We left Salt Lake City on the 26th. We got to the airport bright and early at 8am to make our 11 am flight, only to have it delayed until 12:30. We flew to San Francisco, and waited again until 9:45 pm. The students left and went into the city while Debbie Edmunds, the other nursing professor, and I watched bags. I was really surprised how fast the day went, probably because I worked on all the things I have not had time to do. The students rewarded our waiting with yummy chocolate from Ghiardelli Square.
We flew through the night and arrived in Auckland about 5:30. It took us until after 7am to get through customs, register the lost bag, and such. We went to our hotel and freshened up. We then spent the day hanging about Auckland. The highlights were a harbor boat tour, and the trip by ferry to Davenport where we took a walk up a hill there. Davenport is a beautiful town, with gingerbread houses.
Today we went to church, the same ward I went to two years ago. There are a lot of Islanders here, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, and many at church. They are friendly and fun. In the afternoon we went to the Auckland Museum and also got to see the Maori show there.
Auckland is beautiful. It is autumn here, the leaves are starting to turn. The grass everywhere is green, evidence of frequent rainfall.
Tomorrow we fly to Tonga early. I am also looking forward to arriving there, to meet "old friends" again, and to watch a new group of students learn to love Tonga and her people as I do.
