And We're Off...

DAY 1: September 30^th, 2011

I had a day and a half to finish, moving out of my apartment, say my good-byes and pack all the essentials for a 2-3 month departure from the country – the majority of which would be spent in ANTARCTICA! Everything about it seemed compressed, intensified and overwhelming but, at some point you have to trust that the dust will settle, knowing you’ve done what you can and that the pieces will fall where they are meant to best lie. Then, you head to the airport…

FLIGHT 1:   PDX to LAX – Portland, OR USA to Los Angeles, California, USA. A two hour flight, smooth sailing. Upon arrival - sit tight for your 3-4 hour layover and 11:30-ish pm departure.

FLIGHT 2:   LAX to AUK – Los Angeles, CA to Auckland, New Zealand. A 13.5 hour flight which was smooth as far as I recall. As long as I had a little tea in the morning and didn’t get a migraine – things were essentially fantastic. We flew overnight and crossed the International Date Line. We arrived sometime mid to late morning on October 2nd, 2011 for 4-5 hour layover.

DAY 2: October 2^th, 2011

FLIGHT 3:   AUK to CHC – Auckland, NZ to Christchurch, NZ. A 1h 20m or so flight. The most unnerving, bumpy and bouncy flight yet. I tried to order a Bloody Mary – but settled for a red wine "perfect at high altitudes" (but not really).

Reasonable arrival time. After 30 or so hours of travel – we check into the hotel for dinner, a beer, a game (NZ vs Canada in the Rugby World Cup) and bedtime. In an actual bed!!! In New Zealand!