.: Great Island Barrier Continued...A Trip Down Memory Lane

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Great Island Barrier Continued...A Trip Down Memory Lane

The Great Barrier Dream...

When I grew up we had the best neighbours in the world: 'Mary and Grant Haigh'. Travis and I were at their home all the time as kids, and their son Jade was always playing at our home. I absolutely LOVED looking after Jade. The other day I recalled one of my greatest memories of Mary and Grant; Our homes were very close together and sometimes when I would lay in my mum's bed with the window open, I/we could hear Grant tickling Mary while they were in bed at night. I always remember Mary's laughter.

Me and Travis at Jade's 2nd birthday party;

When Mary and Grant first got married they took a trip to Great Barrier Island and fell in love with it. They loved it so much they decided to build a log house on the Island and operate it as a Bed and Breakfast for visitors to stay. They spent the next 20 years of their lives fulfilling their dream. They had hundreds of logs shipped to the Island from Canada and they paid for a large group of Mennonites to come and help them build it. Grant was a builder so he designed the log house himself and built a lot of it on his own with the help of their good friend Nigel.

Travis with Jade, Mary and Grant (on the right in blue) and Nigel;

When I was about 13 years old and Travis was 9, we took our first trip to the Island and stayed with Mary and Grant for a few days. They were in the very beginning stages of digging up dirt and laying the foundation.
Travis and Jade on one of the diggers;

Mary, Travis and Jade. The frame of the log house;

I saw the log house in different stages as it was built, but I never got to see the final thing. Mary and Grant had it up and running for a couple of years, but then they ran out of money and their marriage fell apart and now no one runs the lodge. It's a very sad ending to such a wonderful dream. And a very sad ending for 2 people who made such a great couple and once lived a very happy life together :(

When we took our recent trip to the Barrier Tony bumped into a lady he has a connection with through Sea Link. By chance she knew the current owner of the lodge and arranged for us to have a look through it. A very wealthy lady owns it now, but is going to sell it once again.

I was so excited to see the final thing and to have a look inside. It was just stunning. At the same time I felt really sad though. I still feel like the log house belongs to Mary and Grant and it was almost as if I could feel their presence when looking around the rooms.

The front of the log house. It doesn't look like much from the front, but the back and inside are really neat;

The back of the log house and the beautiful view;

Logs on the outside;

Logs and rooms on the inside;

Unfortunately, the lady who showed us around didn't take us upstairs, but she did say there were 6 bedrooms on the top floor. As I looked around I also felt sad to see that all the drapes were closed and the furniture was covered with sheets. No one has operated the log house for a few years now. If only Tony and I had a few million dollars to buy it and I was a super fancy cook, willing to continuously cook for groups of guests! But considering I don't enjoy cooking much, neither Tony or I are into constant entertaining and socializing AND that we are somewhat poor...this lifestyle isn't for us.

I have a prayer in my heart that the right people buy the log house this time round and make it the success Mary and Grant always hoped and dreamed it would be.

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Funny Comments

Ashton walking into the supermarket quietly whispers to himself: "Please can I have macaroni and cheese, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ashton: "I want to live with Jesus." Mummy: "Why?" Ashton: "Because he be nice to me and he gives me bread and water!"

Mummy, examining Ashton's legs, and thinking: My goodness, what hairy legs. Ashton, unimpressed with Mummy's examination, pulls away: "Don't touch them. I'm growing Daddy legs!"

Hayden gets upset at Ashton: "Right Ashton, that's it! I'm telling Jesus on you!"

Ashton with a cold: "I'm snotty as a piggy."

Hayden: "The sun is burning my eyeballs."

Hayden: "Mummy, how come your penis is missing?"

Hayden: "I get the bigger piece of cake because my skeleton is bigger."

Hayden (3yrs old) sees me get dressed in the morning and stares at my breasts with a confused look..."What thooooose be for???"

Hayden: "I don't want to finish my pizza, it's got blood all over it."

Hayden: "Ashton hit me in the heart."

Hayden learns the planets at Preschool: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Penus!

Hayden (shopping with me and whining): "My brain hurts forever because you haven't buyed me anything."

QUOTES

Like the changing leaves of fall...My little boy is now a man.
--Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat!
--Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.
--Author Unknown

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
--Alan Marshall Beck

Something For A Giggle....

I Owe My Mother ....

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!