Ahhhh Aukland

I know that there has been a fair bit written about Fenton’s bowel movements on airplanes, but he just keeps getting so much more impressive at it that it continues to merit mention. Before Fenton we used to marvel at how obsessed parents became over the feces of their children. It is now clear why this is. Only minutes before boarding the airplane to Aukland, Fenton did what had never happened to us before. He had an enormous number two that covered all of his clothing and body parts. Heather was able to clean him up, change his clothes, and have him flight ready in a bathroom rather than a cramped airplane as is typical. We were laughing and high fiving onto the plane. For how could such a small person hold any more? After takeoff Fenton did it again. There was poop oozing out of his diaper, allover the seat, and the flight attendant was in the process of serving us our meals. It’s hard to describe the feeling of not knowing what to do when every tray table is occupied, the diapers, wipes, and Vaseline are under the seat, you have shit on your hands, and the flight attendant is asking if you would like red or white wine with your meal. We simply looked up and said in unison “red please”.

After a 5 hour flight, 2 very poopy diapers and 4 bottles of red wine (187 mL), we arrived in Auckland late January 4. (We lost a day crossing the International Date Line.) Our accommodations in Auckland were excellent. They even included in suite laundry – much needed after the flight from Raro!

We spent the first morning in Auckland doing a few chores – laundry, getting groceries, and finding a new computer adapter. The afternoon was spent exploring the city. We did a walking tour recommended in the Lonely Planet. It was actually quite good! We walked from our hotel up Queen street, away from the harbour to the trendy Chancery district. We climbed an extremely steep sidewalk to the university area. We had to laugh about how the sidewalk seemed to be completely vertical at one point for about a half meter. Pushing Fenton in the Chariot was good exercise. Aukland clearly does not have to worry about ice in the winter! Aukland University is beautiful with large trees and old buildings. The days have been warm but not unbearable and no bugs. At one point we referred to this area as heaven. The Aukland University has a beautiful park called Albert Park. We walked through it and then headed towards Myers Park only a few blocks away. Fenton woke up by then and played at the playground. When we returned to our hotel, we hit the pool where Fenton and Greg played. We finished the evening with an evening harborside walk. As with Edmonton summers, Aukland has long days.

For day 2 (today), we spent the morning at the harbour playground, played in the pool, and did some Skyping with the Turners. Seeing the Turners with several layers of clothing, sitting in our house cuddled by the fireplace was both amusing and heart wrenching. We missed home for the first time. It was wonderful to see that the Turners had made our home theirs. They seemed so comfortable.

Tomorrow we go to Escape Rentals to pick up our campervan and set off for 13 days exploring the North and South island!