Hey all,
In case you weren't aware, 2019 marks the first year in 13, that I'll be spending time with the fam in NZ... A summer Xmas!
As usual, fleeing the country requires an insane amount of organization and coordination. Airbnb guests must be taken care of and that means hiring a cleaner. Our sweet Wrigley kitty needs care and that means there is coordination between Airbnb guests, neighbors and a pet sitter (Pamela). Work doesnt stop and clients needs are accommodated both on the ground in Colorado and from New Zealand too. And last but not least, because Mark was not to join me for the first 10 days, we collaborated on packing for Xmas and other gear needed for journeying and adventures.
By the time I left for the airport, I was ready for a wee break and the thought of 17 hours between Denver and Auckland, all to my self, was pretty sweet! Sweet enough to forget that economy seats are not getting any bigger, anyway.
So what does the journey back to my home town look like?
12:25 pm - Pick up by awesome Dave for the drive to Park n Ride in Boulder
12:47 pm - AB1 bus to Denver International Airport (55 minutes long)
2:00 pm - Check in and baggage drop (I have one to check and one to carry on)
2:30 pm - Through TSA and taking the train to Gate B
3:45 pm - Boarding my first flight.
4:15 pm - Flight Denver to San Francisco departs!
Oh what a beautiful afternoon/evening! We chased sunset from Colorado all the way to California, arriving in the bay area as the last rays of light disappeared and the city lights ramped up.
In San Fran from 6:00 pm to 7:40 pm, I met two handsome young men from NZ and had dinner with them. Both heading home... one after a month long adventure vaca in Colorado, the other having been living in Denver for the past 3 years.
8:30 pm - departure to Auckland is a go!
Flight time was 12 hours. A full hour quicker than originally scheduled and just as well, since we left 30 mins late.
My two neighbors were both women. One a Kansas gal, heading back to Queenstown, which she now calls home, to set up her first aerial yoga studio. The other, a Venezuelan woman, recently a resident of Colombia was headed to Melbourne to visit her son before going on to Alice Springs (Australia) for a new job.
I spent the first 2 hours chatting, then gobbled down dinner with wine. I followed this with an impressive zero minutes of screen time and then affixing my head to the head rest with my ZZZ Band eye-patch/neck holder and falling fast asleep. That, my friends, took care of another 7 hours.
Waking to a busy airplane, I was just in time for breakfast and the typical "getting ready to land" type situation. Lots of announcements, the handing out of arrival cards, seat backs coming vertical, tray tables being stowed and rubbish being collected.
And just like that, the landing gear was coming down, the plane was skimming over the bay and we were kissing the tarmac at Auckland Airport... at 5 am. 5 AM!!
The air was damp, the ground was green, birds sang and the sun was peaking between patchy clouds. I grew up here. The feelings were of familiarity, comforting but a little weird actually.
I cleared passport control (automated) and then customs. Yep, there is always "something" to declare I guess and today, I was honest about my recent expeditions into Colorado open space wearing these hiking boots and sticking into the Colorado ground, the hiking poles I had in my bag. Nobody cared. I was then on my way to the domestic terminal... 900m walk if you don't opt for the shuttle (and I did choose the walk).
Arriving around 6 am at the domestic terminal, I tried my darnedest to see if an earlier flight to New Plymouth was in my destiny. It wasn't. But then, it hardly ever is when you buy the cheap flights, eh?!
You may have pegged me for being a woman who can turn a blind eye to a stand of donuts, but this morning, I had the unfortunate pleasure of being stationed directly outside of a Dunkin Donuts... for 4 hours!!!!! I lasted 3, then it was a Boston Creme and a hot chocolate - down the hatch!
At 10 am, I noticed the departure board was listing my New Plymouth flight as "departed". There was a short panic, followed by a chat with AirNZ staff who called that a "glitch" and I lined up for boarding.
11:05 am (local time) - departure from Auckland, flying south along the west coast to New Plymouth.
11:45 am - Touch down! Dallice was back in New Plymouth - after 13 years.
And the whole family was there meet me. :-)
28 hours in transit, yes indeed!
