By Angela

The kids and I are on a mission to try a McDip but so far it has proved elusive. We saw an ad for one in the mall, a McDonald’s soft serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. Eh, no biggie, but the kids are sooo excited to try one. It is that magical instance where all your kids are united in wanting the same thing. The mall Mickey D’s was sold out. So while my people mover was being inspected for 90 min, I decided to see if we could find one. I think you can always bet on there being a McDonald’s within walking distance. Sure enough there was one 20 min away, so we trekked there. To our great disappointment, the McDip was sold out. Can you believe it! Apparently the McDip is a thing here. 0 for 2. So we settled on cones and sundaes instead.   

One of the neat parts about being here is little surprises of familiarity. It what makes American snobbish. We can’t escape our influence. Like gas stations with subways. Laughing cow cheese (a Maria fav) in the grocery store. KFC’s everywhere. I was looking around the very clean and mostly empty McDonald’s, when, what should my wandering eyes there appear but a Coffee news pamphlet about Buc-ee’s. I did a double take to make sure that the pamplet was indeed New Zealand born. Sure enough it was. The article reads…

“Gas Guzzler: Here, big box shopping malls are the norm all over the United States, but now there is a huge gas station, complete with stores, a restaurant, and a large rest area, in Sevierville, Tennessee. The complex, owned by a gas station chain Buc-ee’s…”

I can’t describe it exactly, but reading about Buc-ee’s in New Zealand gives me the warm fuzzies inside. Buc-ee’s is a thing in my family. My brother, who takes frequent trips to SC to visit in-laws, is obsessed with it. There is a certain status that comes with having been to a Buc-ee’s. There have been frequent texts about Buc-ees on my family’s group texts. Charles has a Buc-ee’s shirt. I shouldn’t admit this, but I have never been to a Buc-ee’s. I am low on that totem pole. Is Buc-ee’s a thing or is it just my family?

Soon enough our car inspection was complete. Thank God, no major problems, just a radio problem. Lol, I wonder what report I would have gotten had I taken the car to a Nissan dealer in the States. I’m sure I would be looking at thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs. The other surprise at the car place, it was empty. AA motors is like a car registration and licensing bureau. An empty licensing bureau. Blows my mind. 

Today we pack up all our stuff and move to our rental by the beach, in a small town called Maraetai. No worries, I don’t know how to pronounce it either. Goodbye Airbnb and Sylvia park Mall. Looking forward to the beach and a clothes dryer.