I did really well combining two outings to the Manawatu today. Always a good thing with the way the price of fuel is these days. So up SH1 I drove, turning off at Foxton and continuing along the road to Foxton Beach. I was a little early so went down to look at the Foxton Estuary. You may remember that I came on a bus trip here for senior citizens here recently to celebrate Matariki. My little car did a good job of getting me there safely, as I looked out over the estuary. I spotted some gulls paddling about on the water's edge. This area is protected sanctuary for wading birds.
My trusty little Toyota Corolla
Manawatu Estuary - Ramsar Wetland of International Importance
There were several groups of people fishing, and I didn't think to ask what species they were hoping to catch. Of course, fishermen take their sport very seriously, don't they.
How's the fishing going?
The real reason I was in the area was to catch up with the caravan club members for morning tea. They were holding a weekend rally at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds. No dogs allowed at this camp, but as there was no mention of cats, we used to take Gemma caravanning here with us. Not that she ever ran free, that wasn't allowed, but she was always happy to relax inside the caravan and snooze the weekend away. It was just as well that I had the code number written down to lift the barrier arm up for entry into the grounds.
Manawatu Caravan Club
It was quite a cloudy day, and morning tea was held inside the roomy hall, so we were nice and cozy. It was a special occasion indeed as club members Maureen and Russell were celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary! Seems that plans were in place for special celebrations in the evening.
Congratulations to Russell and Maureen
The club has gained several new members since my caravanning days. But there were still plenty of friendly faces from earlier years, and it was nice to catch up with them all.
Maureen, Jenny and Dot
Then it was time to move on, saying goodbye, I got on my way. The next outing was to meet up with my daughter Nicky for lunch. And both granddaughters were coming too, so that was lovely. I drove back from the beach to Robert Harris Cafe in Foxton (town). This is always such a busy place. I was a little early so arrived first and grabbed a table for us all. That gave me time to check out the menu, and look at the cabinet food - sadly I'm a real procrastinator in cafes! What looks the nicest, I'm thinking. I eventually decided on salmon roulade, Nicky had her favourite Eggs Benedict, and I can't remember what the girls ordered, as I forgot to take a photo of the food. But we all managed to clear our plates, so the meals must have been rather good.
I asked the nice young waiter if he could take a photo for me, and was he OK using a camera? Lots of young people only use phones for photos and I've had someone before go and get an older person to help. It was no trouble at all, he said, he knows all about cameras and has a business taking wedding photos.
Megan, Emma, Nicky and Jenny
We had a lovely lunch, the conversation covered lots of topics, horses of course, as both girls are keen riders. And remembering Robin, which was so nice, Robin was their step-granddad. After our rather long lunch we went out to the cars to swap what we had. A small carry on bag for Robert, and a brand new "still in the package" fat quarter bag for Nicky that I had found tucked away in my sewing room. And there was home grown citrus from Megan's trees for me, oranges, lemons and grapefruit, and an individual pumpkin pie from Emma.
Oranges and lemons
More farewells and we went our separate ways. There was just one more stop for me, Foxes Cottage was just down the road. I was after some red Perle no 5 thread, for a slow stitching project. Luckily they had what I needed, no need to browse for anything else, and off I went, heading homewards. A customer in the quilt shop stopped me to comment on my Scottish jumper, wasn't that nice.
My only purchase, I was very restrained
So it was a lovely day indeed, catching up with caravan friends, and then enjoying a family lunch.
1 comment:
it sounds like you have a great busy day! that is a pretty sweater you are wearing.
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