I leave the small, comfortable village of Athens for New Zealand tomorrow. The top picture introduces our community Old Timers Band. The volunteer members range from high schoolers to 70-somethings. In the second picture, you can see my friend Ginnie as she listens to a polka during their regular Friday night summer concerts. The last picture shows the gazebo in our village square during the day.

I'm very excited about the trip, but somewhat nervous about making all of the connections.

Jakki, my New Zealand host, has emailed that the weather has been very rainy and windy lately. Her husband Peter has made several fire/emergency runs the last couple of days. I'm sure the sun will shine once I get there.