Nothing in particular

So we've moved to our permanent house and now my route work includes a train ride. I rather like the train. The whole walk is quite nice...

It starts with my front door. As soon as I step out I can see the morning sun falling on green hills dotted with wispy pines. It looks like sunshine on green carpet. One lonely pine stands out from the rest on the crest of a ridge. It catches my eye and I wonder what the view is like from that spot.

Off down the street. I have 2 blocks of homes to walk past followed by 1 block of shops before the tunnel to the station. Most of the houses in my neighborhood are single level. Many have low stone walls around their borders. Some have leaded glass. Others have exotic gardens. None of them are stunning--they are just good homes. For shops there two "dairies" (small grocery stores), a video rental, a "lotto" shop (I don't know either), our favorite fish-n-chips take away and then a "plunket" day care drop off right by the tunnel to the train station. There are a couple of other streets to the shop area, but these are what I walk by.

The train station I use is Hutt Central/Waterloo which is a main stop. It is a nice large station with a roof. Most of the others are bus stop looking affairs with no shelter. The only down side to the station is that it is one of the last stops on the route to downtown (or CBD as the locals call it). That means the train is already packed before I get on and about 200 other commuters are all getting on with me. I'm afraid it is going to be standing room only every day. The train ride is only about 20 minutes so it is not too bad. At first we turn through other neighborhoods and then we cross the Hutt River. The Hutt River is interesting as it is where the river scenes of LotR were shot. Just looking at its banks and you can recognize the stone and color of the water. There is a short tunnel and when the train emerges the full sweep of the bay come in to view. The sun is just coming over the hills and the water shimmers with light. I love looking at the other commuters who are universally looking away, reading books, or half snoozing. I seem to be the only one gawking out the windows.

The main station at 8:00 AM is a zoo to be sure. But folks flow out pretty quickly. The main station is only a block from the harbor edge and it works out for me to walk the harbor virtually all the way to my office on Tory Street. It is about a mile from the station to my office so my morning commute is quite healthy. The harbor is beautiful on a good day. So far I've only seen one non-beautiful day. Today the water was like a gently rolling mirror and the sun sparkled on the peaks of the waves.

For the last two blocks I have to walk through the city. But by this time the cool shade of the buildings is welcome. There is a small bakery just a half block off my path that I have come to enjoy. Cappuccino is farking awesome here. Then on to my office on "level 3" of "unit 1" on Tory Street. The floors in buildings start with "G" and then 1 floor up is "level 1". That has thrown me a few times. That's my commute... every day.