And we have lift-off

(After a quick de-ice of about 30 minutes, where they spray this neon green anti freeze all over the plane, looks like ghost busters shit)

I type this from the airplane, en route to LA! We’re homeless, officially. It’s a little nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time. People of the Sahara desert believe that houses are the graves of the living. First bit of “exciting news” is that we’ve already met the folks that we’ll be staying with when we arrive. That was nice to get out of the way. They seem like very nice people and it should work out really well for all of us. ALSO, we are on the same plane as Brian Burke (Leafs GM). I mean he’s not exactly my hero but shit, he’s been on TV! SURPRISE! Julia is already asleep, haha. That certainly didn’t take long. This plane is sweet, it’s got power outlets in the seats in front of us as well as a USB port. That’ll be helpful for sure! I’m about to watch Eagle Eye. More to come.

And The Journey Continues
It’s been a while, and seems longer. Now we’re on the final, short (ain’t no thang) leg of the trip. Three and a half hours from New Zealand to Sydney. Yesterday when we arrived in LA, a guy (Patrick) who is travelling with us (but going to a different school) recognized Tuna’s Jacket (IM Muskoka 70.3) and enquired. Long story short, we killed a ton of time chatting about triathlon and racing and stuff and he seems like a really chill guy. I thought he was like 23-24, but turns out he’s more like 33! Hopefully we can keep in touch ‘cause it’ll be pretty cool to have someone SOMEWHAT nearby to chat tri with. So we killed 5.5 hours in the LA airport. A group of us went for a walk over to another terminal that had more to offer in terms of food options. Jubes and I had sushi and a fruit salad, close to $30! Sheesh.

The LA to Auckland flight was what we were all dreading. Thirteen hours in the air, and we were all already stiff from the previous flight! It turned out to be pretty decent though. I was right on an isle, so perfect for getting up to go to the washroom or just to walk around. Dinner was served and Tunes didn’t get a vegetarian meal because apparently we had to let them know way in advance, because apparently vegetables are a rare commodity these days and takes more time to prepare than a chicken or beef meal. In any event, the meal was half decent and I gave her whatever she wanted off my plate and i ate her chicken. I also had three glasses of red wine. It was free so why the hell not? J This plane was better for entertainment, as there were more choices for movies and games and such. I watched a movie and bits of others and played mini golf before passing out for about 4.5 – 5 hours. Tunes mostly slept, as per usual, though says she is still tired and could easily sleep more! J We also got a breakfast in the morning where I had an omelette and Julia had a fruit platter thing and we also get a muffin, yogurt and juice. I also saw that under television they had sports which included the 2008 Escape from Alcatraz triathlon AND the New York City Marathon! That killed some more time for me!

NOW we sit on this final flight to Sydney. It’s been an unbelievable journey already. We went from seeing snow to no snow to palm trees and beautiful landscape! We’re excited to get there and get to the place we’re staying for the first bit and just be stationary for a few minutes, though we’ve got a ton of stuff to do! Today I’d like to AT LEAST get to the bank and open the account and deposit my bank draft, as well as do a little apartment searching. We met up with the two girls I’ve been in touch with at the New Zealand Airport and they seem pretty cool! I think if we were to live with anyone, it’d probably be these two girls, but we’ll see how it all comes together in the next few days. Priority number one when we arrive will also be to get in contact with our respective parents. Probably send an email or try to connect with Skype.