Wrapping It All Up

Day 15 - Sunday, Jan 4 – Sad and Happy

We got up in the morning, ate breakfast, and walked to the nearby Cathedral of St. Patrick and St. Joseph for the Mass of the Epiphany. The really cool and amazing aspect of the Mass was the congregation. The priest went down the main aisle at one point and asked where people were from. The answers: New Caledonia, Borneo, Belgium, Brazil. US, Australia … it took until about the 10^th row/pew until someone answered “New Zealand.” The point was made clear … the Church is welcoming to people from all parts of the world.

Barry ably made the final drive to the airport on the wrong side of the road. We did the usual formalities of checking in, security, passport control, … It is a bit time-consuming and tedious, but all went smoothly [Note: No one asked Ruby if she had a criminal record!] Our 1:20PM Sunday American Airlines flight went through Dallas on time. US Customs was shockingly easier than either Australia or New Zealand. Of course, no trip is complete without at least one delay. Our flight to Indy was delayed by about 90 minutes and of course involved a gate change, but we caught the flight to Indianapolis and arrived at 4:20PM ON THE SAME SUNDAY! The magic of time travel.

Summary (from the Grandpa perspective)

As hoped and expected, the trip was stellar. There were many amazing adventures, sights and experiences.

The kids did great with all the travelling, airports, airplanes, packing and unpacking. There were several compliments from hotel or airline personnel about the polite, well-behaved nature of the kids.

We were lucky that flights were on-time and smooth.

The weather was a little less than desirable. The locals in Australia and New Zealand complained that temperatures were 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit below normal (though they expressed it as 5-10C), and there were more clouds/rain than usual. There was a forecast of threat of rain on many days, but never did the rain deter us or alter any of our plans. We did it all …, just wearing longer pants, sleeves and minimal sandals.

The food we ate was outstanding in most places. Not just good, but outstanding.

The people of Aus/NZ are also very friendly. They were very understanding and accommodating of a family of seven.

We called a couple of “audibles” that worked to our advantage. I cannot thank Monica and Barry enough for all the time and efforts and organization they put into this trip. Audley travel was invaluable, but Monica and Barry filled in all the necessary gaps and made adjustments for our free time that enhanced the experience quite nicely. Kudos to them!

The end result was exactly as desired – memories for a lifetime!