Day 1: On Sunday March 1, we set off for our trip! Mom, Dad, and Jeff kindly drove us to Newark airport in a snowstorm (once again – it may be a sign from the universe that Dustin and I shouldn’t travel in the winter) and we dashed through security to catch our flight to San Francisco, and would then leave from there to Auckland. Instead of flying, this is how we spent Sunday evening:

That’s right – our trip started with an overnight in Hoboken, NJ. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and was delayed initially until 6:00, at which point we would have missed our connecting flight to Auckland anyhow. As they kept announcing more delays, Dustin and I decided to get ahead of the curve and proactively switch our flight to the Monday morning flight, and head in to Hoboken to see Glen and Nick.

While not quite the start we had imagined, it was great fun to see our friends before setting off, and having the opportunity to sleep in a bed rather than the airport. Turns out we made the right call, as our flight was eventually cancelled at 10:30 Sunday night.

Day 2:

We used our first Uber to get to the airport, learned about surge pricing, and went through security again. We checked with the gate agent to confirm that everything was fine with our bags, since they had been checked the night before we had no way to get them, and settled in… for a five hour delay. We caught up on the last season of Parks and Rec, and eventually made it to San Francisco. After checking in with the Air New Zealand gate agent and once again confirming our bags were all set, we grabbed something to eat before taking off.

The flight was smooth, and since I was overtired already managed to sleep quite a bit, except when it was time for food, because I certainly wasn’t going to miss it (hey, I paid full price for the ticket, so I’m going to take advantage of everything. Yes, please, I would love a glass of wine with dinner). Other highlights: a movie and a quick conversation. I got to watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which I had only seen the first half of, so I was ready in the event Dustin and I were going to the movies while in Auckland to see the sequel.

While pacing in the back of the plane to stretch my legs, I also had a nice conversation with a man named Rex from West Virginia. He and his friend were on their way to New Zealand for a hunting vacation. He asked me “what’s your story? everyone has a story.” It reminded me of a conversation I had at a friend’s bonfire – I met someone there who opened conversation that way, rather than the typical American “what do you do?” It was a good reminder that we are more than what we do for a paycheck. After chatting for a bit, and mentioning that I was traveling with my fiance, he gave me some marital advice: Just keep talking. Even if you’re yelling, keep talking; don’t walk out and slam the door, and you’ll be fine. It’s worked for my wife and I for more than 50 years.

After many hours of delays and long flights, we eventually touched down in Auckland, breezed through customs, and could hardly wait – we’re here, let’s get started!! We started at the Air New Zealand lost baggage desk, because despite all our diligence, somehow our bags had never left Newark. It had only been a few days in the same clothes – what’s a few more? We took our sad little carryons, and headed in to the city. After about 52 hours, we eventually made it to Auckland.