Traveling to the End of the Earth

(or to "Middle Earth," depending on your SciFi penchant)

The flights from Columbus to Cincinnati and Cincy to Los Angeles were fine. The LA leg seemed a bit long but certainly nothing like Air New Zealand's 13-hour test of our mental and physical well-being.

Captain Xanax did a great job for Jeff. He was out like a light for at least six hours. Lieutenant Ambien fell down on the job for Marshall. There is no rest for the wicked. Thank goodness for the personal, in-flight entertainment, though. Watched "Hairspray" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" plus an episode of "Absolutely Fabulous." There were dozens and dozens of choices.

The turnaround time between arriving in Auckland and leaving for Christchurch was a bit tight. We just barely made it through customs, walked 95 miles to the domestic terminal and prayed the luggage made it on the flight to CHC.

Jackie, one of Air New Zealand's flight attendants, was the nicest, most reassuring, most helpful person in the world. She took extra care of us as we boarded the plane.