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Introduction
Seattle to Honolulu
Honolulu to Auckland
Auckland to Christchurch
Wellington to Rotorua
Auckland to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle

                                                                                                                                                                      

Tuesday 08th October 2013

My brain is absolutely worthless I think to myself while sitting on the 405 in the truck on my way to work, for the second time that morning. I had already spent over an hour and a half in the truck due to traffic and also the fact that for the second time in a month I had forgotten my passport at home on an international trip. Driving back from the Canadian border is a hassle, forgetting my passport when I am travelling to New Zealand is a whole other story. Thankfully I wasn’t leaving that day.

Work was sending me to New Zealand for two weeks and thankfully I wasn’t having to pay. But unfortunately the flights out were early in the morning so rather than have to battle peak hour traffic on the day I have to leave, I thought it smart that I could do it the day before and stay by the airport the night before. At least when I leave my passport at home the day before I have plenty of time to go back and get it. Even if it takes me 2 hours to get to work and I am 20 mins late (I would of been early had I remembered it but that would of been fine).

I worked away getting all the usual last minute things done and finished off my day by calling the bank and letting them know that I was heading to NZ and to make sure that they didn’t decline any transactions. By the time I made up my 20 minutes of lateness and headed out of the office, the sun was already starting to slowly set and I hit the streets towards the south and my hotel for the evening.

I had looked around for airport hotels and they were all $150+ but the good thing about Seattle’s airport is even though it is south of the city and has a lot of hotels around it, there are a few outlying suburbs (like Renton, Kent, Tukwila) that are about 10-12 minutes drive away and offer much better value. I had managed to pick up a great rate on the IHG Friends and Family rate for the Holiday Inn & Suites Kent that included breakfast and wifi for like $95 all in. Quite a bargain really. All in all it was just a bed for the night and a quick workout in the morning. I made pretty good time and by the time I finished off a last minute thing online, I took the truck out to grab some gas and top it off and some food for me. Feeding the truck as well as me… simple plan really.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

I grabbed some dinner at the L&L Hawiian BBQ in Renton for the evening (fitting realy) taking my tasty goodness back to the hotel where I could watch tv in piece and quiet, read some emails and hit the sack. The rooms at the Holiday Inn Kent were not overly big and it is more a motel style than anything (2 story, walk up, around a central courtyard) and I could of pictured this in any out of the way small town. But they were clean, comfortable and warm because the night sure wasn’t (although the room heated up a hell of a lot more than planned). I hit the sack around the usual time but wake up wasn’t far off.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

Wednesday 09th October 2013

Waking up at 4am is never pleasant, but considering I barely slept at all, getting up meant that I could hit the gym for a bit. I had to negotiate with check in the night before to access the gym that early as for some reason they don’t allow use before 5am. Which is wierd because it is not staffed or monitored. I had agreed not to use the treadmill so as to keep noise and pounding on the floor to a minimum, so 6 miles on the exercise bike it was. Can’t complain really, it was either that or running outside in the frigid cold (Bothell was 37F that morning, not sure what it was in Kent). I will take a lighter workout over freezing myself to death any day.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island
From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

By the time I cleaned up and checked out, breakfast was opening up at 6am (haven’t they ever heard of early morning departures for a hotel that advertises themselves as “Airport”) so I grabbed my complimentary breakfast, which was as I expected, pretty basic but still good. Unfortunately my desire for a good bowl of oatmeal was failed when all they had was quaker instant packets (which I despise for the amount of sugar in it) so I stuck with a quick bagel and a banana. Coffee & breakfast consumed and I hit the road to the airport.

From AOT NZ Megafamil – South Island

The Holiday Inn was clean, comfortable and good value for what I got out of it. Sure it isn’t directly next to the airport and about a 10-12 minute drive away, but at half the cost, free breakfast and wifi… I won’t complain.

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I am in SFO right now, alive and well, the flight was good but just a quick post to let everyone know I am safe and sound back in the good old US of A.

Current Location: Gate 50 San Francisco Airport T2

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The last 11 days have been pretty amazing. I can’t believe this famil is over. I have had a blast and met so many people. Although Auckland was not as great as Rotorua (some stuff ups and bad things happening again) it was still a good time. I am kind of sad to be leaving Auckland tonight. Leaving behind my new friends and all the people I have met along the way.

