Goodbye, Auckland. :(

Why is it that the last day of vacation is the one that makes you wish you were staying much longer? The weather today (yes, today, since yesterday was technically Saturday in Auckland, even though today is Saturday in the states... confused yet? yay, time travel!) was absolutely perfect: warm, sunny, and only a few clouds in the sky. My sleep was interrupted around 5 am by some very rowdy youngsters, no doubt making their way back from a night of drunken debauchery at a local bar. Still, I got up early and did a very slow, lazy 5K, then went out to enjoy the last day in Auckland with Dave.

We started out with pastries at this little shop down the street from the Heritage called Ronnie's. I insisted on going there because it smelled like Magee's in Lexington - yeast bread doughnut yumminess. I smartly chose a chocolate pastry that was simply delicious. Dave went for some sort of pastry with icing and raisins - not nearly as good. :) Coffees and pastries in hand, we proceeded to the ferry loading docks and hopped on board for a short cruise around the harbor. It was amazing! We saw pretty sailboats, water, islands, sailboats and big yachts. It was the perfect day for a harbor cruise, since the weather was so nice. We only wish we'd discovered Rangitoto Island earlier, so that we could've picnicked and kayaked out there. Oh well - guess we'll have to come back!








One cool thing we saw was the bungee platform/cable car under the harbor. Too bad we didn't know about this earlier, too; I bet Dave would've tried to jump off the bridge just to complete his adventurous tour of Auckland! He did enjoy bragging about jumping off the SkyTour to a couple elderly women from Arizona and Canada. It was cute.





After another brief snafu with the luggage (thanks, Mike, for packing up ALL our stuff unexpectedly!), we were on our way to the airport.

Sad face here. :(

We are in the San Francisco airport, waiting on our flight back to Atlanta. We should be home by 10:30 pm, if all goes well. The flight back over here wasn't quite as comfortable or easy, as we were on a smaller plane that was full, but it definitely could've been a lot worse. We are ready to get back to our lives and little Chloe Cat, but not ready to leave this beautiful paradise. I love Auckland. The people were super friendly, the food was absolutely delicious, the location is picturesque. Incase something goes wrong with our current career plans, we now have a "Plan B": move to Auckland. People there bike to work, run on the paths along the harbor, and they say things like "no worries" and "brilliant" with a very cute Auckland accent. It seems like a very livable city. I'd visit again anytime.

Many thanks to Mike and Elaine for tolerating the craziness that is Team Dawmilam for 6 days straight! We had a blast spending time with you, and are lucky to have been able to spend so much time with you. Can't wait for our next adventure together. :)

I feel so, so blessed to have been able to visit this wonderful part of the world. I know just how lucky I am to have that little "New Zealand" stamp in my passport, and am bringing back many happy memories and the hope that I get to come back someday to experience it all over again. I never in a million years would have thought I'd have the chance to visit Auckland, but feel incredibly lucky to have done so. I hope all of you who are reading this also have the chance to someday visit this very special place.

Subsequently, I've caught the travel bug, and am ready to see the rest of the world. I'm already planning my next trip(s)… :) Who's with me, and where are we going?

I've enjoyed blogging about our adventures so much, that I think I'll keep up this blog to share stories about our everyday life. Not that our everyday life is so adventurous, mind you; it's just fun to write these things down so we always remember how much fun we had on vacations, little trips, and other stops on our happily-ever-after journey. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!