Napier
Usually street performers, including guitar-banging no-talent
Bob Dylan wannabes, are young folks trying to make, perhaps, a living, but
more likely their next meal or lodging expense—maybe even travel expenses
to the next town. In Napier, we saw and listened to a couple of folks our
age who appear to know where they're going to sleep each night and where their
next meal will be. They had talent and they even smiled while they played
for our, and probably their own enjoyment. Is this part of the Napier nostalgia
image?
After a tour of the botanical gardens that overlook the
city, we drove to the camper park in Bay View, a northern suburb, to take
delivery of a new, leak-proof campervan. The delivery was right on time. However,
the newer model of the same van was hardly leak-proof. This time, even before
the van got off the flatbed truck, we all noticed water puddles on the floor
from either a leak in the water tank or the water pump. An angry call to
the folks at Maui got us a night in a motel of our choosing and the promise
of a third van to be delivered to us at our next stop in Taupo. Yikes!!
