Tuesday December 6 (Napier to Montgomery)

It was a gorgeous day in Napier, the sun shone out of a clear blue sky and it was pleasantly warm. I was up early to put my washing on, feed Seb and finalise a few things.

I decided to let Seb have some outside time while I hung the washing out, huge mistake, lol! I was nearly finished and he squeezed his way into the garage, then I saw him I called out and the ratbag dashed to the front of the garage and through the gap that went under the house. He would not come out, grrr!! So, Grant rove my car out while I stood by the gap and then we closed the garage roller door as well as the door at the back. I was ready to leave and Grant had one more go, Seb came straight out, phew. So I gave him a quick goodbye hug then we were off to the airport.

An ex colleague was working in the lounge, I have seen him there several times, and we had a few chats while I was waiting. It was a lovely flight through apart from the very end when it became rather bumpy with cloud over the hills but we made it OK! I need to fill in some background here as I was met with a wheelchair that I ordered yesterday!

On my last trip I stepped in a depression in the ground and stretched, or so I thought, my achilles tendon. I managed to cope although it was sore at times when I had walked some distance. Also, my friend’s daughter is a physio so she strapped it for me. After I returned home I did some bike riding and the leg was fine but, about three weeks ago, I went for a longish walk and it was very sore afterwards. I decided I need to visit the doctor and he sent an application through to ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) and they cover injuries even if they occurred overseas. Last Friday I received a letter saying I would be covered for treatment and I managed to make an appointment for an ultrasound yesterday. On Sunday I went for another walk to test it out and again it was very sore afterwards. It appears that where the tendon joins the muscle is very inflamed! My friends suggested I contact Air New Zealand and ask for assistance as there are usually long walks at airports!! This was done, hence the wheelchair to meet me off the plane.

I was wheeled to the free bus that connect the two terminals and the lass rang ahead so one would meet me off the bus. After sitting for fifteen minutes, I rang an Air NZ help number and yet another fifteen minutes later a wheelchair finally arrived This lass took me to the Special Assistance Centre and I waited another twenty minutes before we made our way through security and up to the lounge, lol! The lady at the centre apologised and said the delay was due to a shift change!!! I do manage to make an adventure out of the simplest things, lol!!

I then spent the afternoon in the lounge, eating some lunch and enjoying a couple of my favourite tipple, Baileys and ice! The wheelchair turned up nicely on time to take me to the gate. The plane left on time and we had a generally smooth flight touching down in Houston bang on time, nearly 13 and a half hours after departure. A long flight but just for fun it is 15 hours returning home, lol!!!

I had to wait a while for the wheelchair and there were others in wheelchairs, we then connected with buggies to take us on further before we were met by wheelchairs to be taken on the final part of the trip. I managed to join the Free Airport WiFi to let MJ know that I was here but would be a while. This started with Passport Control and for some reason the automated system did not like me and we then queued for some time waiting for the manual system. The lass who was in charge of me was lovely and a real hoot, she talked non-stop!!

She collected my two bags and it was straight through the final check before finally reaching the Exit. MJ was still waiting, phew, and we made our way to the car which was not very far away My lovely wheelchair driver took me all the way!! After a pleasant drive and a stop for me to buy some sparkling water we arrived home. Henry, black cat, welcomed me almost as soon as we were inside and I walked past Oh My Guiness lying in his bed. he is a beautiful long haired black cat and he is HUGE, lol!!

I unpacked some necessary items and then spent a lovely evening eating a tasty dinner and chatting. After a welcome shower it was off to bed where I managed to complete the day's blog and publish it!!