I've realized I've yet to post anything here yet, and by now I've actually arrived in Auckland. And yes, I'm actually here, after months of planning, backing out, recommitting, and actually leaving home.
I left home at the ungodly hour of 3:30 AM to get to the airport a half hour before the ticket booths opened, and forty-five minutes before the trams to the terminal began. Thanks, Mom, for getting me there way too early in that horrible thunderstorm. By 5 AM I was on my way to Charlotte and arrived just as the sun was rising. Ironically, Arrington and Paula are currently listing to the Tajar Tracks CD and it's playing the line about "We come from the mountains, go back to the mountains, turn the world around," which I've now done rather literally. The flight to LA was marked mostly by sleep and an appalling amount of snow on the ground, and possibly a sighting of Looking Glass in Pisgah Forest, just outside of Brevard. I now understand why why people are so sick of snow and winter: nothing but white between Tennessee and southern California.
At LAX I boarded the Air Tahiti Nui plane to Papeete, Tahiti (and yes, I may have had "Party in the USA" stuck in my head for several hours after leaving LA). This is probably the best airline I've ever encountered: great service, great staff, the smoothest landing I've ever experienced. It didn't even bounce.
Well, this post must be wrapped up for now, as dinner is ready and Arrington is calling me to come sit next to her.
More on Tahiti and Auckland to come soon!
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