Going...going...gone.
After much hectic scrambling, we got everything in storage, our luggage sorted and reserved a ride to the airport that could handle our 10 large suitcases, pack-n-play, 2 carseats and 5 carry-on bags. At 2:40pm we started the first leg of our journey, which was a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles. As the plane thundered down the runway, it hit us that this was real and we were actually moving to New Zealand. OH MY GOD!!!!
We ended up having an 4 1/2 hour layover in LA, so we took the time to unwind a little and enjoy some Mexican food...and a little chocolate for Ronan. "Delicious chocolate."
The Quantas plane that flew us to New Zealand had some technical difficulties with the cargo-hold, which resulted in us departing LAX almost 2 hours later than expected. The flight was pleasant enough with decent food, lots of movies and nice people on board. We had hoped to sleep during this 13 hour flight, but the only ones that did were Ronan and Liam. Liam did wake up from time to time to flirt with anyone he could and at times, he had a crowd around him. Our boys were wonderfully behaved during this long flight and we're so proud of them. Due to our late departure from LA, we arrived late in Auckland, New Zealand and missed our connecting flight to Wellington. After dealing with the friendliest Customs agent ever, we got to the Quantas desk and managed to get on the next flight, but that meant a wait of 3 hours. Also, we had to go from Auckland Airport's International terminal to their Domestic terminal, which is a scary ordeal when you're travelling with kids and so much luggage. They have these uniformed volunteers that will help you, but for some reason they all seem to be men in their 90's. Patrick, the flailest of the 2 gentlemen who were helping us out, managed to topple one of our carts that was carrying around 5 suitcases and my new iMac. My computer hit the ground hard and the case dented and separated, but it still works thankfully. The last flight was extremely quick and lasted no more than an hour. The 28 hour journey was finally over. We arrived in Wellington at around 12:30pm and were met by two extremely nice and strong fellas from Weta, who loaded our bags into a van they brought, got our rental vehicle and drove us to our hotel in downtown Wellington.
That's our view from our hotel suite and a picture of our living room. Our suite has a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a washer and dryer. It's close to restaurants, pubs, cafes, shops and the NZ equivalent to Best Buy (good for me!!!). Wellington is an extremely cool city with a lot of charm. We can't wait to check it out more....after we catch up on some sleep. Well, there you have it. Our crazy, stress-filled journey to New Zealand has ended and our new adventure has just begun. It's 10:48pm and I have to get to sleep as I begin work tomorrow...sort of. I get picked up by Jeanne, the wonderful woman for HR, and she takes me around town getting me set up with all we'll need...ie; bank account, driver's license, learning about driving on the left side of the road, etc... Since our digital camera broke after taking my third photo here, I may have to wait a little until the next post. If worse comes to worse, we'll get a new camera this weekend. Now for some of that well-deserved sleep.
After much hectic scrambling, we got everything in storage, our luggage sorted and reserved a ride to the airport that could handle our 10 large suitcases, pack-n-play, 2 carseats and 5 carry-on bags. At 2:40pm we started the first leg of our journey, which was a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles. As the plane thundered down the runway, it hit us that this was real and we were actually moving to New Zealand. OH MY GOD!!!!
We ended up having an 4 1/2 hour layover in LA, so we took the time to unwind a little and enjoy some Mexican food...and a little chocolate for Ronan. "Delicious chocolate."
The Quantas plane that flew us to New Zealand had some technical difficulties with the cargo-hold, which resulted in us departing LAX almost 2 hours later than expected. The flight was pleasant enough with decent food, lots of movies and nice people on board. We had hoped to sleep during this 13 hour flight, but the only ones that did were Ronan and Liam. Liam did wake up from time to time to flirt with anyone he could and at times, he had a crowd around him. Our boys were wonderfully behaved during this long flight and we're so proud of them. Due to our late departure from LA, we arrived late in Auckland, New Zealand and missed our connecting flight to Wellington. After dealing with the friendliest Customs agent ever, we got to the Quantas desk and managed to get on the next flight, but that meant a wait of 3 hours. Also, we had to go from Auckland Airport's International terminal to their Domestic terminal, which is a scary ordeal when you're travelling with kids and so much luggage. They have these uniformed volunteers that will help you, but for some reason they all seem to be men in their 90's. Patrick, the flailest of the 2 gentlemen who were helping us out, managed to topple one of our carts that was carrying around 5 suitcases and my new iMac. My computer hit the ground hard and the case dented and separated, but it still works thankfully. The last flight was extremely quick and lasted no more than an hour. The 28 hour journey was finally over. We arrived in Wellington at around 12:30pm and were met by two extremely nice and strong fellas from Weta, who loaded our bags into a van they brought, got our rental vehicle and drove us to our hotel in downtown Wellington.
That's our view from our hotel suite and a picture of our living room. Our suite has a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a washer and dryer. It's close to restaurants, pubs, cafes, shops and the NZ equivalent to Best Buy (good for me!!!). Wellington is an extremely cool city with a lot of charm. We can't wait to check it out more....after we catch up on some sleep. Well, there you have it. Our crazy, stress-filled journey to New Zealand has ended and our new adventure has just begun. It's 10:48pm and I have to get to sleep as I begin work tomorrow...sort of. I get picked up by Jeanne, the wonderful woman for HR, and she takes me around town getting me set up with all we'll need...ie; bank account, driver's license, learning about driving on the left side of the road, etc... Since our digital camera broke after taking my third photo here, I may have to wait a little until the next post. If worse comes to worse, we'll get a new camera this weekend. Now for some of that well-deserved sleep.
3 comments:
Glad to hear that your trip went so smoothly. It is great when kids are good travellers. Hope that the computer & camera are repairable. You don't need any more expenses! You have only been gone a few days and we miss you greatly. If you can could you get Ronan some "special candy" from Grandpa ? Good luck in the great adventure!
Love you, Dad, Patricia & Auntie Elizabeth
hi andrew, lisa, ronan and liam!!!
I hope you had a really good flight, I miss ya'll already...I have a picture of Ronan in my locker and I look at it everyday and feel really sad that I won't get to see ya'll for a while..Have a good time in New Zealand
Love, Elizabeth (auntie elizabeth)
xoxo
looking good doucette fam!@!!
Glad you made it and are safe and sound. Hope your houes hunting is successful and I can't wait to talk to you!
I love and admire you Cookie
mitzi
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