Day ??? - The Lost Day

So, in a previous post, I related how we'd left Walla Walla at 5:00 a.m. Thursday, November 30. 

We arrived Seattle 5:50 a.m., again on Thursday, November 30.

We departed for Honolulu and arrived at 1:30 p.m., again on Thursday, November 30.  Then we boarded our flight to Auckland and arrived Aucklamd

At 11:30 p.m. Friday, December 1.  In a short half hour (by the time we'd cleared Passport Control and candy bar inspection) it would be Saturday, December 2.  

Now, I'd heard all about the International Date Line.  But I'd never experienced it.  Conceptually, it makes sense, but to experience its effects is a new experience for me.

In his book "In a Sunburned Country" (which I happen to be reading in anticipation of making landfall in Australia) Bill Bryson said it much better than I ever could, so herewith, the pertinent passage from Bryson's book, which I highly recommend:

 I hope you enjoy the passage as much as I did:

 "Each time you fly from North America to Australia, and without anyone asking how you feel about it, a day is taken away from" from you when you cross the international date line. I left Los Angeles on January 3 and arrived in Sydney fourteen hours later on January 5. For me there was no January 4. None at all. Where it went exactly I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that for one twenty-four-hour period in the history of earth, it appears I had no being.

 I find that a little uncanny, to say the least. I mean to say, if you were browsing through your ticket folder and you saw a notice that said, “Passengers are advised that on some crossings twenty-four-hour loss of existence may occur” (which is, of course, how they would phrase it, as if it happened from time to time), you would probably get up and make inquiries, grab a sleeve, and say, “Excuse me.” There is, it must be said, a certain metaphysical comfort in knowing that you can cease to have material form and it doesn’t hurt at all, and, to be fair, they do give you the day back on the return journey when you cross the date line in the opposite direction and thereby manage somehow to arrive in Los Angeles before you left Sydney, which in its way, of course, is an even neater trick.

 Now, I vaguely understand the principles involved here. I can see that there has to be a notional line where one day ends and the next begins, and that when you cross that line temporal oddities will necessarily follow. But that still doesn’t get away from the fact that on any trip between America and Australia you will experience something that would be, in any other circumstance, the starkest impossibility. However hard you train or concentrate or watch your diet, no matter how many steps you take on the StairMaster, you are never going to get so fit that you can cease to occupy space for twenty-four hours or be able to arrive in one room before you left the last one." So there you have it.

And now, as I post this, it is Monday, December 4, here in Auckland, New Zealand on a stunningly beautiful and bright summer day.

Day 2 - Arrival in Auckland

So, we arrived in Auckland around 11:30 pm on Friday (it was still Thursday back home), about an hour late.  We had to sit on the plane while the local folks came aboard with some innocuous smelling mister devices and they proceeded to spray all the bags in the overhead bins.   It seems the New Zealand government takes biosecurity very seriously.  They have strict limits on bringing food and certain other products (wood products for example) into the country.  Eric, our pilot seatmate on the SEA-HNL leg told about a crew member for his airline who had four hard boiled eggs with him.  He was fined $50 for each egg.  Another $400 and he could have brought along an even dozen.  We heard a story from our Uber driver about a soccer or rugby team that came through with muddy shoes.  The team was fined $4,000.

Here's the complete list, just in case you were thinking about coming here with honey or bee products (honey is a big item for them), straw, tulip bulbs, potting soil, tree bark, scallops, whatever.

• Any food – cooked, uncooked, fresh, preserved, packaged or dried.
• Animals or animal products – including meat, dairy products, fish, honey, bee products, eggs, feathers, shells, raw wool, skins, bones or insects.
• Plants or plant products – fruit, flowers, seeds, bulbs, wood, bark, leaves, nuts, vegetables, parts of plants, fungi, cane, bamboo or straw, including for religious offerings or medicinal use.
• Other biosecurity risk items, including – animal medicines, biological cultures, organisms, soil or water.
• Equipment used with animals, plants or water, including for gardening, beekeeping, fishing, water sport or diving activities.
• Items that have been used for outdoor or farming activities, including any footwear, tents, camping, hunting, hiking, golf or sports equipment.

