Back to Reality

We made it home safety. After we left Auckland, we flew to Fiji for our first layover. It was a four-hour flight and it was okay. We did not even try to sleep. We figured we would get ourselves as tired as possible for the longer flight home. In Fiji, it was really hot and humid again. I had pants on and was miserable but knew that I was going to colder weather.

Then be boarded our flight to Los Angles. That flight was 11 hours long. It was a very long flight! We had dinner on the plane then tried to sleep. The plane was basically full and there was someone next to the window in our row so we had little room. We took our sleeping pills and hoped for the best. I could not get comfortable. Sleeping sitting up is basically impossible. The plane was hot and there were no air vents for us to adjust. It was bad. I maybe slept and hour or two on and off. Brian was about the same. I would keep looking at my watch. Time seemed to stand still. I just wanted to be home at that point.

When we finally arrived to LA we had to go through customs. It was fairly easy. Since we bought food in New Zealand for the plane and layovers, we had to declare it. None of the food was fresh, so it was okay to bring into the country. We got our luggage. (The garment bag was very difficult to carry since it no longer had a handle). We had to switch terminals but we found a luggage cart which made things a little easier to mange.

When we got to the Continental ticket counter, we asked for an earlier flight but none were available. So we tried to check our luggage and found out you can only check bags four hours prior to a flight. We were there at 2:30pm and our flight was at 11:30pm. We did not know exactly what to do but were definitely tired at this point. I thought a hotel room sounded really nice.

We called different hotels from the hotel on the courtesy phone and found a Days Inn for $50. We explained our situation; only wanted a room for a few hours. They had a shuttle bus to pick us up from the airport to the hotel. The room was adequate and served its purpose for sleeping. After a four-hour nap, we got up and showered. It was nice to have our luggage for that. Then went next door to Arby’s for dinner.

Our hotel provided a shuttle back to the airport but we needed to let them know in advance. We told them when we checked in and right after dinner that we wanted shuttle at 8:30pm. The hotel was not in the best area of town since the hotel reception office was locked even during the day. They needed to let you in. The shuttle bus was not there when we were hoping to leave so we had to wait a while. Actually we waited 30 minutes. I was a little nervous and just wanted to get to the airport without being robbed. Finally the shuttle bus came.

Our flight to Cleveland was delayed. Our plane was arriving from New York and it was late. Overall we were a little over an hour late. While on that flight, we were not tired at all since we had just had a nap. So Brian worked on the computer and I watched the movie, “Nights in Rodanthe”. It was a good movie but the book was better. It was funny to look at our computer clock and it said 3am at home and we were wide-awake. We knew we were in trouble with the time change.

In Cleveland, we were for a shock. There was snow on the ground and it was cold. Actually it was only 6 degrees. What happened to summer?

Mom met us by running up to us ready for hugs. I think she may have missed us. We got our luggage. It was nice to have Mom and Dad there because they helped with the luggage. We were happy that all of our luggage made it including the garment bag. That bag really did not have place for luggage tags since the handles had been torn off.

We were so lucky with this trip. We really did not have any travel problems like flight delays or lost of luggage. We did not loose anything. (My biggest fear while traveling is the lost of credit cards or our passports. I am very careful with those things but still one never knows). The weather was perfect throughout the trip. I don’t know how we got so lucky with everything but we were truly blessed.


When we got home, we quickly got into reality. There was a lot of snow and the weather was COLD! There was snow everywhere. When we got home I unpacked and Brian went through all the mail. Then we ran to the grocery stores. After we got home from our errands, we were really tired. We took a nap for a few hours so we could stay up for the Cavs vs Lakers game. We watched the game last night and were disappointed that they lost.

Our sleep schedules are really messed up right now. We are trying to get back into our regular routines but it is difficult. (The Cavs game did not help with our sleep schedules). Even at work today, I felt funny and really could have used a nap. I am hoping to go to bed early tonight for the first full night of sleep since Friday night.