A Quick Trip To Palmerston North

On Sunday morning we headed up to Palmerston North, the city in which I spent the first 21 years of my life, and a few years since.  Margaret loaned us her car for the trip, so we left her stranded in Koro Koro with enough food to last two days.

We spent an enjoyable few hours visiting with Judy Eden and her family.  Judy and her late husband, Ashley, were our neighbours in Palmerston North back in 1979 / 1980 when we were living in the first house that we owned.  We have kept in touch through the years as our children grew up and had children of their own, and so we try and get together when we are in town.

After our visit Marlene had to have a walk as there was still a few hours of daylight left, so we parked at the bottom of Ruahine Street and walked to the Esplanade and back, a mere hour and a half round trip.  The trail follows the Manawatu River and has some great views.  The photo below is some of the hundreds of wind turbines on the hills above town.  New Zealand certainly takes renewable energy seriously, and if Palmerston North is known for one thing, it is wind!

The Esplanade is a large park area bordering the river, with a children's play area, duck pond, paddling (wading) pool, aviaries, rose gardens and miniature train rides.  It is largely unchanged since I was a kid, and a great asset to the city.  The photo below is one of the palm-lined roadways through the park.




Almost every young boy loves trains, and the miniature train in the Esplanade has pleased several generations of young Palmerstonians.  It was not running while we were there but one of the engines was being serviced.

Today we visited my 91 year old Auntie Bridie (my Mom's sister) who is in a rest home in Palmerston North.  We try and visit a few times when we are in New Zealand, so wanted to make our first visit before we head to Nelson on Friday.  She was in good spirits and happy to see us, so a positive time for us.

On our way out of town we had lunch with Bridie's son, Wayne, and his wife, Sue.  They are in the process of moving North to the Coromandel Peninsula, so we wanted to catch up with them on this visit as they will be gone by the time we return to Palmerston in March.  The time flew by and all too soon we were back on the road.

Our whirlwind trip had us back in Koro Koro in time for zucchini pie and hopefully an early night, for tomorrow is Monday in North America, and so the work demands will return.