Travelling... ;)
I should have made this update a while ago, but since it has now been
more than a week since my flight to the US, I thought that it would be
a good time for a trip update.
First of all, I got away safely although there was a minor hiccup along the way. My flight from Auckland to Sydney was fine. I have flown Air New Zealand before, and I find them very nice (albeit a tad expensive). I had two hours to kill in Sydney, so I wandered about and look at duty free shops for most of the time.
My next flight was on China Airlines (not to be confused with Air China) to Taipei. This was my first time in an Airbus A340, and I found it to be quite nice. My seat was a little smaller than normal, but not uncomfortable. The service was lovely and I really enjoyed the entertainment system (in particular movies on demand and the aircraft's nose cameras). The flight was smooth except for the landing. We were informed just before landing that there was a category 4 typhoon sitting just off coast, ready to hit.
As I got off and went through transit, I found my flight to San Francisco had been pushed forward 2 hours in order to miss the arrival of the typhoon. This would have been fine, but our boarding was delayed nearly an hour. By the time we were all on board, the plane (a slightly older 747) was swaying heavily in the winds. I could see the rain moving sideways out the window. It felt like were were already in the air. I didn't have a problem, but the lady in front of my was complaining quite loudly that she though it wasn't safe to fly in that weather. To me, if you really don't feel that you are safe on a plane, GET OFF! (We were still at the gate at the time.) Don't sit there complaining and making everyone else feel bad. As it was, we spent nearly an hour on the taxi-way, waiting for some stability in the winds to take off. When we finally did take off, I must admit I was a little nervous watching the altitude slowly increase as we were being buffeted about. Once we were at 10,000ft I felt happy, and shortly after that it was smooth flying.
The flight was fine, and the service was again lovely. I have come to the conclusion that I prefer window seats for long flights. It was nice to have something solid to lean against and have a nap. I also rediscovered the joys of my noise canceling headphones. I managed to sleep most of the way, which was quite nice. The flight landed on time, and my passage through immigration and customs was quick (although I had a moment of panic while I was filling out a visa form because of a previously cancelled visa - it turned out to be no problem at all). I came out just in time to meet Findra.
Findra, skylerbunny, Spaceroo and myself all had dinner together the following night. Afterwards we all sat about and watched a few episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (something which has yet to make it to NZ). It was really good to see them again. I hope we can arrange some other things on my way back through at the end of the month.
The next morning, Findra flew me to Sacramento. I don't think Findra has any idea how much I appreciated that. It was a lovely flight, and makes me realise I want to get my PPL too...
Arriving in Sacramento (actually it was Cameron Park) I was met by my father, my nephew and my brother-in-law. It was so good to see them again and then see my sister, my mother and my other nephew when I got to my sister's house. It was a mini family reunion (although my younger sister is still in New Zealand). I had a brief opportunity to have a cup of coffee and relax before we were off on the road to Lake Tahoe for Labor Weekend. On the way we stopped at Hangtown for some lunch and olallieberry pie. Mmmm... yummy.
Lake Tahoe was beautiful. I really can't describe it more than that. My sister had rented a house for us for the weekend, and with everyone there it was a little microcosm of home. It didn't feel like we were in a foreign country at all.
On Saturday there was an air-show at the local airport. When we got there, there was not a huge amount happening. Apparently there were some unstable winds, although the sky was clear and the sun was hot. My nephews really enjoyed running about and seeing the planes. Shortly after we had some lunch, the aerobatics began. It was very impressive to watch, and I managed to get some lovely video footage. I managed to get quite sunburnt. I have very fair skin, so sunburn is nothing new to me. By the end of the day I wasn't feeling the best, so I had a sleep in the afternoon.
On Sunday, we all went up the gondola to Heavenly Ski Field. It was lovely and I managed to see a few squirrels and chipmunks scampering about. We went down with the intention of going out on one of the two paddle steamers on the lake, but we couldn't get tickets. I went off by myself for a bit and managed to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. After that, we all had a BBQ, and went down to the lakeside to watch a huge fireworks display. I love fireworks, and this display was very impressive. Again, the video footage seems to have turned out quite nice. :)
The next morning we packed up and wen down to the docks where we were finally able to get tickets for the paddle steamer. The lake was very pretty, albeit a little chilly. I managed to get a few nice shots of Emerald Bay. After we returned, we all settled down and had a family picnic under the trees before we decided our next move. My nephews had asked to go horse riding, so after a little running around, we managed to find a place.
