Alaska, USA - Trip with Daniel - Days 1 & 2

Daniel and I departed Perth, Saturday afternoon, 12th February, and after 38 hours, it is still only Sunday, 13th February, having crossed the International Date Line as well as the Equator. With tail winds we made good timing to Auckland on the 'red-eye'.

I love Auckland Airport:  Passing through the portal, complete with birdsong.

 A 36-minute sequence of traditional Maori designs from six themes,
including ocean and night sky, is projected across Pou Manawa
using projectors and LED lighting.

The Jet Park Hotel where we had booked a day room had the most comfortable beds and pillows. Five hours' sleep, a shower and brunch of Eggs Benedict with a cappuccino had us feeling pretty good as we boarded the plane again for 12 hours' flight to San Francisco.

Air New Zealand again provided an excellent flight, with fresh, quality, well-prepared meals, and touch-screen in-flight entertainment, with a choice of over 70 movies.  It was good weather with mostly smooth flying.

We arrived in San Francisco tired but feeling well. We've had a few learning experiences that are sometimes inevitable given all the factors that can lead to lack of concentration. The most costly was our first US dollars spent on the shuttle fare plus tip being composed of a handful of US notes that all look the same when tired, disoriented and surrounded by traffic and balancing suitcases. We realised shortly after that one of the two $1 notes included in the payment was actually a $100 note! The driver, who could speak very little English, gave us a big smile as he quickly drove away.

Feeling very thankful for the smoothly running trip and the pleasure of enjoying one another's company, we turned our attention to gratefulness rather than being upset for long. Settling in at the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, we both agreed that we would not sleep now, but shower and go for a walk and lunch. So we had our showers and promptly fell asleep for an hour or so!

[to be continued...]