traveling and touring

Our group of about 140 people deploying to Antarctica has finally put all 280 feet on the ground, or sea ice. My travels were so smooth, it makes me wonder if the airlines aren't just improving their service these days!

In Denver I met up with my friend, Jenny, for dinner the first evening I was there. It worked out that she, I, and another friend were able to all meet when she was driving through town. Jen was in Antarctica with me last year and had lots of wisdom to impart to me as a "returning" Antarctic employee. She is not coming back this year, so I enjoyed spending a few hours with her talking about the direction our lives may go.

The next evening, I spent with Matt. After sitting at Starbucks and chatting for awhile, he helped me run some errands and eventually make my way back to the hotel where we celebrated a birthday with Becky and had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. Matt is working and going to school in the Denver area and I was happy we caught up. It's strange to see this brother of mine sitting in one place for a whole school year, but he seems to be doing well and enjoying the education.

The next day, after a morning of safety training, we headed to the airport for the big chunk of our journey to New Zealand. In Auckland, my friends, Jeremy & Kirrin, picked up Lucas and I and brought us out for coffee before we had to catch our connecting flight to Christchurch. Seeing them again felt like no time had passed. Their humorous chiding is a bit intoxicating and they are a fun couple to spend time with.

Arriving in Christchurch, I ran some errands, and enjoyed showing a couple of new people around the city. The city center is a great place to walk around and I made plenty of loops around the place before heading out of there. I met Lucas at the Coffee House on Tuesday morning. It's a great little cafe with beautiful and tasty coffee treats as well as fabulous breakfasts!

Another Christchurch favorite is the botanical gardens. The pictures in this post are from there. I saw, smelled, touched, laid in, and heard all the signs of spring while tromping around the paths for the evening. It will be quite some time before these senses enjoy such excitement again!