proved a lot more fun for everyone involved.

Sherry with Mauao in the background

Mat, Ro, Michael, MJ, & Tori

Goofing around at dinner

Vinaka And Moce, Fiji!

Sunday

Ro didn't sleep well last night, despite Sherry lying down with him. According to her, he was swimming in his sleep. Consequently, he was a little ill this morning, but soon cheered up when he got to ride in the front of the golf cart when the bellboy took us and our luggage to the lobby. We dropped Sherry off at Nuku on the way to grab breakfast for us to go, since we were in a hurry. Our cabbie must have sensed our urgency, because he was weaving around cars on the narrow two-lane road as if his meter ran in reverse.

One last look from our patio

Enjoying the speedy cab ride

When we got to the check-in desk at the airport, we were told that our flight was oversold and would we mind flying back tomorrow if they put us up in the Sofitel overnight with $250 for our trouble. A tempting offer, to be sure, but Mark had to work tomorrow, so we had to decline. Next, the agent tells us that there's a problem on his computer with Ro's student visa, so he couldn't issue him a boarding pass. Something about him needing a ticket out of NZ in order to get into NZ. What did they think, that we were going to leave him there as an illegal alien when we went back to the States in a few months? Instead of just calling the NZ immigration department himself, the agent told Mark he had to go buy a $10 phone card at one of the airport shops and then bring it back to the desk so he could call immigration on our behalf. Meanwhile, the line of passengers waiting to check in behind us was growing ever longer and more frustrated. Needless to say, there was no true problem with Ro's visa, and after having verbal confirmation of that from NZ immigration, the agent issued Ro's boarding pass. Nothing ever changed on the computer. To us, it seemed like a scam to sell phone cards.

Pretty much how Ro travelled all day

As we were waiting for our flight, Sherry did a little duty-free shopping, picking up some new running shoes and a visor for her daily runs up or around Mt Maunganui. The clerk even threw in a free pair of souvenir socks with the Fijian flag on them. Our plane had already started boarding by that point, and Mark gave Sherry her boarding pass while she finished shopping, and he and Ro went on ahead to get settled on the plane. Ro wasn't too keen on the idea of mommy coming later, crying out, "but she's going to miss the plane!" He steadfastly planted himself on the outdoor ramp leading to the plane until Sherry caught up.

Our plane for the return trip to NZ was just a 737, with no seatback entertainment system, but it did have a few overhead TV screens showing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. We were stuck near the back, which seemed to be where they put all the families with kids, one of whom kept kicking the back of Sherry's seat. Ro slept almost the whole flight, which meant Sherry was contorted in her seat the entire time to allow him to lie down comfortably. He didn't even rouse on landing, so we let everyone else off the plane before we risked waking him. No major meltdowns, fortunately, just some exhausted whimpering as we carried him through the airport.

Not one for Fijian airline cuisine, Ro only ate his yogurt

Ro wasn't the only one worn out

Ro had perked up by the time we got to customs, and was playing on a railing separating the rows of people. It was a thick, circular, brushed metal double railing, and he was sitting on the bottom rail, hanging onto his airline blanket which he had wrapped around the top rail. He was having fun leaning back, letting the blanket hold his weight. He was being quiet and not bothering anybody, and it didn't look too dangerous since he was sitting less than two feet off the floor, so we didn't think much of it. Well, he must have accidentally let go of one end of the blanket, because down he went, spinning on the slick metal bar, striking the back of his head WHAM! on the thinly carpeted concrete floor. He sprang up immediately and clung to Sherry's legs, tears welling up in his eyes. When we got to the customs kiosk, the friendly agent asked him if he was okay, and he could only muster some more whimpering.

Unlike in Nadi, our luggage was waiting for us when we arrived at the baggage carousel. Sometimes it's better not to be on Fiji time. While Mark fetched the bags with the free baggage trolley, Sherry had a seat with Ro at the complimentary coffee stand (Auckland airport rocks!), while Ro watched the drug-sniffing dogs corner an innocent young lady because she had muffin crumbs in her hand. In order to avoid any repeat of what we now affectionately call The Australian Apple Incident, we declared EVERYthing. So much so, that the customs agent rolled his eyes as we showed him Tic-Tacs, throat lozenges...anything that might count as food. The only things they seemed remotely interested in were the wooden items and shell bowls we picked up in Fiji. They kept asking us what kind of shell they were, and we kept telling them we didn't know. We could have hazarded a guess, but with our luck that would be the one kind of shell they don't allow.

Ro was in an ill mood again as we picked up the car from long-term parking, only now it was because he had a headache. Hoping some food might make him feel better, we stopped for lunch. Ro told Mark he wanted McDonald's, but then couldn't decide on anything when we got there (we think he just wanted to play at the PlayPlace), so Sherry took him nextdoor to Subway for a reliable ham & cheese. Even as he was eating, he continued to complain of his head hurting. Sherry was starting to get worried at this point, since Ro never complains this long about any injury unless something is wrong. We briefly tried letting him sit up front on the way home, seeking to avoid exacerbating his headache with motion sickness, but he wouldn't stop crying that his head hurt. We stopped at the airport observation point to switch his car seat to the backseat so Sherry could comfort him to sleep, which worked like a champ.

The permanent residents at the airport overlook

There was lots of holiday traffic on the way home, and Ro slept most of the way. He woke up around Waihi Beach, and asked if we could stop at the playground in Waihi. We explained that we'd already passed it, and were just glad that his headache was finally gone. No Head CT scan today! As soon as we got home, Sherry headed for New World to replenish the fridge and pantry, while Mark started the unpacking, and Ro played with Barnaby. Sherry surprised us with KFC takeaway for dinner...nothing like a little taste of home. Too bad there's no Bojangles here, eh?

Ro showing Barnaby how to play Morrowind

Trying to recreate the Hilton pool