The Details

This trip is coming SOON - too soon! So much to do! I've started making lists like crazy.

I leave on Tuesday April 17th. Because we cross the international dateline, I don't arrive in Auckland until Thursday morning the 19th. Morning.... as in... 4:45 am.

I'm in New Zealand for two weeks, returning the evening of Wednesday May 2nd. Crossing back over the dateline, I arrive in Los Angeles Wednesday morning. Neat trick. I'm going to study how they do it and rewind my day more often.

As I said in my first post, I've been watching the airfares go up and down on various dates we were considering - as high as $1700 at some points. I got a web special for $858 round trip out of Los Angeles, and have a free Southwest ticket that's going to get me to LA. So the biggest part of my travel is taken care of.

What I don't know yet is precisely where I'll be in NZ on any given day. We have three main objectives:

- Auckland: Only because we fly in and out of there, but mom has a friend there we may stay with, and dad has some business to do there. Having seen all the big cities in America, seeing the big city in NZ isn't real high on my to-do list, given all the beautiful countryside to see, but I would like to go to the Zoo and see a real live Kiwi bird.

- Dunedin: This is MY big objective. It's where my mom grew up and where my parents were married, so I'd like to see her old house and school and the harbor where the Navy ships came in. My mom has a friend there who's willing to put us up and play tour guide, I hope we're there for a few days. I also intend to find a beach and sit in the sand and watch the ocean. Just to say I did.

- Somewhere in the North Island: We still have to figure out exactly where we're going to meet up with my relatives that are spread out over the north island. My aunt's house, cousin's house, a hotel in the middle? Not sure yet.

SO many decisions to make. What suitcases to take? What the heck am I going to do on the plane? Who all do I need to take gifts for? I'd be happy if I could just make the laptop / no laptop decision!