We're in New Zealand!

Greetings from Auckland, New Zealand. There's a lot of pressure writing the first post of what's sure to be a lengthy blog (Steve keeps reminding me that it has to be funny, and short so people don't lose interest, so here goes...)

We flew out of Atlanta on Wednesday morning (actually ran into a Georgia Tech friend at the airport, so Dr. Gary May gets the award for being the official last person to see us before we left for our trip- sorry Mom(s)!) We sat next to a very nice lady on our Atlanta- Los Angeles flight- she was 80 years old with the face of a 20 year old (plastic surgery is an amazing thing.) The LA- New Zealand flight was remarkably uneventful considering it was 13 hours long. Steve and I both lucked out and got rows of seats to our own, so we were able to fit in some decent sleep.

Now that we're in Auckland, here are some highlights of the last few days:
1) Staying in the first 5-star hotel to open up in Auckland in 7 years (it's a Westin- we're staying on points.) When we rolled up at the check-in desk wearing our hiking boots and backpacks they didn't know what to make of us. This is officially the best accomodation experience we will have on this trip, which has helped us get over the 15 hour time difference (plus we have definitely taken advantage of the free food in the concierge lounge, free internet, etc.) It's basically downhill from here- we move on to hostels, camping, etc. but what a great way to start off!
2) Visiting SkyTower- the tallest free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere- equipped with its own glass floor so you can tell exactly how high off the ground you are. In true New Zealand fashion, you can even pay to jump off the top of the building.... excellent...
3) Ordering a meter-long sausage at a local eatery. Basically a giant hot dog- nothing terribly exotic, but still interesting.
4) Waking up without an alarm before 6AM two days in a row. I don't think I've ever done that in my lifetime. Sure it was actually 3PM EST in Atlanta- but still, I think we deserve some sort of credit for that.

Now that we're basically over jet lag, we will be doing more exciting stuff other than laundry in the hotel bath tub... a few highlights to look forward to in the upcoming week(s):
1) Us renting a campervan to drive across the North Island (they drive on the "wrong" side of the road here, you know) ;-)
2) Me learning to drive a 5-speed
3) Visiting such exciting locations as the Bay of Islands, including the northernmost point of New Zealand, going skiing on several different mountains, and other locations whose names are escaping me right now all in the above-mentioned campervan

I guess the first post wasn't so short, but hopefully funny enough :-)