Friday, September 14, 2012

Are We There Yet?



Well I look back at the last 24 hours and most of them are a blur.  I remember a middle of the night text.  I remember the cutting  of rainbow coloured shaggy fur fabric and checking my luggage in.  But the rest is pretty sketchy.

I’m at Auckland airport right now ,  waiting to board the next leg of the trip.  The trip over was uneventful,  with the exception of a meal on the plane I wasn’t expecting and a window seat   that turned  out to be a miniscule sliver of the guy in fronts window or the same size sliver of the window behind me.    This was disappointing because this was the only leg of my crossing that will be in daylight and the tiny bit of the gorgeous coastline of NZ was all but obscured by plane hull. 
And the flight went by so fast it was amazing to me that when I checked, we were 26 minutes from landing in the city of Sails and didn’t actually feel any longer than my usual commute to work.  So here I sit, with about 2 more hours to kill before I’ll even bother to head for the gate.    And I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have contracted the tummy bug that one of my kids had yesterday… should make for an interesting  long haul section no?
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So,  on board my long haul, having  just suffered through a hellish 2 ½ hours almost constantly on a bowl,  I made it to my seat and there I stayed until 2 hours out from LA.  I slept fitfully  through the entire performance.  No meal.  No movies.  Just concentrating on keeping everything ‘nice’.    I will NEVER book a window seat long haul again… ever.  The two people between me and the loo were not friendly and not keen to let me out… so I remained trapped.  Add to that, the flight being probably half children under 5 and we had the recipe for a memorable flight.   
Customs  in the US is always a fun affair, but today we had 4 massive flights in at the same time…. It  was long, sweaty and tempers were flaring all over the place.   Of course, I made it through unscathed  about an hour later and retrieved my now hurled to the side luggage, that is only a shadow of its glorious new self with greasy chain marks and dings all over its limey goodness…
I wandered out to where I remember catching the Disneyland shuttle and waited and waited and waited… finally in my all but delirious state, went over to a different shuttle company and booked a seat… within 15 mins I was on my way… only, I’m not sure he knew the way… it took 2 hours… nearly double what it usually takes.
Ahhhh…. But I’m here now…. And like childbirth, the pain is all but forgotten  due to the euphoria of being back on hallowed Disney ground.
I managed to keep some dinner down and just wandered the shops and listened to all the amazing musicians along the walkway.  I swear I have a spring in my step again and can’t wait to launch into my solo campaign tomorrow. 

A few shots of my first day:

Caramel ( or Carmel, as it is pronounced here) apples... definitely going to have one of these yet

Disneyland all Halloweened up...
 

3 comments:

  1. Haha! I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh but I agree whole-heartedly that window seats on long haul flights are only....ONLY.... for those who are actually camels, in disguise, and who don't need to go potty for 24 hours at a time! So sad to hear you weren't well on the flight. That sucks. You've probably given it to half the plane though, so... pay back and all that for cranky seat buddies ;)

    Love reading your adventures <3

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  2. All so exciting Lisa .... i am going to really enjoy reading about your trip ... take care and I hope your tummy settles soon Vx

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  3. Thanks guys...

    hopefully I'll be all good by the time the rest of the group arrives. Have decided to pass on the tours I'd arranged, unless I wake up tomorrow feeling on top of the world. In recovery mode.

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