Good to be home here in NZ.

Sydney Airport

Sydney Harbour on Departure

It's Sunday afternoon and I arrived on Thursday morning.  It was a very good flight with not too much turbulence.  I flew from Denver on Tuesday at 2:30 pm and arrived SFO, sat in the first class lounge for 6 hours until 10pm and then got a set of 3 seats together in economy plus so I could sleep.  This because the Business and First class sections were full.  Saved a few hundred dollars and still had a very good rest on the flight. Was 14 hours of comfort.

Must have been very tired as I tried to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel at least 6 times and fell fast asleep each time.  Finally, I watched it from the beginning in the last 3 hours of the 14 hour flight.  It was marvelous, so clever and filled with history, humor and heart-warming poignancy.  I moved quickly through Sydney airport after our 0630 arrival to catch the 0930 LAN flight to Auckland.  LAN Chile is now my favorite airline.  Gratis wine with a nice lunch and pleasant flight attendants.  Watched Inside Llewyn Davis, on that flight.  Another really good movie.  Was so excited when we started our descent into AKL.  The flight was pleasant the whole way and the sight of a very green pastured island on final approach always makes me happy.  My husband was in the arrivals area to shepherd me to the car and home to his hearty Filipino soup.

Final approach into AKL

Welcome Sun Rise!

House looks great, nice and warm with a raging storm yesterday morning, battering the windows and working up waves on the beach and that's part of what makes this a wonderful place to be.

Attaching picture of my first morning welcome across the water from our bedroom window.  All Good! J

Denver Storms, Demon Horse, Washington Park and White Pelicans

 Flying into Denver, Colorado is always a challenge in mid-summer.  Thunderstorms rule as the heat from the plains mixes with the cool moist air from the Rockies creating micro bursts, particularly at Pena International Airport.

Last night our son flew into Denver from Ohio to connect to a Seattle flight.  The dramatic storm started at 6 in the evening presenting Denver with a thunder and  lightening show better than any of the 4th of July fireworks.  As we watched and were wowed by the violent drama being played out over our heads, our son's plane was diverted to Colorado Springs, but they were denied access as too many planes were sitting on the tarmac there waiting for the storm to pass.  So they flew on to Grand Junction and found a safe harbor until the storm abated.Their connection was cancelled and they got back to Seattle the next day.

Flying into DEN is entertaining if only for the presence of the 'Demon Horse.'  The blue mascot with red glowing eyes which fell on it's creator and killed him.  The horse was finished by others and creeps me out every time I see it.



Washington Park is a nice area of Denver that is being gentrified.  The park itself is very pretty with two small lakes and too many Canada Geese to allow the locals access without geese scat adhering to their 'runners'.

During my last walk around the lake I was pleased to note the presence of white pelicans.  They are migrating through at this time of year heading north. Pelicans remind me of   remants from prehistoric times with beaks more than half as long as their bodies.

The Washington Park neighborhood is truly a walkers delight with good restaurants, interesting shops and architecturally interesting homes built in the ealry 1900s.

Good to visit,
Good to go home.
J