On beyond Napier

Sigh. No pictures now, computer took a header and the hard drive is toast.

We left Napier and headed north. Long day, but lovely. Stopped for tea at an wonderful find, a tea shop just along the side of the road that had the world's best date scones, and a wonderful, heartful woman who was delighted to see us.

She had a cat there, named Tarquin, and we took pix of BD with the cat. BD is finally fully clothed, having gotten a shirt in the last couple of days. I embroidered a fish hook on it, which is a common symbol in New Zealand, but I did it by memory and it also looks like a koru, the lovely graceful unfurling fern frond that means new beginnings. Maria, the cafe owner, was very taken with it and showed us the work of a local artist named Bones, who carves wonderful things out of Bone.

BD, btw, stands for Barb Doll. Barb couldn't come with us, so we took a doll and have added NZ things to her as we've traveled, and included her in many pictures. She's had a great time, and we've had fun carrying her around. Others have really enjoyed her too.