Flying!

Hey all,

I woke up in Miami on May 13, and boarded a plane to Los Angeles.  The flight was uneventful, just boring and a bit on the long side (which didn't bode well for the next flight, which was more than 2x as long in duration).  I got to LAX with plenty of time to spare, so I had some dinner and checked in.  The ticketing counter lady was a kiwi, which provided me with my first real moment of recognition of what I was setting out to do.  It all sort of hit me at once, to be honest.

Once all that was squared away, I got on my Air New Zealand flight from LAX to Auckland.  It was a 12.5 hour long flight, but that wasn't a problem at all.  After dinner had been served, I conched out and woke up wit about 2 hours left in the flight.  It was a really nice feeling.  Also, as a quick side note, due to crossing the International Date Line, Friday May 14 did not exist for me.  I feel a little slighted.

Upon landing in Auckland, I was a little rushed to catch my connecting flight, onto the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington.  The customs agents slowed me down by insisting on inspecting my sneakers, as they might have had foreign soil on them, which could potentially devastate New Zealand biosecurity.  After that was wrapped up, I had to get to the domestic terminal.  The walk between the two terminals is quite long, and would have been refreshing had I not been in such a hurry to make my next flight.  Fortunately, I did make it, and was boarded with about 15 minutes to spare.

This flight too was uneventful, and before I knew it I was in Wellington, ready to explore.