Jumping Out of a Plane

So once we arrived in Auckland...we went straight to Auckland Skydive.  We had a GrabOne Deal (basically like Groupon) and Andrew and I had never been skydiving so we were really excited.  We were a bit nervous, but I would say more excited than anything.  So we got our instructions from the team...and then put on our gear...then it was time to go up in the plane.

I was fine...the whole time...and then Andrew was the first to go.  I'm sitting there, all excited and calm...and then I watched Andrew and his tandem partner jump off....my heart sank.
The nervousness and fright set in.  Then the next guy went...and ohhhhhhh was he scared. It was like putting a cat in the bath tub.  He clawed his way out of that plane...attempting to grab at anything he could to stop his tandem partner from throwing him out the plane.  His guide didn't care....and off they went! Then it was my turn...the guy must be really used to people freaking out because he just pushed me right to that edge. I was so nervous. I looked down and there went my heart again, right in to my stomach.  And then one, two, three! Off we went! I was screaming like a bat outta hell! It was SO INSANE! And SO AWESOME!!! The free-fall was only a few seconds...I think like 60 seconds maybe...but oh my goodness was it a rush.  Once he pulled the shoot it was just a float down to the bottom. Very relaxing, and absolutely gorgeous scenery.  So neat.

One of the best experiences and one that I highly recommend to anyone who has considered doing it.

From there we took the bus to Auckland.  With alllll our crazy amounts of luggage.  A lot of luggage...like...a lot.  And there we sat at the bus stop for about 2 hours waiting on Karla to get off work and come get us.  Man was it hot...and man was it awkward sitting at a bus stop with enough luggage to live off of for a year.  Karla is one of Andrew's friends from the Polo playing days.  It was so nice of her to let us stay with her and her adorable mother! Once she finally came to get us, we spent the afternoon at their home as Andrew and her reminisced of past times.  Drinking wine on their amazing rooftop deck that looked over the Bay.

I did a bit of work while we were staying with them since Karla had to work during the day as well.  But once she was home we did various things...went and saw her horsey...went on some walks down to the water...went in to town for some sushi.  On that Friday, Andrew and I went in to town ourselves to do some exploring and pick up some souvenirs.  We, of course, missed our bus stop on the way home...and got INCREDIBLY LOST trying to get back. Buses in Auckland are confusing. And apparently we cannot navigate them well.  Oh well. We eventually got back haha. That night we went out with some of Karla's friends downtown.  Very inviting group. We partied all through the night, bar hopping, had a blast! Then once all the bars closed we went through the drive through, while in a taxi, on the way back to the house.  That was a first. The last day we did brunch with some of Karla's friends then went down in to Auckland again for 'the best' ice cream later in the afternoon.  It was pretty good...Our flight went out that evening...so after ice cream Karla took us over the the airport.  It was odd saying goodbye, not knowing when you'll be back again.  Then off we went for the States....on a 13 hr flight.

We flew in to LAX and my cousin Johnny picked us up so that we could have a little celebration on our layover with my California family.  First stop was of course In-N-Out Burger...Andrew's first experience. He was hooked. Stupid that we stopped to eat on our way to dinner but you can't go to LA and not stop at In-n-Out Burger (haha).  Once we arrived at my Uncle Bob's house we had a fantastic dinner and Andrew got to meet a lot of my family for the first time.  Some yummy salmon and salad and wine, great company...Not a bad use of time for a 10 hour layover ;) That evening they took us back to the airport and off we went again.  One last layover in Chicago...and Andrew slept on the floor.  It was cute.  And then home at last in NC.

Overall, an absolutely amazing trip.  We might be ridiculously in debt from it...but it was WELL worth it! I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.  And who knows...now that I'm in love with NZ, and engaged to a kiwi, we might be moving there in near future...Talk about a dream come true huh?

Cheers!
Pattie