New Zealand - Fly Fly away oh Kiwi!

Canada! Thank you for being all your maple Canadian self..... especially on my last moment before heading to NZ.

Last leg of first travel day - not looking as fresh as I did at 4am this morning... But Air New Zealand has given me wifi.... Pillow.... Blanket.... headphones…. And two meals this trip!  Sad thing is I don't have the energy for the in flight entertainment... It's 11pm Eastern and I'm wiped. Love you all! 😘❤️❤️

IDL (International Date Line) kind of wacky.... Think it's the 10th already where I am, but chatting with folks in Richmond where they are just starting the 9th... We passed Hawaii a few hours ago....Four more hours of flight at this point, but not turning on the screen in front of me since most ppl are still sleeping.  It's 5am Pacific - think we're maybe 5 hrs less (+ 1 day) in NZ

Sleeping sitting up is always a pain, but it's how sore my tail gets that bothered me tonight.  I should have known - driving long distances does the same thing for me now. I did ok on the drive to Assateague because I sat on a towel, but I tried the pillow and their blanket on the plane - it improved things, but my butt is still so sore! 

Also… smells…. I am so sensitive to how people smell.  It is NOT BAD considering we've all been in this thing for 10 hrs.  They keep the a/c going so it's not body odor - just the normal variations in how people smell that is always with us.  Thankful it has been a minimal issue on this trip. Good 777 airplane circulation. 

Feeling so beat up this morning!  Not sure how mu"h is travel & how much is compounded by climbing hard on Sunday before I began my travels.  I haven't brushed my teeth in over 24 hrs… That feels nasty… got in another 2 hrs of sleep… 2 hrs left to the flight.  Need to see if I can correct an error in a previous post. My blogging app is NOT working, so I'm just writing this in Google docs until I can get my laptop out. 

Thank you New Zealand Air for feeding me!  Dinner last night (beef stew vs Chicken Masala) and breakfast today (fruit & muffin vs. Italian Omlet) - I've demolished both.  Very good for airplane food. 

One irritation on this flight that I have no control over is the kid in the seat behind me Tap tap tapping on the interactive screen like she's at the Mole-bopper game.  I don't mind her playing games on my headrest, but I do mind her repetitive malleting of my chair. So please…. If you ever have the opportunity to play games on an airplane seat in front of you - please please touch *gently* - not like you're a semi-automatc military grade repeating rifle. 

Lovely seat mates - Native New Zealand couple who have been so sweet & apologetic every time they needed to get out.  No need for apologies - bathroom blocking is the troublesome thing about the aisle seat, but one should never resent the courtesy of letting someone out.  So excited - only about 40 minutes left to this flight!! Tash! Coming! 

Just landed and was welcomed to “The Home of The Americas Cup.”  Nice, NZ. CLASSY. 😊👌

OMG!  Epassport checking was amazing!  Baggage claim - same as always. Crowded, ended up going to the wrong turnstile, then ended up at the rear of the line for customs once I did actually find the bag I checked. 

Customs was relatively easy.  Explaining - yes, I've been camping around animals recently - no, I did not bring my camping equipment and these are my hiking shoes but no I did not take them on my camping trip - yes, I have peanuts & beef Jerkey… “Do you have any Pork Jerkey?”  …. No, just one bag of beef Jerkey. Repeated 3x “Do you have any PORK Jerkey?” No <looking straight in his eyes> I have One container of BEEF Jerkey. 

This is what I get for getting into The Try Chanel (thank you Battema!) and getting a craving for crazy Jerkey… Not that I BROUGHT crazy Jerkey… But amused by it, yes. 

This is a Waharoa - The Airport's Gateway to New Zealand

Very busy luggage return - I made the mistake of going to the wrong turnstile before finally tracking down where my checked back was coming out.

Customs line.... ugh!

Love love love Tash!  Waiting for me in the main lobby ready to rescue me from the wild chaos that is international air travel to destination “Far Far Away.”  Let's just say I am NEVER going to make the Enterprise team… Any of them. My calfs are pooling fluid, my alimentary canal is all out of whack… My neck is sore…. Head foggy…. And I may collapse from exhaustion despite the airplane sleep. 

Tash has set me up with a bed in her library ❤️❤️❤️  I have had a shower (defrosted from the flight - apparently colder than I realized).  Now resting and pondering the idea of coffee.