So long

I'm not sure I've ever felt this organized or relaxed on the night before a long intercontinental journey. This also might be the first time the journey isn't starting at some ungodly hour of the morning. Bridget and her mum are taking us to the airport at noon. We even have time to sleep in and shower.

Even though we don't have to wake up early, May 9 is going to be a very long day. Our flight leaves Christchurch at 3 pm and we arrive in Dayton, Ohio at 11:45 pm on the same day. Simple math would make that a 9 hour trip but "the math doesn't work" and it's actually 25 hours and four flights from Christchurch takeoff to Dayton landing. All together we'll have a 40 hour day on 9 May.

I'm sad to be leaving New Zealand but it is getting cold here and like we've explained the houses aren't too warm (Bridget and Julian's being a well-insulated exception). When we arrived in August the deciduous trees were bare; now most of the leaves are on the ground as the trees prepare for winter. We've been here for lambing, camelias, snow, daffodils, gorse blooming, rhodedendrons, flax flowers, ducklings, avocados, huhu beetles, pohutakawa flowers, apples, and autumn colors. I'm going to miss tree ferns, weirdly shaped native trees, the abundance of waterfalls and idyllic swimming holes, fantails, tuataras, and paua shells. There are some things I won't miss, like old men in short rugby shorts, the way they say 'pasta', or the yield-to-the-right driving rule.

I have a lot of adventures to look forward to this Northern Hemisphere summer in the U.S. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of family and friends. I also must admit I've been missing some weird things like snakes, turtles, and Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

I'd better stop this nostalgic rambling before this gets too long. I love New Zealand but I'm glad to be going home. I'll be back someday.

Carrie