Aukland
We were stuck in a little bit of traffic- but we didn't mind, as we got a beautiful view of downtown Auckland while we waited for the traffic to clear. Slowly but surely we finally arrived in the city! We pulled up to our hotel- which was centrally located and perfectly priced. We got a good night sleep and woke up early the next day and set out to explore what Auckland had to offer. Dominating the city skyline you can see the tall, thin, protruding SkyTower. When Joey said, he wanted to jump off the tower- I thought- “Is he really that sick of me after 4 months?” Then he explained.... The SkyTower has an attraction which has a platform where you can jump off the top level while harnessed to a chord. Its about 65 stories high that's a 630 foot fall at over 50 miles per hour! Its kind of like bungy jumping but without the bungy part. The chord slows you down so you have a smoothish landing after a complete free fall.. Not for me. This sounded like the craziest thing, and looked more scary than fun! True- I went Sky-diving- but that was 6 years ago! I like to think of myself as older and wiser now- but really I am just much more fearful... So If Joey wanted to jump off a building for fun- he was doing it alone! When we called the SkyTower they told us that this weekend was a special promotion – anyone who jumped on Friday, Saturday or Sunday would pay a discounted rate and have the rest donated to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund. So I still thought what Joey wanted to do was completely crazy, but at least its for a good cause! We booked an appointment and headed out towards the Tower. On our walk to the Tower I kept thinking how I am going to tell his mother what he did?? And just like that … her mom-sense still working thousands of miles, and time zones away- Joey's mother called! I was nervous to answer but felt like it was the right thing to do. The conversation was going well until she said “Where are you guys going now?” I handed the phone to Joey- I didn't have the heart to tell her. When Joey told her, and explained how safe it is she was very cool about it, and we promised to call her right after ( I love you mom!).
We arrived at the SkyTower and checked in to his appointment. As Joey got dressed in his gear and briefed for his jump I stood waiting and still trying to convince him not to do it. Then we had to say goodbye as he made his way up the Tower. Looking back it was a little over-dramatic, but you know me. Even though he was the one jumping - I was the one that was scared. He was taken to an elevator up to the top, and I was taken to a platform outside where I get to watch him fall!
I got the 2 minute warning... and then the 30 second warning- and then before I knew it- there he was falling off a building! I couldn’t watch- but I had to watch! And after several long seconds he finally landed safely, turned to me with a huge smile on his face- I was relieved. The relief lasted a very short time as they offered him the chance to do it again! “It's your lucky day” they said. Lucky for him, sucky for me! I had to go through this all over again?? So there I was waiting at the platform- 2 minute warning... 30 second warning and then there he was my daredevil husband- jumping backwards this time! Once my heart slowed down, I was very proud of him and his bravery.
There are two sides to every story- and I'm sure if Joey was writing this one it would be a completely different version then my nail-biting dramatic account. Joey would write a detailed description of the thrill and joy. Sorry you had to hear my side! Joey- I am glad you had fun, but remember you have to jump off the tower about 18 more times (yes, I did the math) to equal the number of feet I jumped for sky-diving! (But it's not a competition- or a challenge!)
So once Joey got that out of his system we continued on to the Auckland harbor area. The harbor was beautiful, displaying rows of sail boats and even some award winning racing boats. It really is a beautiful city.
We heard that Auckland had a big Jewish community. Since it was Friday, we decided to walk over to where the synagogue is and check out what time services were for that evening. When we went to the main office and asked for candle lighting times. Not only did we get the candle lighting times- but we also got a newsletter, calendar of events and even a tour! A nice man, who was originally from South Africa showed us around. The synagogue is very much like the community- laid back, welcoming and very modern. He told us a little bit about the history of the community and what it is like today.
We spent a wonderful Shabbat in Auckland, but I was counting down the minutes for our next stop- French Polynesia!
