QUESTION - When the weather is bad where do you go?

Is it
a) stay indoor and read a book or hire a video
or
b) go the beach and paddle in the South Pacific.

Yes the correct answer is b!!!
No I was fed up with the weather and being at home then work then home again. So I said on Saturday (and it was lovely on Sat) "s*d it I am going the beach tomorrow, I don't care what the weather is doing". I really miss being quite close to the water and love to go the beach and summer seems to be taking its time coming.

Well woke up to grey clouds and rain (more blinkin rain! What the f....) Key and Lou thought I was mad and didn't want to go (think Kevin the teenager here) and as the norm a fight was to be won before we ventured out.

The rain wasn't so bad on the Bay of Plenty, and we went to the Mount. Paddy just loved running around with the kids well Key as Lou got a migraine (her first one poor thing). When we got there we saw the saddest thing - a tiny penguin (well smaller then the ones at Chester Zoo) dead in the surf!!! Our first penguin in NZ and it was dead. So sad.

Anyway I rolled up my jeans (POM alert and northern POM at that! were is the knotted hanky the kiwi's were crying) and paddled in the water, sorry Ocean (still love saying that). I have had a rash (long story - don't ask) hence why I was also fed up, and I wanted to bathe in the water to see if that helped any. The water was so blinkin freezin (like being back at Southport!) but it felt good. Key had a good time paddling in the Ocean.

We then headed into the town and had a hot chocolate/coffee at Starbucks. Although now Starbucks coffee/chocolate doesn't taste as nice as other local coffee shops. Starbucks is sentimental for us, as it was Starbucks (within Borders) in Speke where me and Stevie talked about our move to New Zealand and filled in some of the paperwork. So Starbucks has a special meaning for us and that's why we go there especially when at the Mount.

The weather still looked amazing when the cloud was over the Kaimai range (we had to go over those)

These photos were taking on my phone.


We have been watching Austin Powers so that's our 'theme' photo taking now. We have to do Dr Evil photos were ever we go!!!