Merry Christmas , Monte.
When ever you “pop up ” on the forum my time in NZ comes to mind. A long time ago , in a land far – far away a young US Sailor spent a pleasant three-day weekend in Tauranga. Our ship the USS Graham County LST 1176 moored to the timber dock for a couple days of liberty. We hosted an “open house” on our small ship, the town’s folks were lined up along the pier for a visit. In the officer’s wardroom we hosted a few local dignitaries to a real American lunch… hot dogs, they thought that that was special. If you were to pull up a copy of the August 21, 1971 “Bay of Plenty Times” , there is a full page article about the visit ( still have my copy). Back in those days, a US sailor couldn’t pay for a beer, as the local guys were still thanking us for WWII.
Joe B