Day 278, Year 1: We’re Going to Be Grandparents
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2006
Weather: Sun Mixed with Clouds
Location: Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Our daughter Heather just let us know that she had a healthy 12-week check-up and that we will be grandparents in late January. We can’t tell you how excited we are for Heather and Jed and how delighted we were when the news came. It means a slight change in our plans, but a change we are glad to make. We will be coming home for Christmas and staying until after the baby is born. In mid to late February, we will head back to New Zealand. I don’t want to think about how hard leaving will be, so for now, I will only think about how excited I am at the prospect of being Grandma.

Saturday is market day here. We got up and tried to listen to the weather on the Net, but in the harbor here we have very poor reception. Shortly after that, we headed to the market which is very close by. Mark dropped me and my borrowed wheel chair at the market and went to pick up the Stuart’s. We figured their luggage and the wheelchair would not both fit into the car, so that’s why I stayed behind. I had fun exploring the various booths. They sell everything from wood carvings to potatoes. In about an hour, Linda showed up and said that Mark, Michael, and Garrett had taken the luggage to the boat. Linda and I did a lot of “window” shopping, but the guys didn’t return. We decided to go ahead and purchase the fruits and veggies that we would need this week. And when we finished that, they still had not returned so we headed back to the dock. When we got there, we saw the reason for the delay. It got much windier last night than it has been, and evidently Windbird was moving closer to the dock than was comfortable. Mark had decided to reset the anchor and retie the lines holding us to shore. We had hoped to all go back and eat at the market, but by the time the lines were secured the Saturday morning market had come to an end. We ate instead a place called Fish & Chips which is right next to the dock here. Good food and great smoothies.

We spent the afternoon driving the rental car around the island and stopping at points of interest along the way. By the time we got back to the boat, it was almost time to get ready to go to Island Night at the Manuia Beach Hotel. The restaurant there is called ROB’s (Right On the Beach). We got there in time for sundown, but as has been the case for the past few weeks, there are too many clouds in the evening blocking the view of the sun going down. If we have a really clear evening, we all decided that we would go back to this spot to enjoy a beautiful sunset. The dinner buffet was very good and was a mix of local and international foods. There was traditional live music during dinner, and afterwards the dancing began. It was not the very best dancing we have seen, but we all agreed that the drumming was superb. It continually amazes us how the young men and women here can move their bodies the way they do. It is fascinating to watch.

Since it has gotten windier than we would like, and since we are getting to bed very late, we decided not to leave tomorrow for our trip to Aututaki. We will go on Monday or Tuesday, weather permitting. Mark and I will spend tomorrow checking out the weather on the internet and writing long overdue e-mails to friends and family. The Stuarts will probably spend the day hiking and then we will all get ready for our sail north.

060722 Day 278 Cook Islands, Rarotonga–Island Drive About