April 14th I woke up early at about 6 am. It was our most relaxing morning though so Doneen and I decided to go on a walk so we walked along the harbor and enjoyed the beautiful morning.
Diane and Ryan did their usual Run.
We all enjoyed a morning without much of a schedule.
We had a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs, pastry, and sour dough toast.
We did a bit of laundry.
Dion, Summer, Doneen and I did another cold plunge in the pool
I found it easier than the first time and I forced myself to jump in on the deep end so I got my head under.
For lunch we went to Jukebox which was a 50's theme restaurant with an old car museum attached.
The food was good and Dad and Dion really enjoyed the museum
First stop is Hamilton to see the original temple that was built while Dad was on his mission. We also hoped to visit the visitors center that has a big mural of the dedication and Dad is in that mural.
We were sad to discover that the visitors center is gone and is now just a welcome center with a small room and bathrooms. No staff.
The small welcome center
We walked around the grounds and through the park nearby which was so nice.
Next stop was the Museum that the church has nearby. We were hoping to come across some of the stuff Dion remembered from his visit to the visitors center in the past. Sadly it was a Monday and we didn't consider that most church stuff is closed on Mondays. Indeed the museum was closed. Luckily as we wandered the building we came across some missionaries who were working there. They were super nice to us and started looking for info about Dad and the dedication. They ended up finding some original pictures that included Dad as well as a kind of yearbook that had a two page spread all about Dad, Mom and Dion's visit back in the day (10 years ago?)
I swear we got a group picture but can't find it. I'l add it if I do.
The next activity was the Waitomo caves...the glow worm caves!
Very cool and also kind of gross. haha
No pictures were allowed inside the caves but it was very interesting. The glow worms are hanging from the ceiling by their own mucous. And their poop is what actually glows. Very pretty if you don't think about it.
Waiting our turn:
Cave entrance:
Pictures at the end of the tour at the cave exit. That's the boat we were in..the guide stood on the edges and used ropes to guide us through the cave. He did a good job taking us through the various nooks and crannies where you could see the worms best.
Dinner was at the Iguana Street Grill for which Diane had made reservations in advance.
It was on a hopping street with lots of night life. The front the restaurant had open windows open to the sidewalk outside. There were tables out there too. One guy was sitting at the table outside and we were seated just on the other side of the window inside...literally a foot from each other. He then lit up a cigarette and the smoke came right inside! We asked to be reseated.
The food was yummy!
On the way home, we stopped at a dark spot for some star gazing. It was not quite as dark as hoped (large moon) and also a big overcast so I couldn't see much. Plus I was super tired at this point...so our car didn't stay too long. But Dion stayed a bit and got some good pictures
When I got home, I was asleep immediately! I was our latest night so far...about 10:30 pm
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