Early morning start to meet our shuttle to the little red birds to fly into the Grand Canyon…blue sky morning and the Texas crew up front with our pilot Ryan!

We took off around 8ish, after a very comprehensive safety briefing, life jackets firmly tied around our waists in case we ended up in the lake Mead Reservoir…

We flew over the Hoover dam… constructed between 1931 and 1935 and supplying power to the greater area since…

Lake Mead is a man made reservoir, courtesy of the Hoover Dam backfilling the Colorado river further up into the Grand Canyon, with a water area of 640 square kms, 162 meters deep at deepest point, supplying water to a large area of this desert. It is also a recreation area for fishing (introduced fish) and swimming in the very hot months of summer!

About an hour in our little red birds, found us land near the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the south side..

Stretch the legs….

Check out the local plant life…

Room with a view…

And Bubbles for breakfast along with a picnic snack basket…

9.00am….very on vacation aren’t we!

Loading back into our helicopter we flew back over the cliffs and crevase’s of the Grand Canyon..

Getting a great view of the reservoir waterways..

Our Pilot, testing the champagne intake as he swerved and circled the Las Vegas Strip before landing to shuttle back to our hotel

One of many, majestic hotels on the strip!

Time to strip off the jeans and don shorts and head out to the strip….this hotel is so huge…that can take half an hour…but we found it and went off in hunt for lunch..

This was it…streets were filling up either way some interesting sights and attire (or lack of it in some cases…sure it was hot but street wear v’s beachwear is a fine line.

Opposite our eating place we entered the flamingo hotel establishment….complete with the casinos, food halls, shops…

And a wildlife habitat – flamingos sunning it…

Big fat gold and white fish

Turtles…and…

Texas Lovebirds! Tona worked out its 12 years to the day since they last visited Las Vegas.

A few more sights…the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower…

Caesar’s Palace…

With fountains and Roman monuments…terrazzo marble floors and millions of slot machines…

A much needed lie down out of the 35 degree (celcius) afternoon in preparation for tonight’s show!

Thursday morning found the Lake Jackson crew packing for hot and cold and yes…..even Chuck is on holiday…

This little guy sunning it by the pool…

While Chuck added water to overflowing (?) so as to stop the water level dropping too low while we are all away for a week…

Leaving the house around 1pm we headed to Houston Hobby airport for a 4.30 pm flight across country to “Las Vegas” the starting point of our adventure!

Almost three hours in the air, a coffee and a couple of snack bags of crackers, saw us flying over the Grand Canyon mountain range on a blue sky day!

Lake Meade in the distance as we neared Vegas…

Off the plane and straight into the hustle of Vegas(we hadn’t even got our bags yet), it was 8pm Texas time, but we had gained another couple of hours so 6.00pm Nevada time….it was going to be a long day!

Collected bags, caught a shuttle bus to the rental car hub..,about 15 mins from airport…. Et voila….

Come all the way to Vegas, and get to travel around in the clone of my car – first Mitsubishi eclipse cross I have seen in the states and it’s the same colour as mine and all (back in nz)!!! Minus the baby seats!

Chuck and Tona navigated the shortish trip to the Venetian hotel…on the strip where we are staying for two nights!

Spying the Trump Hotel – there you go!

After walking a couple of miles ( just from hotel car park) we found the check in foyer… Wow what a place – the suite I am in is about as big as my house!

By now it was 8.30pm (10.30 pm Texan time) and these Texans were hungry…so we went to food hall alley (still inside hotel) and found a restaurant to eat a light dinner, followed by a quick flutter on the pokies(still in hotel) – Tona and Chuck on the positive side and me kinda watching as I don’t know how these things work- will have another bash today!

Rolled into my luxurious bed around 10pm local time… and up early this morning for our next adventure!!!

Buc-ee’s fuel stops, founded in 1982 in Lake Jackson, Texas by a couple of guys with the business model of “Clean bathrooms” has taken off to include 50 locations across America, boasting…cheapest fuel, longest car wash and worlds largest convenience store…selling like everything…food, clothing, toys, homewares, gifts, pet stuff, BBQs, Artwork and anything else you can think of!

Buc-ee is a beaver! This store is in Texas city about an hour south of Lake Jackson, and Tona and I set off for a shopping day…first hitting the outlet mall…

A very quiet Tuesday, and great customer service as we hit the Levi’s, Hey Dude, and every other brand you can think of…beelining for the clearance sections (me anyway) and picking up some great bargains! Saving the best for last and spending an hour and a half at buc-ees…

Greeted by the smell of their famous BBQ cooking as we entered…we picked our way around the Warehouse sized store…collecting our treasures…

A bathroom stop…in the beautiful art adorned bathrooms, who else would think of selling artwork on the bathroom walls!

A bakery full of 99cent cookies, which I forgot to stock up on as we left…

There huge range of beef jerky in every flavour you could imagine and more…and their production line of pulled pork, brisket, turkey and chicken sandwiches …. Whose aroma filled the store, and one just had to grab a variety for dinner on the way out…

Then to top it off…the job vacancies board outside…

Some pretty good wage rates for those looking for work, especially when converted to NZD! At this time.

While the world is reeling from Mr Trumps tariffs, fueled by mainstream media….business at Buc-ees is booming, and life goes on!

Sunday found us at morning Church, followed by a chilled afternoon before visiting with Travis (Tona and Chucks son) and Ashleigh and kids for a Mexican dinner!! Completed with TV time watching the Houston Rockets (the NBA team our own Stephen Adam’s plays for) destroying the Golden State Warriors (our beloved? Steph Curry’s team!) Good end to the day….

This Morning, Tona had planned a trip north west to Brenham to view the fields of Bluebonnets, a wild flower that blooms in this region only for a couple of weeks in April!

First stop, Tony’s cafe and parking next to this gorgeous little Ford!!

Easter bunny to welcome GiGi (Tonas mum) at the door….followed by bottomless coffee and…

Pecan Waffles! A breakfast for kings!!! Really only needed half of this but managed to clear the plate!

Then with a kiwi navigator (yours truly) a couple of extra side trips were made in the hunt of the (somewhat elusive) bluebonnets…

We continued up to Washington on the Brazos national park, where in 1836 the Texans signed their independence as a state!

In this replica of the hall …

More bluebonnets and wildflowers ….

A stroll around what was the original town (no buildings left standing) that became the capital of Texas in 1842-1845

After a very warm start to my sojourn here the temperatures dropped on Sunday to late teens (Celsius) during the day and single digits (winter jammies) overnight..,

We arrived back in Lake Jackson around 5pm only to be alerted, on Tonas phone, that the power was off at home, so we met Chuck from work and dined at a cafe in town….returning to a very quiet and dark (by 7pm) evening until the power burst back into action just before 9pm..

Tomorrow we return to summer temperatures and more adventures!

Thursday night, in the first big rain of the Kiwi Autumn, I boarded my flight for Houston Texas – 13.5 hours in the back seat (only one neighbour seat-mate) , no meal choice as we were last in the food chain, only to be served a nasty meatball mash after two hours in the air!

At least catching up with friends (also heading overseas) for a beer and a fish burger at McDonald’s at the airport, before boarding, sustained me for the best part of 12 hours before a more edible breakfast was served and landing!

I took off at 8pm Thursday and landed at 3.30pm Thursday, gaining a day with the time difference (actually getting here before I left) My Texas family Tona and Chuck meeting me and driving to Lake Jackson (very kindly having my favourite beer chilling)

Sitting by the pool, enjoying my first night with these wonderful humans!

First night was a no jet lag sleep and refreshed on Friday morning, Tona and I hit the supermarket….

Everything is big here in Texas…. The jackfruit (whatever they are) the size of basketballs and the bananas the size of a foot long subway sandwich! We shopped for lots of fresh fruit and veges (half the price of our NZ supermarkets) and headed home after checking out the local shoe shop “Hey Dude” selection…..(a must have on the shopping list)

Unloaded the groceries, took a sandwich and back into town for a spin at Walmart…and an hour later, with arms loaded, heading to the checkout, the power went off…we saved a lot of money as we were instructed to dump our selections in a trolley and leave….unsure of the issue…we grabbed a cool drink and met Chuck at Maclean park, for a bush walk along the Brazos river (a small 4.5k stroll) before heading across the road to watch one of the grandsons play baseball…

An obligatory beer before dinner and early night, which found me staring at the ceiling until 1.30am….jet lag hitting me like a ton of bricks! Needless to say a little sleep in for me, a good strong coffee and on the road again to Sugarland (suburb) to see Tonas daughter and her two kids (and two golden doodles) for lunch….another small(not so small) shopping expedition at Academy sports on the way home…and it’s nearly 5 o’clock here so we know what that means..

The glorious sunshine and slightly cooler summer has continued through March, a hectic month in our kiwi lives…

Another fantastic friends wedding on the hilltops above the Leigh coastline. Taking a shuttle bus for the Waiwera crew, with a very old driver who got us there (just) safely after a scary ride up a very steep dirt road…being sober at this time did mean a stiff drink was needed on arrival! The trip home was eventful to say the least (in the dark)! However a great night was had by all…

The girls all made a big effort and enjoyed a babyless night! And a very slow day the next day.

The babies have been battling their first few months at daycare and Gran’ma Sue has had lots of baby time as one or the other or both have a little sickness!

But life goes on as we make the most of the sunny days with snotty noses and sticky eyes!!! Hanging out on the waterfront (eating crackers) enjoying the sunshine!

We farewelled our Swiss friends at the beginning of the month, who, after a month of our summer warmth headed back to their cooler hometown of Zurich!

We have been gifted with colourful sunrises and sunsets and family days…

A cortina cruise up north to Whangateau to watch George play a football tournament was a fun activity!

In between babysitting days I have managed to reconnect with my sewing machine and finally make the babies their winter blankets! A Sue tradition….

My house has had its end of summer wash and the spiders have been given a hurry up! (They shouldn’t make there home on my house)

Less than two weeks before I hit the skies again for my next adventure! A few more house chores….garden to lock down for winter…as the flowers are fading…

February has been a whirlwind of socialising, visitors from the northern hemisphere, babysitting, car shows and a wedding!

The sunshine gods have been kind to the Waiwera-ites and we have had warm days and very little rain! A welcome climate change from the last few years where we have been erecting floodgates!!

My brother Kevin and Roland have just left after a month in the homeland…which meant we caught up with a lot of friends and family!

Kevin and I with one of our Swiss visitors

Thames visit and a visit with Sir Keith Park (memorial statue) who flew in the defensive of Malta in the 2nd world war for the English airforce! That was after a road trip to Tauranga to see another old friend!

Earlier in the month my Swiss family arrived and a day trip to Muriwai beach and the Gannet colony….

We also Celebrated my oldest grandsons (Tyler) 4th birthday with all the visitors!! and family

Preceded by another day at the Orewa beach hop (car show) and then it was a cut and polish for my cortina which was invited to the Ellerslie car show….

In all her glory on a hot Sunday! The family all came along for a picnic lunch

As I was locked in for a full day!

And thrown in – a concert with George and Jess to see Bryan Adam’s belt out his tunes…my birthday present from last year!

Florian, Verena and Benjamin(Swiss crew) headed south to see the sights after several days in waiwera with the family and return tonight for a few days before heading home…

Meanwhile the boys and I were privileged to share a special wedding with one of Jaxon’s friends in the middle of the month…

He and his new wife now live in Washington DC and brought a contingent of Americans with them to celebrate…it was an effort for the gal from the beach to scrub up into formal attire! Charity shops and sewing skills required to produce the masterpiece!

Amid all this activity I have had my baby sitting skills honed with a sick Henry(Jax baby) for a week

Playing with Russell’s childhood trucks made by his dad! Now while I don’t share my political views online….I need to share the disaster that is our health system. A family of four (two small children) cannot get into a medical practice here on the Hibiscus Coast – having relocated here three months ago, no doctors are taking new enrolments. I had to take this little man to the emergency clinic at the cost of $105.00 for a 5 minute consult to identify an ear infection (which I knew was the problem) and a prescription of antibiotics – usually a doctors visit for kids under 12 is free (when enrolled) !! Rant over!

On a final note…

My flowers are still blooming….

The vege garden flourishing and still feeding the family and drinking lots of water!

The last month of the first quarter of 2025 promises to be equally entertaining – with more visitors (from Australia), another wedding and a little dog sitting thrown in!

As it’s almost two months since my last story and we are now in 2025…we are long overdue for a catchup

Waiwera beach on a summer morning sunrise last week…December/January have been a mixed bag as far as summer goes…plenty of rain, cool evenings, a few runs of sunshine, and the odd gasp of temperatures rising towards late 20’s

My middle son and family moved back to Auckland in mid December so lots of grand baby activities…

Christmas was a family affair

This year with brunch at mine and dinner at the bach …. We were locked and loaded by early evening! (Tucked up in our beds)

The garden bloomed in the lead up, Christmas Lillie’s right on cue…

The sunflowers, regrown from last years seeds harvest towered over the tallest member…(yes even George)

And Mary Rose has been showing off all summer! This head had 30 blooms! While the flower side of things did well, also too did the vege garden, we have been enjoying fresh lettuce, a few feeds of beans as they start to come on, tomatoes coming out our ears, and

Round carrots….. perfect for the Xmas roast!

The holiday period threw us a curve ball…Covid finally came into the camp! Lex and baby Luka were first to get hit! Jax, Steph and the kids left on Boxing Day for a their away holiday so may have dodged the bullet, although baby Henrys first three days away were plagued with the symptoms! Trudi had work, (sometimes this is a good thing) and George and Jess were dog sitting at their house! Dan and I thought we had also dodged the bullet, but on New Year’s Eve I came down with the mild version(still didn’t show positive on those silly tests) and three days later Dan got a nasty dose! Which put him to bed for the last week of his holiday!!

In between it’s been babies…

Babysitting….

