Flying out of NZ through OZ to US

$60. per tin

Because of frugality we fly in a rather convoluted way to get from Auckland to Portland.  I started at 0800 out of Auckland to Sydney, with a 3 hour wait for the Auckland to San Francisco flight. I was hoping for that last 1st class seat or one of the two business class seats, but that was not to be.  I got an economy plus seat with an empty seat next to mine. The 14 hour flight schedule was reduced to 13 hours due to tail winds and woman seated on the other side of the empty seat was a quiet, thin woman who agreed we could share access to the empty seat.  The flight attendant comped my wine and the meals were adequate and not too filling as first and business class offerings can be. The flight was choppy  over the equator, but that is pretty much a given.  I watched The Enemy at the Gate.  It is a spectactular movie. So I was happy.

Each time I went through the TSA monitors my bags were pulled aside because I had placed some silver mint coins, inscribed with the Year of the Horse, for the twin grand-kids we are expecting, in the bottom of the carryon.  Each time it was a brief delay, but not something that caused me great tension.  However, in Sydney a young man, on his way to Tokyo, was relieved of eight tins of fine Australian abalone and maybe 4 tins of smoked salmon.  He was not happy and was allowed a quiet discussion with the manager of  security who assured him he could go back out and check these items through, but because the tins had fluid in containers larger than 4 ml they were considered a threat to cabin safely.  I priced out the tins in the Duty free area, where they cost $60. each.  Two items became clear when I talked to the woman who sells Duty Free abalone tins.  One is that the fellow traveler lost about $720.OZ in tinned fish and probably some of the good will of those who were to share his booty in Tokyo.  The second bit of information is that the stall woman assured me that the cost was about the same for the tins on the street in Sydney as in the Duty Free area.  Traveling through various Airports internationally I had begun to think that the prices  of Duty Free items were not necessarily less and that sometimes they are actually higher than like items on the street.

Vancouver Lake, Mt St. Helens & Mt Adams

Columbia River

All of the flights were full coming up to Portland so I had to spring for a full fare ticket and wait for a 6pm flight.  The flight pattern into PDX took us across Vancouver Lake, where we sail, and over the Columbia River to land to the East toward Mt. Hood.  All beautiful country.

Mt Hood

All still good, J