Mission Bay

I'm sitting in an internet cafe (it's my favorite one I've found so far and it's on Queen Street right next to Britomart which is right next to the wharf where the ferries depart) since it's cheaper than the new hostel and in order to write about my day. It's about 4:30pm and I've been up since before 7am. I read my watch wrong, as I usually do this morning and decided I'd better get up and going so I could pack and leave the City Garden hostel. I'll have you know that I did sleep very well last night...but maybe not long enough!

Anyway, after getting my act together this morning I finally huffed up the hill to the bus stop carrying my huge and trusty duffle, another duffle, my backpack, my food bag and my purse. I was totally sweating by the time I got the bus stop, as I should be with any weight lifting that takes that much effort. It was actually parly cloudy and the sun was shining bright. The temperature has mabye varried from high 60s to high 70s today, so it's been really nice! I caught the link bus all the way to the end of Ponsonby Road at the "Art Station (no idea what that is)" and walked the block to the Verandahs hostel, where I'm staying now. It's another big white house, but I'm thinking it has even less rooms than the last place. I walked in and a guy (the manager) asked me my name and information. Apparently the guy that took down my info screwed up and put me in a single or something, so this guy changed some things around and put me in a double at the special rate of $25 New Zealand. I'm in a twin bed with just one other guy in another twin bed! As long as he doesn't snore, I'm going to sleep so well tonight. Also, I made the reservation for 3 nights, but this is only for 2 nights...then I have no clue where they'll put me. The place looks decent, they were cleaning when I got there at about 10:30. I don't have a key yet, the guy had to go to the locksmith's during lunch and have them cut me another. That might sound a bit sketch, but I'm not worried...they seem nice.

So I left and decided that I would finally find a way to get to Mission Bay today. I walked all the way down to Britomart and found a bus that could take me to Mission Bay! I grabbed a diet coke and a banana while I waited. The ride took about 10 minutes total along the shoreline and then I was there! It was such a beautiful day to go and there were actually people swimming!!! I was starving and so I was checking out all the cafes and their menus before deciding. I stopped at an Italian restaurant to look and the hostess came out to talk to me in a thick Italian accent. She hovered, so I felt obligated to eat there. It did look wonderful. I ended up with a fabulous glass of Pinot Gris and the Garlic prawns! Very good! And, this was maybe the first place where the service was good too! The Mission Bay area is pretty small and on the other side of the street is about two blocks of cafes and that's it. After I finished my meal I walked along the shore, back towards the city.

I stopped at a popular site: Kelly Tarlton's Underwater Aquarium. I had heard that I needed to go there, so I was excited to check it out. A lot of the museum is based on Antarctica excursions and there was a little ride that took you around the penguin tank! I guess New Zealand is a couple thousand miles away from Antarctica; not as close as South America, but the next closest! The penguins were fun to watch...they just look fake, like stuffed animals! Then I was talking to one of the guys that worked there and he told me to stick around for the Stingray feeding and talk, so I went around the fish and shark tanks before heading to the Stingray tank. I didn't care about the rest of the aquarium because at that point I saw just about the cutest guy I've seen (in a month of leaving the states), in a wet suit, feeding the stingrays! I totally pretended to listen to him talk--though it was hard because of the accent and the muffled microphone--and watched him...I mean the stingrays of course! Haha. The session ended quickly and he told everyone to stick around if they had questions. Of course I was last one still sticking around and tried to come up with as many questions possible as my face got redder and redder. I was stupid and asked if they lay eggs (they're a mammal for gosh sake!) and he kind of laughed at me and said no, they have pups, etc. He told me that the fish in the tank, King fish (the fast ones), are really good to eat especially if you catch them yourself. I ran out of conversation and almost dove into the water after him, before I decided to move on. We'll just say that that was the highlight of my day...

Now I'm going to head back to the hostel, get my key, and hopefully find a supermarket!

-Lisa