Auckland New Zealand - Day 1

05 - Auckland New Zealand - Day 1 (Fri., Feb 6, 9:00 PM)

We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand around 7:00 AM on Fri., February 6th. Mind you for those on the East coast of the US we are 18 hours ahead of you. Therefore, we missed Thurs., Feb. 5th altogether. So when I post a blog, the blog date and time (posted) will indicate the (US) EST, but I'll indicate the date and time I am writing the blog entry.

On the flight from Los Angeles to Auckland (scheduled to leave at 8:30 PM but didn't leave until 9:45 PM), which by the way is a 13 hour (not counting the 75 minutes we waited after getting on the plane for people from a late British flight) all at night flight . We had dinner and a breakfast, snacks, slept (Carmen more then me - I was to cramped to sleep for very long), read and Bob watched 2 movies and 6 episodes of "2 and a half men". All in all the flight over wasn't all that bad really, considering the cramped quarters and length of the flight. Thankfully we were both in aisle seats.

After getting to the airport, we went through immigrations (the line reminded me of a Disney attraction, a very long line of people zig-zagging back and forth until you got into the queue for "next". (Just to let you know, we are at the hotel so they let us into the country.) Then we had to go through the agriculture inspections. We have chocolate covered raisins, peanuts and cracker jacks with us - we have to declare them. Anyway, we got to keep them, but we had to tell three different people that we had them.

We met the tour guide, got on the bus and then headed for the hotel. Now remember, by the time we get to the Hotel in Auckland it is about 9:00 AM on Friday the 6th, but on the East coast of the US (where we normally sleep) it is 3:00 AM, so we took a couple hours nap.

After our nap, we headed out for a walk. There are several things going on around town today. First the Chinese New Year celebration is still going on and also sail boat races (the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series to be exact) are on day 2 of a seven day race schedule. (The USA entry is the BMW Oracle Racing Team and I think are 2-0). We ended up down by the water and around the yachts. Some of them are very big and very expensive. We were able to see several of the racing sail boats that were still in the water.

We left the waterfront and headed to the Sky Tower that is in Auckland (you can see the tower in the first picture above - it looks like the space needle in Seattle). It is reported to be the highest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It is 328 meters tall. We went up the tower and as you can see from the pictures, it is quite an amazing sight. Oh by the way, you can jump - no not bungee jump mind you- but free fall off of the observation deck. I took a picture of someone jumping. Carmen told me to jump because my insurance was paid up, but our schedule is tight today and we are leaving to get back to the party on time.

We met the the tour director and other couples for drinks (one free each - Carmen had a soda and I had a beer, Stella Artois to be exact; Jon it was good) and dinner at the hotel (Stamford Plaza by the way), it is very handy to the water front, parks, museums, and the Sky Tower. Easy walking distance to everything. We have met a few people from Florida and a young girl from Calgary, Canada. We have decided to make it an early night to get a little organized, do photos and the blog.

Good night or good morning, whichever.

Leaving for New Zealand

Today we are leaving sunny (southern) California for New Zealand. The plan is to say good bye to Del and Cece (Carmen's brother and Sister-in-Law) around noon today (February 4th). Del's house is only about 80 miles from the Los Angeles airport and the car rental return, however we are not sure how much time it will take to cover that distance. On the way here we encountered some heavy traffic and we do not want to be late for our flight check-in. Carmen feels more comfortable arriving at the earlier than we need to be instead on just on time or late and I agree. Besides, we do not know what kind of check-in process we will have for the New Zealand flight and we also have to exchange U.S. Dollars for New Zealand currency.

If you haven't heard, a man was arrested yesterday for smuggling in two pigeons and a couple of pigeon eggs into New Zealand. They found the two pigeons (in bags stuffed down the man's pants) after finding the eggs hidden in vitamin bottles. So I'm thinking inspections might have more scrutiny for our trip through the inspection process.

