Day 14 – 9/16/17 – A Free Day in Auckland, and Running Through SFO

Having walked a great deal of the city a few days prior, I awoke early on the 15th not entirely excited for what was to come. Jon and I had looked a trips out to Hobbiton, or essentially just out of the city, but nothing eye-catching was price-appropriate for us, so the decision was made to have more of a loose, exploratory feel to our day. We’d already been to one nearby cafe for breakfast a few days earlier… it was time to hike the town a bit more, and see what we could find! Jen was very interested in heading to Auckland Domain, a park in Auckland that was only about a fifteen minute walk from our hotel. Realistically it was a few blocks away, but we had to avoid some highways and major intersections and this added some time to the journey. After following up one hill, and halfway down another I questioned our direction, suggesting we should turn around. I determined (correctly) that we were headed in the wrong direction and away from the park.

 

We debated this, standing halfway down a long slope near Albert Park, before agreeing to continue downhill to find the closest coffee shop. I had been the one suggesting that we turn around now, and avoid unnecessarily going uphill again later by going further downhill now… but at the end of the day I’m glad we got a little lost because it led us to Scarecrow for breakfast. I just looked through my pictures because I swore I had taken some pictures of this place, the food and products it sold (it’s sorta like a small, locally-sourced grocery store along each wall), and the seating and decor but apparently that is not the case. You’ll just have to settle for a picture of my breakfast, which was sort of like French Toast if it came with a nut brittle, small fruits that have been flavored delicately with a mixture of sweet and tart, and custard flavored with cardamom and vanilla.

 

It looks somewhat a mess, but the flavor balance was perfect and all of the different pieces worked extremely well together, as well as separately. I’ll admit I’d finally found a reason to stop in Auckland. Prior to this meal… I’d wondered if I would come back to the city here given having been. The city itself is somewhat drab… was there anything worth doing twice? This meal, right here, is worth doing twice… it may not be worth the plane ride given how long it is… but if anyone ever tells me “You’re going to Auckland”, I know now that I will not be disappointed! We ate well, and as we enjoyed our meals the rain started outside. It would rain off and on all day from that point forward. Sometimes, the skies were clear and the sun was  shining, but at a moment’s notice the weather would change from this to solid sheets of rain pummeling anything without cover. We were glad to be indoors, even taking an extra round of coffee all around, and watched the weather outside in hopes it would clear up.  Throughout the day, it would keep raining, though as we headed for our next destination we did stay dry!

 

Our next destination would end up being just down the street at the Auckland Art Gallery. The architecture was what drew us to it, but the art inside was something to see too. For the most part as well, it was free! There was one exhibit from the Renaissance that required payment, but we elected to skip that and walked around the museum for an hour or so just looking around.

 

 

 

After getting our modern art fill, we then headed toward Auckland Domain. In the middle, we’d find the Auckland War Memorial Museum. From our current spot, having traveled the wrong way, this was a bit of a walk. I was okay with it at the time, but looking back it probably wasn’t the most fun I’ve had on the trip. We walked back nearly to our hotel before breaking out under the busier roads of Auckland and then reached Auckland Domain without issue. Once inside the park, however, the gradual slope upward would continue the entire way to the museum… and it started out pretty steep! Even with all the walking we’ve done this trip, I’m not quite in shape for that kind of sustained hill-climb, and by the time we got to the top I’d had to stop a time or two and was feeling rather sweaty and not-presentable to head into a museum right away. At that point, though, a stroke of odd luck hit us, and as we crested the hill just before the museum we came across soldiers in formation marching up the street. There were probably about one-hundred of them!

 

 

 

 

Jen and Jon took off to follow along as the soldiers marched, and since they were taking a more circuitous route to the museum I left them to it, and headed straight to the museum. I’d meet them there, and it would give me some time to hopefully catch my breath a little. By the time the soldiers got to the museum, we had some time to wait while they broke into smaller sections and stood facing the museum. Later in the day, we’d come to understand, the mayor was going to be nearly exactly where we were standing and the ceremony would take place. I’d learn later it was the National Commemoration of Post-War Malaya/Malaysia Operations, which concluded exactly 69 years ago as of September 16th (You can read more here if you would like). We watched this take place for a while, and then headed inside the museum. Once inside, however, my travel companions were a bit shocked by the $25 entry price for the museum. I could have sworn I mentioned this the night before when we were planning the day, but either way Jen and her brother were content to keep walking around the city. We agreed on a coffee shop (I’m sure I was getting grumpy from all the uphill walks, but luckily everything from this point was downhill!), and headed back into town along a street called Parnell, which led right back to our hotel if we decided to. It was also full of lots of small shops, cafes, and restaurants. We stopped for coffee and a drink, and afterward I decided to head back to the hotel. I was so far behind on this blog I felt like I needed to catch up, and I was also somewhat out of whimsy with Auckland. I’d walked enough, I’d seen most of the town, and to me it was just another big city. Looking back, this may have been a culmination of things and also somewhat just the speed of this trip, and it’s something I’m keeping in mind going forward, but I was ready for some down time and it was afternoon at this point. I grabbed a few pictures on the way back, and then got back to the hotel and wrote for a while.

