Friday, February 18, 2011

Speaking of cruise ships

The Queen Elizabeth, one of the world's newest and most luxurious ships, cruised into our harbour early this morning. And when a ship like that comes in, it's a big deal to Wellington.

It blew it's horn and woke me up as it glided in at 6:45am, and so I grabbed my camera and stumbled out onto the balcony to snap a couple pics. Then I saw my next door neighbors watching from their balcony as well, and was grateful that I'd taken the time to put on appropriate clothing before running out.

It was calm and beautiful, covered with some clouds but we saw a graceful sunrise nonetheless. The ship is said to be 294 meters long and carries 2,000 passengers and nearly 1,000 crew. And it's estimated that it will inject more than $1 million into our economy during it's short stay. Wow. For more details, you can read the news story on stuff.co.nz.
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6 comments:

Phil said...

Now I bet ya don't see that sight too often on the Missouri River!

Dave said...

You sure don't. But I can't help but wonder how much line you'd need on your reel to fish off that thing? On the other hand...I bet the beer fridge is huge!

Sara said...

Great pics in your blog, just read back over your journey and adventures! Am moving to New Zealand arriving March 4th, and so excited. Your notes are helping me organize my thoughts and calm my nerves/butterflies! Hope your travels back home are just as exciting and adventurous!

jamie said...

Phil and Dave - So glad I can facilitate such valuable international networking opportunities for you! :)

Sara - Congrats on coming to NZ! If you're anything like me, you're going to love it! Feel free to email me if I can help answer any questions about settling in (or if you want to buy any of our household stuff on the cheap). Good luck and safe travels. :)

Phil said...

heehee. Oh yeah I like Dave. His laconic sense of humour and dry wit is right out of Mark Twain, which is geographically appropriate, ain't it?

Phil said...

Jamie...could I say just one more thing in a more serious fashion about Dave?

Obviously I only know the guy through his contributions to your blog. But I liked his style and the way he expressed himself, so went to read his own blog.

About a year ago he wrote an entry concerning the death and funeral of a relative - his wife's grandmother I think from memory. Rarely am I stopped completely in my tracks by what I read on blogs, but I WAS then and there, because of the emotionally raw, gut-wrenchingly honest way in which it was written. The piece is magnificent in its heartfelt sincerity. It made me cry.

I know Dave will hate me for saying this, but that writing was so good it deserves to be acknowledged more widely. If you haven't read it, please go do so. I hope he hasn't taken it down. If anything affirms the shared universality of our emotional humanity, it is there in abundant and eloquent evidence.

(And all that from a construction worker and toilet cleaner! Who would have guessed!!)