We'll post a short blog note when we get to New Zealand and find a wifi connection. Until then Happy Trails and on the morrow G'Day.

FluffyandBotch

California - Day 2

Today in sunny California we didn't do all that much. It was a little on the cool side first thing in the morning but warmed up as the day went along. We really didn't accomplish to much today, a little reading and also we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. For lunch we headed to the Red Lobster then continued on to the Morongo casino. By the time we got to the valley and the casino it was 85 degrees. The casino is off I-10 which is part of the Apache Trail and we drove this part of I-10 several months ago when we were heading for Florida with the RV.

For those with the inquiring minds and want to know how we did, here is the skinny. I gave Carmen $20.00, which she lost on video poker. She then used $10.00 of her own money, on a different video poker machine and after a little while, took $70.00 out of the machine. Of course that was her money and she's not sharing. I on the other hand played video poker, Pai Gow poker, and another game and over the course of the night lost about $60.00. You know, when playing $25.00 a hand at Pai Gow and you lose four hands in a row it's easy to see how you can fall behind quickly. In any case we had fun. Carmen's Brother and Sister-In-Law did not say how they did so they could not have done to well.

Here's hoping you always start with a pair of Aces.
bobandcarmen'sblog

California - Day 1

Just to let you know, the weather in California is (almost) as nice as it is in Florida. I submit these pictures from the back yard of Carmen's brother's (Del and Cece) house in Apple Valley as evidence. Today the weather has been nice and comfortable with clear skies (as you can see from the pictures).


The first picture shows the mountain range (San Gabriel range) between Apple Valley and Los Angeles. Notice the snow! The ski resort Mountain High is somewhere around the snow you see (on the West side of those mountains). Looking down the valley, you can see the cities of Victorville and Hesperia.

Also near Del's house (picture 2) is Big Bear ski resort (either the mountain where you see the snow or somewhere on the other side of it). (Big Bear is in the San Bernadino mountains.)

As I write this, the super bowl is on and we are watching the game; not that it counts since the Patriots are not playing. Del and I are cheering for the Cardinals and Carmen is cheering for the Stealers. Hope your super bowl party was successful and your team does a good job.

Happy Trails and G'day

On to California

On 1-31-2009, we flew from Orland, FL (11:30 AM-EST) to Los Angeles, Ca (4:30 PM-PST). (We had enough frequent flyer miles to get two first class free tickets for the trip -- I'm thinking coffee and Baileys all the way across the US). The plan is to visit with Carmen's brother (Del) and his wife (Cece) in Apple Valley for a couple of days before leaving Los Angeles for New Zealand. (In case you do not remember, Apple Valley was the home of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Happy Trails!)

After landing we got our rental car and headed East (of course just about everywhere from the airport is east). It is about 5:15 PM - PST by the time we get on I-10 and it is clear and about 73 degrees with the sun going down. Off to the North we can see the mountains around Los Angeles and the very distinctive "Hollywood" sign. (Hollywoooood! Reminds me of the Bob Seger song: "Hollywood Nights" -- or Snoop Dogg's version if you prefer.)

Shortly after getting onto I-10, we hit the 5 o'clock traffic, even though it is Saturday! You may remember the song with the Jim Croce "Speedball Tucker" song lyrics: "... 95 is the route you were on and not the speed limit sign ..."; well "I-10 is the route we were on and also the speed limit sign". We were in the 10-mph traffic for only about 6 miles or so, then the traffic cleared and our speed reved up. Just before we switched to I-15 we stopped for something to eat.

Our route to Apple Valley and Carmen's brother's house will take us through the Cajon pass. The pass is not very high in elevation (4020 feet), but it has some very extreme weather and can have very high winds. But today (yesterday actually), the weather was pleasant with low winds.

We got to Del and Cece's house without incident (always a good thing) and will stay here for a couple of days. Del and Cece says hi to everyone they know (and to those they don't also.) If anything important happens, like going to a casino, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Talk later. Adios Amigos!