The goal in Paihia was to meet up with my second cousin, Marni Friesen. I hadn't connected in-person with Marni since we were kids in Sidney. Marni and her husband Mike, have lived in or near Paihia for a few years. We emailed her weeks before and decided upon an afternoon: this afternoon. We emailed an hour before and decided upon a general location: Russell. Once we arrived in Russell, we found wifi again and emailed the name of the cafe at which we were having lunch: Waterfront Cafe. We stood outside the cafe and watched as two people went in looking for someone ... and we connected!
We chatted as we walked up Flagstaff Hill. That happened to be a great choice because from the top they could point out roughly where they were house-sitting, plus a few other places we could see. We walked back to the waterfront and paddled out to their sailboat. What a great connection! We sipped wine and munched on appies while we sat on their boat. They paddled us back to shore in time for our 5PM sailing back to Paihia, then waved as our ferry passed them tacking hard on their way home!
From there, we went back to the room and changed for dinner. We met at 6;30 at the Base Backpackers for BBQ steak and potatoes. We chatted before, during, and after dinner ... until most of us left around 10PM.
Sounds like a good day. I'm curious to see what Marnie looks like, as I haven't seen her since she was a young teenager I think.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds like a fun day! We are happy to hear you hooked up with Marni & Mike and had the chance to enjoy their hospitality and their boat. Have another great day.
ReplyDeleteMarni is SO nice! I got to meet her a few years ago (she wanted to buy my laundry soap when she was here) we got to visit a few times and then she saved our bacon by re-stitching the awning to the tent trailer we were sharing with the Duncans. I'm not surprised that you had a great time with her and Mike!! So happy you connected.
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