Cantab in Northland

Well I missed the blog for Friday.  With very good reason I will have you know.  Oceans was rocking, restaurant full, customers waiting for tables, bar humming with that good vibe that you get on Fridays at Oceans. 

Joeren from Dive! Tutukaka was celebrating his birthday at Schnappa Rock, just down the road so all up Tutukaka had that fabulous Friday night feeling.  Not so great for the Saturday Morning buzz.

Not only do I love Fridays but really it has become a bit well known with some of our locals.  It is a chance for us all to catch up after the week and prepare for the weekend ahead.  You will drive into Tutukaka and think "does anyone really live here?"  The answer is a BIG YES and they are awesome.  The fact is that Tutukaka is not just the Marina area, only so many people can live in the direct area.  But Tutukaka and Ngunguru (settlement that is 4k before you get to Tutukaka from Whangarei) are just two small populated areas of an amazing coast and we are going to be blogging about those too!

So we say farewell to Friday and say happy birthday to Jeoren.  Sleep and wake to SATURDAY.  Ohhhhhh how I waited for this Saturday.  It was like the Christmas countdown from childhood.  Crusaders in the final.  The bar staff in red and black, Crusaders Music (Conquest of Paradise).  If you don't know the music we have added on the link below. 

	Vangelis - Conquest of paradise .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

primed to activate from EVERY speaker we could find, TV's operating and the rush of dinner service to get through as everyone tried to gulp down their food before kick off.  And as is typical with the Christmas countdown of childhood, you find you are ready and waiting way before you are able to rip off any paper.  So you wait,............

Finally I got to turn down the CD music (felt like a DJ with our sound system) and pushed the crusaders theme to full. 

For those of you who haven't guessed or don't know, I am 100% true blooded, forever loyal to the Crusaders!  Steve and I may find ourselves anywhere in NZ or the world doing what we do, but our drawers are FULL of red and black gear, we will always cheer for the red and blacks, we will respect the team where we reside but always Crusader fans.  And that is what was great about this final, NZ united!  We were all for those 80 minutes Crusaders fans. 

I won't lie the result was gutting but there was soooo much pride in what the boys achieved. over 300,000 kms traveled, no home ground and the stress of having a homeland that was hurting from the recent earthquakes.  Respect is also given to the Reds with the flooding and the attack of Mother Nature on their homeland.  So if I was being honest it really was a final of two deserving teams.  Both played well and both played a hard game.

As the bar emptied after the game and we started to lock up and prepare for Sunday it was still a good day.

Sunday is Sunday, a day to rest and relax, we have to say good bye to some of our guests but we get to welcome new guests.  Bitter sweet.  And paradise for me was found this weekend in being a part of something wonderful.  I am not trying to shake my promise of finding my meaning of life in every day, but I am being honest.  this weekend it was in so many moments that there are none that have ownership over another.  And I am looking forward to welcoming the new week ahead and our new guests and those returning to visit and stay with us again