Tuesday March 28, 2023 - Christchurch to Bisbee

 

We set the alarm for 3 am so we had plenty of time to shower and pack and meet the taxi at 3:45. Our flight was at 6 am so we wanted to get there a couple of hours early. The rule is if you leave only an hour before your flight there is a 2 hour line when you walk into check in. And if you leave 2 hours before your flight, then there is no line. Another of life's lose-lose deals.

So we were both awake by 2 am in case the alarm did not work (it did). So we had a leisurely morning before the taxi got there. The nice hotel clerk set up the taxi for us last night and got an exact price ($16.50 NZD if we paid cash and an extra $2 if we used a card). Tips aren't expected here and bills usually round to the nearest dollar, so it's all very simple.

The taxi was a foot from our door sharply at 3:43 and we were at the airport by 3:57. The driver had a very thick Kiwi accent and was a wonderful guy (of course).

Like I said, there was almost no line at check-in and that went very smoothly. We went through 3 security stations today and we each had all kinds of extra inspections today so we felt really special. Deb got a random bomb check early on, wiping the inside of her backpack and ran it through a bomb-o-matic detector thingie. Then I had a comedy of errors where the first time through I forgot a USB cable in my pocket and had to start over, Then it picked up my shoes, so I had to start over, then it picked up my fake hip and I got pulled over and felt up. I also have some stainless parts which may have added to the problem. Then through again after having to wait for the machine to re-calibrate. I think the people behind me were convinced I really was a terrorist.

Next extra inspection was at the gate where a woman pulled me off to the side of the gate and used some space laser sticky fly paper gadget (SLSFPG) (I think that is not the technical name for it) to run over my hands, all around my pant cuffs and inside my shoes. The fly paper goes into a different bomb-o-matic and came up with a warning bell and a flashing orange light, which caught all my fellow passengers attention. Then she and two other women had to confer and once again they ran the SLSFPG (with fresh fly paper in it) and did an extra super duper job of rubbing me all over and removing my shoes and rubbing them all over and bending my shoe soles over and over to be sure I did not have and plutonium in them. There was a communal sigh of relief from my fellow passengers when the bomb-o-matic ingested the fly paper, cogitated a bit and let out a happy beep and a blinking green light. No idea what that was all about.

The last security stop was amazing (and creepy) since we have Global Entry cards. You basically just stand in front of a little machine which takes your picture and checks its database to see if it recognizes you, and then you pass. Wow, right out of a Mission Impossible movie.

Deb set up the transfers to leave plenty of time so we did not have any tight connections today. First flight was Christchurch to Sydney (3 hours) and no sleep. Second flight was from Sydney to Los Angeles (14 hours) and dozens of good movies to watch and an hour or two of sleep. Third flight was from Los Angeles to Phoenix (1 hour) and Milo slept the entire way.

We picked up our bags in Phoenix and called the shuttle service and Frank showed up 30 minutes later in the shuttle bus and took us right to the car. The car still ran after sitting for a month so off for a gigantic cup of coffee and head home to Bisbee (3.5 hours). We stopped at a Subway and split a foot long, then back on the road. We were both pretty wasted and stopped for gas and groceries (that left over quiche in the fridge is probably moldy by now) probably looking like zombies. We got home by 5:30 pm, unlocked everything and turned everything back on, unpacked everything and washed and put everything away, made a couple of calls, had soup and a grilled cheese and collapsed.

It was a fabulous 1 month tour of the south island of New Zealand and it will be nice to wake up in our own bed tomorrow.