Hamilton, NZ Sat-Jan-9-2010

An inviting sunrise and a hot air balloon floating along in the morning air thermals greet us this morning. Sassy is warming to us – I was able to eat my cereal while she ate her breakfast; then I’m certain she meow the word ‘out’ for me to open the door for her versus using her ‘pet door’. As the saying goes “loneliness may make strange bedfellows”!
We relax on the patio – tempered glass enclosure – with a view of Hamilton. The morning sun warms our bones and the glass breaks the chill in the wind. Before too long, we need our Tilley hats for shade! The task for today is to secure a rental car; while the transit system appears to be quite good, a car is really needed. After several hours – no car is booked but we are hopeful – tomorrow.
We need more groceries; with the help of Google Maps we plot a route to New World Shopping. It is 2.9K & 6 streets. The houses are all bungalows, tiled roofs, lawns with roses, lavender, hydrangeas, ferns and lilies everywhere. The street divide is a mass of colour. Plants in Canada, are trees here! The street names are Buckingham, Avalon, Thomas, etc. A heavy influence of Britain, a gentle reminder of our common ancestral roots!
Our big adventure was our hike to the grocery store and back. We took a knapsack; that + a couple of grocery bags we shared the return load. Notwithstanding the 6K walk in warm sunshine made us glad to make it back to a cool beer! Our meals have been lite cuisine: sandwiches, cheese & crackers, cereal and, of course, coffee with Baileys! Once we have a car we can shop for heavier items and a wider range of food selections – not to mention local wines! For now we rest & rejuvenate! Day 2 finds us early to bed & boy does the bed feel great!