ferry shenanigans

the 18th was my last day of work at Craggy Range and i temporarily bid adieu to hawke's bay today as i headed on a tour of the south island and its wineries. before i get into the exact nature of the shenanigans, i must post one last photo of the kopanga crew (from left to right, me, Katy, Marine, and Brittany) on our last dinner together at Terroir Restaurant. besides the absolutely scrumptious dinner (braised Wagyu short ribs for me) and delectable wines (hate to name drop but a '00 Bouchard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret, '95 L'Arlot Grand Cru Romanee Saint-Vivant, and '02 Chateau Suduiraut 1er Cru Sauternes), we even got sparklers. i know, i know, name-dropping is a sin but i couldn't help myself...

even before our last day, the kopanga crew went on a date with each other and went horse-back riding in Waimarama (where i had previously taken the photos of the sheep on the road). if you're ever out at Waimarama, i would definitely recommend Waimarama Horse Treks. the horses are beautiful, the guides are awesome, and they let you canter/gallop on the open beach. i hadn't been running on a horse since i was 14 or so...good times.
so after some frantic last minute packing, i headed off to wellington to catch the ferry to the south island. my father taught me well, so i was about 2 hours early (you do have to check-in by 1 hour before departure). i thought i had turned my car off all the way and was happily checking out my itinerary and reading the newspaper. lo and behold, when it was time to drive onto the ferry, my car wouldn't start. note to self, if you let the radio run for 2 hours, make sure that you've turned the car off to the last setting and don't let the car battery run. i was completely embarassed as i had to wait for the ferry people to bring over jumper cables, while a line of cars were probably wondering why they weren't being allowed to board even though they got there quite early. just further prooves my theory that bad things happen to me in twos. dear earl's (my car's name... little white nissan pulsar with the lil' engine that could) battery had died a couple of weeks earlier when the lights were left on for the entire work day (although that wasn't my doing but we won't quibble over minor details)! eventually i made it onto the ferry and got to see this delightful sight as we entered the home stretch before docking in picton.

more to come of my adventures on the south island, but first another addition to my miniature winery run by oompa-loompas...a tiny centrifugal pump found at Clearview Winery in hawke's bay.p.s. i've decided to work vintage at Patz & Hall (thanks Nate!) in napa in order to lock down some california winery experience. yeah that's right, i've actually not worked in california yet.