March 11, 2014. Christchurch, New Zealand. The Museum.

We three are delighted to be downtown in Christchurch. Today we walked a block and spent the day at the local Museum. And it is right on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens, which we will visit tomorrow. Our decision to live downtown was the right one. The reason that Christchurch has a small amount of accommodation is the result of the earthquake of 2011. Most hotels were demolished, except the YMCA…and the Museum. The Christchurch Museum is free and it is small, which in our mind, makes for a perfect Museum. Today we did a once over lightly. New Zealand has a tight connection to Antarctica, so we spent a lot of time in the area dealing with the excursions to the south pole. These people were obsessed. And we looked at the early centuries of New Zealand. I had read all about it but now I have seen the artifacts and the tools and the pictures. New Zealand is a young country but there were several hundred years of Maori life before the British were invited to settle the land. Both last evening and tonight, Gill cooked dinner. Tonight we ate a family sized quiche, purchased at the grocery store, and last evening we ate weight watchers frozen dinners. Our plan is to eat lunch out at a restaurant and eat a light dinner at the apartment. So far, all is well. Life is good.