Valentine's Day

From Jenny's journal:

Fate, fortune and chance intertwine once again to form an unpredictable, unforgettable present.

PRESENT:
6:00 am
Bluebridge Ferry Terminal
Picton, NZ

Bagless, carless (where did our friends go?)...

It starts with a terrifying drive provided by Rod, the Canadian, as we whizz (all too closely) by cyclists and sheep on the road from Rotorua to Turangi. Then, a delicious bottle of juice, make that 2, and a hiking warning lead to an adventure on the side of the road, thumbs out and ready to go. Sweet Alan, a young Toyota mechanic, offers a ride in his company car and off we go.

Dropped off in Palmerston North, a fatal? wreck stalls the bus, which allows us to catch it a few minutes late and thus meet Heather, a young Kiwi traveller herself, on her way to a Tsunami Benefit Concert in the "wicked" city of Wellington.

Despues de un not-so-wicked concert, an e-mail tells of friends in close places, and 15 minutes later we meet our Canadian boys and Englishman. Watch a shoe flicking contest, play with a fountain and head off to catch the SAME 3:00 am ferry only to find we've locked our bags in a very secure, isolated train station locker.

"Help. Isn't there anyone here," we call into the dark...

When a bobby pin doesn't work, we head to the ferry to explain our mishap. Nice (we love you Kiwis!!!) ferry operator sends us right along on the ferry with promises of bags soon to follow. Yeah!! We can keep up with our friends. But wait, where did they go?

So, here we are, the present: Carless, bagless, watching the sunrise over the South Island. A fresh start? Maybe not. But, a rainbow across the sky, symbol of covenant, seems to promise more to come...some completely new combination of fate, fortune and chance that will design an unpredictable, unforgettable present.


From Laura's journal:

From pasty, dry peanutbutter sandwiches, to a warm rainbow greeting on the S. Island and a mistakenly simple arrival, sans-luggage. Odd how one moment spills into another, bleeding like chemicals on litmus paper with a rainbow of understanding in retrospect. Brief encounters with friends leave us laughing curiously at events and somehow all the wiser, having connected with some outside motion, divergent of our own, but strangely intersecting.

Now, outside cafe, sweet coffee, and a Valentine with calico eyes (Jenny). American Music.

Jenny and I laughing deliriously, at Jenny's shoe on my head last night, under the static of cicadas. The rose gardener hollers, "I want some of what you're having!" with a large friendly grin and Jenny says, "This is what its like to be homeless." Sitting under a tree in the park with no luggage.

CRACKLING,
POPPING,
FIZZING,
Cicadas.