It started off cloudy but it was not long until it started to rain and it rained heavily on and off for the rest of the day.
I finally finished my blog update, phew, and then alternated between relaxing and watching the kittens in the front hallway.
They are all starting to use the litter box, which is cool, and they are playing nicely. Terri threw a couple of small balls into the area, the tabby was interested and then began to play! 
Autumn was in a strange mood today, she let BJ share her chair, lol!
Steve wanted to take us out for tea, in fact he insisted, so I chose the Texas Roadhouse in Winterville. We started by sharing a Cactus Blossom, fried onion, and it was delicious.
They also serve warm rolls with a cinnamon tasting butter, they were also delicious. Terri and I had a half rack of ribs while Steve had a chicken dish with gravy. They were good but I could not eat it all so the cats will have a treat tomorrow, lol!
On our return, we went to feed the kittens and it was raining but not too heavy, the white and tuxedo kittens came out to feed for a while but the shy one was not sighted, the mother cat ate just inside the barn/garage.
Tuesday
I was up smartly today and the rain has moved on although it is cloudy and humid. Terri went over early to feed the kittens, all three and mother came out to eat.
Terri actually managed to grab the two who are bonded (tuxedo and white) but the tuxedo scratched and also bit her so she had to let go. they did come out again so hopefully, with gloves on, they will be caught soon.
After breakfast, I caught up with my ironing and packed my clothes in the case meaning most of my gear was now packed away.
Later on we popped over to see the barnies but the rain came along with some fairly loud thunder. All three kittens were out playing but the shy white one soon disappeared. 
The other two went under the barn but went out the back to play as we had to leave!! I took some photos of many of the cats and dogs that live with Terri and Steve.The hallway kittens are really playing well and their personalities are beginning to develop.
This evening I shouted Terri and Steve out to tea at the Dixie Queen, I had the grilled flounder and it was very yummy! This was my final meal with Terri and Steve on this trip and yet another wonderful trip coming to an end. Thanks to Terri and Steve for their southern hospitality!
On our return we headed out to feed the barnies, Terri put the food just under the garage/barn door as that would appear to be the best place to try and trap them. The usual suspects and mother cat came out to eat but we did not see the shy one!
Wednesday
When I got up in the early hours to visit the bathroom, Bell was on the bed just outside and she was still outside when I came out and she allowed me to stroke her. I was up early and had a couple of things to put in my suitcase which Steve had put in the car last night. Then it was time to say farewell to the cats which I did by name. Bell surprised me by jumping down onto the bed as I was saying farewell to Jazzy and she allowed me to stroke her, wow!
The hallway kittens continue to do well ans we popped in to feed the barnies on our way to
Wilson for me to catch the train. We found a new lunch place in Wilson, Tig’s courtyard, the coffee was good and they make a good range of sandwiches to order. I ordered the Roast Beast sandwich and it was obviously served hot but i ate it on the train, later!
The train was 12 minutes late into Wilson, and it was sad saying farewell to Terri but soon I was on my way. We lost more time along the way and were running 31 minutes late which is what it was when we arrived in Washington. I was seated next to an interesting man and we had quite a few conversations along the way. He is the Manager of Radiology Informatics at the UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. He was on his way to a conference that was to look at the best way to use data from different Imaging devices, it was being held in Alexandria. Our conversations certainly helped the journey pass pleasantly!
We passed a Military supply depot south of Richmond, there were so many vehicles parked up, they all looked like the type of vehicles that are used in desert areas. We also saw the James River and it was very muddy with lots of debris with rain further inland. Further on the Potomac also full and muddy.
! Finally made it out to pick up the shuttle. The driver was from Ghana and his family are still back there, he had not been home since 2012, wow! We picked up another fare from outside the Russian Embassy a Russian named Olga who is married to an Italian. They live in St Louis and have two children. She had to come to DC to organise her new Russian passport, it will take three months to process, wow! The Russians are obviously very slow, lol! She does have dual citizenship but the Russians do not like her to travel there on her American passport!
We were dropped off at the airport next to the hotel shuttle stop. I was waiting and I saw our shuttle driver coming towards me, I had left my mobile modem on the shuttle, it was so sweet of him to find me, I would have been devastated to lose it!
I did not have to wait long before the hotel shuttle arrived and I was at the hotel just after 8.15 pm. I booked on the 6.30 am shuttle tomorrow as check-in closes at 7.05 am.
I sorted my clothes etc out for the next day, had a shower and a lovely cup of tea before going to bed, but alas not to sleep!
Thursday
The plane
departed on time, wow, and once we took off we flew straight into fog and/or
low cloud, once we arrived at our cruising altitude we were in bright sunshine
and looked down on the cloud.
