Pot of Gold

We left Atlanta at 4:30 pm on Monday and landed without any major delays or inconveniences in Auckland at 8:30 am Wednesday. Doing some quick math on the time change, that means it was 24 hours en route. Wow, that sounds like an awfully long time…. Luckily, it didn’t seem that long. We were happy to have video/tv on demand on the planes and good books to read. That made the time move much quicker. Movies: Lincoln Lawyer (Dana recommends), Hall Pass (Horrible, what happened Owen Wilson & Farley Brothers?), Adjustment Bureau (Solid Performance), Just Go With It (Dana suggests predictable but cute). Books: The Big Short by Michael Lewis and Friday Night Lights.

 As the plane descended we got our first glimpse of New Zealand and it was spectacular: on the eastern shore line there were green covered mountains that quickly disappeared into the ocean, reminding me of the Na Pali coast on Kauai. However before we go off to explore the natural wonders of New Zealand, we’re going to need to be able to navigate through Auckland to get settled. First challenge: driving. New Zealanders drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right side of the car. Jumping into our rental car felt completely foreign. I currently drive like your 80 year old grandmother. I fear for my life in roundabouts. Too bad for me Auckland is filled with roundabouts, more so than anywhere else I’ve ever been.

So far Dana and I have concluded that Auckland feels like a mix of Seattle (some rain), San Francisco (rolling hills and with dense housing) and Hawaii (very green and tons of beaches). Not a bad combination. It’s also proving to be a hotspot for rainbows, we saw one when we got off the plane and another as we walked into our hotel…..I’m going to take that as a good sign.