Palmerston North

I have to start this post with the best part of Palmerston North – Judy and Steve – my Uncle David’s sister and her husband. Thanks so much guys, your hospitality was amazing. They not only put us up in their lovely home but also: Cooked us two awesome dinners. Fed us two awesome breakfasts. Let us do laundry. Taught us about rugby – go Crusaders! Gave Carolyn a camping toaster for the cooker - an incredibly thoughtful gift, and while I love the raisin toast, it sets the bar pretty high for anything I give Care in the future. Thanks a lot. Sent us on our way with parting gifts of wine, candy, and hot cross buns. But most importantly… Judy hand sewed us a Tetris “L” shaped fitted sheet to match the changes we made to the cushions in the van. The hinged area of the bed that lets us convert it to a seating area now has a removable cushion with its own sheet case. You rule, Jude. They also gave us a great insiders’ tour of Massey University (one of the biggest schools in NZ), an awesome breakfast at their friend’s coffee shop, and a spin around the central square with its park, shops, and venues for bands. We people watched for an hour, sipping cappuccinos sheltered inside from the gale force winds that occur from time to time. In fact, the wind is so strong that Palmerston not only built a huge wind farm to supply energy for the town, they were the first city to wire the surplus energy into the national grid. There is some contention about whether these massive turbines are an eyesore and noise disturbance, but I’ll leave that debate to the Kiwis. I personally think they're awesome – the wind blew so hard that when I jumped, I technically flew for at least two seconds. The only downside is that the wind blew away my braided headband that my friend Kristyn made me in Italy. Carolyn does not see the loss of this headband as a downside.
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"Inspiration" - a comic by Shawn Forno