Hamilton

We arrived in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, and it was an absolutely lovely day, so we took some time to just relax at the Holiday Park before heading out for the evening. Eventually we mustered the energy to head to the CBD (Central Business District, a term used often in New Zealand, even if the CBD is only two blocks long) for dinner and drinks. We ate at a restaurant called Diggers, and it was fine, but the real find/treasure was the Good George's Brewpub. Good George's is a brewery there in Hamilton, and the brewpub keeps 6-8 brews on tap at any given time. Alan did a sampler tray of six brews (White Ale, Knight Ryder, IPA, Rock Solid, Kauri Falls, & Double Coffee), while Gracyn went all-in on the IPA. They were all excellent, although neither of us would order the Knight Ryder again.

On Sunday morning, we got up fairly early, as we planned to walk to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. We had hoped to grab a coffee on the way, but nothing was open. Apparently people in New Zealand don't swing by the coffee shop so they can be 15 minutes late to Sunday school. The folks at St. Andrew's were very welcoming and kind. Their Interim Pastor is from Colorado, so we had to listen to an American accent most of the morning. The highlight of worship for both of us was what we might call the Prayers of the People. It seems to be the regular practice here for a different parishioner to prepare that prayer each week and to lead that element of worship. To be honest, most of the prayers have been better than the sermons we've heard. The gentleman who led the prayer this week mentioned Armistice Day and some local anniversaries celebrating peace as the context for his prayer. He wove various understandings of peace, those who need peace, and a call for God's peace to reign into a beautiful tapestry of prayer.

We lunched and relaxed back at the holiday park after church and then went to visit the Hamilton Gardens, an international award winner of Best Garden. It was divided into sections highlighting gardens in various parts of the world. It also had a large rose garden that doubles as a park area where many people were enjoying the beautiful day with picnic lunches.

Gracyn had met some Ultimate Frisbee players from Hamilton at a tournament on Auckland the week before, and they invited us to join them for pickup, so we showed up. It was a fun hour and half of five on five ultimate. As usual, Gracyn was excellent, and Alan tried not to embarrass himself.

Owing to Good George's most excellent beer and an appetizer sampler platter we saw go by the night before, we returned there for dinner. We closed the place down...at 8:00 pm.