 Here's the NZ website that talks about this, in case anyone is thinking about visiting:

Arriving in New Zealand

 While still on the plane, we were subjected to this video:

At any rate, clearing customs was easy peasy.  The system is all automated.  You go to a station, insert your passport for it to read the RFID chip.  Once it decides you are who you say you are, a gate opens, you go in and wait for the system to clear you.  Another gate opens and you are allowed in.

Next, we fetched our bags off the baggage carousel, marveling all the while that they'd made it here, with us, all the way from Walla Walla.  Now we were on for biosecurity screening.  We'd filled out declaration cards on the plane stating our intentions and identifying those items we were told by the beagle in the video to declare.  We queued up and finally got to the person who inspected the cards.

"What kind of food items do you have," she asked?

"Um, some granola bars, and some Blue Diamond Smoked almonds,"  I said.

Barb had already discarded her beef jerkey because "meat items" are prohibito.

The presence of nuts created further inquiry.

"Are they packaged?"

"No, in a ziplock bag.  Here, see?"

"Almonds, correct?"

Yes, smoked almonds."

"Almonds are ok.  Peanuts not ok."

She then directed us to another station for further screening.  It seems I'd checked the box that I might be carrying prohibited items, which include wood products, feathers, fish, amphibians and such, oh and medication.  I had with me blood pressure medicine and a couple other prescriptions.  So to the next station we went.

A note here - as I type this, I realize I could have been in deep New Zealand biosecurty trouble, inasmuch as I had with me a Payday candy bar.  What is a Payday, you ask?  Caramel and the dreaded, prohibited peanuts.  Oops.  I hadn't declared the candy.  I'll never know whether I'd have been hit with a $400 NZD fine or not for having an undeclared prohibited item in my luggage.  The question will torment my sleep for weeks.

So it turned out the secondary screening was due to me checking the box on prohibited items, the aforesaid medications.

"You checked the box for prohibited items.  What do you have?"

"Ah, medication.  Blood pressure medication, Prilosec so I don't stay awake all night with gastric reflux."

"Oh, no problem.  You were sent here because you checked the box," suggesting I hadn't needed to.

"Go over there," she said, pointing to another queue.

So at the next station, they were in the process of examining about 6 plastic tubs of crackers that some Maoris had brought in.  At another table a lady armed with a utility knife sliced open a box that contained what appeared to be handbags.  The guy finished with his cracker inspection, looked at our cards and directed us to the x-ray machine.  They x-rayed the luggage, no doubt looking for jars of Planters Peanuts, handguns, ribeye steaks and other such prohibited items.  There were no hits, as I had left the ribeyes and handguns at home.  We were home free and out out of the clutches of the biosecurity officers! 

Welcome to Auckland:

We  emerged from the terminal, I pulled out my cell phone, pulled up up the Uber app, and 10 minutes later we were in a Honda Insight (there are a lot of hybrid cars here, probably because gas costs about $2.10 per Liter) headed for Club Kakapo, our Airbnb first night's lodging.

Day 1 - Travel Day - Flying Away to the Land Down Under

Wednesday evening found me frantically attempting to get everything ready for a trip that would be over three weeks duration.  Empty the trash, toss out food from the refrigerator that would otherwise resemble a science project upon my return, those sorts of things. Oh, and finishing the packing that I had started a day earlier.  I had decided that since a 2 week cruise is involved, I may as well bring a bigger suitcase, so opted for a 25" bag and my new eBags 21" carry on.  They would ensure me taking many more clothes than I would wear on the trip, but that's another story.  I always overpack.

I was finally able to get to bed around 11:30 pm, with alarm set for 2:30 am.  Yawn.  Up at 2:30 and finished packing those most essential items for travel - chargers for the various electronic devices that I drag along with me: travel adapter for New Zealand and Australia,  computer, watch, cell phone, iPad.  Finally by 3:30 am I was ready.  I turned the after to the house off at at the main shutoff  and typed a note for Erika, who will be home from WSU on Dec. 16, set the light timers and schlepped my bags out to the curb.

