About the time this gets posted on Tuesday morning, we’ll be starting a 9-hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Our cat & house sitter, an experienced vet tech, will be moved in and getting settled for ten days with our elderly cats, including Toby, currently the “special needs” cat.

I’m just along for the ride on this trip. Meda, on the other hand, will be a “Visiting Fellow” in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland. She’ll be doing a series of special lectures, and will be meeting with students and faculty to discuss various projects, and offer advice where appropriate. I’m along basically as her valet, making sure she gets to the right places at the right times as listed in her daily schedule. I’ll get a lot of reading done, that likely means I’ll have lots of time to check out places to eat. We may even have time to see a few landmarks in Auckland like the big museum, and perhaps the zoo.

But it’s the first time I’ll be traveling without laptop, and I’ll be trying to force myself to rely on my iPad for blogging. It’s something I haven’t done before. I’m a bit apprehensive, but will do my best.

We’re supposed to have wifi access, but its quality and reliability remains to be seen.

Wish me luck. And send along any restaurant suggestions in Auckland’s central business district.