Earthquake!

July 21, 2013:  We were enjoying our usual Sunday evening, post-church ritual...I was preparing dinner, the kids were having their pre-dinner bowls of cereal, Steve was munching on chips and salsa, when all of a sudden, Steve shouts out, "You guys!!"  We all stopped what we were doing and instantly noticed that everything was moving.  Our plants were shaking, the mirrors and wall-hangings and doors were banging, the hanging light fixtures were swaying, and grabbing the countertop didn't help me feel stabilized at all.  After a few seconds, it seemed to increase in intensity and went from being sort of cool to pretty dang scary.  I felt like I might fall over!  We all sat on the ground and kept swaying, hoping that it would end soon.  It was pretty intense for over a minute (which sounds like nothing unless you're in an earthquake).

Gratefully, we had no serious damage (other than rattled nerves).  The 6.9 magnitude earthquake originated about 150 miles from us.  We had been told by many to expect to feel several earthquakes while living here (we had felt a small one just a few days before), but I won't be sad if that's the last one!

The city that suffered the most damage was Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, located on the lower end of the North Island.  I thought this would be a good time to share a few photos from our visit to Wellington a few weeks ago.  Steve had an interview with the New Zealand Medical Council...it was a short meeting, basically just to verify Steve's credentials.  It was a long way to drive (2 hours each way) for a 15-minute meeting, but we were happy to see more of the country and to get a look at Wellington.

All of our travels through New Zealand up to that point had been inland, so we were excited to get our first glimpse of the ocean!

Homes on a hillside just outside the city:

Crossing the bridge leading into Wellington:

The twins were having a rough day...they'd spent a lot of time in the car over the previous days.  I must have been trying to entertain them because I didn't get any photos of the "city" or big buildings.  We walked through the streets and made our way to the water while Steve had his quick meeting.  It was a cold and windy day...they don't call it "Windy Welly" for nothing!

We drove back to Palmy in the pouring rain.  I love this shot of the rainy ocean at dusk.

Our next trip to Wellington will most likely be to catch the ferry to the South Island!  We are all looking forward to that.  It's going to cost a small fortune to get our whole family (and our van) ferried over, so I'm not sure how many trips we'll be taking to the South Island...we're planning a long trip over summer break (December or January).  Until then, we'll keep enjoying all the beauty the North Island has to offer!  Preferably earthquake-free.  :)