I originally had no plans on going for a ride, but I change my mind at the last minute. I'm glad I did. They put me on a rather slow old mare called Lady. She was quite a lovely horse, and knew the way quite well. We lagged behind a lot, but I didn't mind. I was too busy watching everything around me. I'm a little disappointed I didn't take my camera, but I'm not too worried. My nephews had a great time. Even my littlest nephew, Logan, had fun riding a pony back at the ranch (he was a little to young to go on the trail ride). By the end we were all pretty tired, and the trip back to Sacramento was uneventful.
I only stayed a day in Sacramento before I left on the next leg of my trip. My parents were flying out that afternoon, so it was a little sad that everyone seemed to be off on our separate ways. I had two flights to get to Kansas City, both of which passed fairly smoothly. I had a brief moment of panic when there was no-one waiting for me in the airport, but soon thevixen popped into view and then everything was alright. ;)
Since then, I have been pretty lazy, but the weekend was fun. On Friday night we wandered around an Art Fair (I saw a lovely tiger painting, but I couldn't afford the $475 price tag). On Saturday we all went to the local Ren Faire, where I managed to become acquainted with a rather pretty Vixen wench. I will definitely be returning there later. That night we went out with a local group, called OSPRI to do a little ghost hunting. I didn't find anything, aside from something cold on my shoulder at one point, but the others had more luck. Sunday was pretty quiet. I spent the afternoon wandering a local mall with roofae where we were joined by the Vixen. That night we went to see The Aristocrats. It was not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed the film (I think I liked the card trick most of all).
I have no huge plans for the rest of the week, but I'm sure we will find fun things to do.... I'm fresh out of ideas, but then I sold my brains to a Vixen for $15. Quite a bargain.... ;)
*twitch*
First of all, I got away safely although there was a minor hiccup along the way. My flight from Auckland to Sydney was fine. I have flown Air New Zealand before, and I find them very nice (albeit a tad expensive). I had two hours to kill in Sydney, so I wandered about and look at duty free shops for most of the time.
My next flight was on China Airlines (not to be confused with Air China) to Taipei. This was my first time in an Airbus A340, and I found it to be quite nice. My seat was a little smaller than normal, but not uncomfortable. The service was lovely and I really enjoyed the entertainment system (in particular movies on demand and the aircraft's nose cameras). The flight was smooth except for the landing. We were informed just before landing that there was a category 4 typhoon sitting just off coast, ready to hit.
As I got off and went through transit, I found my flight to San Francisco had been pushed forward 2 hours in order to miss the arrival of the typhoon. This would have been fine, but our boarding was delayed nearly an hour. By the time we were all on board, the plane (a slightly older 747) was swaying heavily in the winds. I could see the rain moving sideways out the window. It felt like were were already in the air. I didn't have a problem, but the lady in front of my was complaining quite loudly that she though it wasn't safe to fly in that weather. To me, if you really don't feel that you are safe on a plane, GET OFF! (We were still at the gate at the time.) Don't sit there complaining and making everyone else feel bad. As it was, we spent nearly an hour on the taxi-way, waiting for some stability in the winds to take off. When we finally did take off, I must admit I was a little nervous watching the altitude slowly increase as we were being buffeted about. Once we were at 10,000ft I felt happy, and shortly after that it was smooth flying.
The flight was fine, and the service was again lovely. I have come to the conclusion that I prefer window seats for long flights. It was nice to have something solid to lean against and have a nap. I also rediscovered the joys of my noise canceling headphones. I managed to sleep most of the way, which was quite nice. The flight landed on time, and my passage through immigration and customs was quick (although I had a moment of panic while I was filling out a visa form because of a previously cancelled visa - it turned out to be no problem at all). I came out just in time to meet Findra.
