New Zealand 2011

Our annual trip to New Zealand to visit with friends and enjoy summer weather began on January 4th.  The actual planning of the trip had begun months earlier.  We knew that getting to New Zealand this year would be different than in the past, as the new pass agreement between Delta and Air New Zealand were not favorable to us retirees.  So, we debated whether to fly to Los Angeles and take Qantas directly to Auckland, or, fly to Los Angeles and fly Delta to Sydney, then take Qantas from Sydney to Auckland.  Having vivid memories of our trip in April to Australia on Delta, where we were in the Business Class cabin, wined and dined across the pacific, with a seat that converted to a flat bed, with a real pillow and a down comforter, I lobbied shamelessly for LAX to SYD.  Lee agreed, but decided to also get tickets on Qantas as a "plan B".

We picked Jan 4th to leave because the flight from LA to Sydney looked REALLY good, with lots of seats in Business Class, and because that would get us to Auckland on Jan 6th, Bryan's birthday.

So, off to LA we went, after leaving our car at Bob and Penny's.  We flew on Delta to LA, and although we didn't get a seat in Business Class, we did get on.  We arrived in LA about 7:30, to stand by for our 11:30 flight to Sydney.  It became apparent that there were LOTS of people going to Sydney.  We could see on the monitor that we were way down on the list, and at that point there were NO business class seats.  To make a long story short, we did not get on the flight, along with all of the other non-revs standing by.

So, we went to our favorite hotel in El Segundo - the Hacienda at about 1:00 am.  The next morning we began checking on flights for the 5th.  We were numbers 16 and 17 on the wait list, for about 5 open seats.  Thursday and Friday didn't look any better, either. The issue was that we were competing with people wanting to go to Sydney, while we only wanted to pass through. So, we decided to go with Plan B and use the Qantas tickets to go directly from LA to Auckland.  We got to the airport before 8:00 pm, and checked in for the flight.  At the ticket counter they told us that the flight was delayed by about an hour, that the flight was booked nearly full, but that we would probably get on.  We were confident enough to check our luggage with "standby" tags.  And off we went to the gate - to wait.

It turned out that the flight that had been scheduled to leave at 11:30 pm, actually didn't begin boarding until 1:30 am.  The boarding area was packed and we were doubtful that we would get on.  It finally came down to us and another couple at the counter, with two seats remaining.  In the end, the agent asked both employees what their hire date was, and of course, Lee's 1969 hire date beat the other employees 2005 hire date!  And we ran onto the airplane!  Hoping that our bags were also being put on....

We even had pretty good seats - Lee had a window seat in a row of two seats, and I had an aisle seat in a row of two seats.  The flight was great, even if we had to sleep sitting up, and we arrived in Auckland right around noon, and Bryan and Peter were there to meet us!  YAY!!  What an adventure! 

Hamilton was having wonderful, warm weather, and we've had a fabulous first week here.

We arrived on Friday at noon.  on Saturday, Bryan's mom, Zoe, and Peter's mom, Verna, came for dinner, and it was wonderful to see them.  We went for a wonderful walk along the river on Saturday, and stopped by to see both Zoe and Verna in their wonderful new homes in the retirement village right around the corner from Bryan and Peter's,

On Sunday we went for a walk around the lake with John, then Jo came for dinner.  Bryan got NZ green-lipped mussels for he, Lee and Jo, while Peter and I had lamb.  Everyone was happy!

On Monday, we loaded up and headed to Raglan, to Bryan and Peter's bach - beach house!  The weather was wonderful, and we had a long walk on the ocean beach.  John and Richard drove over on Monday evening for dinner - a bar-b-que and dining on the deck - amazing!
We were at Raglan till today, Wednesday the 12th, when we returned to Hamilton.

Still enjoying lovely summer weather!

So, that's week 1!  We will post more each week, to let you know what we've been up to.

This is the Waikato River, near Bryan and Peter's.  As you can see, it's a gorgeous day.

Monday lunch on the deck at Raglan

As you can see, plenty of relaxation is going on!

The guys - Lee, John, Richard, Bryan and Peter

And another one.  We take a picture of the 5 of them every year.  It's fun to see how they have changed over the years.

Bryan, manning the bar-b-que

Richard and John on the deck at Raglan, with G & T's - a tradition!

Peter and I, after dinner.  As you can tell, there was no stress anywhere!

And here's why! : )

A wonderful walk on the ocean beach

Bryan and Peter, strolling on the beach

The Steitz's

Bryan and Peter, a beautiful beach and amazing blue sky!  Life is good!!