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During our last day at sea, we got to see several small islands. One of them is an active, albeit very lightly active, volcano called White Island. You could see the steam escaping from the vents. Then we saw the "Hole In The Wall" and Mercury islands. Just the kind of thing you can only see from a boat.

They had a guest talent show on the boat. You might be shocked to hear this, but Tracy made an appearance in the show. She was the last act, and appropriately, the best act! Actually, everybody who got up on stage had something to offer. One lady, who sounded like she was totally from Georgia, did a stand up comedy act. Not great, but she had some funny stuff. Later, we saw her and found out it was the very first time she did any stand up comedy. Knowing that made her show all the more impressive. Another woman got up and read poetry. Not my bag, but it was her own published works. So, again, how many of us have had any books published? Not me!

The last stop of this cruise for the Statendam was Auckland. We were off the boat at about 8:30 AM and luckily our tour group was already waiting for us. They took us by the Langham hotel and luck would have it, we got to check into our rooms. So after dropping off the carry on bags and a little freshening up, we were off to tour Auckland. We went to the War Memorial Museum to see a local Maori exhibit which also included a live song and dance act. Pretty impressive and quite the spectacle. After the museum, we went to Mount Eden, a dormant volcano. At the top, you can see the crater. It is a great view point for Auckland. Quite the photo opportunity. Next stop was the home of John, the guy who put together our private tours. He put on a nice spread and we sat on the back patio under a lush canopy of trees and ate and drank. After a couple of hours, we bid our host adieu and went out to the wineries. On the way, our driver, another John (married to one of our tour guides Francis), stopped at their house and got some more wine. The first (and only) winery we went to was a combination brewery and winery. I am pretty sure most of the group would have happily spent the rest of time there. I had a paddle of their beers (5 beers) and then a paddle of their wines (4 wines). When we headed back to the hotel, I was feeling NO pain. I was supposed to meet Joe in the lobby a scant 15 minutes after we arrived at the hotel, but once I got to the room and sat down, I pretty much passed out. I guess that was all I had in me for that day! Just a note, this will be my first February 2nd.

So, Sunday morning, we are met by our driver and we head off to the airport at 7 AM Auckland time. We have a 5 1/2 hour flight leaving at 10 AM and will land in Papeete, Tahiti where we will have about a 6 hour layover. There is a 2 hour time change and you cross the international date line. So, we took off on Sunday and land on Saturday. The only sad part about stopping in Tahiti, is that you have to collect your bags and then wait until they open the gates to check in. Where you get to check in again (we were checked all the way through supposedly). They took the barcodes off the luggage and put on a new set. This is just the way it is done in Tahiti. Anywho, we take off about 10 PM on Saturday night and will fly for 8 1/2 hours to land in LA at about 8:40 on Sunday morning. Luckily, I was totally sober on my second February 2nd :)

Once we landed in LA, I went to the American Airlines counter and was able to get on an earlier direct flight to Dallas. Our group spent our last time together and took off for our flights home. My flight was delayed about 2o minutes, but since we had a tail wind, we landed about the scheduled time. So, I wait for my bags to come off the conveyor belt and eventually I realize all the bags left are from a later flight. I go to the luggage counter and found out my bags had come in an earlier flight and were now at a different terminal. Luckily, they were there at the airport and I only had to go claim them elsewhere.

So, after about 30 plus hours, I was back in Dallas and even got to see the 2nd half of the Super Bowl. Well, lucky for me and not the Patriots. Oh well.

As much as I loved my long vacation, it was good to be home, see my roommate and sleep in my own bed.

Don't worry, I will soon get my pictures uploaded and I will post a link.