Seven days in!

Oh my gosh, I have been out of the US an entire week!  It has gone fast and has been amazing.

When last we left our heroine she was madly cleaning a condo in Illinois.
The goal was to exit Illinois July 18, and I made it!  (or perhaps I left on the 19th, the mind blocks such stressful times).

Leaving my condo in excellent hands, I left Illinois with 2 keys - one for my car and one for my friend's house (yes Dawn, yours). 
If anyone needs a fantastically clean, well maintained large 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with a private heated garage, see Dan, Julie, or Donna at www.daare.com
As for my friend's house key, it is safe & sound in New Zealand with me, bound to turn up in a photo or two.

For 20 years in Illinois, I had always told my friends that I was going to leave, and here finally I was doing it.  It had almost become a "boy who cried wolf" joke, but finally it was reality.  I still have my I-Pass for return visits.

Here's moosie saying goodbye to my life in the USA. (moosie's the little furry brown bloke sitting on the red carry-on suitcase).  All my belongings in storage (thanks to dad!), including that I-Pass.

Oops, one thing not in storage is my 2001 Honda Insight.   Cleaned & washed, it sits in my dad's yard next to a "For Sale" sign.  Dad has sold many items on this busy corner and hopefully my car will be sold as well.

After a couple restful days in Wisconsin, an early wake-up on July 21 had mom/dad/myself off to the Central Wisconsin Airport.  A nice little airport, easy in, easy out.  http://www.fly-cwa.org/

My fears of overweight luggage were unfounded - my checked bag weighed in just over 40 pounds so we stuffed in a few last minute items (should have brought that Green Bay Packer sweatshirt, dang!).

My first flight departed at 8 AM July 21 and arrived at O'Hare at 9:15 AM.
Then I waited, and waited, and waited some more.

The flight from O'Hare departed at 2 PM, arriving in San Francisco at 4:30 PM.
Luckily I had never been to the San Fran airport because I had plenty of time to stroll around and find my next check-in point - my flight didn't board till 9:15 PM.  I found a nice deal on french fries at one of the food vendors to tide me over.

At San Fran gate G93 I marveled at the size of the Air New Zealand plane.  HUGE, just HUGE.  Two levels of passengers.  My first flight out of the US.  The flight crew was very friendly and helpful, lovely accents all around!

A mere 13 hours, 1 movie (The Hunger Games), 2 meals, and a few timezones later, I landed in Auckland New Zealand at 5:40 AM Monday July 23, or as they write it here:  23/7/2012.   Still looks weird to me, there is no 23rd month!

Yes the flight paperwork said 13 hours, but I went from 9 PM July 21 in San Fran to 5 AM July 23 in Auckland in one flight.  It's still weird, I have gadgets on my PC desktop to tell me what time it is in New Zealand and what time it is in the US midwest.  Also gadgets to tell me temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit in New Zealand as well as Celsius and Fahrenheit for the US Midwest.

Now for my US friends, the real adventure begins - well, not tonight, time for bed. 

The trouble with blogs

The trouble with "life following" blogs is that if you don't keep up by adding new posts, you forget what happened.  I resolve to do better.  (says she who has not kept, much less made, a new years resolution in years).

Cleaning, Cleaning, and more Cleaning

My word!!  If this New Zealand adventure doesn't turn out, I can always start a cleaning business.

Products I recommend:
Armstrong Floor cleaner for no-wax and ceramic tile floors.  Easily removes any scuff marks.
Fantastik all purpose cleaner is excellent at cutting through grime in showers/sinks/kitchens.

Oh Bother the Baggage

One would think that someone traveling to a far away place like New Zealand might plan a bit in advance regarding luggage.  ...

Today I bought a big suitcase and it will be enough to go with but perhaps I might hit the overweight baggage fee.  I wonder if lugging TWO bags under the 50lb limit makes more sense than one bag exceeding 50lb?
For this trip, I guess I will error on the side of overweight.  I only have 2 arms - 1 to pull the carryon, and one to pull the checked bag.  If the checked bag is overweight, it will be a lesson learned for next time.

Here we have Moosie and friends packed and ready to go.

Baggage fees for fat bags:
First Leg = United Express = customers traveling within the U.S.with checked baggage weighing > 50 pounds and < 70 pounds will be charged $100 per piece. Bags > 70 pounds, but < 100 pounds will be charged $200 per piece.  Baggage weighing 100 pounds will not be accepted.
Long Haul = Air New Zealand =  looks like a $70 overweight charge.

Marathon of Moving

Thank God for fathers and friends.

I worked for 3 days (solo) moving my stuff from my condo to my garage.  Then the move really started:

Tuesday:

My trainer from Xsport Fitness center/gym helped me load the U-Haul truck on a Tuesday afternoon. If you are looking for an excellent personal trainer in the western suburbs of Chicago, ask for Nick P at Xsport Fitness in St. Charles, IL.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday morning approx 9:30 AM, I pulled out of West Chicago with a loaded U-Haul truck.  I arrived at my Wisconsin destination about 4 PM.

My 76 year old father and I commenced two whirlwind moving days by unloading the truck into my storage unit.  At approximately 8 PM we headed back to Illinois in the empty U-Haul truck.

Thursday:

We arrived back at my condo about 2 AM Thursday and slept for a pitifully few hours.
Packing & loading started up again at 7 AM.  We didn't stop until about 8 PM.  A couple times I wanted to break down from sheer exhaustion but dad's energy and determination kept me going.
Before heading north, we stopped at my favorite Taco Bell for a quick bite and were on our way by 8:40 PM.

Friday:

We got home to WI about 3 AM Friday - very tired but it wasn't over yet!   We got up at 7 AM and once again unloaded the U-Haul.  We turned the empty truck in at the drop-off site at 10AM, making the 3 day rental deadline.

After a much needed nap, I was back on the road (in my little 2001 Honda Insight) to drive back to IL around 7 PM.  I had to stop at least twice for more naps (I'm not getting any younger :-)).

The U-Haul truck was terrible on gas consumption.  It cost nearly $300 in gas/petrol for our trips (about $100 for each leg of the 3 leg trip).  My Honda Insight on the other hand cost less than $20 for a leg of the trip (60 mpg just can't be beat).

Saturday:

I arrived at my semi-empty condo at 4:30 AM.  No surprise, sleep came quickly/easily.  Waking in a zombie-like state a few hours later, I worked on recycling/junking/goodwill-ing the remaining contents of my residence.

Still a lot to do before the flight to New Zealand begins July 21.

Last day at U.S. job

Today was my last day at work in Illinois.  Onward to New Zealand.