One More Gauntlet to Run

With our newly purchased (and painfully expensive) tickets secured, we headed back to the airport at 11:30 AM, determined to put the previous day’s disaster behind us. At this point, we had spent more money, endured more stress, and navigated more confusion than any trip should ever require. Surely, we thought, things had to go smoothly now.

But of course, this trip had other plans for us.

More Ticket Chaos

At check-in, we hit yet another roadblock—our boarding passes for the second leg of our journey (Vancouver to Auckland) couldn’t be issued. No explanation, no clear answer, just another shrug from the airline staff. Our bags would make it to Auckland, but whether we would was still up in the air.

Upon landing in Vancouver, we tracked down a WestJet rep, who handed us an itinerary—enough to get us through security, but still not actual boarding passes. Once through, we were told to wait for the Air New Zealand gate agents, who might not arrive until just before boarding. So, once again, we found ourselves in travel limbo, standing around with fingers crossed, hoping everything would work out.

Finally, the agents arrived—earlier than expected, to our immense relief—and we finally got our tickets. Of course, because this trip wasn’t done punishing us yet, there was another surprise: we needed to purchase a visitor pass to enter New Zealand, something Expedia had never mentioned. Another unexpected $300 CAD later, we had our boarding passes in hand.

The Final Straw

Once we were finally on the flight, it felt like the worst was over. We could finally breathe. We had survived the nightmare of the past 36 hours, and now we just had to get through a 14-hour flight.

Then, 20 minutes after takeoff, Xander suddenly threw up all over me.

At this point, I just had to laugh. What else could I do? I did have a change of clothes in my carry-on, but the fun part? Due to airline regulations, the flight attendants weren’t allowed to help clean it up—it was considered a biohazard. So, running on zero sleep, I scrubbed myself and the seat down as best I could.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, though extremely painful. As a tall guy crammed into a tiny economy seat for 14 hours, I experienced what I can only describe as slow, inescapable torture. No sleep, just endless shifting, trying to find a position that didn’t make me want to saw my legs off.

But finally, we made it. Hopefully, the worst is behind us, and the daily entries from here on out will be a lot more pleasant. The trip of a lifetime was commencing now!!

As always, you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. Embrace the adventure, cherish the memories, and I’ll catch you next time.

#NewZealandAdventure #LordOfTheRings #DreamTrip #Travel #40thBirthday #MiddleEarth #BucketList #AdventureAwaits

-Rob ❤️