Nearly finished

Part 1:  We've cleared New Zealand customs and security after not a short time of hassle with luggage and bag check lines. We are now waiting to be called to the gate (the Departure board says "relax" next to our flight time). We are scheduled to get back to Indianapolis before midnight Saturday, which is strange since it's already Saturday night here.  Here's hoping and praying that we can sleep on the plane and remember the good times here down under.

Part 2:  the free internet ran out before I could post the last message, so I'll continue the trip home update. The flight into San Francisco was pretty uneventful, but the last few moments in the Auckland airport were a little hairy. The monitor we had been monitoring kept telling us to 'relax', but Alan decided to take a walk into a different area of the pre-boarding area and saw a different board that said "final call"!!  Time for a little panic run through the next layer of scanning only to get to the gate to see that they had just begun boarding.  

It was a pretty full flight and quarters seemed tighter, but we fit and might have even had a bit more leg room. We had supper and watched some entertainment for a couple of hours before trying to sleep.  While it wasn't real restful sleep, we got about six hours in before it was time for breakfast and the final leg of the flight. 

By the time we cleared customs and security in San Francisco (with special stops to check our shoes because we were honest about visiting a couple of sheep stations in New Zealand, and a special stop because we forgot a bottle of water in the carry-on bag at security), people were already queuing up to board the flight to Houston.  Once we found the right group to line up in, we made our way on board. This leg is three hours, which seems like a piece of cake!

We landed in Houston to rain and wet pavement. We made our way to the commuter part of the terminal. The gate waiting area was very crowded with few places to sit. We decided we had enough time to get something to eat. We went back to the shopping area of the terminal and located a table close to several fast food restaurants. The table was equipped with electrical outlets so we quickly plugged in our power starved electronic devices. Alan went in search of food first, coming back with a barbecue sandwich. Joyce had noticed a Schlotzsky's Deli, and had a yummy turkey sandwich. Through the free airport wifi, we discovered the Tippecanoe Valley High School girl's basketball team had won the semi-state. A quick text was sent to Joyce's sister Sandi, whose children attend Tippy Valley with congratulations and notification that we were back in the USA but not yet home.

Part 3a:  What is this cold white stuff? We landed on a snow-covered runway and noticed accumulated snow as we taxied to the gate. We walked to baggage claim to get our luggage. Just one more leg - the drive from Indy to Lafayette. 

Part 3b:  Alan's brother, Brian, picked us up, after our luggage finally came off the carousel. Since there didn't seem to be any other flights  coming in at that time, it sure seemed to take a while. It gave us a chance to exchange contact information with our new trip friends, Dale and Annie, fellow Purdue alums from Fountain County.

The trip home was a bit harrowing. Brian and Beth invited us to stay, but Alan wanted to get home. While he wouldn't admit it, even when we weren't sure where the road was most of the time, Alan began to question the wisdom in his decision. Slowly, steadily, and without incident, we made it in the front door by 2:30 am, only about 45 minutes slower than normal.

We've spent the week catching up and readjusting. It's almost normal now that no one puts napkins on or laps, let alone that we are responsible for finding our own food. We've even managed to make the bed, though we do mis the turn down and chocolates from Wayan each night.

Updates to the blog will come during our recovery in the next week or so. Hopefully we have enough of an outline down to join with the pictures to jog our memories for fleshing out the skeleton posts.  Alan has played a little with the video and has posted a couple on YouTube.

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