Where are you now?

I was feeling restless and in need of a trip. I decided to travel somewhere in asia - Singapore or Hong Kong. I have a friend (my old boss) who takes a lot of quick trips to asia, so I sent him an e-mail to see if he had any business trips planned. He told me that he was going to a family reunion in New Zealand and I should show up because I know several of his family members. Sure, sounds like fun. Air New Zealand has non-stop service from Honolulu to Auckland. Even better!!!

The flight from Honolulu to Auckland was delayed by a couple of hours. My friend's brother was flying in from Singapore and I was going to meet him at the Auckland airport. I didn't see him, so I correctly assumed that he saw the flight was delayed and left to meet his family. My cell phone didn't work in New Zealand so I had to use the pay phone to call my friend. He said they are currently in Rotorua, so I should drive down there and we will meet up. I got my rental car and made my way towards the highway. There was bumper to bumper traffic. The entrance to the highway was closed (later I was to find out there was a very bad accident with fatalities) so I had to find another way to get on the highway. I didn't have a damn clue where to go, so I decided to follow the crowd. Smart move because eventually we found an open entrance to the highway. In the mid-afternoon I reached Rotorua. I went to the visitor center and used the pay phone to call my friend. Nope, they've already left Rotorua - meet them at the hotel in Taupo.

I get back into the car and start the drive to Taupo. At least I knew for certain I would meet them because we were spending the night in Taupo. I reached Taupo and somehow found the hotel. I see my friend and his family in the parking lot. They're amazed at how fast I made it to Taupo. Yes, I was speeding quite a bit.

I have no recollection of where we had dinner or even what type of cuisine it was. After dinner we all went to an outdoor thermal spa and soaked for a couple of hours. It felt fantastic because I had been flying and driving all day. That night I got a very good night of sleep.