The following is a slightly revised (I corrected numerous errors) copy of a post from ten years ago, found here.
“When we arrived in New Plymouth 15 days ago, we expected WiFi to be available. This wasn’t the case, and we had no choice but to head to a local phone store, buy a device, and load up on expensive data.
To date, we’ve spent NZ 593 and US $388 on Internet access fees, an expense we hadn’t anticipated. Don’t get me wrong… the owners are very kind and caring people, and we’ve greatly appreciated their efforts and attention to detail.
They had no idea it would take so long to get service, assuming only a day or two. They’d tried to arrange it over the holidays but couldn’t pin down a date. We have no doubt they tried. But, as in many parts of the world, not everything happens according to a schedule one would prefer.
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| Ornate house on a corner. |
Actually, we feel bad about how much pressure we’ve placed on them as the WiFi bill continues to rack up expenses day after day. Yesterday, I paid the bill after Spark set up an account for us to be paid monthly, without requiring a 12-month contract.
Yesterday, Trish stopped by with an extra fan (without our asking) since we’ve been hauling the one fan we had up and down the stairs every day. Although the air is relatively cool here in summer, the metal roof makes the house very hot on sunny days.
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| St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in downtown New Plymouth is another historic building. |
We’ve decided to keep the doors open, welcoming the cool breezes most days, and deal with the flies. They aren’t biting flies and seem fairly easy to swat with the flyswatter we purchased. They are considerably less prevalent on cooler, windy days. By dinner time, we close the doors, kill the flies, and have dinner, preferring that no flies buzz over our food. This plan seems to be working.
After handing me the fan, Trish explained she’d heard from Vodafone, who are to arrive today. We had an appointment with June for today and had planned to grocery shop after we were done. We immediately contacted June, apologizing and kindly asking that we change the date. She was happy to make a change.
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| Contemporary houses overlooking the ocean. |
In the process, we decided to postpone the grocery shopping until Thursday, after Tom’s 10:15 dentist appointment. We have enough food on hand for Wednesday’s meals. Goodness, we haven’t had “appointments” to speak of other than our medical exams while in Australia.
We’ve loved having a simple life, avoiding planning and instead waiting until we “feel like” doing something. Now, we have three dinner reservations looming: for Valentine’s Day, my birthday, and our anniversary; Tom’s dental appointments; and the meeting with June.
Has our free-spirited lifestyle taken a break while we’re here in convenient New Zealand with everything we could need or want at our fingertips? There’s even a movie theatre here showing current US movies at NZ 10, US $6.55 for seniors. Perhaps, we’ll give it a try on a rainy day.
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| Modern-style houses and apartments. |
The last time Tom and I attended a movie together was in the theatres on cruise ships or watching on the huge screen out by the beach, but attending an actual movie theatre?
The last time I attended a movie, Interstellar, was with my son Greg in December 2014 in Hawaii, when the family visited us on the Big Island. Both my sons and I always enjoyed attending movies together, especially back in my days of eating popcorn, long since passed.
Seldom do we have access to an English-speaking movie theatre. Seldom do we make appointments, locking ourselves into specific dates and times for events, except on travel days.
As much as parts of our lives may require extensive planning and preparation for the next leg of the journey, the next year, and, oftentimes, two years out, our daily lives are simple and uncomplicated. Somehow, it all works.
When all is said and done, we’re blissfully happy. Having accomplished that single feat in life is more than either of us ever expected during these “golden years” of our lives.
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| On Valentine’s night, we have a dinner reservation at Table Restaurant, as shown on the right of this photo. |
Isn’t that our ultimate desire… happiness, seemingly elusive, yet once a decision is made to become happy? We often find the opportunities to do so right at our fingertips. We’re truly blessed and grateful to have found it, and we’ll continue to hang on tight for as long as we can.
May your day bring you happiness.”
After reading this ten-year-old post, I don’t see that we’ve changed that much. We may have become more tolerant, resilient, and perhaps even more resourceful after a plethora of unexpected experiences. We are still the same individuals and the same couple who thrive on life on the road and being together. Who knows what the future holds, or whether we’ll still be traveling in years to come? We live one day at a time, grateful for every opportunity, for every moment, of precious life on the move in this vast world.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, February 2, 2016:
