All The Tired Horses In The Sun, How'm I Supposed To Get Any Writing Done?

Not much to report today. Had a rough night, unable to fall asleep due to coughing and wheezing from pollen allergies. Finally dug out a lone, lint-covered Sudafed from the bottom of my shaving kit at 3 AM and was able drop off finally at 4.

This made for a late start and put me on a mission to find a chemist and secure more antihistamines. Went into the nearby town of Blenheim and came upon a Saturday street fair between me and my goal. The locals were out in droves and I got to exchange a few pleasantries there while listening to the Marlbourough District Brass Band trot out some familiar tunes. What was the first number, do ya think? "New York, New York", of course. Makes perfect sense. Whaaaaat?

Finally made my way to the chemist, where profuse apologies were offered for having me wait an entire 2 minutes. After ringing up my purchase, the cheerful cashier offered to get me a glass of water in case I wanted to take the "Claratyne" immediately.  I declined, as I was on my way to secure a flat white from the coffee kiosk in the town square, next to the impossibly clean and modern toilet facilities.

IS THIS REAL LIFE???

I probably shouldn't make too much of it, right. I'm sure there are plenty of nice suburban or country towns in America where I would encounter similar openness and hospitality and espresso coffee and clean public bathrooms.  I really shouldn't get too excited.

Anyway, after scoring the drugs, I hit the road and made my way toward Nelson. Stopped off in Havelock for a view of the Marlborough Sounds and made a couple of forays down some remote roads before determining that no imminent adventure awaited me at the end of them. Rolled into town in the late afternoon, checked into my motel and then took a nap, like any self-respecting 60-year old man would.

Around 7 PM, I went out to survey the town and found myself on the highway headed toward the beach, one town west of here, where I was rewarded with some epic water and sky scenery, culminating in some great photos of "God rays" beaming down across the bayscape.

After that, I grabbed some excellent local Indian food and have now retired to my quarters.

And that's it for now. I keep meaning to take some time to blather on about driving on the left and on trying to understand New Zealanders when they talk too fast. But that will have to wait for another day. I'm  still pretty tired. I'm gonna hit the hay early so as to make an early start tomorrow to visit Abel Tasman National Park.  Hoping once more that the weather man has his head up his ass, 'cuz if the prediction comes true, I will sure have picked the wrong day to go hiking in the wind and rain thru coastal forest and across golden sand beaches. We'll see how it plays out.

In the meantime, here are a few pix.