Homeward- The Longest Day

We got up and had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and took our shuttle van to the airport. On the shuttle, we encountered an Australian family who had been in Spirit with us. They shared their positive experience- we all agreed it was a fine cruise.

The Auckland airport was uneventful, although there were long lines for immigration and security. I forgot that I had stowed sunblock in with the snorkel gear- my mistake, and $25 worth of sunblock down the hatch🙄.

We visited the Strata lounge, and arrived at the AA gate in time for boarding. Our gate was one of the furthest, and it felt like we walked halfway across New Zealand to get there. We were in Premium Economy- the best deal out there.

We departed on Saturday at 1:40 pm. After some 13-1/2 hours, we landed in Dallas the same day at 7:55 am. Our luggage was on the carousel, and with a couple of carts, we were on our way to re-check our bags. Then to Customs. We needed to do our Global Entry Interviews, so flew through, as there was only one person ahead of us.

Not to be outdone by the Auckland airport, we again had a distant gate. So after walking halfway across Dallas, we arrived at our gate, and had a short wait until we boarded. We had a window and aisle in the exit row. We were joined by a guy who took up every cubic centimeter of the center seat and then some. Would have been ok, but he fidgeted constantly and usually as I was falling asleep. I was pretty tired, so I guess it made me a bit grumpy.

We got home in one piece, and all was well. We are, of course, dealing with jetlag, so we're pretending these are sea days.Læs mere