The shortest Party

“Grandma” turned 60 in March, so we decided to celebrate when we were in town. She decided that rather than having a big bash, she’s like to climb up Rangitoto Island, one of Auckland’s iconic volcanoes, as she’d never done it before.The immediate family all sailed over to the island on the ferry, and then we split up for the ascent. The two younger men (Nigel and Tony) climbed up together, while the grandparents helped me with the 3 girls as we rode up on a covered trailer.

The vehicle wasn’t able to go to the summit, so the last portion of it we had to walk, with backpacks, and carrying our picnic basket. Much to our surprise, the driver informed us that we’d have just 20 minutes at the top to look around and take pictures, and then we’d have to head back down again, so that there would be enough time to make the descent in time for the return ferry. Well, that didn’t deter us – as soon as we got to the top, we laid out our picnic, blew out the obligatory candles, and enjoyed the bottle of blubbly and snacks.

There was even time for a few family photos before we headed back down. Those 20 minutes were definitely the shortest birthday party we’ve ever had!