This is it

This is it.  Our last real day of holiday before we really get down to all business.   Our journey has been pretty amazing, but also challenging.  We have traveled far.. put over  1500 miles on the car.  And, our longest stays in one location was one 3 nighter in Queenstown and now a glorious 4 night stay at a beach house in the nothern part of the North Island in a region called the Bay of Islands.  If you have read some of the other blogs, you may remember this was the week we were going to rent a campervan and travel around the Northland.   Well, with my situation with the broken ankle I had to put my good foot down and crush the kids/Brett's dream of this.  No way was I going to be stuck in a small campervan, hoping in and out -  I already bailed getting into a shuttle bus once.   Not to mention, we discovered that is really is NOT cheap to rent campervan.    So, I found yet another really cool house on a beautiful bay on the sea and bargained for an awesome deal.  So much that we bunkered down and made a 10 hour drive to get here.   And, it has been perfect.  And, we have also discovered that we are done.  We have had our fill of traveling around looking at the most beautiful country.   Our first day here we didn't move. Yesterday, we tried to venture out to cross our last few things of the list... including getting to the very top of New Zealand, and getting to drive down 90 mile beach and maybe do some sand dune sledding.   We didn't get too far.  We had seen and done enough, and couldn't drive home fast enough.  Today, just hanging out at the beach and house. Even warm enough for a swim (for some people).   And, trying to mentally prepare for the big departure.  Tomorrow we travel to Auckland.  There we will check into what is pretty standard size hotel room for the states, but not at all what we are used to here (in NZ, most places have full kitchens, laundry, and separate rooms).  We need to stay out by the airport so we can utilize the free shuttle with our massive amount of luggage.  Of course, we have so much that most of it is sitting in a storage unit we shipped it to in Auckland (our best deal in NZ... we shipped 6 large suitcases from Gisborne to Auckland, overnight, for a total of about 55 dollars!!)  Anyways, I am thinking it is going to be feeling a little cramped.  And, it is judgement time... my Sunday will be spent seeing if we can really pack it all in.   Brett will be spending the day trying to sell the car, chilly bin (cooler), camp chair and other stuff we just can't fit in.  Monday we leave, but I also have big plans... gonna see if I can get my cast off.   I really need to be in it another week or so, and still no weight bearing, but I really don't want to have the cast on for the flight or need to worry about it getting taken off when we get home (not even sure if we will have insurance, and any we do is not going to cover it).  So, the plan is to hopefully walk into a clinic, get an x-ray, get it off, and get walking boot (which, I won't be walking in).   Ha... not sure I believe any of this will happen, but I am trying to keep the faith.  Brett also not feeling really hopeful we will get this car sold.  On a good note though, we did get confirmation today that our bid for an upgrade on the big flight from Auckland to LA (13 hour flight) was ACCEPTED... wooooo, hooooo.  The Adams Family is traveling home in class.  Must not be a full flight as we got an email that said we could make an offer on upgrading our tickets and we would find out 3 days before if it was accepted.  When we realized that you could have 2 free bags at the next class (and we all have 2 bags), than it only made sense for us to bid.  And I have justified it by thinking of it as the money I could not spend on the 17 minute helicopter ride over the glaciers we considered.... this is SUCH a better deal.  So basically we are now riding in the equivalent of business class, but it is on a brand new plane where first class is actually a whole cubicle.  We look like we have some pretty plush seats.  Thank God.  We have all had some anxiety over the flight.  I am basically a walking billboard for a blood clot.  Immobilized leg, month long car journey, and then a 13 hour flight.  A little more room to stretch out is exactly what I need.   Is it pushing it to hope they will bump me up to the first class cubicle?  Yeah, I know it is.... but a girl can dream.

chillin' in the Bay of Islands.   So nice it hear the ocean again.

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oh, and again, didn't quite get the blogging done I had hoped for, but had to conserve our internet.