It's been months since I've left Wellington, so it was really nice to take a wee road trip and head up the coast for a couple of nights this weekend. Friday night traffic still sucks, though I suspect the big railway overbridge at McKays Crossing will alleviate that a little.
The lack of decent cafes open beyond 5pm was also felt, particularly as we had jumped in the car straight from work, but Levin has a new Countdown (even though we're off Progressive at the moment) with aisles wider than a hospital's, so all was not lost.
But once there all was good. A decent red wine, some good fresh pasta, some good cds, and a cosy batch steeped in family history. Rather nice really.
Saturday shot through to Palmerston North to look at art. Good to see Te Manawa pushing the provincial comfort zone a little, with the Sydney Biennale work by Racheal Rakena and Brett Graham, and some hauntingly good video works by Annee Olofsson, juxtaposed with a bunch of good paintings on canvas, belying the fact that Te Manawa still has a strong commitment to delivering what the local audiences actually want. Good work the new team there.
Other pleasant discoveries in the North: Peter Ireland at Thermostat - vibrant and clever canvases delivering an affordable and near sellout show, reliably good food and coffee at Barista, and a frotty Look frame at Pedal Pushers.
The rest of the weekend was a happy blur of sunshine, simple food, bombing through overgrown pine forest singletrack on a singlespeed (soo much easier that hauling a 1-geard bike around Wellington's hills) and equal amount of plotting to overthrow the art world and conspiring to advance the mountain bike industry.
Escapism. It's kinda nice once in a while.