 

I’d meet up with my travel partners again at the bar where I enjoyed a few drinks while we hung around for a bit debating what to do with our last night in Auckland. We’d all eaten something here and there, nibbled or had drinks, and nobody was really hungry. Finally Jen decided for us that we would head out again and we were all glad for it. Spending our last night on vacation bored in the hotel would have been a bad way to finish the trip, and she picked a great place for us… another chocolate shop! I bought a hazelnut delicacy that ended up tasting exactly like a very large Ferrero Rocher candy, as well as two “gold bars” which contained whiskey. I’d learn that the whiskey inside was extremely peaty… they weren’t my favorite thing ever but the hazelnut thing was amazing, and it was a great way to finish off our trip.

 

 

We got back to the hotel, packed our bags, and got ready for the next morning. After an early flight from Auckland to Sydney we would be on our way to San Francisco. I had a brief layover in San Franciso and would leave around 7:00 PM. This would leave Jen and I some time. We’d head back, relax and get showers. I had to re-pack my Las Vegas bag, get everything organized, and head back home after nearly a month of being away. The flight from Auckland to Sydney wasn’t really notable except that Jen took the window seat, leaving me in the middle for the first time on the trip (Jen’s been very good about always sacrificing and being in the middle of three on this trip). I gave her trouble, but really I didn’t mind and it’s hardly fair even if she gets one middle-seat… she probably deserved a lot more than just this one leg! That said, the next flight was our long one… and on that one I’d demand the window, so thoughts of fairness still weren’t quite as powerful as thoughts of flying for hours with no room. In any case, we landed in Auckland and climbed right back on a plane (mostly, there was a small break in there) for San Francisco. I think I slept, but I also think my mind blocks out long, boring parts of plane trips where I just feel trapped. I know I did watch a movie or two on the in-flight entertainment, and then suddenly we were in San Francisco! That was faster than I expected!

 

Jen insisted on getting burritos at a local place near the airport (she works nearby), and I never say no to delicious food, but even as we were driving there I could feel the long period of being awake hitting me. I couldn’t really say what meal this was… we’d eaten once or twice on the plane and now here I was getting more food… but we were just three hours later than we were when we left Auckland thanks to the International Date Line. It was about ten in the morning… so I guess this was breakfast! We did get our burritos, and got back to Jen’s house in time to divvy up the travel stuff and see Jon on his way before we decided to just put the burritos in the refrigerator. We’d eat them after we slept. I took a shower, and fell asleep on the couch. Just before I did, though, we talked about setting an alarm and agreed on four (I had said five, as we were very close to the airport but we still had burritos to eat!), and drifted off to sleep.

 

I was out, and the alarm barely woke me up… but when it did I reached over to silence my phone (I always use my phone as my alarm these days), and noticed an alert on my phone. The current time was 4:03, and the travel application Trip It wanted to ensure I knew that my flight scheduled for 5:03 was on-time and would soon be boarding.I had never confirmed the time!!!

 

I don’t know when I had looked and thought my flight was at seven, but after getting back I never bothered to check again, and now I had nearly no time at all to get to the airport. “Jen!” I cried, “we have to go! I’m supposed to be at the airport already and I had the wrong time!”

 

Halfway through the sentence I was flying through the place, throwing stuff from my shower back in the back, chargers, my bag from Vegas, all as quickly as possible. We were out the door in a matter of minutes and with Jen at the wheel I made it to the airport with about forty minutes before takeoff. I tried to check in, but was rejected by the automated machine. I was too late. I had checked in online the day before, so my seat was still saved, but I’d missed the checked luggage cut-off and I had two bags to move. I went to the United counter a bit dejected… I couldn’t believe I had missed my flight, this had all been planned so well! I was disappointed imagining discussing new flights, and potential layovers delaying when I’d get home… but the attendant behind the counter said “Did you still want to get on this flight?”

 

“Oh,” I said.. was that an option? “Yes of course! I want to go home!”

 

“You’re going to have to run… go ahead and give me your bags and we’ll take care of it.”

 

So I ran. I ran all the way from the check-in counter for United to security, and from the security lines to the international gates (no idea why it was at the international gates). United held the plane for me, and I made it just as they were calling my name and saying they were going to remove my checked bags and close the flight without me. I was extremely grateful, I was the last person on the plane, and as soon as I stepped on they closed the door and we were on our way. What a dumb thing for me to have done, and what a nice thing for United to do to let me still make it home. The plane took off only about five minutes after it was supposed to, and the rest is history. I’d stepped on all seven continents. I’d been there and back again. I was flying home as one in less than one million, and likely the broadest-traveled individual in the plane, and maybe even in the airport. There are those that had traveled more, traveled longer, sure… but stepping foot on all seven is something else entirely, and I was nearly home again after having done just that. What a trip it was.