I had a very strange dream all about the bags I am taking with me, thank goodness it was only a dream as I somehow became detached from the bags, lol!!
I usually do not put two days together on my main travel day but this was rather a unique situation, lol!!
It was a gorgeous day in Napier, a forecast high of 20 C, so I put my washing through and pegged it out. A semi disaster, I had forgotten my new hoodie had a pouch/pocket and there was a tissue in it. I spent some time flapping each item to get rid of the bits of tissue, lol, mostly successful but the hoodie might need to be washed again!!
I made my farewells to Seb and Sylvie and hope they can forgive me, as long as they are fed they seem happy enough, lol! Grant took me to the airport which was quite busy. The flight to Auckland was OK, a few bumps at both ends and as we came into land we were swaying from side to side but it was a perfect landing, good work pilot! It was very foggy in Auckland and hung around all day, it was not bad enough to close the airport thank goodness.
I spent the afternoon/early evening in the lounge relaxing, people came and went although after 5 pm, it filled up as there were four planes that leave for the US/UK during the course of the evening. I had my upgrade to Business class, hence a lie flat bed, nice one! The flight was not too bad, just a few bumpy patches which seem to be the norm but I just could not sleep.
Well, what a performance when we arrived in San Fran about five minutes late. The plane was made to sit on the Tarmac for one hour and twenty minutes!! We were given express passes but still had to wait for luggage, which came out on a different carousel to the one we were originally told!! A couple of Aussies were in the same boat as myself. San Fran you get -100 points out of 10, lol!
I saw an Air NZ rep so approached him. The flight to DC had left so we were offered UA economy on a couple of flights when we had Business class bookings with Air NZ. I could not bear to be squashed up for five hours so decided to catch the red eye as there was business room on that, the Aussies also chose that option. When we re-checked in, we had all been bumped to first class, there is a silver lining to every cloud, lol! Thanks Air New Zealand!
I hung around the airport and had fun making changes to my travel plans. I rang Hotels.com to cancel my reservation, I knew I would not get a refund as I was supposed to cancel yesterday! I am a silver member as I use them for almost all my bookings. But the rep I spoke to said she was going to waive the penalty as it was a loyal member, so I will receive my refund after all, yay!
The next change was to my shuttle reservation, now that was so confusing. I booked through a website AirportShuttles.com and thought that was an actual shuttle company. When I rang to change, I received a confirmation from Supper Shuttles and saying how much I would have to pay. I had paid for the original booking via the website, lol. Then she said she would send me a voucher, but I explained I was not in a position to print it out.
She went away but came back and explained the driver needed the paper reference. I explained I did have to original print out with the receipt attached. She said that would be fine and I went back to check and it was the same confirmation number, lol! What a performance, my motto is, never leave home without all your bookings/tickets printed out, lol!! The fact that I had already been up for nearly 30 hours did not make the understanding of what had gone on any easier!
So after another first, a red eye flight, we arrived on time. I managed about an hour's sleep, better than none, lol! It certainly helped to be in first class and for my midnight snack a had a lovely egg salad sandwich with radish and cucumber, very tasty! This was followed by a delicious fresh fruit combo.
As we approached Dulles airport, at 5.50 am, we saw the most glorious pre-sunrise the horizon was a beautiful colour. The photo does not do it justice but the windows were not that clean on the outside. I very rarely see 5.50 am these days, lol!
The pilot executed quite a quick taxi to our gate and we had to catch the airport train to the baggage area. I collected a coffee from the Starbucks that was conveniently placed opposite the carousel on which our luggage would appear! I was chatting to the two Aussies and it turns out one of them is a Kiwi, a Wellington man, lol! I said farewell to them and then headed for the shuttle counter. The woman there knew who I was as soon as I said Union Station and there was no issue with payment, phew! The shuttle left just after 7 am and we were at Union station just after 8 am, having dropped two people off along the way. There was little traffic about even in the city. One year on and there appears to be little progress in building the lines to connect the city with the airport.
We crossed the Potomac which looked great in the morning sun, there were a couple of scullers out on the water. As we drove along Rock Creek Parkway, we passed many joggers and walkers. The Washington Monument looked rather fine and it appears that the Capitol Dome has been partially repaired, although there is still scaffolding around the side.
It was a lovely day but very warm for 7 am and Union Station does not have any showers!! I did not fancy washing in the public toilets, lol! I just had to stay in the same clothes, yuk!! As I had been without sleep since I left home I told Terri that she and Steve would be collecting a Zombie off the train. This would be in daylight, a very unusual occurrence, lol!
The train was about 35 minutes late into Wilson and I soon met up with Terri and Steve. We eventually found Walmarts as I had some shopping to do. We drove part way home and stopped for some tea at a Ruby Tuesday franchise. I was not that hungry and I opted for the salad bar with a couple of shares. It was a very tasty salad and after collecting a coffee from Starbucks, my third for the day, we made our way home.
After meeting the cats and dogs I had a wonderful shower. I sat up for a while before heading to bed nearly 60 hours after I had risen in Napier!!
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