A Good Day

We drove from Wellington to New Plymouth yesterday. This is the view out our hotel room’s back window. And this is out the front: Mount Taranaki. Here’s a better view from the drive in: . Tomorrow we are going partway up it to a garden. Today, we walked seven miles along the coastal walkway on the city’s waterfront, with black sand beaches , Maori sculpture , limestone cliffs , and exotic birds . The sun shone all day, but a cool sea breeze prevented it from being too hot. We had a lovely long lunch of scallops along with seafood fritters, watching the tide roll out in the port right in front of our restaurant. Then tonight, we went bowling. It was more relaxed than many other days when we had to drive to hiking trails or get from Point A to Point B. It’s the kind of day you dream of when you imagine a vacation.