Out and About

 I've been out and about lately.  The other day I traveled down to Waikanae to visit my friend Trish who had recently moved from the Hutt Valley to her new home.  Rather than drive I took the bus down, which is free for oldies like me.  This bus route only travels on Tuesdays and Thursdays, departing from my home town at 9.00am then leaving Waikanae Railway Station  at 3.00pm.  Many locals take this trip down to Waikanae to then get the train into Wellington.

Trish collected me from the station and drove me back to her  new home.  Being brand new, everything is fresh, bright and airy, it was lovely indeed.  After a look around, we had coffee outside on the patio.  The day was glorious, fine, warm and sunny, a very pleasant  Autumn day indeed.  The village Trish has moved to is still under construction, and we watched as builders were climbing up and down the scaffolding with ease, obviously all fit young men with good balance, well used to working at heights.

New Summerset Village

Trish was keen to take us out to lunch at the cutest little pink bakery/cafe I've ever seen.  You could tell it was very popular with the locals as there was a steady stream of workers coming in to get their pies, bread rolls, sweet treats and coffees to take away.  This business was close by the beach so I could imagine workers sitting in their work trucks enjoying their lunch watching the waves roll it.  

Olde Beach Bakery

We sat in the courtyard to enjoy our lunch.  I was going to have a bread roll but they were huge, big man sized rolls for a hungry workman to devour but I didn't think I could manage one at all.  So we both ordered a French pastry and a nice hot coffee, chatting away under the shade outside.  Several customers had their dogs with them in the courtyard, the animals were well behaved sitting quietly at their owners feet and no bother at all.

Al Fresco lunch on a lovely sunny day

Then we drove down to Paraparaumu to the Mall to have a look around the shops.  Goodness me, a nice light jacket jumped into my bag and came home with me!  This is the same shopping mall I got lost in and couldn't find the correct exit last month when I took the coach tour trip to overnight in Wellington for dinner and a show.  Luckily Trish has a better sense of direction than me and we made it safely back to her car, and then drove back to Waikanae for me to get the bus home again.  I had a lovely time out and will certainly use the bus again in the future.  I may even hop on the train for an adventure, next time, that would be exciting!

The previous week I booked a seat on the Health Shuttle to Palmerston North -  it was time for my annual mammogram.  I was a little early so I sat and did  some knitting to pass the time.  These thick wooly socks hadn't seen the light of day for quite some time, so I was pleased to progress them a little further.  

Cozy socks for winter

Once the mammogram was done, I just sat and waited a short time till the shuttle collected me to take me back.  This is a wonderful service to get to health appointments, most people go to the hospital, but drop offs are made to other health venues as well.  All for the price of a donation.  Robin used to have a regular slot on the Heath Shuttle timetable and really enjoyed his time there.