I (Ash) had been planning a trip home to New Zealand over Christmas for months. It was my dad’s 60th birthday and a huge party was being planned. A week before my flight, Lauren surprised me and said she bought tickets and was coming with. We hadn’t even been together very long! And now she was about to meet the WHOLE family.
Getting There
It takes a while to get from middle of nowhere Kansas … to Auckland, New Zealand! Typical flight to Los Angeles, then the big journey direct from LA to Auckland. Our layover in LA was pretty long. After checking our bags for the international flight, we went for lunch at a beach near the airport. When we travel, we like to be able to visit as many places as possible, so definitely take advantage of long layovers.
Airport Dodgems
When you think of Los Angeles, you probably think of how elaborate it is and conclude that LAX would be a great airport to travel through. This is not the case. It can be an absolute nightmare!
With international connections, you have to get your bags after your domestic flight. Then walk or ride a bus OUTSIDE of the airport to another terminal. The whole time you will try to dodge the people zipping all around you. All whilst sprinting with a months worth of luggage. We kept yelling things like “on your left,” praying we wouldn’t run over a kid! There’s also the bumpy strips of death (meant to keep the trolleys from running into the road) which are constantly buckling your trolley and your bags. Potentially the worst part: having to line up to check your bags again with the masses of people, who have just played airport dodgems like you. To cap it all off, once you’re in LAX airport, there really isn’t much to see or do.
When (secretly) purchasing her tickets, Lauren had somehow been able to get the seat next to me! WHAT IS THE LUCK? She booked over a month after me and only one week prior to the flight day! Much to Lauren’s surprise, alcoholic beverages are on the house when traveling with Air New Zealand. We of course indulged in some red wine to relax for the next 13 hours. The nice thing about flying to NZ (from most places in the states) is the flights leave around 9/10pm, so after a meal and a movie you’re about ready for a nap. Now whether you can sleep on a flight is a totally different story.
Hello Jetlag!
We arrived in Auckland around 8am to the NZ summer time (nice change from snowy Kansas). We had a couple days before my dads party so we were able to relax some and try to fight the jet lag, which unfortunately was not Lauren’s strong point. Lauren broke a major rule of long distance travel to different time zones… DO NOT NAP!!! Lauren basically crashed every day between 12 and 3. She literally never naps… and this trip she became the Nap Queen. She forever regretted that first nap.
We were super lucky in that Lauren was able to work remotely, and I worked at my dads company, giving us some extra cash for our tiki touring. It was a little difficult trying to balance working and going places but we somehow made it work, and came out with some great memories.
If you are able to work whilst you travel, we would recommend you come up with a plan for how your days are going to look. You also have to decide what you absolutely don’t want to miss, and be sure to make time to do what you want.
❤️️ Ash