Hooray, we finally arrived in Auckland. The 17 hours of airplane rides from Cedar Rapids to Denver to Auckland were not too bad. There was only one delayed flight for an hour in Los Angeles. It was relaxing and enjoyable to have time to read books, watch movies or do some writing. I got to view "Hangover" which I have wanted to see all summer. All three of us slept soundly for most of the leg from Los Angeles to Auckland. Gabe informed me that he enjoyed flying half way around the world. He must be related to his older brother who is a first class world traveller. There were some of hassles but most things went according to plan.
Truthfully, I was most nervous about the driving thing. I really wanted to catch a taxi at the Auckland airport. However, Al had other ideas so off we went in our rental SUV. It appeared that I made a mountain out of a mole hill. Al drove like a pro on the left side of the road in our rental car. We easily made it from the Auckland airport to the downtown Hilton hotel with no miscues. I will gladly let Al be our chauffeur for our time in New Zealand.
Now, we are sitting in our waterfront hotel watching the ferries and taking in the city. Tommorrow, Al has his interview with the New Zealand Med. council agent. Then, we head south to New Plymouth on Weds. Alec got to do his semester abroad via an oceanliner. Now, it is our turn for two semesters in Kiwi country. I keep pinching myself to be sure it is real.
So glad you made it with no major bumps in the road (or should I say air) Keep the pics coming!
ReplyDeleteDriving on the "wrong" side of the road isn't hard at all once you get used to it. A word of advice however: Don't try it after downing an ale or two at the local pub and getting on the road at night (as I did a time or two in the UK on my honeymoon)! My wife and I rented a compact with a manual shifter. Sometimes I would have her shift as I drove. OK, I know that these aren't good ideas...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I can't tell you how cool this trip sounds. Keep the info coming; I love it.
Doug Steenblock
Glad to hear everything went according to plan. Looks a little cool there but dont worry it hasnt been much better in Iowa recently. Are you guys going to be able to watch the Michigan Iowa game online or at least listen to it? I can give you a guys a link if you need it but let me know soon. Back to studying, congrats on everything going well.
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