So many fun times, so many not so fun times, so many moments that looking back though were awful at the time, were still fun and I will have those kinds of memories for a while. Hobbiton on Saturday was interesting. I will admit that it is not my kind of thing so I wasn’t solely interested in all of the meanings behind each and every bit, but it was pretty to look at the photos hopefully will turn out great. I think I had more fun making stupid tweets and jokes with a friend while we were walking around. The harry potter joke in the middle of hobbiton probably wouldn’t go down to well for some people.

Yesterday we headed off in our little groups to Waiheke Island, it was a very relaxed day and I was able to have a good relaxing time, enjoying my morning run and slowly waking up around the city. The boat ride out wasn’t to bad and I managed to not freak out even in a bit of a rough patch near one of the docks. The day itself I wasn’t really looking forward to as it was a wine tour really on an island required to get there by boat… yeah that sounds like my perfect day out. But the company that was with me and the places we did go, I had a great time. Spending the afternoon in the sun before coming home was great.

Last night was the final dinner and it was a great night, the more “formal” occasion, but I think the night in Rotorua felt more like the big final dinner as it felt more like a party atmosphere. Last night felt more like a goodbye than anything else, having to say farewell to new friends.

Tonight I hit the skies again, back into my second home, heading home to SFO on the “Queen” (747) and then onwards home to Seattle. I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to get back to work but I know I have to. Won’t be home long as I am back in the Skies on Saturday, heading to DC… but more on that later in the week.

Current Location: Skycity Auckland

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Well my time in windy Wellington is coming to a close but it was not as windy as advertised. The city was actually fairly calm and did pretty much as advertised. I enjoyed the small amount of time we had here in the city.

It was good as we had some later starts than we have had so far which meant that I could still sleep and get some good runs in for my training (especially this morning). The runs were good and the timing was spot on and I enjoyed running along the waterfront to see the city and just live it up. The sunrise in Wellington has been stunning over the water and several times I was running and the flights were taking off at the same time as I was out there. Always good for an avgeek right?

The rest of the time was fairly relaxed, not much free time but no stress of multiple site inspections or anything like that. However going into Rotorua our next stop, it’s going to be all action, all the time!

Today I am off to the airport around 10am ish for my flight to Rotorua and my first time at Either airport but most of all, my first time on a Dash 8 300, which I am looking forward to the difference compared to the Q400 which is ever so popular.

Time to get some breakfast into me before I pass out, see you all at my next stop!

Current Location: Novotel Wellington

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Kinda wish I was in the air right now rather than on the sea, you know what I am like with boats, but right now I am trying my best to keep myself distracted, trying hard not to give into the usual urges of eating crap when I stress. The trip the last few days has been rough, not on an eating way because I have been able to control fairly well, it was just bad yesterday weather wise.

New Zealand has had some insane weather the last few days and the weather right now is rain outside, but the weather yesterday in the Abel Tasman could best be described as “if hell was wet”. The day started off ok and I was able to get a run in and stay dry but when I came back, the wind picked up (not good) and the rain started. The rain was fairly light and almost Seattlish in nature. It did not stay that way. As the day got on both the wind and the rain picked up. The wind was gale force warnings and the rain at times was torrential. O did I mention we were due to walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Track? Something that requires a boat and wet landings to access?

Well wet is something we definately got. I was drenched head to toe and soaked through to the bone. I did not enjoy the day at all, but I sucked it up. I did get to go for a 4km hike which was more like a 4km jog and I caused the local tourism rep (who was an awesome person mind you) to panic that I had gone missing. Thing was I was just a couple of kms ahead of the main group on the track going at my own pace.

The day out otherwise was fine and dinner was a very relaxed affair and by the end of the evening I was enjoying some time with some people from Sweeden and the UK.

Right now I am sitting on the Aratere Interislander Ferry as we cruise into the North Island and I wish right now I could just get off. The boat is moving (ever so slightly) side to side and I have had to keep my brain focused on so many other things that I just hate it. I tell you what, I can’t wait to step onto dry land. God how I want dry land!

