The weekend with loads of fun

Hi,

What a wonderful weekend.  I drove to Waikanae with Toby in the wee green car.  We sat in bumper to bumper traffic all the way from the Whenua Tapu off ramp to Waikanae.  Crazy.  But I got to the Tabor house in plenty of time for a cup of tea with Aidan.  Toby was staying for the weekend.  Aidan is good to us.

Turns out Mike was held up in town a bit and negotiating traffic almost as bad.  So he was late getting to me.  I ate a sausage with everyone (barbecued sausages, nicely blackened, with grated cheese, tomato sauce (sorry, ketchup apparently - I can't tell any difference) and in a slice of bread).

When Mike eventually arrived, he also got a sausage.  And what's more, even our passenger (James, still in the car outside) got a sausage.  We were off and stopped at Levin to get more dinner and supplies for the weekend.  Then off again.  Up at the lodge around 10.30 or something.

Into bed and I had a broken sleep.  But not too bad.  Andrew was up early to ride around the entire volcanic plateau. Yes, crazy, isn't he?  And he did it too.  In 6 hours 20, and 175 km.  Wow!  Meanwhile, the rest of us went skiing.  The day was supposed to clag in, so the earlier the better.  Not much was open.  But we skied the Waterfall T and had fun.  But the queues were so long and the run so short.  But then they opened the Valley T and that was lovely.  We skied there all day.

See?  Nice conditions!

Mike was on skis for the first time in ages.  He kept muttering about how nice it would be on his board.  And he did a spectacular face plant down some sticky moguls right next to the T bar.  Choice!  I missed it all as I was negotiating the sticky moguls carefully.

More photos and videos of the weekend here...

Mike got a migraine right at the end of the day, but after some drugs and a quick nap he seemed ok if woozy.  Meanwhile I chatted to Andrew.  He was ravenous after his ride.  So we went off to the pub for dinner.  Ate a felafel burger and watched the first half of the rugby (All Blacks v Argentina) with Andrew on a couch.  We left at half time because we thought it'd be embarrassing if we both fell asleep on the couch and stayed for hours there.

Back to the lodge and I had a great sleep.  Mike came to bed late after playing the Battlestar Galactica Board Game with some others.  Sounds like it didn't end well for the humans.  But Mike welcomed his new Cylon overlords so all okay.

Up early to have breakfast and do a bit of tidying before Andrew and I headed off on our bikes.  We rode through heavy rain from Whakapapa Village to Waiouru.  I did 80 km in 3 hours.  I was slow from Ohakune to Waiouru.  I need a better breakfast on the morning of a big ride.  Andrew kept going to Taihape and in hindsight I should have too.  I sat in the Army Museum cafe for about 45 mins or more getting steadily colder.  I think it might have been better to keep riding and stay warm.  And the road from Waiouru to Taihape looked great to ride.

But it was nice to change into dry clothes when Mike got there.  Into the car and off to Taihape to collect Andrew's bike.  Then it was just me and Mike all the way home.  I was happy.  I haven't driven with him a long way for ages (he has always been driving the van).

At Waikanae we stayed for tea.  Pizzas.  I collected them (and some groceries) with Aidan.  Toby had a great time with Emerson and Duncan.  Emerson was sick, as was Aidan.  And Josh was busy in their bedroom getting it ready for the carpet getting laid today.  I picked grapefruit for Vivienne.  I must try and pop over to see her tonight.

I am away Tues to Fri for work.  In Auckland.  At a conference.  Filling my brain with Microsoft loveliness and schmoozing with clients.  And friends.  Heheheh.  Who may or may not work for the competition.  Right, Roz?

Have a fantastic week!  If you're in Wellington this week, keep an eye on Mike and Toby for me.
Love,
Angela