Findra, skylerbunny, Spaceroo and myself all had dinner together the following night. Afterwards we all sat about and watched a few episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (something which has yet to make it to NZ). It was really good to see them again. I hope we can arrange some other things on my way back through at the end of the month.
The next morning, Findra flew me to Sacramento. I don't think Findra has any idea how much I appreciated that. It was a lovely flight, and makes me realise I want to get my PPL too...
Arriving in Sacramento (actually it was Cameron Park) I was met by my father, my nephew and my brother-in-law. It was so good to see them again and then see my sister, my mother and my other nephew when I got to my sister's house. It was a mini family reunion (although my younger sister is still in New Zealand). I had a brief opportunity to have a cup of coffee and relax before we were off on the road to Lake Tahoe for Labor Weekend. On the way we stopped at Hangtown for some lunch and olallieberry pie. Mmmm... yummy.
Lake Tahoe was beautiful. I really can't describe it more than that. My sister had rented a house for us for the weekend, and with everyone there it was a little microcosm of home. It didn't feel like we were in a foreign country at all.
On Saturday there was an air-show at the local airport. When we got there, there was not a huge amount happening. Apparently there were some unstable winds, although the sky was clear and the sun was hot. My nephews really enjoyed running about and seeing the planes. Shortly after we had some lunch, the aerobatics began. It was very impressive to watch, and I managed to get some lovely video footage. I managed to get quite sunburnt. I have very fair skin, so sunburn is nothing new to me. By the end of the day I wasn't feeling the best, so I had a sleep in the afternoon.
On Sunday, we all went up the gondola to Heavenly Ski Field. It was lovely and I managed to see a few squirrels and chipmunks scampering about. We went down with the intention of going out on one of the two paddle steamers on the lake, but we couldn't get tickets. I went off by myself for a bit and managed to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. After that, we all had a BBQ, and went down to the lakeside to watch a huge fireworks display. I love fireworks, and this display was very impressive. Again, the video footage seems to have turned out quite nice. :)
The next morning we packed up and wen down to the docks where we were finally able to get tickets for the paddle steamer. The lake was very pretty, albeit a little chilly. I managed to get a few nice shots of Emerald Bay. After we returned, we all settled down and had a family picnic under the trees before we decided our next move. My nephews had asked to go horse riding, so after a little running around, we managed to find a place.
I originally had no plans on going for a ride, but I change my mind at the last minute. I'm glad I did. They put me on a rather slow old mare called Lady. She was quite a lovely horse, and knew the way quite well. We lagged behind a lot, but I didn't mind. I was too busy watching everything around me. I'm a little disappointed I didn't take my camera, but I'm not too worried. My nephews had a great time. Even my littlest nephew, Logan, had fun riding a pony back at the ranch (he was a little to young to go on the trail ride). By the end we were all pretty tired, and the trip back to Sacramento was uneventful.
I only stayed a day in Sacramento before I left on the next leg of my trip. My parents were flying out that afternoon, so it was a little sad that everyone seemed to be off on our separate ways. I had two flights to get to Kansas City, both of which passed fairly smoothly. I had a brief moment of panic when there was no-one waiting for me in the airport, but soon thevixen popped into view and then everything was alright. ;)
Since then, I have been pretty lazy, but the weekend was fun. On Friday night we wandered around an Art Fair (I saw a lovely tiger painting, but I couldn't afford the $475 price tag). On Saturday we all went to the local Ren Faire, where I managed to become acquainted with a rather pretty Vixen wench. I will definitely be returning there later. That night we went out with a local group, called OSPRI to do a little ghost hunting. I didn't find anything, aside from something cold on my shoulder at one point, but the others had more luck. Sunday was pretty quiet. I spent the afternoon wandering a local mall with roofae where we were joined by the Vixen. That night we went to see The Aristocrats. It was not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed the film (I think I liked the card trick most of all).
I have no huge plans for the rest of the week, but I'm sure we will find fun things to do.... I'm fresh out of ideas, but then I sold my brains to a Vixen for $15. Quite a bargain.... ;)
*twitch*