This one will be quick as I have to be up early in the morning, not a happy time, and am going to try to post pics after this (no promises)!  It was an easy day.  I took a gondola ride up the volcanic rim that separates Lyttleton from Christchurch.  At the top, I hired a mountain bike for a 16 km ride to the bottom.  It was a little pricey, but I'm glad I did it.  About 80% of the ride was either really hard or really easy, though enough of it was hard that my legs are aching tonight.  It was mostly over roads around the rim, but 5 km was through parkland.  There were sheep and steep dropoffs throughout.  At one point I came out from the shelter of a hill and the wind was so stiff it blew my bike across the lane of traffic (again, not a happy moment)!  Marion reckons the winds got up to 60-70 knots, but all I know is that it was rough.

Life was good at the end of the ride as the bus pulled up immediately.  I killed a few hours walking around downtown Christchurch, known as the City Centre.  I spent sunset at the Bridge of Remembrance.   Its a memorial to their war vetrans and very powerful at sunset or during the evening.  Marion and I met for supper at The Bog.  The 3-man jam of Sunday night turned into a 20-man jam session with handouts for everyone to sing along.  It was alot of fun.  There were several Americans in there as the  boys are starting to head to Anarctica, aka The Ice, for winter.  We visited with them for a moment and then took off on the bus.

I met the nicest woman, named Esther, on the bus ride home.  That was my grandmother's name and I think only the second Esther I have ever met.  She asked all kinds of questions and then wanted to know the exact time of my departure on Thursday so she could say a prayer.  Pretty cool!