Los Angeles

Well we had a one day layover in LA which was kind of nice because it allowed us to adjust to the time change a little and get a really good night's sleep before the flight to Aukland.  The airport and our hotel was pretty far away from the city center so we decided to sleep in and then walk to the beach for the day.  It was so strange to see palm trees and houses decorated for Christmas!  I had fun taking pictures on the beach because there were a lot of seagulls and I periodically made Dan run after them so I could catch them in flight (he was a pretty good sport about it.)  It also gave me a good chance to use the polarizing filter on the camera and it was great!  (You were right Maureen...good investment).  I would post some pictures but it's not really working on this computer so I'll have to try somewhere else later.

When we got to the airport we realized that we hadn't printed out the airline tickets from New Zealand to Australia so they wouldn't let us check in on the flight.  So the only place we could get internet is this relax lounge that you have to pay by the hour.  Price was a little steep so we printed the stuff off, checked in and now are determined the make the most of it and eat as much complimentary food as possible.

Well I am off for now, hoping that they will serve us Champagne on the plane.

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Love Hanna and Dan

Packed and ready to go!

Well we have had a nice week spending Christmas with family before we take off on our adventures.  I feel that we enjoyed just enough of winter before we say goodbye to it!  We went cross country skiing in North Bay and it was picture perfect in the woods - beautiful blue sky and thick snow on the trees.  It was really a "winter wonderland!"  We enjoyed Hana's wonderful cooking at Christmas time...I have attached a photo of the cookies...I would say they are magazine ready.  We had some great "steam-boat" dinners in Toronto with lots of  great wine and time to spend with Ulla and Peter.  We even got a Christmas card from Wonky and Mr. Felix - thanks Sarah!  I am off to bed now but may post more pictures tomorrow.  I need to clear off my camera card so it's ready for action when we leave!!