Travelogue Day 54

17/7/06

I woke early to be sure I had actually packed and taken care of everything. I tossed out all the rubbish that was left in my room (including a good sized portion of camembert that I just couldn't eat with all the mucous production in my sinuses) and made final preparation for departure. I hope the $5 I left Pascal for my phone bill actually makes it to him and past the cleaning staff.

I left my keycard and mobile phone in the room (making sure to sanitize it of all text messages and private mobile numbers I'd picked up along the way), took my bags, and made my way to the lobby. Annabel had been there all night working on a paper, and I saw Donna in queue at the counter for breakfast. We were the only two who had gotten up early enough to get breakfast (I had tasty pancakes again). She had been up all night cleaning and packing, so she had also burned us all a mix CD of songs that reminded her of our experience on the trip. That was super nice of her, and it does capture some of my feelings too, or at least bring back memories.

Mark and Al came over to say goodbye and make sure we actually made our flight. Sarah, Sayaka, and Anna also woke up early to see us off. Sayaka took a couple of group photos before we let too. Quite nice of them.

The bus ride to the airport was fine, but the wait for ticketing was atrocious. It didn't help that I felt like my bladder was about to explode for more than half of the time. We did, however, get checked in, through security, and to our gate with plenty of time to spare. I, sadly, didn't pick up any kangaroo jerky for my dad at the airport. The only two varieties available were spicy and teriyaki, and he wouldn't eat either one.

Flying from Sydney to Auckland was everything I expected from Qantas. The lunch of BBQ chicken they served me was great and came with a tasty cupcake. This flight also let me get some, admittedly, mediocre shots of Sydney from the air. New Zealand is quite pretty from the air, with rolling green hills near the Auckland airport.

The airport wasn't bad. All we had to do was follow the signs. We lost tom and Joy here. Tom was staying for about a week (and doing the Lord of the Rings tour, the bastard), and Joy was staying a night or two before taking a roundabout way home.

things got a little scary when the flight from Auckland to L.A. was delayed because a seemingly endless stream of children (none over 13) in matching uniform (reading People to People) filed through the terminal and onto the plane. I was hoping I wouldn't be seated amidst them, and, luckily, I did not hope in vain.

The flight to L.A. was a bit different from the flight to Sydney. Our plane had not yet been upgraded with video-on-demand equipment, so we had fewer choices in entertainment. There were still six movies to choose from, we just had to wait for them to cycle back to the beginning, so I can't really complain. I also played a number of video games during the flight (Breakout clones are still fun).

The dinner on this flight was also quite good. It seemed like a sort of steamed chicken with vegetables and rice. It had a type of hummus with it as well as a packet of pretzel sticks and a roll. There was another tasty cupcake and a bit of what tasted like passion fruit juice in a little cup too. I had a cabernet sauvignon with my meal.

After dinner, I played a maze-escape game while waiting for 16 Blocks to cycle back to the beginning. It was a pretty fun game. The movie was alright too, but nothing too special (although the burglar who really wants to be a pastry chef wasn't an expected character type). I fell asleep watching Ice Age 2.