Costco Travel

So I wanted to give Costco Travel a quick review for all of you who are still reading. It was an amazing service. This whole trip was set up in 2 calls. One to get the basic info and the second to book. We paid one price and it included international travel, domestic airfare, bus fare, train rides, each tour we took, plus rides from airport to hotel and hotel to different places. There was not one glitch in the whole thing. Plus they were able to manage our two reservations perfectly. Sometimes it was just us on a tour and other times we were on a bus with 30 other people. If we ever do a big trip again, I will definitely use them again.

Note from Helen (typed by Kate)

This is my first trip abroad. I am very excited to see the Maoris first of all and then the rest of the country. I am particularly anxious to see the Maori perform cultural events and hear about their culture. As usual I am the first sister to travel abroad, which makes me feel very lucky. My children and their families are helping me with what ever they can, especially Kate. I know she will assist me when ever she knows I need some help. I'm not too excited about leaving my grandkids. I know I will miss them very much. I'm sure I will learn alot about the country/New Zealand that will broaden my mind to maybe study their cultures more when I return. I'm VERY anxous to find out what all is there.

PS - I am only 71!

How long is the flight?

"How long is the flight?" This is another common question I've been getting. According to the rep at Air NewZealand, it will be a 13 hour and 10 minute flight. For those of you who are into planes, they said we would by flying Air NewZealand's 777. Sounds lucky to me!

Who's Going and Why?

I wanted to use the blog to give everyone details about the trip and answer questions. Two of the most common questions I have been getting are "Who is going?" and "Why are you going?" (Travelers, If I leave anything out, please feel fee to add to what I've listed.) Here goes it.

Travelers:

1. Kate - I am Kate. I am married to Ron. Ron went to law school with Brad, Ann Marie and Jennifer. We have all been good friends for quite a while. Ann Marie and I work together at ASU, Ron and Brad have a law firm together, and I used to work with Jennifer. I am leaving two small children and a husband at home to take this trip. I've traveled abroad before and am excited to share this experience with the others. (For the record, Ron and the kids were originally going to go on the trip with us. After much thought and deliberation, we decided that the kids were not ready for this big of a trip. Ty is 5 and Cody is 3. The airplane trip alone would have been ROUGH!) Grandparents, Auntie and Uncle Peter are going to help Ron out while I am gone.
   
   
2. Ann Marie - Ann Marie celebrated a "special" birthday this year. (I will leave it to her to tell you how old she is) New Zealand is her dream trip. A bunch of us started celebrating our "special" birthdays in a big way a couple of years ago. Ann Marie had not been out of the country and had always wanted to go to NZ. So . . . we are doing it! Ann Marie is the wife of Brad and mom of Mikaela and Zach.
   
   
3. Brad - Brad is Ann Marie's husband. I think he is brave for traveling with all of us ladies. Luckily, he has his son Zach with him. Brad is a busy attorney, dad, and softball coach. I think he has travel abroad before but it has been several years.
   
   
4. Mikaela - Mick, 14, is a freshman in high school. This is the first time travelling out of the country. She is now on break from school and softball.
   
   
5. Zach - Zach is our youngest traveler at age 11. He is on break from Middle school and baseball! The only other guy besides Brad on the trip.
   
   
6. Jennifer - Law School friend of Ron, Brad and Ann Marie. She is also the girlfriend of Kate and Ann Marie. She has probably traveled more than all of us. She once did a cruise around the world! She is taking an overdue vacation. It will be a big break for her. Jennifer and I have vacationed together for the past 5 years to San Diego. We will be roommates with Helen during this adventure.
   


7. Helen - Helen is my mother-in-law. She is 72. She has always wanted to go to New Zealand! As a bi-lingual educator she has always been intrigued by the Maori culture. We invited her to go with us and she was very excited. She immediately started working on getting her birth certificate. Since she was born on the Navajo reservation in a hogan, she never received a birth certificate. Getting one was quite a challenge for her. Luckily, one of her elderly aunts who was in the hogan when she was born signed an affidavit that she witnessed Helen's birth. Once her birth certificate was received, she was able to get a passport. This will be Helen's first trip abroad. I'm excited to escort her on this journey.

It's how many days away?!

OK, we are 6 days away from our flight out. I'm feeling very anxious today! Three big questions are going through my mind. (1) How am I going to function without my family? (2) How will they function without me? (3) How am I going to get everything done before the trip?

This is going to be a crazy week. Packing, finishing up at work, shopping for last minute trip items, stocking the fridge for my family, preparing for Christmas dinner, Wrapping last minute presents, buying last minute presents . . . how am I going to get everything done!?

Wish us all luck. I know we are all going through the same thing at each house.

Getting Ready For the Trip

This is Kate reporting in. I am setting up a blog before our trip so we can all communicate with our friends and loved ones while we are in New Zealand. Stay tuned for more trip information.