Dad and I in New Plymouth

Not surprisingly, Dad wanted to see the city where we would be moving in about a month (I can't believe it's so soon). That worked out great, because I wanted to show him around a bit, and I also wanted to go and visit the kindergarten to which I was applying. We went over to New Plymouth in the middle week of his trip.

We left fairly early in the morning, as it is a bit over two hours away, and I had an appointment at the kindy (kindergarten) at 10:00. It was sunny in Whanganui, but the closer we got to New Plymouth, the rainier it got. I was not pleased with this development, for two reasons; 1) I wanted to take Dad walking on the Coastal Walkway, and 2) it was not helping me in my efforts not to believe people who told me it rained all the time in New Plymouth. Someone at work told me, "If you can see the mountain (through the clouds), it's about to rain, and if you can't see the mountain, it's raining." Yay. Not.

Anyway, I dropped Dad off at the library in torrential rain, and headed to kindy for a visit. I am determined to spare myself the internal turmoil of trying to tell you about a place at which I may never have a job, so don't ask. I picked Dad back up during more torrential rain, and after getting soaked to the bone trying to pay the damn parking meter, we found a lovely little restaurant for lunch. It was a seafood place, and we had wonderful meals.

The best part came after the meal. The nice lady who had served us gave us marshmallow chocolate fish (seafood, you know), and I told her that they were my husband's favourite, and that he would be jealous that he'd missed out. She laughed as she took our dishes away. Then, as we were heading out the door, she brought me a little bag and said, "Some fish for your husband, so he doesn't have to be jealous." How sweet is that? J and I will definitely become regulars at that restaurant!

As we finished eating, the rain slowed to just the slightest drizzle, and we decided to risk a stroll on the Coastal Walkway. I will probably post more about it sometime, but here is the short version - it is 10km (6.2mi) long, all the way across the coast of New Plymouth (which is right at the edge of downtown). As you will see in my pictures, parts of it are along the beach, and other parts are by huge rocks, but all of it is beautiful. New Plymouth has won awards for being cycle-friendly, and it is a big part of why.

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There is this crazy/amazing, HUGE piece of arty science on the walkway. For a bit of perspective, notice the person standing next to the fence (to the left) that looks like a dot. This thing is made of super strong but fairly flexible fibreglass, and is actually a "wind wand" that shows which way the wind is blowing. Apparently, New Plymouth is a very appropriate place for such a piece of art, as it is usually quite windy there. That is true of most of NZ, really.

Despite the grey skies, it was a lovely walk. I had fun hopping from rock to rock.

Dad and I were fascinated by the way the rock cliffs had been shaped and carved over the years. 

Suddenly... blue sky! The wind finally blew some of the clouds away, and out came the sun! Dad looks like a true Kiwi with his sun hat and shorts!

By the time we made it down to the beachy part of the coast, almost all the clouds were gone, and it was a stunning afternoon. We had a lovely walk. I was encouraged to see lots of dogs playing on the beach, and I am excited to take Holly when we move. There are signs that say dogs should be on leashes, but not one dog we saw was on one, so perhaps it is not very important.

I had been telling Dad before we drove to New Plymouth how cool it was that you could see Mount Taranaki from anywhere in town. Well, no such luck when it was raining, but we got an awesome view from the beach when the clouds moved a bit! Perhaps it is my Kansan experience of endless prairies, but it is still crazy to me that I can have my feet in the ocean and see a mountain. It will be even more phenomenal when it has snow on the top, as it apparently usually does.

Also, I made sure to get that tree in the picture - another one of Dad's and my favourite kind. Isn't it neat how the branches only grow at certain heights, and all the way around the truck at those particular heights? 

On the way back through town, we ended up on a hill, and got a little bit closer view of Mount Taranaki. Pretty neat, hey? It is still classified as an "active" volcano, but it hasn't done anything exciting in a very long time, so no worries.