what happened to December 26th??

Well hello all! Cheers from Auckland New Zealand's north shore! After about a year of planning this little excursion of mine, it finally became a reality. I left my house in New York at 6 am on Christmas morning and drove to Syracuse international airport where I caught a quick flight to JFK in NYC. I left JFK around 3:45PM and arrived in the crazy Los Angeles airport at around 7pm California time. That leg of the journey was about 5 hours long. It was tough to sit that long and it was not a comfortable plane. I was very nervous for the 13 Hour flight that awaited me to cross the pacific. Leaving LA in a double decker 747 was pretty interesting. Air New Zealand was amazing though! comfortable seats, a full dinner, and entertainment galore to choose from. It was a really great flight overall. Slept maybe 4 hours. But still couldn't believe how long of a flight it was. But then I stopped complaining when i realized only a 100 years ago I would have had to take a cargo ship for like 3 months or something rediculous like that to get to NZ. Waking up to breakfast on the plane with an omelet and fresh fruit was very nice and then we saw the sun rise on the 27th of December. SO this means I did not really have a dec. 26th this year. With all the international dateline stuff, I skipped the 26th altogether, strange huh? Anyway, so we fly into Auckland, from the like few things i could even see out the planes window (i had an aisle seat) as we descended I was already impressed with NZ. Frankly, there wasnt any snow and I could see beaches and rolling hills and I was happy. haha. So glad to get off the plane and stretch my legs a bit, though I really was quite exhausted overall. basically it took a full 24 hours from the time i left home till when i arrived in Auckland. Went through and got my bags, got grilled by customs and a drug sniffing beagle (made me laugh for some reason) and then hoped my contact would pick me up! For all of you who know Dolgeville, I was picked up by a New Zealander who was once good friends with Coach Seeleys wife Wendy Paatz. Thanks to her i got his contact information and i have spent my first day in NZ with him, his wife and 2 young daughters. Stepping out into the parking lot at the airport in Aukland was amazing. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze and i was already sweating wearing pants, shoes and a sweater at 730am! Went to get into the car after i packed my massive luggage into Shane's car and I went to get into the passenger seat and realized that Kiwi's drive on the other side of the car and road. It was a holiday today so the roads were near dead. It was a bit eerie, since Auckland is a city of 1.4 million people. Cars are a bit different in some regard, more european, or just different names than their American counterparts. Most cars look pretty nice though, because they do not have issues with rusting as we do in the dreadful northeast. haha. Settled in a bit at Shanes, got a much needed shower and then headed to Church with him and his family, as I was not prepared to wander Auckland just yet, and I was a bit of a stranger at that point to just stay at the house. Though i much would have liked to sleep, I was adamently told to fight off the urge to sleep and wait until it was actually night time here, As to acclimate to the 17 hour time difference from home! Grabbed some lunch back at Shanes house, then planned to head to the beach for a couple of hours. We ended up about half an hour from his house at an amazing beach called Shakespear Beach or point or somthing like that. The ocean was awesome, and the color of the water was something almost out of the caribbean! That blue lagoon with palms and interesting other trees i dont know their names of yet. Then some really coll rock formations along the cove. I WAS pretty pale, and the NZ sun is very strong, yet it wasnt super hot out, maybe 70 degrees, but the sun felt so nice. Was warned several times about getting burned so I opted for the sunscreen. Took some pictures for a bit, saw my first set of the famous NZ sheep and took a dip in the almost sparkling blue waters. Grabbed a traditional Kiwi dinner of fish and chips and tackled the grease. haha. i am excited to try all the new foods and such. Anyway. I have rambled on, avoiding going to sleep just yet. Its 715pm, and sun is still shining bright, since were on daylight savings time here, it wont set till 9 or a little later even. Im thoroughly tired though, and i may not make it that long! Im having a little difficulty with my camera USB cord right now, figures right!, SOOO i do have some first day pics to show, but i will have to add them later because of technical difficulties. Im going to roam around Auckland a bit tomorrow, get a cell phone and take in the sights, then probably try to hang out with Jess Dorman, Hartwicks very own Auckland native on Tuesday. Wednesday i will try to catch the Magic Tour Bus and begin my official NZ journey. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and heres to an amazing 2010! I will do my best to keep this blog updated, but it may be difficult from the road. Though its kind of a good way to remember this trip, because most of the time my memory is pretty pathetic. ok. I'm done.