Bookends from our recent vacation, from which we are still recovering!

Perhaps one of the nicest things about car travel in New Zealand is the abundance of wonderful cafes dotting State Highway One. In lieu of the huge rest-stop mini-mall complexes providing oases along US highways, NZ offers up little hobbit-like watering holes, each unique and proud. 

On our way north to the popular holiday spot Lake Taupo, we stopped in Taihape (pronounced TIE-HAPPY :). This lovely cafe, like most others, serves barista coffees, soups, sandwiches, baked goods, burgers, and more, and offers a sandpit and garden out back for children. AND, it's just one of two or three in little, backwater Taihape!

 

Piper was less than impressed by sitting strapped into a seat, facing backwards for the five hours to Taupo, but she did well overall. About an hour from our destination, however, she lost it. We got out for milk and hide and seek! 

As is famously commanded by Princess Buttercup's prince, "Skip to the End!" We skip to the culmination of our holiday. Here, we were warmly and wonderfully welcomed by Chris's brother Richy, his wife Jenny, and their two boys Charlie (4) and Leo (2). To break our journey, we stayed the night on their mini-farm about 2 hours from our house.

Piper could have moved in! She bottle-fed the orphan lamb, jumped on the trampoulines, played in the sandpit, and generally just enjoyed the companionship of her big cousins. When she woke on Sunday morning, I plunked her down into the farmhouse's large dining room/kitchen. As she slowly woke and took in her surroundings, her little face broke into a huge smile to realise she was still there with Leo and Charlie!! 

 
A very tired Piper and her comrade Leo at Leo's grandma's house.

 Auntie Denise and Uncle Norm (Leo and Charlie's grandma and grandpa) are accomplished gardeners. Piper took advantage of their beautiful new concrete walkways to push her stroller with focus.

We sampled eatable flowers and fresh beans, and were gifted with beautiful, garden-fresh kale. Chris dreams of nurturing his own veggie patch someday! Norm and Denise will certainly be ready for an earthquake.