Home sweet home

I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that the 18 hour flight doesn't feel that long. I was able to get some decent sleep on it by way of two different long naps. I also watched three movies...Bride Wars, Gran Turino, and Australia. I had seen the first which was cute. I'd highly recommend Gran Turino to anybody who likes Clint Eastwood. Australia was a nice movie but had I not been captive on the long flight it might have gotten a little bored with it. I think the total running time was 3 hours. Overall, it wasn't bad though and if stuck on a long flight I'd try it.

There were only about 50 people on the entire plane so it was pretty quiet. Needless to say, with the flight crew to passenger ratio there was some excellent service. They always seem to be right where you need them to be. Just before we landed I asked for a light snack, just some cookies or chips or something. The flight attendant came back with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies just for me. It's quite different than the American flying experience.

The layover in Newark was uneventful as well. I breezed through customs and immigration. I had been a little worried about a possible questioning having been in New Zealand in the past month but they didn't even blink an eye at me. I was then able to secure a seat on the earlier flight that got me in to RDU about 4 hours earlier than my itinerary had planned.

Landing in RDU is somewhat like a movie script for a romantic movie...at least in my head. We land at the furthest possible gate from the escalator down to baggage claim. It's a nice long walk just to increase the excitement over seeing Alan again. It'd only been 2 months away this time but was starting to feel like longer. I love coming down the escalator and trying to spot Alan...he's usually somewhere toward the back...and he always has a smirk on his face. There is no dropping of luggage and running (I'm too sensible for that) but you can bet I pick up the pace and there is a giant hug involved....the rest of the details are left to he and I....One of the sweetest parts of coming home is that he always has a bouquet of flowers waiting for me in the car.