(no subject)
(must update travel icon)
Well, this trip is going much better than my trip to Scotland did. Not that it would take much, I know, but this is actually quite lovely. Alan and I were able to completely pack on Sunday, so Monday was a surprisingly stress-free day of pretty much sitting around the house and waiting until time to leave for the airport. Morgan seemed completely unfazed when we kissed her goodbye at school and told her we would be taking a trip far away. I think she was too excited about the idea of Grandma taking care of her to think about _why_.
We got to the airport before the check-in desk even opened, though there was a bit of a line already. Got up to the desk and discovered the reason why we hadn't been able to confirm my seat next to Alan was because I was booked to fly _Premier_! I asked if I could downgrade to sit with him, but that would have put me on standby. Er, no. Better to at least be on the same flight, Alan's absence notwithstanding. Apparently Economy had been all booked up by the time I made my booking and Premier was all that was left. Huh.
As soon as I sat down, a stewardess offered me orange juice or champagne. Sweet! Alan walked right past me on his way back to his seat in steerage Economy, and I offered him my champagne but he declined. I did feel pretty guilty; if our places had been reversed, I would have been _very_ grumpy about it. If the money had been available, Alan could have upgraded, because the seat next to mine (I had a window) was empty. Bummer.
The service was lovely and the food better than most restaurants I've been to. I watched 3:10 to Yuma, which I have been wanting to see, and actually got some decent sleep. 7 hours only interrupted twice after dreams of seeing sunshine outside my window. The crew served breakfast two hours before our arrival time (so, 3 a.m. NZ time), and I made myself eat a good portion and drink some coffee and avoided going back to sleep. Customs went very nice and smoothly - not at all like the fiasco in Heathrow - and we actually had time to chat with Alan's friend Porl who had shown up to welcome Alan home (such dedication!) before fruitbat_mum arrived to pick us up.
The horizon was just starting to lighten as we were landing, and the sun finished coming up as we were driving home. This countryside reminds me a lot of the central valley, though a bit more roly-poly. It's very pretty but simple. No Lord of the Rings photo ops yet! Not realizing I'd sleep so well on the plane and be perfectly awake and affable today, we didn't plan to really meet anyone or do anything other than kick around fruitbat_folks' house and decompress. We took about an hour nap right before lunch, which was at a very scrummy restaurant on an olive plantation (so, very scenic too. Granny & Gramps would have loved this place). I'm glad I gave up on the idea of trying to diet down to fit into one of my Rainbow dresses for New Bretonia on Sunday, because I would have _completely_ fallen off the wagon in the past 24 hours. Alan and I need to find a costume rental shop tomorrow or Friday.
Fruitbat_mum took us along to run some errands in town, one of which was picking up mail at her church. So we popped into the sanctuary and it's cute. A bit small but that means it will fill easily. Not our first choice for a wedding venue, but it would serve. We also sorted out our rental car (thanks, fruitbat_folks!!) for next week's tour of the North Island and fruitbat_mum took us to her croquet club and taught us how to play. Not really my nor Alan's thing, but still enjoyable time doing something not-too-strenuous outside, in _shorts_, in _January_!!!!
We've just finished dinner and I realized that what was seeming odd to me was that it was still fully light outside, at six p.m. We had barbecued steaks, and afterwards Alan and I sat out on the patio with a beer and a soda, with our bare feet up on a wooden bench, reading a couple graphic novels in the still-not-setting sunshine. In _January_!! Alan loves it when I have these wibblefish moments.
I called home just before dinner to talk to Morgan and it sounds like she's doing fine. Still perfectly happy to be hanging out with Grandma, and well-behaved: she said "okay!" when I said goodbye to her and told her to go back to bed, and Mom says she did just that. My good girl. I confess, I don't quite miss her yet, but it's only been a day. Yeep, only one day. Alan and I both commented to fruitbat_mum that it seems like we've already been here for _two_ days. I suppose being awake since 3 a.m. will do that to ya.