Current Location: Aratere Plus Lounge: Interislander Ferry

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My time in Christchurch was good, a city that had been devastated several years ago, countinues to rise from the rubble and bring itself back, bigger and better than ever.

If lnly a brief stay of 2 nights in the city, it was a good glimpse into what is a massive undertaking to rebuild their lives and in some cases start fresh.   It was great to see things like the gap filler projects that help fill those small pockets of the city with community driven ideas (like the pallet Pavillion) to keep residents and visitors sane.

We also left the city limits and headed towards the south, towards the banks peninsula and Akaroa. Akoroa is a small quaint seaside town about 90 minutes south of Christchurch and has a very heavy French influence. We were in town during french fest and so everyone was out to have a good time. The sun was out, the temperature though not hot was pleasantly warm (enough) and relaxing on a Saturday afternoon was like a gift from above. Add in the views, (that were stunning) a nice spot in the sunshine under a tree and some time to catch up with an old friend and the day was a real treat.

Running in Christchurch was a treat as there was not a single hill around so it was all flat all the time, but there is no sense in the way that streets are laid out at all, so I easily got lost, several times. Running in the dark, in an unfamiliar city is always an adventure.

Time to head north now, away from the plains, to the peninsula areas towards Kaikoura, Blenheim and Nelson. I have to say as we leave that Christchurch is not yet fully recovered, but it will.  Time, dedication and passion will help rebuild the city. Something a lot of residents have.

Current Location:somewhere between Christchurch & Kaikoura

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Well after a truly long “Day” I am finally down in New Zealand. After waking up in Seattle at 4am on Wednesday, its now 11:30am on Friday and here I am at my destination. The flights down went off without a hitch and I managed to get myself window seats the whole way. Mind you two of my flights (both on Hawaiian) meant that I was way down the back, but hey, that is what we do for a window seat right?

It was great to get the new airline experiences and getting to add some new lines to my map is fantastic as always. Still need to get my head back on the ground, but it is going to be a busy time down here in NZ. Don’t know if I will have time to do everything I want but there is hopefully going to be a bit of downtime where I can do some of the stuff I want to.

Anyway just a shot out to let you all know that I am safe, alive and well down here in the Southern Hemisphere. Try not to miss me to much guys!

Current Location: Chateau on the Park, Christchurch – New Zealand

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Like I said earlier in the week, October is going to be a tough month because I am travelling quite a bit. How much you ask.. well just take a look for yourself:

octobertravel

That is a total of 20,543 miles, and that is just the air legs! It is broken into 2 seperate trips though. On Wednesday I am heading to New Zealand for work and spending time on both Islands. That should get me back into Seattle late evening on the 21st October. Then on the morning of the 26th October I am headed over to Washington DC for the Marine Corp marathon. Although I will be gone only two days it is a long way to fly for a 10k run.

All in all I have a big month of travelling with some pretty cool stats:

2 New Airlines (Hawaiian & US Airways)
2 New Aircraft (Dash 8-300, A321)
4 New Airports (WLG, ROT, PHX, PHL)

Should be a good month for the mileage account hopefully! Where are you off to this month?

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No full trip report on yesterday’s trip down to LAX for Dorkfest but just a brief overview of what was a pretty good day.  I got to go down to LAX last year for Dorkfest and at the time, David joined me.  However this time it was just me on my own.  I didn’t mind, there was plenty of Avgeeks around to chat to etc.  I had picked up the flights super cheap so again like last year it was just a same day turn.  But this year I was going down on Virgin, coming back on Delta.  Not only would I get to try out Delta’s new service on their own metal between LAX and Seattle, I would have a double wammy in that I would be starting my requalification off early.  30 status credits in the bank (which is just under 10% towards requalification) within 2 days of starting again?  Sign me up!

