Advertisement
Published: March 25th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Monday March 23, 2009
“The sun is shining, birds are singing…here at Camp Granada” Alan Sherman.
Wonderful weather for my last full day in Middle Earth. Following Steve’s directions I find Cathedral Square. After strolling the streets for a while I get on the streetcar tram that circles downtown. The driver gives a brief history of different sites as the car rolls along. First stop, the arts center. The buildings that make up the center are actually the original campus of the University of Canterbury. There are wonderful shops as well as student and artist in residence studios and galleries spread over several blocks. Just across the way is the Art Gallery which houses well done exhibits of historical and contemporary Kiwi artists in addition to artists that have migrated here over the years. Back on the tram we pass Christ’s College, a prestigious and pricy boys school and the Botanical Gardens and Museum. Being Museumed out I stay on the tram back to Cathedral Square. After taking care of some souvenir business I find my way along the Avon River back to Pomeroy’s. Along the way I pass the Bohemian Café & Bar. Judging by the number of BMW,
Arts Center
old campus of U of Canterbury Porche and Rovers in front apparently the Bohemian lifestyle has changed since the 1950’s & '60's. I find Steve and tell him I need to settle up today, as I will be leaving earlier tomorrow than I thought. As we go into the Pub he insists that we sample a couple of beers. Sitting and chatting for nearly an hour it is obvious he is very proud of what he has accomplished here, as well he should be. Relaxing, reading in the sun the afternoon passes quickly. After a first stab at packing I decide I need some dinner. The sun is just setting as I reach the square. It’s light creates some interesting reflections off of the buildings and trolley tracks. Indian food sounds good and the lamb dish I ordered was. Finding my way back the last time without getting lost I watch my first episode of CSI in six weeks then turn in.
Tuesday March 24, 2009
“So long, so long and thanks for all the fish” Douglas Adams
As the porpoise’s parting words when leaving planet Earth I though they were equally appropriate as I leave Middle Earth. With my journey near its end
I feel a certain ambivalence associated with having an incredible experience yet knowing it is time to move on. Up in plenty of time I have breakfast and finish packing. Chris the driver is early. Steve Pomeroy is attempting to assist an older couple from Israel that arrived late the night before. They don’t seem to understand much English having equal amounts of trouble understanding Steve or me. I guess it isn’t just our accents. Out to the airport with plenty of time to kill. I did note on the Christchurch convention center marquee that the International Potato Producers are in town. I miss all the big ones. Everything checked through to LAX. Smooth hour and fifteen minute flight to Auckland. As we circle for landing I see the Coromandel in the distance and think back to February 19th when this odyssey began. Thanks again Glenda! You really don’t want to hear about the next 24 hours so my next entry will be a debriefing…so I lied. Twenty-seven hours after leaving Christchurch and still Tuesday I am sitting in LAX eating a burrito. Now that’s what NZ needs, a good Mexican restaurant. I did have one “Oh S#%t” moment. One
of my two duffle bags was the last thing onto the bagage return carousel. Don’t you just love it?
Segment three:
Sung to the sound of screaming jet engines and screeching landing gear tires.
“Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC
Didn't get to bed last night
Oh, the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight
I'm back in the USSR
You don't know how lucky you are, boy…
Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USSR,... yeah!”
With a big thanks to Paul McCartney, unfortunately this is the story of my last flight segment. My stomach started feeling uneasy a good 2 hours before departure for K.C. and despite every effort I wasn’t any better by the time we boarded. It was 3 hours of hell with liberal use of “the paper bag”. I’m sure I looked as bad as I felt. Despite being away over a month I suggested Carla maintain appropriate medicinal distance wanting to make sure this was not something more than the burrito. I will write an additional closing segment when my head clears. Cheers!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.126s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0817s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb