Road Trip, Day 7

Today we went to see Pancake Rocks, which is a strange rock formation of layered rocks. Thankfully, the weather was sunny and warm, as opposed to yesterday's deluge. We even stopped at the beach for a picnic lunch - despite Nolan's request that we buy pie for lunch. Again.

He's really obsessed with the New Zealand meat pie which is the quintessential Kiwi lunch. They are sold in corner markets and supermarkets and takeaway shops and school cafeterias. Nolan adores them. He seems to want pie for breakfast. lunch, and dinner. He notices all the pie shops along the road - which is a considerable number. He shouts out "Pie time!" and goes through withdrawal if he doesn't get enough pies. I like pies, too, but I'm suspicious of their potential ingredients: mystery meat leftovers. Your basic pie has a reputation of being made of little more than minced offal swimming in puddles of thickening gravy. Nonetheless, Nolan is a firm member of this fan club. Yesterday, we stopped for coffee at 10:00 and he wanted a pie already. He's already had breakfast at the B&B, and it wasn't lunchtime yet, but the coffeeshop had pies, so there was really no question. He needed a pie.

Well, in this case, we stopped on the beach and ate cheese and crackers and fruit for lunch - no pies. The waves are really wild and rough here on the west coast of NZ. After lunch, we arrived at Pancake Rocks and followed the trail to the sea's edge. The wild waves have chiselled away huge chunks of the rocks, leaving pools and crevices and arches that all get splashed with violent seafoam. It's pretty impressive yet inexplicable; nobody really knows why these rocks are layered as they are. But we definitely know why they have eroded away so drastically.

There was still a few hours of driving to do today. As usual, Nolan was in the back seat doing crossword puzzles. We were bored. We wanted to help.

Nolan: OK. Who was the number one artist in 1973 according to Billboard? Nine letters.
us: Beatles!
us: Rolling Stones!
Nolan: 9 letters.
us: Led Zeppelin!
Nolan: NINE LETTERS. Begins with E.
us: Does Simon & Garfunkle fit?
(the answer was Elton John)
Before long, Nolan was thoroughly discouraged with our "help" and would really rather do the puzzle himself, which would be faster and far less exasperating. However, we were bored silly, having too much fun, and desperate to be included in any pastime that entertained us so. We agreed to take it seriously and actually help.
Nolan: OK. Who was the number one artist of the rock and roll era, according to Billboard? 12 letters.
us: Beatles!
us: Simon & Garfunkle!
us: Queen!
Nolan: TWELVE LETTERS, people! The fourth letter is I.
us: Michael Jackson!
us: Madonna!
Nolan: Oh, come on. You guys are impossible. Why don't you do your own puzzle from the other crossword puzzle book instead of ruining mine?
us: Because that's full of New York Times crossword puzzles and they're too hard for us. Please let us help. We promise we'll do it right this time. Please?
Nolan: Oh, all right. 12 down. Actress Ruby.
me: Dee! Ruby Dee! See, I am helpful!
Nolan: Very good, Marm. How about ... Oscar-winning role for Hanks.
us: That guy on Castaway!
Nolan: I need a name. 4 letters.
us: The guy with AIDS ... in that one movie.
Nolan: FOUR LETTERS.
me: I think his name was John. In Castaway. That's 4 letters.
Nolan: John? I'm not so sure I'm going to take your word for it.
me: Don't you trust me?
Nolan: No, Mom, I don't trust you. Why? Because you shout out Led Zeppelin when I want a 4-letter word, and because you can't even REMEMBER YOUR SHOES.

The answer was Gump.