Spill Prevention

Christchurch is amazingly still struggling with quakes and aftershocks, a full two years since their first major earthquake. The citizens have a good attitude, but I also think they have a "let me up, I've had enough" feeling. One thing I love to do when I visit different countries is to shop at their grocery stores. New Zealand is no exception. I love all the bright colors and different options they offer compared to our stores back home. I needed to pick up a few items to take down to the Ice, so I visited my favorite supermarket in New Zealand, Countdown. They've had so many aftershocks the store has apparently taken the bull by the horns and have done what they can to stop items from falling on the floor. All aisles with glass items now have plastic barriers that stop things from falling on the floor and breaking every time an aftershock hits. Ingenious and innovative. I'm sure they also have less calls for "Cleanup on Aisle 6"!

Will Lynn Get Her Stuff Back?

The earthquake happened in Christchurch on February 22nd, and lots of
folks would like to get their items back that they had to leave in their
hotels. Lynn was one of those people and we really understand that it
is dangerous to go into some of these buildings. In fact, we're prepared
that she may not get her stuff back at all. However, I guess we'd like
to know either way. So for right now, it is resting comfortably in the
All Seasons Cashel hotel, in a room very similar to the photo I've posted
above. I posed the question on Facebook if anyone had heard
anything about luggage being returned. I received several notes
back. The latest from Bill S. being the most encouraging. Apparently
it is being addressed by the head of RPSC (the company we work with
on the Ice. There is "a plan in place to retrieve these items...it will be
a month or more..." Below is an article recently posted in the Christchurch
Press newspaper.

A logistical nightmare looms for Christchurch hotels as they try to reunite
thousands of overseas visitors with personal possessions abandoned when
the February 22 earthquake struck.

The tourists fled the city immediately and many had no option but to leave
their belongings behind in hotel rooms in the badly damaged CBD.

They are now getting tired of waiting for their property to be shipped home.

The Hotel Council's Bruce Garrett said hoteliers had been working closely
with the authorities to get access so they could retrieve luggage and personal
items, but so far most hotels were off-limits to all but engineers and Civil
Defence.

That situation was expected to change shortly and as soon as access was
granted, work would begin on the enormous task of clearing hotel rooms of the p
of the personal items left behind.

There had been a flood of inquiries from people overseas wanting their
belongings back and some were becoming frustrated by the length of time
it was taking

"People have been understanding of the circumstances, but their patience is
starting to run out," Garrett said.

"It's difficult for them to comprehend what is involved in getting in and getting
their luggage out.

"They can't understand why we can't just go in and get it."

In some cases, cranes would be needed to get to hotel rooms, but it seemed
possible all personal belongings would be retrieved.

Garrett said who then paid to have the items shipped back to their owners
was still being discussed.

"It's not something most insurance policies would cover," he said.

It had been suggested that Tourism New Zealand could pick up the tab as
a public relations exercise, but the agency did not have a budget for that.


This seems encouraging and we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Time To Go

Before I left the Ice, we had a number of "All Hands Meetings" in which
I was tasked to talk to folks and pretty much explain to them that the
City of Christchurch was not the place for them. It was rather disheartening,
but all of the places that Ice folks like to go, such as our favorite restaurants,
coffee houses, parks, etc. were not able to be visited...if they even still
existed. In fact, the plan for most folks leaving the Ice was to drop off
their Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear in Christchurch, and then immediately
board a plane for Auckland. Of course, folks were given an option to not get
on this plane and stay on the South Island. I was one of those folks since
Lynn and I already had tickets to go to Tasmania via Sydney.
After saying farewell to Leighton and our friends at the Travel Office, we
checked in for our flight. Lynn was definitely ready to go as last night we
had a couple of really strong aftershocks. Several Search and Rescue groups
from other countries walked through the terminal and they were given
very loud rounds of applause by the folks in the airport. Then, a very
solemn moment occurred. At 12:51, two minutes of silence were observed
to commemorate that it had been one week since the devastating earthquake.
It was very moving and I had never been in an airport that was SO quiet.
It's very sad to be leaving New Zealand, but since we are not involved in
the recovery effort, it's best to be out of the way.

The Powell Recovery Center

I arrived in Christchurch and was lucky enough to be met at the Clothing
Distribution Centre by our friends, Christine and Antz. They live in Southshore,
on the beach, and have been nice enough to take in Lynn and our friend,
Kaska for the past few nights. When we drove from the airport area to their
house, I could see a lot of damage, but we weren't able to drive into the
Central Business District where much of the major damage occurred. They
have a beautiful cozy house a block from the beach. I visited here last year
and they're wonderful hosts.


Antz is essentially an electronic genius! Even though the house had no
running water or electricity due to the earthquake, Antz was able to hook
up the generator, phone service and even internet. I'm pretty sure that
no one else in the neighborhood had these luxuries.


I was very impressed with the City of Christchurch's and New Zealand's
ability to make things work. Even though the power was still out, porta potties
were placed on every other block, giving at least a small bit of comfort to
the residents. In general, the folks in New Zealand are keeping a Stiff Upper
Lip and are struggling through this.

Earthquake in Christchurch

At 12:51 pm today, a 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch. It was centered
near Lyttelton, and only 3 miles deep. Very bad news. What is worse is
that Lynn is IN Christchurch. Of course I was very worried. It was several
hours until I heard anything, but then our friend Leighton from the
Antarctic Centre called and Lynn was with him. She told me that she
and our friend Brenda were going to meet another friend, Natalie to
go shopping. They were in the lobby of the Hotel So, where they were
staying, when all heck broke loose. They were thrown into the wall and
then they ran out into the street. Destruction was all around. Lynn
said it literally looked like a war zone. What's worse, all of her stuff
is in her hotel room, including her computer and passport and she
probably won't get it back because the Grand Chancellor Hotel, where
we've stayed before is LEANING on the Hotel So! It's the second tallest
building in Christchurch (almost 30 stories) so if it goes down, it's going
to take a lot of buildings with it, including the Hotel So.

After getting their wits about them, Lynn and Brenda, joined by our
friends Jamie, Matt and Kaska (who was barefoot) walked through the
rubble, all the way to the Antarctic Centre/Clothing Distribution Centre (CDC)
(about 6 miles). It proved to be a good meeting point for many other Ice
folks as well and is acting as kind of a command centre for USAP folks
who have recently left the Ice. That's where she found Leighton and
was able to phone me on the Ice.

In the meantime, Christchurch is a mess. This is a much more destructive
quake than the one that struck in September. The entire Central Business
District is closed off, including all of the hotels USAP people stay at and
nobody is allowed there. Dozens of people have been killed and many many
more are missing. Lynn will be staying at the CDC for at least tonight
and probably a few more nights as well.

Facebook has become a huge connector of people during the crisis and
some folks have started a spreadsheet charting the whereabouts of Ice
people who are in Christchurch. So far, everyone is safe and no one from
the programme has been injured.

It's going to be a long few days/weeks/months for Christchurch. Our prayers
and thoughts are with our friends and people we haven't met. Lynn is safe.
Our friends our safe. Not all have been so lucky. Please think of them and
pray for them.

I'm In Christchurch

I've arrived in Christchurch and was able to check into
the same hotel room at the Grand Chancellor that Lynn
has been staying in for the past week. The room is on
the 25th floor so it has a fantastic view of the entire
city and of the Southern Alps. There is a lot of earthquake
damage from the recent shake that took place here, but it's
very spotty. Some blocks have a lot of devastation, while
others look like normal and you couldn't tell anything
had happened. It's sad that so many people, including
friends of ours that live in Christchurch and businesses
we frequented have lost everything.

Aftershock!

Lynn is safe and sound in her 25th floor hotel room at the
Hotel Grand Chancellor in Christchurch, but right after she
woke up this morning, at 6:03 am. Christchurch was hit by

a 4.6 aftershock. She told me that the building swayed a bit,

like it's supposed to, but nothing was damaged...as least as far

as she knew. GNS Science reported the aftershock was centered

30 km southwest of Darfield, which was the town nearest the

epicenter of the 7.1 earthquake last Saturday. There is an

excellent map that can be found here that shows the location of

the original earthquake and all of the following aftershocks that

have taken place over the last week, including today's.

Driving to Oklahoma

We left my Mom's pretty early in the morning and set off for
my sister Nancy's house in Altus, Oklahoma. You can make it
in one day, but it's a pretty long drive, so we split it up into two.
We decided to go a bit of a different route from the Chicago area
to southwest Oklahoma via the boot heel of Missouri and through
Arkansas. Instead of crossing the Mississippi River near St. Louis,
we crossed it near Cairo Illinois. We stopped briefly in New Madrid
Missouri and I was very disappointed. New Madrid was the site of
one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. In the early 1800's
it made the Mississippi River run backwards and rang church bells
in Boston. A pretty big deal. However, no mention of it...not even a
sign near the courthouse could be found!


I was very impressed by the rest stops in Arkansas. The buildings
themselves were nothing to write home about but the grounds were
very nicely landscaped, with tons of flowers everywhere. It was very
pretty.


We spent the night in Little Rock and made it there just in time to
see this really pretty sunset as we rounded a bend in the highway.


Today, when entering Oklahoma, we stopped at a visitor center and
they had this painting on the wall. It's a copy of a famous painting of
the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is a infamous journey made by
the Cherokee as they were forced from their homelands in the east
and sent to Oklahoma. Many died along the way. Descendants of
these same Cherokee live in this area of Oklahoma today.


I am always please that Oklahoma recognizes that it was once
"Indian Territory". This is reflected on it's license plates, state flag,
and even it's rest stops as we enjoyed these picnic areas where we
ate our lunch.