My travel companion, Barbara, and her cousin Rob arrived at 3:50 am and we were off for the 8 minuted drive to the airport.  Check in and TSA were a breeze, as is usually the case in Walla Walla, and the plane took off on time.  Rob's flight back to Detroit left before ours so Barbara went to his gate that see him off and I headed for the South Terminal and Hawaiian Airlines. After the gate agent showed up and finished setting up his adjustable people barriers that funnel people to and from the gate, I got our seats rearranged so we were sitting together. We had reserved separately and were on separate records and, hence, separated seat assignments.

The flight boarded on time and was more or less on time taking off for the flight to Honolulu. We were seated in the center seats (row of four) between the two aisles on the Airbus A330, sitting next to a couple returning from Seattle to Honolulu.  Eric and Cathy had been staying at their condo in Edmonds, visiting grandkids and were returning to their home to  their home in Kaneohe.  He is a pilot t for Hawaiian and travels extensively to the Far East.  We had a great time talking with them and they gave us many tips for things to do in Auckland and surrounding areas.  They also told us about "narrow boats," narrow barges you can rent in England to travel the canals there.

All about narrow boats

What they look like: 

 I am going to have to try a vacation that involves narrow boats in the future. 

We were late getting into Honolulu, with about 45 minutes to make out connecting flight to Auckland.  Getting off the plane, the 80 degree temperatures were a pleasant change from what we'd left behind in Walla Walla. By the time we made it to Gate 26 as final boarding was underway.  It seemed they had a computer problem and things were all messed up.  Passports had to be rechecked, which seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. Finally, we were among the last to board another Airbus A330 for the 9 hour flight to Auckland. Out seats, in row 46 were the next to the last row in the plane on the starboard side.

After the stress of getting to the gate, and the problems caused by the computer being down, we sat, and sat and sat for what turned out to be an hour delay departing.  The plane had to refuel for the 7063 kilometer flight to Auckland.  I took the time to send a message to Jenny, our Airbnb host in Auckland that we would likely arrive after midnight.  Finally the plane took off and we were off to the Land Down Under.

The flight was uneventful, but long.  I have a hard time sleeping sitting up, and having slept only 3 hours earlier in the day desperately needed sleep.  After the initial drink run and a meal of rice, teriyaki chicken and a wilted broccoli spear, we settled in to try to sleep.  What was curious about this flight was after the meal service, despite it being broad daylight everyone, and I mean everyone on the plane, lowered their window shades and proceeded to sit in the dark, either sleeping or reading.  It was very curious.  Believe me, nine hours flight time coped up with 300 other souls in a tin can is not a great way to spend the day, but it beats what Captain Cook had to endure to get to New Zealand for his first visit.

Tracking the flight, somewhere approaching Pago Pago -

We were entertained by a woman two rows up who decided to do Yoga in her seat -

We arrived in Auckland a tad more than 9 hours after departing, whereupon we had to sit on the plane while people came through and sprayed some sort of spray over all the luggage in the overhead bins.  The Kiwis are rabid about not importing nasty bugs and toxins and they have strict procedures to deal with that.  More on that in the next post.

 Welcome to Auckland -

Suffice to say, we were finally allowed to take our leave of the plane and proceeded to Passport Control, which is automated and was a breeze.  Clearing the agricultural inspection was another matter.  Again, more in the next post.  Finally, we were able to get out to the transport area, called up an Uber car and made our way to our AirBnb, Club Kakapo, in the Papatoetoe district of Auckland, arriving somewhere around 12:30 pm local time Friday (3:30 am Friday back home).   Finally, sleep in a comfortable bed, with a jasmine vine right outside the open window.

Going to the Land Down Under

Credit: Saltydoginvestor.com

Well, on November 8, or maybe it was the 7th?  A friend called me around 10:00 pm and after I woke up, said, "what do you think about a cruise in New Zealand?" In my half asleep state, I said, "that sounds like it'd be fun."  Turns out, she'd been talking with her daughter who lives in Wellington, NZ, and had been keeping her eye out for cruises.  As it happened, there was a Holland America two-week cruise departing from Auckland on December 7, for the crazy price of $1,099.  And that's an ocean view cabin, not one down in the bilges. And, as it happened, there was crazy cheap airfare from Walla Walla to Auckland, via Seattle and Honolulu, for $635. My partner Tom Scribner said he'd paid more than that flying to Des Moines for a deposition.

