$9.15 USD.

That’s what I just paid for a large single shot soy latte.

Including 15% gratuities of course.

That coffee included standing at Pete’s Coffee line for 10 minutes only to find they only have oat (🤮) or almond (🤮🤮); and a long walk around SF airport to find a more civilised – albeit expensive – solution to my addiction.

I did get desperate at one point and consider the robot coffee maker except his poor little robbot arm seemed stuck on an order and he didn’t know how to exit.

Anyway, that’s where we are right now folks.

San Francisco.

We flew direct Christchurch to San Fran, a route that has only just opened up via ANZ affiliate partner United Airlines.

We had it on good authority from someone who had just arrived from SF with UA, that UA were going to be pretty crap, bad food and no screens. In fact the worst flight they had ever been on.

We braced ourselves for the worst. Fed ourselves up in the Koru Club, loaded our iPads with movies and books.

Turns out our plane did have screens, did have 3 meals in 12 hours and all were quite nice. Of course my coworker Brayden would say any food recommendation I make isn’t necessarily going to pan out as per my glowing recommendations. But seriously Brayden, you didn’t like The Monday Room? Who doesn’t like The Monday Room! Seriously.

Anyway, the flight was perfectly ok, we had an exit row, 12 hours 15 minutes went pretty fast with the help of a little antihistamine. Which turns out that it puts me to sleep. Funny that. I have no allergies. Unless you call inability to sleep on a plane an allergy.

Now here we sit in SF airport with my ‘Dogpatch’ cafe soy latte waiting to head off to Reno.

It’s winter here of course.

SF isn’t too bad, currently a nice Christchurch 9.

Reno 2.

We are staying with MoD’s ex mother and father-in-law.

Nicest people in the world.

Stayed with them before and would have gone to Jan’s 80th a few years ago.

Bloody covid.

So we haven’t seen them since 2018.

Looking forward to our visit.

From there we head to the cold.

Minnesota, currently -16 😝

I had to buy Merinos!

Long John’s, undies, singlets, long sleeve t’s AND lambswool boot liners.

Let’s see if that’s enough.

I will keep you posted readers.