We're going up in the sky....

We made it. Actually, we made it several days ago. Today is January 7, and Aidan and I arrived here late in the afternoon on the 3rd. Why so long to write? Laziness. It is interesting to think that on previous trips I spent so much time sitting in the computer lab on campus or seeking out smelly internet cafes to make my travel posts, and this year we have internet access (DSL no less) right in our housing and I can't seem to get motivated to let you all know how we are doing.

Well, we are doing fine. Aidan and I made it door to door in just over 37 hours. Now, I have nothing bad to say about how Aidan travelled - he was a delight, I could not have asked for a better travel companion. He never complained about the food, the in-flight entertainment, the long lines, the lost baggage, the cramped space, the seats that didn't recline, etc. etc. etc. He spent most of his time charming the folks around us in the airports and on the planes by smiling and singing, dancing when he had the chance, and trying to figure out how to escape on occasion. You should notice however, that sleeping was NOT in the list of things that he spent most of his time doing. That was my chief problem - because what makes such long and arduous journeys remotely bearable for me is to sleep through most of it and arrive at my destination bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with sore knees and back. Apparently, Aidan did not think that sleeping was very important for me, because the first signs of slumber generally prompted him to start shouting Daddy, Daaadddy, DAADDYYY. Then he would tell me something of profound importance, such as - "We are in the sky", or "Look, I see a cloud, see it?". He also conned me into getting him out of the car seat so that he could sit in Daddy's lap (who can say no to his cherubic little face when he says he wants to sit in your lap) on several occasions, only to reveal his plans to be some dramatic escape to one end of the plane or the other. This was performed much to the delight of our fellow passengers (except the ones we shared a row with) and he became an international celebrity - we had folks (from four different countries) checking in to talk to him in three different countries.



Those of you who have read of my travels in the past are probably patiently waiting for me to get around to sharing some tale of disaster. This trip did not disappoint, for we had our share of hair raising moments. It all started in D.C. when Aidan and I were trying to check in for our flight. The friendly lady at United Airlines delighted in informing me that my passport was expired...What was that? HaHa - I'm sorry I didn't get that, because it sounded like you said my passport is EXPIRED, hehe. It expired in June of 2000? Then how is it that I have exit and entry stamps from four trips abroad since 2000 AND the expiration date in the passport says June 2010? But your computer says it's expired when you scan it? Maybe there is a problem with your computer.... Anyway, we got it worked out - but I was sweating. Actually, I thought I might get sick, this was not the way to begin such a momentous journey. I had been somewhat apprehensive for the last several months about travelling with Aidan by myself for so long on so many flights through so many airports and countries. To be standing at the starting line and having an american computer system flag my passport as expired nearly unnerved me - what was going to happen when I was in sunny Fiji and they said my passport was not valid??? Oh boy, I didn't want to think about it.



Aidan was so excited about flying that he didn't sleep a wink on our flight to LA. This wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that Susan and I had not gone to bed until 6:00 in the morning the night before we left. We left home at 9:00, so we were running on around 2 hours of sleep. I was kind of counting on sleeping most of the way....how silly of me. When we got to LA, Allan was waiting at the bottom of the escalator for us. That was a welcome surprise, he was able to help with the portage of all of the gear (bag for me, bag for Aidan, car seat, stroller) from the domestic terminal over to the international side. We got to have dinner with Susan before she had to run off to be with her group, and we headed off to our departure terminal. We were in separate terminals, the UD group flies Air New Zealand who is large enough they have their own terminal at LAX. Aidan and I were doing the budget thing and flew Air Pacific (Fiji's national airline) who is small enough that they share a terminal with all of the other dog and pony show airlines.



Aidan and I had confirmed seats on the upper deck of the 747 we were flying, they were by themselves on a bulkhead. This would be great, because we wouldn't have to share a row with anyone, and Aidan could get down and play on the floor in front of me. It would have been REALLY great if it had actually happened! I don't know how it got so mixed up, but we went from the best seats in the house (that we could afford anyway) to the worst seats they could possibly conjure up for us. We were in the middle of the plane, right over the trailing edge of the wings - always special because you really get to hear those General Electric turbo-fans SCREAM. The seat right behind mine was a rearward facing flight attendant jump seat. This meant that my seat was incapable of reclining - at all - period. Nice huh? Hell, it's only a 12.5 hr. flight, I've slept a total of 2 hours in the last 38 (my fault) and I am travelling by myself with a two year old child. Piece of cake. I was so exhausted that after I got Aidan and his seat all strapped in and ready to go, and sat myself down while the rest of the plane boarded - that I actually fell asleep. I don't know what happened, because I didn't wake up until over 3 hours into the flight, but when I awoke, our row was vacant and Aidan was fast asleep with his monkey and his blanket. I can only assume that things must have gotten pretty grizzly and the flight attendant took it upon herself to give Aidan his sleep buddies and help the other people in our row find other seats (or another flight?).



When we got to Fiji, the airline had conveniently misplaced our stroller. Yes. This meant that I got to carry all the rest of that stuff, and the sweaty, slimy, in desparate need of a diaper change child across the steaming hot, tropical (read: pouring down rain), tarmac (no air conditioned jetways here folks!). We were told that we could pick up our stroller at the transfer desk - wherever that is. When we found it, they didn't know what we were talking about. They just suggested that it was probably waiting for us at the baggage claim area. This was very convenient, because the baggage claim is found AFTER you pass through customs - which we were not doing because we had to change planes and depart to another country you see. I argued with them for just shy of 3 hours, during which time one fellow said he would go get it, took my claim ticket and disappeared never to be heard from again. Now I had no stroller, and no proof that I ever had one. We still had two more flights and three airports to go.....I was not leaving FIJI without that stroller. Fortunately, during this time Aidan was entertained by some Fijian ukelelee and guitar players. He quite enjoyed himself throughout our layover in Fiji. They eventually did find the stroller, and we were on our way.



Things went pretty smoothly from there. We arrived in Auckland and as we were coming in over all of the islands, Aidan kept telling me that he could see the turtles and the crocodiles down there. That was adorable, I guess the sense of scale was so foreign to him that they really did look like turtles. When we got to Christchurch, Allan was waiting for us again with the rented van, so we loaded up and drove to our accomodations at Lincoln University. Susan was away on a bus tour with the students, so we just settled in and decompressed. It is so good to be here, feels a lot like coming home.