Car shows (Kumeū hot rod show)

Orewa Hot Rod…the annual Tyler and Gran’ma take the bus and get an ice cream excursion…..

This was the calm before the weekend storm!!!

Trudi and I took a trip a couple of weeks ago to visit the Wanganui Carters and begin Graeme’s birthday celebrations early!

We visited Bason Botanic Gardens for a picnic and afternoon in the sunshine (temperatures soaring towards 19 degrees)

Picnic by the lake followed by

A meander through the winter gardens

And summer gardens!

Now, all those around me are back at work…and I am picking up the pieces of a busy holiday time…. Cleaning out cottage for my visitors, slapping a weatherworn garden (after the recent storm) back into shape, holding the babies when needed (who needs yoga), housework, homework and the odd but of recreational sewing!!! Looking forward to the next two months of overseas visitors, weddings, and hopefully a more settled summer!

2024 is nearing its end and I have been back home (NZ) now for 9 weeks…. although not so much at my house. The wanderings continue…

2024 has welcomed two new members to the Bonnici-Carter clan…. Dan and Lexi now have Luka in their family

and Jaxon and Steph have Henry

Both boys will be 7 months old in the middle of December, crawling and rolling and trying to get up and running….Tyler my first grandson will be 4 in february and is following in the footsteps of the busy Bonnici boys!

Dan has been growing his building business this year and Jaxon has been studying for his real estate career, will be licensed after Christmas ready to go with his new job in Auckland. George has been beavering away in his IT world and continues to have contracts extended…he and Jess took a 2 month holiday in the middle of the year to Japan and other Asian countries…and will be looking forward to the next one!

I retired in the middle of June and Trudi (my friend) and I embarked on a Thelma and Louise 89 day adventure, visiting Malta, Sicily, Fumel (south of France), Barcelona, Lisbon and Paris before returning to NZ at the end of September, tanned and healthy.

NZ weather was not so kind to us for the first 6-8 weeks and our tan disappeared and home jobs (Sue) and work jobs (Trudi) kicked in with a vengeance…

A couple of weeks of planting my summer garden….

From this

To this…already enjoying lettuce and courgettes!

Cleaning gutters, spider spraying, car maintenance, and lots of grandson time…

Three weeks after my return, my friend Carolyn visited for two weeks, and we embarked on another Thelma and Louise Road trip in my Cortina (Rubi) to the Cortina Nationals with a 100 other Cortinas from around New Zealand, road tripping to New Plymouth with Dan for a (cold) weekend of fun activities.

Then continuing to Tauranga for a few days and catching up with Auntie Barb for her 90th birthday

Before Carolyn left, we had a girl’s night out with “Cooper Alan” at the PowerStation, my favourite singer of the year…such a great concert!

I then had a week to gather myself (do more home jobs) before heading to Katikati (Jaxon and Stephs home) to help with sick kids and celebrate their success in selling their house and buying another one in Red Beach (10 minutes from me) so we will all be on the Coast by Christmas, except George and Jess who are happily ensconced in their own town (Auckland) flat..

From Katikati I cross countried to Wanganui to spend a week with Graeme(Russ’s brother) and Brenda….lots of op shopping, yummy dinners and topped off with a christmas show before heading back to Katikati for a few days …

Back home yesterday to my flourishing garden

…and overgrown lawns….all slapped into shape with pruning, weed eating and lawnmowing. Trudi has been house and plant sitting so all was well and healthy.

As the year comes to a close …. With the fat man in the red suit looming large in our little peoples world, we celebrate another year around the sun with everyone following their dreams and aspirations. For me, still not at pension age….a restful retirement is a myth, don’t think I have ever had such long lists!!

A few Random snaps..

Sunday morning found the hungry Waiwera crew at the port in New Plymouth for breakfast!

The earliest opening at @ 9am!

So we wandered around the carpark avoiding the waves crashing over the rock walls

It seems a popular name for small islands near the NZ coastline is Sugarloaf…snap of New Plymouth Sugarloaf! (we have one at Waiwera!)

Breakfast done and it was off to join the next excursion! A cruise into the hills to Midhirst… farm with collection of cars and a hall converted into a mens shed! I went in dans car (gave Rubi a rest) and we followed the old boys , missed a turn somewhere in the hills…

Understandable after navigating one way rock tunnels

And one way bridges! We got there in the end! With a detour!

Just in time to shelter from the rain before heading back to have a nap before another big night….the prizegiving dinner!

After a fantastic weekend of activities Rubi (my red cortina) came 3rd in the Mk4/5 category!!

So two wins for the Bonnici clan this weekend – with the raffle win and the car success!

Three tired kiwis hit the road again on Monday….Dan heading back to Waiwera and Sue and Carolyn heading cross country to Tauranga for a couple of days!

Rubi the Red Cortina turning heads all the way!