And it’s time for the last 2019 Vacation Blog entry! It’s really a travel day, so just a brief recap for those of you that might be considering taking your own New Zealand adventure. It’s a really long ways away. You see it on the globe. It’s the other side of the world. That is true. New Zealand is also truly beautiful, so worth the effort, but be prepared!
We woke up at 2:00 am, and left the apartment at 3:00 am on Friday. Our flight was just after 6:00 am, and being unfamiliar with international travel out of Auckland, we wanted to be sure to have plenty of time to navigate the airport. Fairly easy and uneventful trip—Auckland to Sydney. Change planes in Sydney to fly to Dallas. That’s the really long flight of over 15 hours. A slight hold up in customs in Dallas where an uncertain agent sent us through a follow up customs clearance (just FYI petting sheep in New Zealand does NOT mean you need to go through the agricultural screening in the USA)—led to an exciting and adrenaline filled dash through secondary baggage drop, clearance and security (yes again), and to our gate right before boarding closed for our flight to Nashville. Well, I guess we all needed that little jolt to keep up awake for the last leg of the trip. But, we made it! And back home to Nashville just after 5:00 pm—still on Friday—a full day of travel. Door to door official time by Ryan: 31 hours, 44 minutes, and 06 seconds.
Elizabeth is settled safely in Dunedin, and excited about the work she will be doing.
We are home safely in Nashville and excited to be in our own beds.
Happy Graduation Ryan! Love you!
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