![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Take me home
17 February 2010 08:48Been back in the States for a couple of days, albeit in SF visiting with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eccentrific and gorgo in the nice 65 degree weather rather than the snowy mess of home. A good way to ease back into things from summer.
My last day in NZ started with some lounging around the hostel to say goodbye to folks, then a 450km drive to Christchurch. Total driving for the trip: 4650 km, which gives me an average self-conducted land speed of about 14kph. Highlight of the drive back was pulling over and watching a pod of dolphins course back and forth in one small inlet. Was great to see them as they are not common in the south isle this time of year.
I did not feel like coming home, but everything seemed to just fit. There is a $25 departure fee to leave New Zealand, which I had forgotten about. I had $26.30 left in my pockets. I had requested an aisle seat, confirmed I had ailse all the way through... and when I boarded the long leg in Auckland, found I had been given a center seat. Ick. Talked to the concierge, and she changed me to a different, and totally empty row. So I had choice of widow or ailse at will. I also had not-quite-enough space to sleep lying down, but better than sitting up.
Of course, when I was transferred from AirNewZealand to their partner United for the leg from LA to SF, they botched the baggage. The delivery of baggage to my hotel (I flew in on the 14th so was letting my hosts have that night to make special) was botched. Eventually I got my stuff tho.
Dreams have been decidedly vibrant, and weird. Last night I had three: one which would have to be locked. The next one, I was fixing up an apartment and seeking five to eight housemates from various ficticious living groups, although the entire cast seemed either suspoid or dslj. So I seemed to cycle between working on the house, making trips for materials - to something far more amazing than Home Despot, and paying visits to my friends at an old white and green Queen Anne style house with a collapsed second-story porch - tho it had fallen straight down, and folks had just re-seat the plastic furniture on the debris; a four or five story yellowish brick thing that may have been a converted hotel - it certainly had part of one floor that was a restaurant. I remember remembering the name on the place (which was in blue letters) for about a minute after I woke - then it slid away.
The third was going to a department store to buy an expansion to a video game. They had two versions, and while I managed to take down the last copy of both basic and deluxe and was pondering which I should get, a stock boy came by and took both of them. The manager was apologetic, but explained that I took too long to decide. When I complained, he gave me a "bonus flyer" of completely useless specials.
The prior night's dreaming ended with one about an apartment in a complex which had to be accessed through a set of three hallways at right angles to eachother. Each with different ceiling heights, and widths, and relative proportions thereof. The walls were a light bluish grey/ It took me close to two hours after waking up to feel like I was properly parsing space.
Neither night has proven restful, dspite being down close to ten hours each time... *grump*
Yesterday we drove to Monterey and spent the day on Cannery Row and in the Aquarium - best one I've been in ever. We got to see sea otter both inside and out in the wild, and a bunch of neat displays. Sadly no sunfish or seaturtles at present - the sunfish keep outgrowing the tank, and then getting refreshed. The turtles had learned to eat the tank tiling, so are off display until the tank gets renovated this summer so they don't have access to toxic snacks... but it was still well worth the trip.
Today we are heading into the city, with hopes of hitting both the academy (science) museum and managing a walk in Muir Woods. Then after dinner I get dropped off at the airport to redeye home.
eccentrific and gorgo in the nice 65 degree weather rather than the snowy mess of home. A good way to ease back into things from summer.My last day in NZ started with some lounging around the hostel to say goodbye to folks, then a 450km drive to Christchurch. Total driving for the trip: 4650 km, which gives me an average self-conducted land speed of about 14kph. Highlight of the drive back was pulling over and watching a pod of dolphins course back and forth in one small inlet. Was great to see them as they are not common in the south isle this time of year.
I did not feel like coming home, but everything seemed to just fit. There is a $25 departure fee to leave New Zealand, which I had forgotten about. I had $26.30 left in my pockets. I had requested an aisle seat, confirmed I had ailse all the way through... and when I boarded the long leg in Auckland, found I had been given a center seat. Ick. Talked to the concierge, and she changed me to a different, and totally empty row. So I had choice of widow or ailse at will. I also had not-quite-enough space to sleep lying down, but better than sitting up.
Of course, when I was transferred from AirNewZealand to their partner United for the leg from LA to SF, they botched the baggage. The delivery of baggage to my hotel (I flew in on the 14th so was letting my hosts have that night to make special) was botched. Eventually I got my stuff tho.
Dreams have been decidedly vibrant, and weird. Last night I had three: one which would have to be locked. The next one, I was fixing up an apartment and seeking five to eight housemates from various ficticious living groups, although the entire cast seemed either suspoid or dslj. So I seemed to cycle between working on the house, making trips for materials - to something far more amazing than Home Despot, and paying visits to my friends at an old white and green Queen Anne style house with a collapsed second-story porch - tho it had fallen straight down, and folks had just re-seat the plastic furniture on the debris; a four or five story yellowish brick thing that may have been a converted hotel - it certainly had part of one floor that was a restaurant. I remember remembering the name on the place (which was in blue letters) for about a minute after I woke - then it slid away.
The third was going to a department store to buy an expansion to a video game. They had two versions, and while I managed to take down the last copy of both basic and deluxe and was pondering which I should get, a stock boy came by and took both of them. The manager was apologetic, but explained that I took too long to decide. When I complained, he gave me a "bonus flyer" of completely useless specials.
The prior night's dreaming ended with one about an apartment in a complex which had to be accessed through a set of three hallways at right angles to eachother. Each with different ceiling heights, and widths, and relative proportions thereof. The walls were a light bluish grey/ It took me close to two hours after waking up to feel like I was properly parsing space.
Neither night has proven restful, dspite being down close to ten hours each time... *grump*
Yesterday we drove to Monterey and spent the day on Cannery Row and in the Aquarium - best one I've been in ever. We got to see sea otter both inside and out in the wild, and a bunch of neat displays. Sadly no sunfish or seaturtles at present - the sunfish keep outgrowing the tank, and then getting refreshed. The turtles had learned to eat the tank tiling, so are off display until the tank gets renovated this summer so they don't have access to toxic snacks... but it was still well worth the trip.
Today we are heading into the city, with hopes of hitting both the academy (science) museum and managing a walk in Muir Woods. Then after dinner I get dropped off at the airport to redeye home.