In case you weren't aware, 2019 marks the first year in 13, that I'll be spending time with the fam in NZ... A summer Xmas!
As usual, fleeing the country requires an insane amount of organization and coordination. Airbnb guests must be taken care of and that means hiring a cleaner. Our sweet Wrigley kitty needs care and that means there is coordination between Airbnb guests, neighbors and a pet sitter (Pamela). Work doesnt stop and clients needs are accommodated both on the ground in Colorado and from New Zealand too. And last but not least, because Mark was not to join me for the first 10 days, we collaborated on packing for Xmas and other gear needed for journeying and adventures.
By the time I left for the airport, I was ready for a wee break and the thought of 17 hours between Denver and Auckland, all to my self, was pretty sweet! Sweet enough to forget that economy seats are not getting any bigger, anyway.
So what does the journey back to my home town look like?
12:25 pm - Pick up by awesome Dave for the drive to Park n Ride in Boulder
12:47 pm - AB1 bus to Denver International Airport (55 minutes long)
2:00 pm - Check in and baggage drop (I have one to check and one to carry on)
2:30 pm - Through TSA and taking the train to Gate B
3:45 pm - Boarding my first flight.
4:15 pm - Flight Denver to San Francisco departs!
Oh what a beautiful afternoon/evening! We chased sunset from Colorado all the way to California, arriving in the bay area as the last rays of light disappeared and the city lights ramped up.
In San Fran from 6:00 pm to 7:40 pm, I met two handsome young men from NZ and had dinner with them. Both heading home... one after a month long adventure vaca in Colorado, the other having been living in Denver for the past 3 years.
8:30 pm - departure to Auckland is a go!
Flight time was 12 hours. A full hour quicker than originally scheduled and just as well, since we left 30 mins late.
My two neighbors were both women. One a Kansas gal, heading back to Queenstown, which she now calls home, to set up her first aerial yoga studio. The other, a Venezuelan woman, recently a resident of Colombia was headed to Melbourne to visit her son before going on to Alice Springs (Australia) for a new job.
I spent the first 2 hours chatting, then gobbled down dinner with wine. I followed this with an impressive zero minutes of screen time and then affixing my head to the head rest with my ZZZ Band eye-patch/neck holder and falling fast asleep. That, my friends, took care of another 7 hours.
Waking to a busy airplane, I was just in time for breakfast and the typical "getting ready to land" type situation. Lots of announcements, the handing out of arrival cards, seat backs coming vertical, tray tables being stowed and rubbish being collected.
And just like that, the landing gear was coming down, the plane was skimming over the bay and we were kissing the tarmac at Auckland Airport... at 5 am. 5 AM!!
The air was damp, the ground was green, birds sang and the sun was peaking between patchy clouds. I grew up here. The feelings were of familiarity, comforting but a little weird actually.
I cleared passport control (automated) and then customs. Yep, there is always "something" to declare I guess and today, I was honest about my recent expeditions into Colorado open space wearing these hiking boots and sticking into the Colorado ground, the hiking poles I had in my bag. Nobody cared. I was then on my way to the domestic terminal... 900m walk if you don't opt for the shuttle (and I did choose the walk).
Arriving around 6 am at the domestic terminal, I tried my darnedest to see if an earlier flight to New Plymouth was in my destiny. It wasn't. But then, it hardly ever is when you buy the cheap flights, eh?!
You may have pegged me for being a woman who can turn a blind eye to a stand of donuts, but this morning, I had the unfortunate pleasure of being stationed directly outside of a Dunkin Donuts... for 4 hours!!!!! I lasted 3, then it was a Boston Creme and a hot chocolate - down the hatch!
At 10 am, I noticed the departure board was listing my New Plymouth flight as "departed". There was a short panic, followed by a chat with AirNZ staff who called that a "glitch" and I lined up for boarding.
11:05 am (local time) - departure from Auckland, flying south along the west coast to New Plymouth.
 |
| Turning left base. |
 |
| On final approach with landing gear down... |
11:45 am - Touch down! Dallice was back in New Plymouth - after 13 years.
And the whole family was there meet me. :-)
28 hours in transit, yes indeed!
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