Our journey began with a beautiful, albeit windy, road trip along highway 2. We stopped for lunch in a cute little town, complete with this diner that paid homage to dear ol' Papa Kay.
We arrived at The Landing, a bed and breakfast treat given to us for Christmas by Mom and Dad Wilhoit early in the evening. We had just enough light left for a quick adventure up to The Lookout. Re-claimed military bunkers, these old ruins have been turned into a beautiful park that overlooks the Port of Napier and its surrounding landscapes.
Appropriately enough, our bedroom at The Landing was known by the same name for its view.
Saturday morning, after a wonderful homemade breakfast on the balcony we adventured out to the bike rental store. Napier is fortunate to have miles and miles of well-kept trails that follow along the waterfront and inlets. It was a gorgeous ride out. We stopped for a pretzel snack along a slough, where Adam started to regret having stopped taking his allergy meds. It probably didn't help his nose that all along the banks were these huge cattail like fronds just waiting to be picked and used in battle.
Don't worry. Adam can fend for himself. Just as soon as I put the big stick down he grabbed it and attacked back. I just didn't have the camera to collect the evidence.
Sunday's Easter adventure brought us up just slightly north of Napier to the Mountain Valley Adventure Resort, where our guide Carla, Adam and I headed out for a three hour horse trek. Adam's big stallion Socks and my four-legged Ginger steed Tyler were great sports as we made our way up down the cliffs around the farm and the Mohawka River. We all even managed to stay on our horses through some good cantering up the hills (I would have paid a lot to have my video camera out and pointed back towards Adam and Socks) and through a quick surprise when a little white dog jumped out of the bushes and startled the big guys. I've always known that the smallest creatures can be intimidating, but in this case I think the horses were just being wimps. After lots of leg and rump workout, it was hard to complain when lunch was served with a view.
Happy Easter!
Oh wow, I'm speechless! How gorgeous! Horses and big sticks must make for great training. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful adventure! I'll likely never think of "Food for Thought" in the same way again. The horses and accommodations also appear to be wonderful. However, the cattail fronds photos made me sneeze more than 10,000 miles away.
ReplyDeleteHorseback riding and sailing! And the beautiful scenery all-around! You two always go for the most wonderful adventures. I feel motivated to get a little more creative with out weekends. :) You know... there are lots of opportunities to do awesome stuff like that here in the PNW. ;) *hint, hint* Oh, who am I kidding, enjoy every minute of New Zealand! And we'll keep trying to figure out a way/time to come visit. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the great pictures Callie. It's so much fun for us to see a moment of your life. We need to be sure to have some great adventures this summer.
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