Well, this trip is going much better than my trip to Scotland did. Not that it would take much, I know, but this is actually quite lovely. Alan and I were able to completely pack on Sunday, so Monday was a surprisingly stress-free day of pretty much sitting around the house and waiting until time to leave for the airport. Morgan seemed completely unfazed when we kissed her goodbye at school and told her we would be taking a trip far away. I think she was too excited about the idea of Grandma taking care of her to think about _why_.
We got to the airport before the check-in desk even opened, though there was a bit of a line already. Got up to the desk and discovered the reason why we hadn't been able to confirm my seat next to Alan was because I was booked to fly _Premier_! I asked if I could downgrade to sit with him, but that would have put me on standby. Er, no. Better to at least be on the same flight, Alan's absence notwithstanding. Apparently Economy had been all booked up by the time I made my booking and Premier was all that was left. Huh.
As soon as I sat down, a stewardess offered me orange juice or champagne. Sweet! Alan walked right past me on his way back to his seat in steerage Economy, and I offered him my champagne but he declined. I did feel pretty guilty; if our places had been reversed, I would have been _very_ grumpy about it. If the money had been available, Alan could have upgraded, because the seat next to mine (I had a window) was empty. Bummer.
The service was lovely and the food better than most restaurants I've been to. I watched 3:10 to Yuma, which I have been wanting to see, and actually got some decent sleep. 7 hours only interrupted twice after dreams of seeing sunshine outside my window. The crew served breakfast two hours before our arrival time (so, 3 a.m. NZ time), and I made myself eat a good portion and drink some coffee and avoided going back to sleep. Customs went very nice and smoothly - not at all like the fiasco in Heathrow - and we actually had time to chat with Alan's friend Porl who had shown up to welcome Alan home (such dedication!) before fruitbat_mum arrived to pick us up.
The horizon was just starting to lighten as we were landing, and the sun finished coming up as we were driving home. This countryside reminds me a lot of the central valley, though a bit more roly-poly. It's very pretty but simple. No Lord of the Rings photo ops yet! Not realizing I'd sleep so well on the plane and be perfectly awake and affable today, we didn't plan to really meet anyone or do anything other than kick around fruitbat_folks' house and decompress. We took about an hour nap right before lunch, which was at a very scrummy restaurant on an olive plantation (so, very scenic too. Granny & Gramps would have loved this place). I'm glad I gave up on the idea of trying to diet down to fit into one of my Rainbow dresses for New Bretonia on Sunday, because I would have _completely_ fallen off the wagon in the past 24 hours. Alan and I need to find a costume rental shop tomorrow or Friday.
Fruitbat_mum took us along to run some errands in town, one of which was picking up mail at her church. So we popped into the sanctuary and it's cute. A bit small but that means it will fill easily. Not our first choice for a wedding venue, but it would serve. We also sorted out our rental car (thanks, fruitbat_folks!!) for next week's tour of the North Island and fruitbat_mum took us to her croquet club and taught us how to play. Not really my nor Alan's thing, but still enjoyable time doing something not-too-strenuous outside, in _shorts_, in _January_!!!!
We've just finished dinner and I realized that what was seeming odd to me was that it was still fully light outside, at six p.m. We had barbecued steaks, and afterwards Alan and I sat out on the patio with a beer and a soda, with our bare feet up on a wooden bench, reading a couple graphic novels in the still-not-setting sunshine. In _January_!! Alan loves it when I have these wibblefish moments.
I called home just before dinner to talk to Morgan and it sounds like she's doing fine. Still perfectly happy to be hanging out with Grandma, and well-behaved: she said "okay!" when I said goodbye to her and told her to go back to bed, and Mom says she did just that. My good girl. I confess, I don't quite miss her yet, but it's only been a day. Yeep, only one day. Alan and I both commented to fruitbat_mum that it seems like we've already been here for _two_ days. I suppose being awake since 3 a.m. will do that to ya.