Jan 30

Tuesday, January 30

The next morning, we got up and made breakfast before heading across the street to the Victoria Esplanade. I'd wanted to go there the night before but we were too tired. The grounds were awesome and we soon found the rose gardens which were amazing. Because it had rained earlier in the morning, the roses were covered in dew. Our favorite rose names were Sexy Rexy and Dark Moments. This place is so cool because you can walk on the grass amongst all the different roses and there are benches scattered around to sit on. You definitely need to wear layers in NZ though because just walking through the garden switched from sunny and warm to cloudy and breezy.

After the rose gardens, we wondered past a kid's wading pool and an aviary. There were also some green houses that we walked through. All for free. We then sat down on a bench to watch the ducks before crossing the street to the Visitor's Center. After a look around there, we asked for directions to the river walk and found it easily.
In thinking about visiting the Victoria Esplanade while still living in Fayetteville, I didn't have the full picture of things in my mind (and you never can have a full, true image of how a place will be before you get there). I mean this in the sense that in my mind, I just thought I would walk through a garden area. I didn't imagine the over layering sounds of my feet walking on gravel, the bird singing up above in the trees that were blowing in the wind while in the distance I could hear a parent calling out to a child. And the visual green canopy of trees overlapping in my senses with the smell of wet earth because it had rained earlier that morning. That is how it really was. So much more than I imagined.

Down at the river, we thought the water ran low but that could be because it is summer. The banks of the Manawatu (emphasis on the TU) River flood about every two years. We could see the mountains in the distance and again the windfarm. Making it back to theEsplanade entrance, we decided to check out the bus schedule on Park Road.

We originally looked at renting a house on Park Road while we were still in the states. It is a bigger house, however, Park Road is a much busier street. We like that we are only one street west of Park but in a quieter more residential area. Anyway, the bus system. It seemed fairly straight foward so Josh and I made a plan to have some lunch then come back to take the bus into town. Grilled ham and cheese and chips and we were back to catch the 2:10 bus. But the 2:10 bus ran at 2:08 (or our watches were slow) so we had to catch the 2:35 going in the opposite direction than we wanted but it would still get us into town faster than waiting for the 3:20 bus.

We bought our "Go Cards" which are supposed to offer a better deal to users. The bus was easy to use and we were soon at the Square so we walked down to the Plaza so we could buy more housewares at Kmart.

We bought a couple of towels, slipcovers for the three love seats, throw pillows, hangers, liners for the kitchen drawers, spray cleaner and sponges, etc. Whatever we bought we'd have to carry to the bus, so we limited our purchases somewhat.But when it came time to catch the bus, we had just missed one and would have to wait an hour until the next one.

I could be home before the next bus came if I walked, so Josh and I set out on an adventure (bags and all) to get home. It was a 25 minute walk on flat ground from the Plaza to home. Not bad at all and Josh said he didn't even break a sweat. Well....that was because there was so much freaking wind...and did I mention I was wearing a skirt?!? Note to self: Do not wear skirts in Palmerston North! I think I flashed a lady as we were walking through a quiet neighborhood to get to our house!

We made it back home and put the covers on the sofas and unloaded our suitcases. Finally hanging things up and putting them into drawers was a nice feeling. David came by at 5 to check on us and I think he could see that we were doing well. We got the phone working at home and the internet. After David left, I called my om which was nice. Josh still hasn't called his family.

Josh and I made a speghetti dinner with garlic bread and olives. A true accomplishment with a small cooking pot as our main kitchen equipment. The food was good but Josh says our bowls are too small to eat dinner out of. I've been washing a lot of dishes by hand since everything is new and coming out of boxes or its package. Then, washing things again after the meal. What else do I have to do though?