Our flight left just about ten minutes behind schedule.

Once our bags were stowed, Ace, Aasma and I fastened our seat belts for takeoff. During our taxi to the runway we shared a little toast to our adventure.

Once airborne we got to check out the fully adjustable seats and the personal DVR players they gave us to use. The flight, and even the food, was good. We arrived in LA on time. There we met Margaret who will be joining us for the New Zealand and Australia portion of the trip.

 

I have to admit that I was pretty excited when we boarded the Auckland-bound 747. I had never been on a plane this large. We had the bonus treat of being seated in the upper level. Unfortunately, the upper deck no longer contains a lounge. It is now only  only filled with seats. Those seats, however, are mighty nice. They are fully adjustable and recline to an almost prone position. That and some medication, might actually make sleep possible.

We took off a half-hour late because we were waiting for ONE passenger who had checked in but then decided not to fly with us. Once their bags had been removed from the plane we pushed away from the gate.

The flight was really pretty comfortable with the crew taking very good care of us. I was, however, a little concerned about the pilot and supervisor.

We were greeted by darkness and some rain as we arrived on time in Aukland, New Zealand.