Travelling with babies and thank god for iPods and Chewing Gum and Randomly Security Search! WTF?

November 11th - My Mum's birthday and the day I leave Brisbane to embark on my 5 wk holiday in Napier, New Zealand and the USA.
First it is New Zealand for a week... .

As I say au revoir to dear Remy on a Wednesday morning, I drive back to Redcliffe to have lunch with my Mum and brother Ray. When I get there I greet Mama a big hug and a 'Happy Birthday' and quickly got ready for lunch at Sizzlers. Some minor photo taking from Mum & me and then time to pig out with the salad buffet and drinks. Afterwards, I dropped Ray to Music, giving him more insults and a hug and then headed home with mum, to shower and get my final stuff into gear (in between facebooking and email checking)....Right time to go..

So...I get a lift to the airport from dad, mum accompanies as well. We left our place round 4pm and driving onto the Gateway Motorway, then to Deagan Devitation..through to Sandgate Road...then once we reached near Toombull Shopping centre, turning left to the free-way to the airport...then hell starts (not too bad! I am only exaggerating)... BLOODY ROAD WORKS AND 4PM TRAFFIC!
I quietly panic inside thinking oh dear I will miss my flight. Damn traffic & roadworks..when will it ever stop oh and Murphy's Law, There that's my vent.

I made it finally in like 1hr and 5mins. Saying our final good byes, Mum was slowling tagging alongside me on the way to the departures section, while Dad was yelling her to get in the car! Yes dear Mum, she's funny, doesn't want to see her li' girl go and taking a final picture of me "going inside the departures area, for her facebook."

So I go do the usual 'check-in' routine, write on the departure custom form, thru to the departure bit and before that *ah!* good ol' security. I go, have my carry-bag scanned, I go through the metal detector and then I get stopped by security, directingme to (well what I thought was an exit), but a little cubicle. YES I WAS Randomly searched. The security custom chick tells me
I have been randomly selected *pfft* I am laughing it off now so I get checked for any 'dangerous' things I may have on my clothes, items and body! WTF??????????????????????????????????? Verdict - I was let go coz I ain't Bin-ladened up.

I go to Gate 77 as my flight - Pacific Blue to Auckland is at 1830hrs....I sit on seat number 23C, an aisle seat, not too bad, I'm tiny anyway so I dont get my elbow hit by the trolley. Like every flight you go to, you will have the cabin crew '
welcoming you to the [insert areoplane name and destination] and the safety procedure if 'at anytime you experience any turberlence or unexpected bla bla...' I swear whenever I go on whatever flight I will memorise the safety procedures.

Thank you Airwaves chewing gum, my ears didn't pop as bad as it use to be whenever I travelled on a plane.When a place ascends, it really feels like its a rollacoaster ride, because of the funny sensation in your stomach, you get when you are ascending up..towards the sky and then its the same feeling when the plane descends on the tarmac.

I was glad I had my iTouch with me throughout the flight, because there was probably about 3 crying babies, screaming, squealing and their respective partents 'shhing' 'em to be quiet. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, other than that it wasn't a bad flight. Reading the Virgin Blue's 100th issue of it's air-flight reading magazine and yes it was an interesting read. I really should have taken it with me coz I could have learnt from good ol' Sir Richard Branson's tips on business (not that I do business) and that "2 out of 3 men thinks that to get attention from women is to be strong and buff" yes that was some small random fact in the
magazine. Good read.

Ten minutes til it descends, I saw the night view of Auckland city. So nice. It is 3hrs in front of Brisbane (1141pm Brisbane and 0241am Auckaland). Once the plane touched down onto the tarmac etc, then finally out of the plane, through to getting the bags from the conveyor belt, customs, I lazily walk with my trolley of luggage to the arrivals section and straight to MacDonalds..Oh how I love thy 24hr Macdonalds...free internet for 15mins max >.<>

I have another 9hrs to kill in Auckland international Airport before my next flight to Napier. Right now I feel like Tom Hank's character in the movie "The Terminal" 'living' in the airport *laughing*....and note to self, "looking at the time every 2mins isn't going to speed the time its 1130am!".

OMFG I can't believe I've done this, travelling solo and about to see my dear dear friend Rebecca and family in Hastings/Napier for her wedding. So excited! I am
still pinching myself..this can't be true. Whoa!

Till next time...
Adios

V x