Stage 1: The Philosopher Shuttle Driver
The day of my flight was fairly relaxed. I tied up a few ends and then went back to wait for the airport shuttle due to pick me up at 3:30pm. After panicking twice and calling the shuttle service for updates my driver finally arrived. A short Iranian man wearing gold-rimmed aviator glasses hopped out of the van and loaded my luggage. The ride to the airport quickly grew interesting as he discovered my destination.
Referencing Star Wars, he told me that Earth was ready to be a federation planet. No matter where you go, he told me, we all have that human quality: we all laugh and worry about the same things. He explained to me that religion is a language and, like all languages, separates us. Even as I enjoyed listening to him, I realized that this was another person who didn't require my participation to have a conversation with me. Our lovely talk concluded with a prediction that within the next 15 years our human side will collide and a new world will form...and his collecting $32 from me.
Stage 2: The Plane Rides
(Los Angeles to Aukland, NZ)
Denver to LA was a breeze, so onto the 12+ hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. I've never flown internationally before (Mexico doesn't count) and I just have to say that a 747-400 plane is a fabulous place to spend 12 hours. It's a double-decker airbus, essentially. Plus, they have videos and games in a console on the back of every seat to help while away the time. I lucked out with a window to my right and an empty seat to my left.
It was dark when the plane left Los Angeles and we stayed in darkness the whole flight. I ate when the trays came around, watched some movies (Semi-pro sucks, btw), and slept. Thanks to Steve's advice I did try to walk a bit, and I think having a go at Pikes Peak one day and then flying 16 hours the next was a good thing; it gave my legs time to think about what they had done wrong.
12 hours after leaving LA we started to descend in New Zealand. After hours of featureless darkness, I was glued to the window. The streets snaked below us, pulsating with the faint light of cars. As we banked towards the airport at 3,000 feet and descending I saw a glow on the horizon. I couldn't make it out at first, thinking it was light pollution or the airport lights, but I stared as I realized it was the ocean: enormous and beautiful under the full moon. The waves seemed frozen from that height, but it left me speechless. It's safe to say that I loved New Zealand already.
I waited in the airport, exhausted and dirty, before my next flight left. They decided we'd leave 45 minutes late because "the Gold Coast airport doesn't like early arrivals". I was thrilled about this.
(Aukland, NZ to Gold Coast, Australia)
After the marathon of crossing the pacific, this 2.5 hour flight felt like nothing. The part I remember most is the descent into Australia because it typified the way I felt about the country. We broke through towering clouds, passed a rainbow, and coasted over hundreds of whales. The towering clouds were beautiful and terrifying in their immensity, the rainbow unexpected, and the whales were marvelous and huge. Australia felt like the dangerous yet extraordinary country I had always thought it would be...even from the air.
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