Word: raglan
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...lane road to Raglan, State Highway 23, ran through typically beautiful New Zealand countryside--gorgeous green hills spotted with sheep. The road wiggled its way toward the sea, through Mt. Karioi and Mt. Pirongia, two volcanoes which may or may not be active. My eyes were on the road--SH23's blind corners and steep drop-offs made me nervous and Kid Driver was trying to go faster. He passed three cars in one burst of bravado. I remembered the hostel owner mentioned that the trip to Raglan takes about 55 minutes. When I ran this estimate by my friend...
...Driver was a first-year student at Waikato University in Hamilton. He also worked in the Pak N' Save grocery store in town as a stock clerk. This morning he woke up late and wanted to have a quick surf in Raglan before work--his afternoon shift began in three hours. But he said he might blow off his job if the waves in Manu Bay were massive. To squeeze in surfs, he and his mates would sometimes drive the length of SH23 six times in the same...
After about 35 minutes we were there. He dropped me off in town and I thanked him with an clumsy "cheers." I looked at my watch and surveyed the town. Raglan--or Raglan-by-the-sea--was compact enough for me to cover in about 2 hours. As a Let's Go Researcher-Writer I had come to appreciate the art of bagging an entire town--updating "Practical Information," "Accommodations," "Food," "Sights and Activities"--in one furious swoop. So I consulted my wad of Let's Go documents and headed off to do Raglan, my after noon shift...
...hours later, Raglan was up-to-date and I was cruising back to Hamilton. I hated to leave the quiet, beachside town but duty--and my breakneck itinerary--called. I caught a ride with two eccentric young woman who drove a green, vintage Austin Freeway, a handsome retrocar that struggled on SH23's steep bits...
From the backseat of the Freeway I thought of Kid Driver--would he get back to Hamilton this afternoon and get to his job? I would. Maybe the surf on Manu Bay would keep him in Raglan and he'd blow off Pak N' Save for the set of waves that he'd come looking for. I hoped...