Bradley told me this quote "If you don't know where you are going any road will get you there" So true with my life on the road.
I attended a Free Wheelers rally in Coromandel, had a great time. While there I attended a play "Masquerade" this was put on by the Coromandel Players, this was good value and scary at times. I took my two granddaughters to a show at Matatoki School. It was local author, Dot Meharry's book 'Pipi's and Muscles' put to music and performed well by the children and enjoyed by all.
A weekend at Whangamata on a rally with Hauraki/Coromandel Movanners, saw me catching up with my good friend Jill and enjoying a great Christmas do. Heading home on the Sunday with Phil following my motor in my bus did not seem to be pulling right, got down the first big hill on the Kopu-Hikuia road and halfway up the next hill I had to wave Phil on as I was getting slower and slower and finally stopped!
After ringing AA (Automobile Association) If things get too bad the other AA might be needed. Thames Towing from Kopu came out quickly and informed me that my clutch had burnt out. So poor Gypsy Granny was winched onto the back of the truck for a ride home while I followed with Phil watching Gypsy granny rocking on the back of the truck.
She went back to Thames Towing, many thanks to Frank for getting there so quickly and for fixing her up. It was the first time in my ownership that Gypsy granny had been locked in a covered shed. The bill for her operation was ouch! But she is running well.
Took a drive to Hamilton and then onto Tauranga over the Kaimai's where she just flew up and over the hills, even passed some trucks. Another learning curve for me, the clutch was obviously going for awhile.
The Pohutukawa trees outside my place in Thames have been glorious this year, I have enjoyed driving Ratu at the Thames Small Guage Railway giving people a ride on our 900m track along the foreshore and back under the flowering Pohutukawa's. Attended the Thames Santa Parade and took Lisa and Nadia to the Ngatea Santa Parade and then around Thames to see the houses decorated with Christmas lights they were really beautiful with the home owners doing a marvelous job, it must take them hours to put them all up. So here we are nearly at Christmas, when we were young I am sure it only came every two years now it seems to come every six months.
Christmas eve sees me leaving Thames for the last time in 2003 heading North. Had a lovely Christmas morning at my daughters and left about 11.00am, got to my friend Gail's house. where I stayed and caught up with her new granddaughter, Claire.
Went to the bay of Islands on a cruise to
swim with the dolphins unfortunately we could
not swim with the dolphins as there were
babies among them and swimming is not permitted
when there are young in the pod, but we had
a good day, weather was cold and cloudy.
Took Adell and Casey on my travels to Paihia
and when we got back to the bus I found there
had been a deluge of rain , I am sure it
was only where my bus was parked.The amount
that fell made the vent leak and filled the
cupboards, wet the beds and filled the ceiling.What
a mess.The movanners at Waipu pulled the
ceiling out when I got there for our new
year rally, so it soon dried out.Had a great
new year at Waipu, thanks to Peter Owens
good programme and the dancing, rock and
roll lessons ,pipping in the new year. 
