Taking the Long Way #33

[kat727]

Hey, I put the invite out there!! Only response I got was from MichelleLT who said she couldn't afford it right now. So really I am up for sharing Denmark!

kat

[mishka422]

Wish I could too kat but it's out of my budget too.

[kat727]

Oh me too. What fun it would be!

kat

[MichelleLT]

I want to do New Zealand in a year or two, in our winter their summer. That gives plenty of time to save right?

[kat727]

I would start checking out rates now to have a good idea of the cost. The airlines make it look cheap but then add on a bunch of fees. On AAA my fare showed just 270 before taxes/fees but at least they showed the true rate right below it.

My parents loved going there on their way to Australia. I think they are hoping to make a return trip but right now they are saving to go back to Monaco.

kat

[MichelleLT]

Yeah, ran into that with Japan as well. I always check several websites as well as directly through the airlines.

It looks like I will actually have to change planes in Australia to get to New Zealand. Maybe I'll try for a long layover so I can get out of the airport for a couple hours.

[kat727]

I helped find a great deal for my parents several years ago when they went. It was on Continental out of LAX. They flew to Australia via Auckland on the way there(had a 2 day layover) and then via Hawaii on the way back, again with the two day layover. They had a great time. Maybe those extra layovers are what made the rate so good.!

kat

[MichelleLT]

Oooh. That sounds pretty cool!

I actually can probably catch a military hop to Australia. So maybe I'll just buy a hop from Australia to New Zealand and meet the bf there. A local unit flies a rotation to Australia with an overnight layover in Hawaii. Doesn't sound too bad to me!

[AliSuddenly]

Wow Michelle, thats cool! Lucky you, flights to Australia are very expensive from here (from the US too I'm sure).

Kat - Great you got your Denmark trip sorted at last! I'm dead jealous, I'd love to go to Denmark and might in a few years time (isnt Legoland there too !!?). I've been to Norway and Sweden and absolutely LOVED it there. If it wasnt so cold, H and I said we would go live there for a while. I even got a job in Norway once when I was 18 as a diplomats au pair but stupidly turned it down, regretted that ever since. I love all things Scandinavian and Viking related So are you going to visit an old friend, or your actual sister?

[kat727]

She is my sister from when I was an exchange student right out of high school. We are very close, even 28 years later. You are right about Lego land it is over on the mainland.

Ex is being stupid again, saying he has overpaid me on child support and maintenance by 4000 over a two year time. Nothing like an idiot saying the payment center/courts can't get the numbers right when they have been doing this for decades!! I told him that I am pretty sure that they take into account that he gets 26 paychecks and they divide the amount to make it work out. I even broke down January 2010 for him and showed him that he didn't even pay the amount he thought the child support should be!! (A good 300 less!) He isn't happy enough that I will be getting nearly 500 a month less come July 1 when S18 comes off. Idiot!!

kat