There were a few bumps and they got worse just as breakfast was being served, lol. Later we flew into and over a weather system so even the flight attendants were told to be seated. However, it was not too bad!
Kristin
met me at the airport and took me to lunch at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. I
read through the extensive menu and, lol and behold, found Classic Beef Rib Dip
(Beef Au Jus), yay and it was delicious! We had a good natter and I noticed
there was a Barnes and Noble next door, so I was able to finish with a cup of
coffee, lol!
I have
known Kristin for a few years so it was lovely to meet her and made my arrival
in San Francisco a very pleasant experience, thanks for my scrumptious lunch!
She then took me to my hotel, Millbrook Inn and Suites, lovely looking, old worldly and very Spanish!
I was rather tired so it was probably good that I was not to fly home until tomorrow late evening!
Friday
I went over for breakfast and the Millbrook Inn and Suites, which is very close to SFO, serve the best free breakfast ever. There are all the usual continental breakfast items, waffle maker, plus hot bacon, eggs and potatoes. They even have French toast pre-made that just needs to be popped into the toaster, so I had a couple of slices with bacon and it was pretty good.
As my flight did not leave until 9.40 pm I had some time to go for a wander! I actually went for a wee bus ride, when I got off I went for a wander looking for a coffee shop I had seen on line. I did not find it but found a Starbucks, lol!! Later, I caught the bus back to return to the hotel where I had a wash and changed my clothes. Then it was time to catch the shuttle to the airport.
There was a bit of a wait for check-in to open, I had checked in on-line but could not print boarding passes at the hotel. I used the kiosk by the Air NZ check-in and even had to wait for that to open!
Eventually, it printed my boarding passes but would not print the luggage tag, lol, so that was printed at the bag drop!
I made it into the new United Polaris Lounge and I had a lovely meal, FREE,
Crispy Shrimp Cake with sweet and sour sauce, it was very tasty.
The lounge itself is incredible, a real step up from United
Club. This one opened three weeks ago, it was not supposed to be open until this
month, they obviously knew I was coming, lol!
Saturday and Sunday
I lost Saturday over the Pacific somewhere and landed on time at 5.35 am on Sunday morning. There were some bumpy patches along the way but they were not too bad. I managed between 5 and 6 hours sleep although it was broken a couple of times.
I had a good passage through customs and security and was in plenty of time to have my checked baggage dropped off at the International airport. It was raining very heavily as we arrived in Auckland and continued to do so. I waited for my Napier flight in the Regional Lounge and the plane left on time. My friend met me in Napier and I took her out to breakfast at a local cafe. Finally, I was home again!
When I got up in the early hours to visit the bathroom, Bell was on the bed just outside and she was still outside when I came out and she allowed me to stroke her. I was up early and had a couple of things to put in my suitcase which Steve had put in the car last night. Then it was time to say farewell to the cats which I did by name. Bell surprised me by jumping down onto the bed as I was saying farewell to Jazzy and she allowed me to stroke her, wow!
The hallway kittens continue to do well ans we popped in to feed the barnies on our way to
Wilson for me to catch the train. We found a new lunch place in Wilson, Tig’s courtyard, the coffee was good and they make a good range of sandwiches to order. I ordered the Roast Beast sandwich and it was obviously served hot but i ate it on the train, later!
The train was 12 minutes late into Wilson, and it was sad saying farewell to Terri but soon I was on my way. We lost more time along the way and were running 31 minutes late which is what it was when we arrived in Washington. I was seated next to an interesting man and we had quite a few conversations along the way. He is the Manager of Radiology Informatics at the UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. He was on his way to a conference that was to look at the best way to use data from different Imaging devices, it was being held in Alexandria. Our conversations certainly helped the journey pass pleasantly!
We passed a Military supply depot south of Richmond, there were so many vehicles parked up, they all looked like the type of vehicles that are used in desert areas. We also saw the James River and it was very muddy with lots of debris with rain further inland. Further on the Potomac also full and muddy.
! Finally made it out to pick up the shuttle. The driver was from Ghana and his family are still back there, he had not been home since 2012, wow! We picked up another fare from outside the Russian Embassy a Russian named Olga who is married to an Italian. They live in St Louis and have two children. She had to come to DC to organise her new Russian passport, it will take three months to process, wow! The Russians are obviously very slow, lol! She does have dual citizenship but the Russians do not like her to travel there on her American passport!
We were dropped off at the airport next to the hotel shuttle stop. I was waiting and I saw our shuttle driver coming towards me, I had left my mobile modem on the shuttle, it was so sweet of him to find me, I would have been devastated to lose it!
I did not have to wait long before the hotel shuttle arrived and I was at the hotel just after 8.15 pm. I booked on the 6.30 am shuttle tomorrow as check-in closes at 7.05 am.
I sorted my clothes etc out for the next day, had a shower and a lovely cup of tea before going to bed, but alas not to sleep!
