The next morning after showering and breakfast (having slept in the world's most comfortable twin beds) we walked down the hill from the Smith's and into the downtown area of New Plymouth. We walked down to the boardwalk and waited for the other Rotarians (about 12 others) to join us.
Around 10:15 am, we saw the wind wand which is a giant piece of fiberglass modern art that blows in the wind. The first time they built it, it broke because it gets so windy. Once our group assembled, Josh and I saw that we were the youngest people by a good thirty years, and it was funny because Bernice told Josh and I that when they returned to Sarah's house the night before Sarah said, "Mom, you didn't tell me that Josh and Janell were young!" Sarah is 30 and Bernice said that Sarah and Andrew had invited us to come back and stay at their house so we can climb Mount Taranaki.
Well, we walked down the boardwalk until it ran out of board (actually, it was a standard sidewalk along the coast), Josh and I slid down a long slide that ran along a hill, we had silly pictures taken where you stick your head into a cutout painting, we saw a factory where they produce 25 million dollar yachts, and grabbed some lunch at a place called Bach (sounds like Bachelor). A Bach is a beach house or shack but this place was decked out really nice. Josh had a milk shake (which was like vanilla flavored milk not ice cream), I had kumara wedges (which were sweet tasting...which is wrong for a french fry to taste like so I thought I was going to puke after eating half of them), and I also had an iced coffee (ok). So, for being such a nicely decorated place with a view of the ocean, the food was a let down. 
After lunch it was onward back to the cars, however, just when we thought we were going to get a break and be able to go home and rest before dinner at 6, we were sucked into going to the local area museum called Puke Ariki (Poo-key Ar-e-key) where we learned about the local history. It is an EXCELLENT museum but I was a bit burned out and we weren't given a specific time to meet back up so we just wondered around for what seemed a long while.
When we saw the group assembling at the door we went downstairs and that's where we met Pauline. Pauline is a French high school student on a Rotary Youth Exchange. She's studying in Palmerston North although technically, she's already finished her degree in France and she'll be starting university in September back home. When she came to New Zealand, she spoke no English. She is speaking it well now though. She was being hosted by Jill and Lindsay over the weekend but has a different host family in Palmy.
So, after chatting at the door, we thought ok NOW we get to go rest....but NO, it wasn't so. We walked up town to the modern art gallery. Both the art gallery and museum were free which was very nice. I liked having a look around. Earlier on in the day, Anne wisely had gone home to take the laundry off the line (thereby missing all the additional walking) so Ross gave her a call and she picked us up around 4:30 pm.
We went back up to their house, had a diet Coke, watched some rugby for a quick lesson on a version of the sport called Sevens (seven players per team rather than proper rugby which has fifteen members per team), changed clothes...keeping in mind that after dinner we'd be going for a walk in the park, and then we were off again to a restaurant called Marbles which is a buffet style place located inside a hotel. There are a lot of restaurants in hotels here and people eat at them more than I think they do in the states.
Ross bought Josh and I a beer from the bar inside the hotel (I think Ross thought it was odd that I would order a beer...in a handled mug no less...but, you have to be yourself). While we waited for the rest of the Rotary group to show up, we talked to Ed and Faye who were New Plymouth Rotarians like Anne and Ross. Ed and Faye said they were going to meet up with a couple from Las Cruces that they'd met on a tour in the USA 2 years ago in Christchurch on the South Island in the next week or so. We told them that we'd lived in Las Cruces for 2 years...small world.
Once the group arrived, we had dinner. It was a nice buffet and Josh had lots of seafood and lamb. I stuck to fish sticks and fries and lots of desserts. They had a tea and coffee machine there too and I loved that! Josh and I mainly spoke to Pauline during dinner. Interesting conversation about the similarities of French and US issues. For 18 years old, Pauline is very mature and engaged in talking about world issues. Apparently, she was the number 2 ballerina in all of France for her age group. She's given it up for yoga now and her mom is upset at the weight she's put on by being in New Zealand...and this girl is tiny!
They do eat differently here though. Lots of small meals and tea and all that. We're not used to it yet. Our style at home was a small, quick on the go breakfast, medium sized lunch, and bigger dinner. Also, Josh and I said if we're going to have guests over to the house, we're going to have to buy what they call an "electric jug." Basically, an electric kettle for making hot water for tea. As they say, "When in Rome...."
Which is funny because the Marbles restaurant was Roman themed yet every thirty minutes a pop song would come on and the waitresses (all girls) would do a dance routine. It was a bit hard to get back to your table from the buffet if the dancing was going on! Also, our dinner table view outside was of the outdoor swimming pool area with people sitting in the Roman style hot tub...funny!
Long dinner over around 9:00, we drove out to the park where they have live music and the trees and waterfalls lit up with colorful lights. This park walk was free too. Seeing the trees lit up made it seem like we were inside a building but you were outside and underneath the stars. Our group split up for the walk and met back at the gates at 10. Josh and I had walked with Anne, David, and Bernice, so when we were done walking, we told the Collis's goodbye since they were staying on another night and not coming out to brunch in the park the next day.We made arrangements for Anne and Ross to take us back to the park for breakfast in the morning although they would not be able to make it because of committments they had with their church. We touched base with Jon and Lyndsay about meeting them at brunch to catch our ride with them back to Palmerston North. Brunch was set for 10 am and Anne and Ross would have us to the park at 9:30.
We returned to Anne and Ross's house and Anne asked us if we'd like a milk drink or a Milo (which is a hot chocolate). We had a drink and the rest of the Mellowpuffs and a chat about all the international visitors who have stayed with them. They even have a guest book for people to sign. Then, it was finally time for sleep just before midnight! We were so tired!
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