The flight down with Virgin was pretty average.  The onboard crew were not the usual you would expect from Virgin and in fact felt more like flying United.  The whole morning with Virgin America was a shambles.  No recognition of status with Virgin Australia so that meant if I had not of even pushed for it, I would of been stuck in the giant security lines.  The person who checked me in even said and I quote “This line is for those flying First Class only, you shouldn’t be here unless you wanted to upgrade”… ummmm I don’t think so!  The little Gold Card in my hand should be worth something!  The only good thing about SeaTac in the morning is that they seem to have expanded the amount of coffee outlets in the terminal and there is now 2 in the B concourse so it means that the one right out at the end of the pier is empty when the close one fills up.  Perfect!  The funniest thing was my TSA experience which was pretty good considering the usual suspects, but one of the guys working the bag scanner had a good joke about my camera gear telling me I “need more lenses”.  I commented back that I was only going for the day so didn’t want to bring them all.  He joked back “Well you sure as hell brought one that is big enough”.  Ahhh the Bigma… getting comments everywhere!

Dorkfest was great, and it was great catching up with some people, getting some tips and just generally talking shop.  I did manage to score myself the new Boeing Calendar.  No one else seemed to want it and I was going to buy it myself anyway, so figured why the hell not!  Also scored an Etihad A340-600 model… that made me happy.  The days spotting was hit and miss though.  I missed out on the KLM MD-11 because it went North when I went South.  I did catch a couple of One World aircraft and also got the Eva Airlines Star Alliance, so the day was not a total failure.  National Car rental made it a tough morning as the variety on the lot wasn’t that huge, but there was a number of Challengers to choose from.  Though next time I might try the Kia Optima that they had (some of them were Hybrids).  The weather was amazing, the sunburn was avoided.  It was a great day out!

The flight back with Delta was probably one of my highlights for the day.   Security at T5 was pretty empty and the TSA screener even wished me a “pleasant trip Malcolm” which was nice.  The SkyClub staff were great and we had a little discussion about how nice and handy the new Virgin cards are.  At least with Delta being a Virgin Aus gold means something.  T5 is a bit of a mess though, can’t wait for them to hurry up and finish all the work that is going on.  I left the Skyclub a bit early (After snagging Salmon 30 Salmon in REALLY nice light) to get a better seat and was told “take my pick.. its wide open”.  Exit row it is! I was originally slated for a CRJ-900 flight, direct back to SeaTac.  Though for some reason as I stepped onboard it was 3-3 and my brain didn’t even flag it for a good 3 or 4 minutes and then it went…. umm WHAT THE HELL!  We must of been equipment swapped.  The crew had mentioned onboard that tonights load was 33.  That is one EMPTY plane and it made for the best service onboard.  Hand service of snacks and drinks, crew who wanted to do everything to please you cause they had nothing else to do.  I had a full 3 rows of 6 seats to myself.  Two of those rows were exit rows!  Having 18 seats to spread out on is a bit much.

By the end of the day we were early into SeaTac, and I was hopping off my flight and things just timed well. I managed to make the light rail back to the station within seconds of it pulling out and within half an hour of that I was driving into the Apartments driveway.. Can’t beat that for a day in the sun!

Crankyflier Dorkfest 2013

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Yep, I have been slack lately, but there has been good reason. The last two weeks at work have been so full on that I haven’t had much time to do anything else but work, sleep and eat. It has been a rough week as I was averaging 12 hour shifts at work (that’s actually at work, doesn’t add in the travel time or the mile and a half walk home from the Park and Ride) but I got through it. I managed to get myself up to speed and I should be ok this week. I probably won’t be leaving work on time most of the week but at least I won’t be starting work at 730am every day.

I have also been battling some personal demons this past week, trying hard to get through that, while working has been tough and it has meant I could distract myself from those demons and push through it, dealing with them on the weekends is tougher when I have more downtime, so keeping myself busy is a must… but I would rather not talk to much about that. One thing that did keep me happy this week was that on Tuesday I got to head on up to Paine Field and down to Boeing Field to cover the action of the 787-9 First flight. Awesome day and I loved every minute of it.

Getting to see the first flight, take heaps of photos and tweet it all out. Since I had Bernie with me as photographer for the day I could focus on the social media side (though I didn’t miss to many photos) but I also got to focus on getting the story out as well. So while Bernie drove between Paine Field and Boeing Field down I5, I was writing the story on the laptop. Doing 60 😉 down I5 writing on a laptop is a little bit wierd, but hey… it works!

Photos to come!