Thursday
I found a porter at the airport to help with
luggage and check in then had assistance to United Club. We had to catch the
air 🚊 to Terminal C. I waited in the United Club at Dulles Airport and, of course, it was raining, lol! I was seeing 5.45 am for the first time for a while, lol! On the hotel shuttle the driver
asked us which airline, we all replied, “United”. There was only one response to
that, “United we stand!”, everyone laughed! Not bad for 6.45 am, lol!
Once
again, my sincere thanks to Jackie Brown (Florida) for her hospitality.Then to
Terri and Steve for theirs, there were so many memorable moments and lots of
laughs, I do appreciate you both very much! Thanks also to the huge cast of
cats and kittens, and not to forget the dogs, lol, who provided lots of luvin and memories!
The plane
departed on time, wow, and once we took off we flew straight into fog and/or
low cloud, once we arrived at our cruising altitude we were in bright sunshine
and looked down on the cloud. There were a few bumps and they got worse just as breakfast was being served, lol. Later we flew into and over a weather system so even the flight attendants were told to be seated. However, it was not too bad!
I arrived safe
and sound in San Francisco after a fairly good flight from DC. The route was
interesting, passing close to Cincinnati, over Dallas, NW New Mexico, then seemingly
crossing the point where Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet before crossing part of
Utah and then on to SFO. I took a couple of photos somewhere out there, lol!
As we
came over the hills to the west of the airport, the cloud was thick it was
beautiful and white looking like a snow scene. There were holes and gaps in the
cloud that looked like crevasses, very pretty!
Kristin
met me at the airport and took me to lunch at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. I
read through the extensive menu and, lol and behold, found Classic Beef Rib Dip
(Beef Au Jus), yay and it was delicious! We had a good natter and I noticed
there was a Barnes and Noble next door, so I was able to finish with a cup of
coffee, lol!
I have
known Kristin for a few years so it was lovely to meet her and made my arrival
in San Francisco a very pleasant experience, thanks for my scrumptious lunch! She then took me to my hotel, Millbrook Inn and Suites, lovely looking, old worldly and very Spanish!
I was rather tired so it was probably good that I was not to fly home until tomorrow late evening!
It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco today! I woke up to see the great news
from Terri about the barnies, they did not look at all stressed in the carrier!
I went over for breakfast and the Millbrook Inn and Suites, which is very close to SFO, serve the best free breakfast ever. There are all the usual continental breakfast items, waffle maker, plus hot bacon, eggs and potatoes. They even have French toast pre-made that just needs to be popped into the toaster, so I had a couple of slices with bacon and it was pretty good.
They also have a coffee machine that makes latte etc
and it was not too bad! I can recommend this place to anyone who wants a hotel
near the airport. It was the cheapest around here when I booked, it has plenty
of parking, the room is a reasonable size and clean.
As my flight did not leave until 9.40 pm I had some time to go for a wander! I actually went for a wee bus ride, when I got off I went for a wander looking for a coffee shop I had seen on line. I did not find it but found a Starbucks, lol!! Later, I caught the bus back to return to the hotel where I had a wash and changed my clothes. Then it was time to catch the shuttle to the airport.
There was a bit of a wait for check-in to open, I had checked in on-line but could not print boarding passes at the hotel. I used the kiosk by the Air NZ check-in and even had to wait for that to open!
Eventually, it printed my boarding passes but would not print the luggage tag, lol, so that was printed at the bag drop!
I made it into the new United Polaris Lounge and I had a lovely meal, FREE,
Crispy Shrimp Cake with sweet and sour sauce, it was very tasty. 
The lounge itself is incredible, a real step up from United
Club. This one opened three weeks ago, it was not supposed to be open until this
month, they obviously knew I was coming, lol!
Chicago already has one and Houston is to get one. It is open to
Star Alliance passengers, Air New Zealand is a member, travelling Business or First Class.
The sun continued to shine brightly all day and there was a lovely sunset that could be seen out of the lounge window.
The plane left the gate on time although we had to taxi for quite a way!
The sun continued to shine brightly all day and there was a lovely sunset that could be seen out of the lounge window.
The plane left the gate on time although we had to taxi for quite a way!
Saturday and Sunday
I lost Saturday over the Pacific somewhere and landed on time at 5.35 am on Sunday morning. There were some bumpy patches along the way but they were not too bad. I managed between 5 and 6 hours sleep although it was broken a couple of times.
I had a good passage through customs and security and was in plenty of time to have my checked baggage dropped off at the International airport. It was raining very heavily as we arrived in Auckland and continued to do so. I waited for my Napier flight in the Regional Lounge and the plane left on time. My friend met me in Napier and I took her out to breakfast at a local cafe. Finally, I was home again!
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