After several ticketing shuffles we ended up with one way fares to Auckland, departing on Nov. 30, leaving on the MS Noordam from Auckland on December 7.  The cruise stops at various Ports along the east coast of the North and South Islands, then heads out to sea to Hobart, Tasmania, then to Melbourne, Eden, and finally arriving in Sydney on December 21.

 The ship - the MS Noorddam

 As it happens, my brother Hugh and his family moved there in August.  We will stay with them and also see brother James and Arie and also Hugh and James' mother Helen. We will fly home on Quantas on Christmas Eve.

Seven days to go!!!

So, let the adventure begin! 

Infringement?

Hey!  I was here first.  This restaurant is infringing.

Palouse Caboose in Palouse, WA

Motorcycles

A friend once said motorcycles are like shoes. You wouldn't wear a pair of Nike Cross Trainers to a ballroom dance, nor would you wear Cole Hahn wing tips on a 10k run. Motorcycles are the same.  There are Cruisers, Dual Sport bikes, Bobbers, Dirt Bikes, Trials Bikes, Motocross Bikes, Touring Bikes, and yet more.  Each with its own function and purpose.  So what are, or were, my motorcycles?   There have been a few.  Let's start with what I own at the moment.  Listed in order of when acquired.  By the way, I'm not in the habit of naming my bikes, though I've named a few. Suggestions welcome.

2011 BMW R1200RT

One day in 2015 I happened to wander into Tom's Cycle in Walla Walla.  There on the floor was a beautiful 2011 BMW R1200RT.  Corey offered to trade me straight across for the 2010 black Harley Ultra Classic I was riding (that I had never clicked with).  After a few weeks and some negotiating, I did the deal.  It wasn't quite straight across, as the Harley needed a new tire, but in the end, I was free of the Ultra and the BMW was mine.  That summer, I rode it to Sturgis.  It was probably one of 6 BMWs there among a sea of Harleys.  What a great ride that was.  It's now my favorite motorcycle.  Had the seat redone by Seth Laam last year and added some Denali LED running lights.  What a great motorcycle.

At Kelsey's in Spokane, headed to the BeeCee Beemer's

Hot Springs Rally, Nakusp, BC, August 2016. 

On the way to the Grand Tetons, WY,

August, 2015

2012 Victory Cross Country Tour

I've been hanging out with Victory enthusiasts since 2007, since I became acquainted with David Beede and started going to the Starkey campouts. I bought my first Vic, a 2008 Vision, in 2011.  I bought the 2012 XC in March, 2016 from a guy in Canby, OR. Found on Craigslist.  The seller was a small dealer who is retired and buys and sells bikes, snowmobiles and maybe quads for fun. His shop was so clean you could eat off the floor.  When I test rode the bike, Kim and the guy chatted about drag racing, a common interest. Although it's a Cross Country Tour, the seller cannibalized the bike.  The trunk had been removed and sold.  I later found out that the HID headlight had been removed and replaced with a standard H7 bulb.  Oh well, with what I paid, it was still a good deal.

Canby, the Day of Purchase

Mt. Idaho Grade, outside Grangeville, ID

2007 Kawasaki KLR - 1st Gen.

One day in September, 2016, I stopped by Thunder Alley, the Tri-Cities Victory-Indian-Slingshot dealer.  As it happened, they had a 2007 Kawasaki KLR on the floor for a good price.  It had a lot of aftermarket farkles - skid plate, enhanced suspension, fork brace, etc.  I'd been looking for a dual sport for a while and this one fit the bill at a mere $2,500.  Sold!!!  I added a DeWalt topbox and Komy 1600 Lumen LED driving lights.  Took her to Moab in May, 2017, with Ed Bloom and Dave Denham, where we rode some pretty gnarly slickrock roads.

Costa Rica Sunsets

I've been away from this Blog for, what?  Four years?  Probably been riding my motorcycle(s). Time to reactivate.  First things first though. I'll start off with a video of Costa Rica sunsets from the 2012-2013 trip. All photos from Malpais.  A beach I can't recall the name of and shots from the deck of Nido de Aguila.  Enjoy.