Choc Monty Cookies Are Actually Good

Choc Monty Cookies are quite delicious, as a matter of fact. I was sceptical at first, because any box of cookies that costs $1.42 can't be that good, or at least they can't be that good for you. I indeed may come down with some incurable disease, or just suffer from a quick case of malnutrition from the ingestion of these chemically-produced cheap "biscuits" (as they call cookies here in NZ); however, they were tasty and crumbly and all... Buuuut, I don't think I'll buy them again. It was a good adventure though, and satisfied my curiosity. Brian and I both breezed through a few novels during our remaining days in Oamaru . The Jeeves book was entertaining, to say the least, and has started rather interesting banter in the comments section for my last blog entry. I also started a book on America by Bill Bryson, but I switched to a different book halfway through because it just sounded like he was complaining about everything (although I did catch myself laughing out loud a few times). And when we weren't glued to the pages, we walked down to the historical part of Oamaru where we found the New Zealand Malt Whiskey Company. Dad would be proud that we ventured inside, but he may not like to know that I didn't want to have a sample -- there's a really good excuse though: they weren't free samples. Well... you know. Plus it was before noon. Heck, that hasn't stopped me before, what am I saying? Down past the Whiskey joint, there was a store/gallery/music house. It was ultra weird, but in a good way. The place was huge, and full of stuff - mostly faces (paintings of faces, sculptures of faces, clothing with faces on them, etc.). The faces kind of creeped me out, to be honest, so we left after a quick browse. The whole historical street of Oamaru has buildings made from local white stone that is somewhat famous to the area. The buildings are beautiful, and most of them are getting restored to the condition of the one found in the photo below. It's really lovely to walk the streets in this sweet little town. Our time in Oamaru came to an end on Sunday, when we caught the bus (with our bikes) to Christchurch. After checking into a hostel, I took a nap (cuz I like naps, remember?), and when Brian returned a few hours later, he openly and loudly laughed at the huge wad of saliva on my pillowcase. Not only did he laugh at me, but he grabbed my camera and took some photo evidence of the non-desirable sight. After such a scene, I figured I had to put the photo on the blog. Warning: it looks rather gross. Yes, I admit it. I drool. Not only do I drool on pillow cases or the sleeve of my arm when I take naps, but I also drool when I knit (right, Tera?), I drool when I bend over to look at something on the ground, and sometimes I just drool for no reason. In fact, Brian again laughed heartily at me when we were in the grocery store a few days ago because not only did I somehow manage to drool onto my shirt for no apparent reason (I must have a rare condition whereby I produce excess saliva), but the resulting reaction to my own drool was a rather large snorting laugh. Yes, I also snort. Geeze, this isn't setting up a pretty picture for those of you how haven't met me in person, does it? Uh, let's move on to other stories. We spent the evening in Christchurch hanging out at a cheap beer/pizza place with Sandra (a girl from Jasper, AB) and her friend Josh, a funny guy with an out-of-control beard who grew up in Lake Stevens, WA (which is, oddly enough, where my friend Britt's parents live). Small world. The following day we took the next bus leg to Nelson, which took about six hours, a mere week and a half of riding days, should we have completed the journey on two wheels instead of four. We were welcomed back to Nelson with warm weather and the discovery of a full bottle of red wine in the trunk of our car (how we managed NOT to drink that before we left, no one will ever know). So, the sun set for the last time on Mongoose, the trusty and sturdy and slightly heavy bike I've been riding for the past two months, for about 1500 km or so. I am saddened to not be riding every day, but I find myself very happy to be back in Nelson for all the reasons I listed in my last blog entry, and also because it made both Brian and I have sweet memories of what it was like two months ago when were preparing to leave on this journey. We've come a long way and loved every second. PLUS, how could I not be happy when I am wearing my fancy dancing pants and not bike shorts or any other form of stretchy exercise material? So stellarly sweet. The bike trip may be over for now, but the time we have in NZ is far from finished, so the blog will continue. And I'm absolutely positive that I will still be able to find silly or crazy stuff to talk about, and, of course, there will always be photos to share.