Blastoff! (from Jan. 5)

We were up until 2 AM Thursday morning making preparations and were up again at 6 AM to finish up. My Dad picked us up at 8:30 and drove us to the airport. We departed a little after 10:30 for Calgary.

By the time we got to Calgary, Celeste was getting a headache and it looked like it would be a tough day. We spent a couple of hours in Calgary airport, then 3 hours enroute to LAX. Celeste took some Advil and dozed off enroute, and was good to go by the time we landed.

I tried to catch some winks, but was only able to doze for a few minutes a couple of times, so I stared out the window. I found the US Rocky Mountains interesting. Whereas our Rockies are very rugged and sharp featured, in pretty clearly defined ranges, running north/south, and separated by deep narrow valleys, theirs are older and worn down, with clumps of mountains separated by open area, seemingly devoid of vegetation. If you know what the terrain around Vegas is like, it seemed much like that pretty much all the way down.

We spent 5 hours in LAX airport. Here is a picture (if I can load it properly) of Celeste under the slogan they ripped off from Regina, which we ripped off from New York.

We departed on Air New Zealand, had a very good meal, were able to sleep a bit, and were treated to a pretty good breakfast before landing at Nadi, Fiji at 4 AM their time on January 7. We lost a day crossing the International Dateline. Sleeping was difficult, even though we had 2 of those blow up neck pillows. Your head still wants to flop sideways and give you a sore neck. Just before landing, we discovered the secret. The seats had built in, adjustable supports to hold your head up! Who’d a thunk it? Not two country bumpkins from Saskatchewan!