Departure Day

After driving 2,000 miles over the past week and a half, we are swapping the car for a plane this afternoon. Our flight is out of Atlanta, stops in LA and then straight over the Pacific to Auckland. Google maps won't give me a distance from Atlanta to Auckland....maybe they don't get that request often. However looking at the map, it looks to be around 6,000 - 7,000 miles away as the crow would theoretically fly. And since LA isn't exactly on that straight line, we're probably going to reach the coveted 10,000 miles traveled in a week barrier. Maybe we'll get some sort of medal after we touch down in Auckland.

So to finish Huckle's trip, from Niagara Falls we stopped in the Thousand Islands area, then moved on to the Adirondacks. Lake Placid was beautiful and we took advantage climbing one of the 46 peaks of the Adirondacks (Cascade Mountain), canoeing on Lake Placid,  and swimming in Cascade Lake. With his three sports (hiking, canoeing and swimming), Huckle completed the Lake Placid dog triathlon challenge. With Ironman Lake Placid taking place on July 24th, Huckle was just setting the pace for big race coming up.

That completed our stay in Upstate New York, and the three of us jumped in the car and drove to Southern New Jersey for Kara and Richie's wedding (Kara is Dana's cousin). On our way through the Hudson valley, we made a few select stops to check off some items in Dana's '1000 Places to See Before You Die' book. Highlights included Franklin Roosevelt's presidential library, childhood home and grave site, Lake George and Rutts Hut for lunch.

Reception for the wedding was at the Rockbridge Carriage House in Wilmington Delaware. Beautiful ceremony, fun reception in a spectacular setting, great food; overall a first class wedding. Something new I hadn't seen before was a candy table for the guests to pick out their preferred candy as the wedding favor. This brought me back to childhood You could choose from rock candy, M&M's, gummy bears, almond joy pieces, mints, mini jaw breakers, etc. all in the blue and purple colors of the wedding.  Kara and Richie are off to Vermont for their Honeymoon. Congrats you two!

Visited with family for another day saying our goodbyes and onto Atlanta yesterday to drop off Huckle and the car with Dana's parents before jumping on the plane.

We are bringing six suitcases and two backpacks. This morning our task is pare down our stuff to ensure it all fits into that limited space. We're able to bring some of these worldly possessions with us, however a big piece of my heart is going to stay here. Huckle isn't making the trip with us due to the strict quarantine requirements of New Zealand. His new home is with Mom and Dad Morris in Atlanta, and I wouldn't want to have him stay anywhere else (no doubt he's going to get plenty of love and attention). However I've been dreading saying goodbye to him for a while now. There may be a trail of tears from Dana and I on the way to the airport. He's been the most loving and loyal dog I could imagine from the moment we picked him up from a rescue center three years ago. 

So long USA.....next post is from New Zealand!