On the road again...

Not much to report over these past few weeks. Clem has hung up his steel toes and high-vis vest in exchange for swimming trunks and flip flops! He finished work on Friday so now we are gearing up to take off on our travels again. We’ve been cruising around trying to catch the sun whenever we can…hasn’t been easy. The weather here has been rather poor. It was rainy, windy and cold for almost three weeks straight. It even got to the point on one day that people were wearing their down-filled winter jackets, hats, and mitts! Ole’ “purps” (my purple hoodie that has saved my life on numerous occasions) was resurrected from the closet for a few days there; I’m hoping to retire her soon though. “Chez Barber Julez” has been hopping with business, with the addition of a second client and one repeat customer (he usually requires my services about every 3-4 weeks). I’m starting to get into the sideburn and facial hair specialties, which I hope will attract local gents. I’ll keep you all posted on the success of the business over the course of our travels.

Today has been a really exciting day for us as Clement’s parents arrived from Charlottetown, PE this morning! It was so nice to see familiar faces walking down the stairs at the airport and of course, to have them here in NZ with us for our last month in this beautiful country! We are going to spend the next two days showing them some of the Wellington sights and then we leave for our East Coast tour on Thursday morning. We’ll be gone for 6 days and then back in Wellington for a few before taking off to the South Island for some more fun. We are hoping the weather decides to cooperate to allow us to get the best out of Wellington while they are in town. Either way, we are thrilled to have them here!

Speaking of Wellington sights, there is a certain someone who we must share with you. There hasn’t been a day since our arrival in Wellington that “Blanket Man” didn’t come up in conversation or brighten our day in one way or another. To give you a brief lowdown, “Blanket Man” is a local Wellington celebrity. He is a homeless man who sits on the street corner in nothing but a small piece of material to cover what legally needs to be covered and of course, his blanket. Everyone knows him (there isn’t one Wellingtonian who wouldn’t know him) and always crack a little smile as they walk by him. He is harmless, never begs, and doesn’t do much other than stomp his feet and chant (mumble) loudly at people as they walk by. Oh, and the odd time you see more than you bargained for but that’s the name of the game with “Blanket Man”. I’ll attach his Wikipedia site (yes, he even has a Wiki site!) to allow you to get the whole story but just wanted to share him with everyone. No matter the day of the week or time of day, you’ll pass him (or at the very least hear him) at the same spot on Courtney Place (the main drag for bars and pubs). He always has a crushed can of “V” (energy drink) and his Ipod….we are still trying to figure out how he charges that thing!?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hana