Another Tuesday in NZ

I’m being used for my driving prowess…I am used to driving on the left side of the road so we rented a car last night and went to dinner at Indochine, an infusion of Indonesian and Chinese cuisine. The dinner was excellent, I had a Tuna steak. Dessert was amazing! A ginger bread pudding cake with vanilla ice cream that was out of this world. I almost licked the plate. Upon our return to The Commodore we ran into “Cock Reynolds”. This guy is the cream of the crop and Cock Reynolds is what he has been named by my crew. I’m sure you are wondering why he should have such a name. Well, it started one evening as we were sitting in the hotel restaurant. John was sitting near Cock Reynolds and his friend who were talking to the bartenders. These guys apparently didn’t have any scruples and were talking quite grossly about the two young bartenders when they walked away. Two of America’s finest…NOT. John was pretty disappointed in these two men and had heard that one of them had a nickname of “Cockroach”. This name pretty much spoke for itself and we decided that he probably earned that name in the same manner in which he was acting that night. The following night we ran into Cock Reynolds again but this time Cock had paid a visit to the L’Oreal Studios or quite possibly bought a bottle of “Just for Men” because his hair and mustache (one of those not so well kept bushy mustaches) had changed from grey to black. I thought he looked a lot like Burt Reynolds, John added that he was still a cockroach thus the name “Cock Reynolds” was born. While I’m thinking about it…I went back and put some pictures on some of my previous blog entries. Take a moment to enjoy some photography. I went for coffee this morning in the hotel restaurant…my daily ritual. The staff now greets me with a cup, made just like I like it. I ran into Michael, if you think back this is the hotel owner’s son who is very, very hospitable. He is glad that I was able to get a rental car and is worried about how we will get around the city without a guide. Michael has offered up one of his staff, a girl by the name of Anne. I assure him that we will make it around the city just fine and thanked him for his hospitality. Unbeknownst to me, Michael has the same conversation with Greg just minutes later. Greg again, assures him that we will make it just fine. Unbeknownst to myself or Greg, Michael corners John just minutes later with the same concern and not only tells him that he wanted us to use the hotel van but also offers up Anne and insists that we allow her to take us for a tour and lunch on the hotel’s bill. Although this is a very kind gesture, we all agree that we are fine! We quickly exited the hotel, jumped in the car and made our escape before Michael was able to find us again! I voted today, mailed in my federal write in ballot. I sang the National Anthem as I wrote in my picks and said the Pledge of Allegiance after giving the envelope to the guy at the counter. Just kidding…I did my civic duty and Mom will be proud. We are taking Jennifer to the Tap Room tonight so she can experience cooking meat on a stone. By the way, the picture today is actually from last week at The Tap Room. We are also hoping for the ½ price specials that we received last week! Our departure should be tonight. It’s 1600 and we’ve heard nothing to the contrary. Hopefully, my next entry will be from the ice.