And now for more notes from the observation deck:

Crucks (is it a car? is it a truck? it's a cruck!) are very popular here in replace of pick-up trucks. And I'm not talking vintage El Camino's, these are brand-spanking-new, state-of-the-art pieces of machinery.

Chad - Fanta pop is also popular here. I counted 6 different flavours at the grocery store last night. I believe it is available in the UK/Ireland too, isn't it? These countries also allow Red Bull (the caffeine hit of your life) to be sold to unsuspecting children though. And for any of those Pepsi vs Coke people - 1 shelf of Pepsi vs 9 of Coke. (Once I was done with the Fanta I craved more counting. I've been diagnosed--albeit a self-diagnosis--as an arithnomaniac, a compulsive counter.) And today I spotted O'Ryan's Sour Cream & Onion chips - were these not another aspect of our childhood that was stolen from us?

Another rainy day forced us to stay in the city today... went to an outdoor market primarily consisting of craftsmen and artisans. "Thai Fisherman's Trousers" seem to be all the rage. They are a linen wrap-around pair of pants as far as I could figure. Another woman was selling lingerie (not your standard outdoor market item) and you could get professional massages. Not from the same woman - that would lead back to the massage business... these people were clean, everything was professional. Or so it appeared. I don't know about the underwear lady though.

The Warehouse is Auckland's discount retailer. It's a cross between Wal-Mart & Costco and offers pretty much everything. New World is the big grocery store - it's approximately the size of a Co-op store. Thankfully the North American need for ginormous grocery stores has not hit here yet. Groceries are fairly similar. Wine and beer are sold in the grocery stores. The fruit selection is different. I discovered a paw-paw yesterday. It looks like a giant pear on the outside and a melon on the inside. Didn't taste it yet though. Will keep you posted.

Mosquitoes are out like crazy. "Mozzies" were only introduced to NZ in 1998. No that's not a typo. 1998. They came from Australia and, to my understanding, appear at the end of the summer, but a little earlier each year. Just goes to show that Australians really are to blame for everything.