{"id":12581,"date":"2024-05-16T22:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T10:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=12581"},"modified":"2024-05-19T22:09:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-19T10:09:05","slug":"happy-nz-birthday-mitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/16\/happy-nz-birthday-mitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy NZ Birthday Mitch!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Happy NZ Birthday Mitch! \ud83c\udf82 Lucky for him, he\u2019ll receive celebratory wishes on his NZ birthday today AND his American one tomorrow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Happy Bday Mitch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s time to celebrate with a three-hour drive to the West Coast. We hadn\u2019t planned on spending three hours in the car today, on Mitch\u2019s birthday of all days. Since we changed around our plans earlier in the week to do the hike, today had to be the day we drove to Whanganui<\/a> from Napier. Rather, today was the day I drove, so Mitch could enjoy being a back seat driver, I mean passenger, on our westward journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop was Mister D\u2019s for fresh made-to-order donuts. You place your order along with your choice of filling. A cinnamon sugar piping hot donut arrives with a syringe filled with coconut lime, chocolate, jam, custard or a choice of boozy flavors. Mitch had coconut lime and I had jam. They certainly didn\u2019t suck. Since I couldn\u2019t make Mitch a cake, this was the next best thing. Start the day with a donut. Hey, why not celebrate early in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The drive out of Napier was really beautiful as we headed west. The mountains, rolling hills and changing leaves were idyllic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our first planned stop was a gallery in Waipawa<\/a> called Artmosphere<\/a>. I checked the website last night to make sure they were open today, as shops here keep very finicky hours. When I drove up, the gates were shut and there was a closed banner flapping in the wind. Mitch called the store\u2019s phone number and was told Derek, who was due to run the store today, was \u201cunwell,\u201d and she, Debbie, hurt her back, so they won\u2019t be opening today. Alrighty. We pressed on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next was a stop in Waipukurau<\/a> to stretch our legs. Walking around, there seemed to be a large M\u0101ori \u201cMongrel Mob<\/a>\u201d gang presence<\/a> in the town. Not feeling totally safe, we quickly left, only to later read that the police were monitoring hundreds<\/a> of mob members in the town today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We drove to Palmerston North (\u201cPalmy\u201d to the locals) for a quick bite to eat and a wander around the city. As we were driving in it felt like we were back on the set of Lord of the Rings. The landscape was rolling hills and mountains dotted with sheep. It got really windy and then we saw the massive windmills on top of the hills as we climbed over the mountain pass into Palmerston North. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Palmerston North is a really big town and had some cool Art Deco buildings. We parked the car for a walk around the large town square. There was lots of street art like we\u2019ve seen in other NZ cities like Christchurch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Park in town center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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We happened upon a shop called Stamp Art<\/a>. It was closed (of course!), but when we peered through the window, we liked what we saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We called the number on the window and the artist said he could meet us at the shop in an hour and a half. We explored the town as we waited and had some pita and hummus at a nearby restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grant Ogilvie<\/a>, the artist, recycles vintage NZ stamps and uses them as a collage behind stencils. He started the hobby during Covid and turned it into a side business, where he now sells his pieces at his gallery and art shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our favorite piece was the large postage stamp he made of an iconic kiwi stamp that was in circulation at one time. He wouldn\u2019t sell that work to us, so we settled on a photo of it below. We bought another piece though, so come visit us in Denver to see the cool Kiwiana art on our wall!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artwork made from NZ stamps
Grant Ogilvie <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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I drove another hour west to Whanganui. Driving west here in the late afternoon means driving directly into the sun. Not fun. I could\u2019ve used a few phone books to sit on to raise me up off the seat to block the penetrating glare of the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We finally arrived in Whanganui to a warm and friendly welcome from Jenny, owner of Browns Boutique B&B, who showed us to our beautifully appointed suite. It was a sight for sore eyes after our long drive and we felt instantly relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a short rest, we headed out to celebrate Mitch\u2019s birthday at Maria Lane Eatery<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What an excellent find! Great drinks and delicious food, especially the pillowy gnocchi with roasted pumpkin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chef<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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After dinner, we headed back to our B&B for dessert and tea in our room. We retired for the night to luxuriously soft linens, an amazingly comfortable bed and total silence. Not a train in sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our current location<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 16 Happy NZ Birthday Mitch! \ud83c\udf82 Lucky for him, he\u2019ll receive celebratory wishes on his NZ birthday today AND his American one tomorrow! It\u2019s time to celebrate with a three-hour drive to the West Coast. We hadn\u2019t planned on spending three hours in the car today, on Mitch\u2019s birthday of all days. Since we … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-north-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_0106-1.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":373,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/26\/cable-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":0},"title":"Cable Bay","author":"Victoria","date":"26 January 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"January 26 Cable Bay Panorama We started our day on a very winding road to\u00a0Cable Bay\u00a0just outside Nelson. Eyes on the road, Mitch! No sooner had I laid my towel down on the rocks, the\u00a0sandflies\u00a0started feasting on me. Welp that was the quickest beach day ever. Packed it all up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12890,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/17\/birthday-2-a-wander-around-whanganui\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":1},"title":"Birthday #2 – A Wander Around Whanganui","author":"Victoria","date":"17 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"May 17 Happy USA Birthday Mitch! One of the best things about being a day ahead is that you get to celebrate the great things twice. Those in the States celebrating Mitch\u2019s real bday started texting and calling when we woke up. So today was the second day celebrating his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_0445-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_0445-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_0445-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_0445-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":734,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/02\/the-return-to-picton\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":2},"title":"The Return to Picton","author":"Victoria","date":"2 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 2 The word of the day is CHILL. We grabbed some pastries for breakfast at the Dutch inspired Picton Village Bakkerij and then popped to the grocery store, not once, but twice. Very exciting! Wandering the store, I noticed the aisle signs. I love how the Maori language, called\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_5034-1.jpg?fit=818%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_5034-1.jpg?fit=818%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_5034-1.jpg?fit=818%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_5034-1.jpg?fit=818%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8176,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/30\/fly-like-an-eagle\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":3},"title":"Fly Like An Eagle","author":"Victoria","date":"30 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 30 What a beautiful day to take a scenic helicopter flight over six NZ glaciers. It\u2019s also a great day to take video of Mitch going up in the helicopter for his flight while I wait safely with my feet on the ground. The pilot was clucking at me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_8223-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_8223-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_8223-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_8223-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_8223-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13234,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/02\/back-to-life-back-to-reality\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":4},"title":"Back to Life. 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Our reason for the delay in sending this last blog is we\u2019ve simply been sucked back into our humdrum,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/backtolife.jpg?fit=479%2C346&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7342,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/19\/the-best-view-comes-after-the-hardest-climb\/","url_meta":{"origin":12581,"position":5},"title":"\u201cThe best view comes after the hardest climb.\u201d","author":"Victoria","date":"19 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 19 Roy\u2019s Peak Summit Roy\u2019s Peak hike was a 10-mile combo of Day 3 of the Milford Track and Day 3 of the Queen Charlotte Trek, all rolled into an excruciating 4-hour climb, with an extra few thousand feet of elevation gain thrown in for good measure. 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