Glen couldn't resist packing as much into his last few days as he possibly could. In every presentation, Glen had pointed out that some of his load cells had 'been installed at Modesto Waste Transfer Station back in 1987, and were still in use today.' (Yes, I know that bit by heart. In fact, I think I know all of it by heart!) Anyway, on his last full day in Modesto, Glen thought he'd best go and visit this famous transfer station and find out whether he'd been telling porkies the whole trip!
Modesto waste transfer Station
Luckily for Glen, the load cells were still there and are still in use. Glen, I'll never doubt again!
Elphinstone load cells in use in the US
Now, do you like to eat your main meal in the middle of the day? Or in the evening? At home, my family were always evening eaters. I'm beginning to realise that there are positives to eating early too though... It leaves more time for partying in the evening!
The history of Brunker Ranch
We toured Brunker Ranch (just outside of Modesto). The ranch has been in operation for hundreds of years and has very successfully raised beef cattle for much of that time. We heard some stories about their somewhat less successful efforts at raising buffalo, but we'll leave that for another time. The beef was magnificent.
The present at Brunker Ranch! They were delicious...
Thank you very much to our kind hosts for the food, the tour and a lot of laughter!
Brunker Ranch - Great Company
Brunker Ranch - Plenty of Laughs!
After a fantastic lunch, we waddled back to our hosts' houses and spent a few hours packing our bags. We also packed several boxes full of excess luggage to post home. For the record, Will had the least excess (mostly because he had been too distracted chatting with Chris and Jenny to pack anything!). Sarah on the other hand, had the most. I'm sure her California Highway Patrol ball point pens are going to make great gifts for her colleagues, but they will be very expensive presents by the time she gets them home!
Our very last presentation... :-(
When evening rolled around, we had a great big good bye party hosted by the Currie household. Chris did the Haka for us all, Fiona and Claudia played piano and Jenny smuggled the kiwi flag into our photos. Mind you, she was only paying back Westy for putting the Aussie flag up in full view of all arriving guests without telling her!
Jenny adding a special Kiwi touch to the photo
It was a great night. Quite a few of our hosts from earlier in the exchange were able to make it down from Stockton, Oakhurst, Merced and even Sonora for the evening.
Many of our hosts from throughout the exchange were able to attend
There were tall tales told (remember the one about the escaped convict, the gung-ho policeman and the way too fast car trip home??). And some of those yarns were even true! (Sorry US readers... 'yarns' means stories to an Aussie or a Kiwi). After the stories, there were speeches, shenanigans, drinks, hugs, tears and laughter. Not necessarily in that order. It was a great night. Thanks for having us Modesto, and especially thank you to the Curries.
Errol's last hurrah... Goodbye!
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