Yatta! Part 1

Hello there, world!

I have arrived safe and sound in Auckland, New Zealand!
So far I've seen the roadside from the airport to downtown, parts of Queen Street, the steep-ass road leading up to the hostel, and the cool side of the hostel pillow for a power nap.
Where were we?
From Vancouver, the one-minute Singin in the Rain was fun and featured awkward dancing and bowling over fellow actors on my part. We booked it to the airport and I braced for impact from the infamous US customs officers.
Everything took less than half an hour to be processed, which left me happily underwhelmed by the Border Control folk. Time for food and watching the Bears/Packers game. Not too shabby!
The flight from Van to LA was almost empty, and for the most part uneventful. I tried to watch "The American," but slept through the bulk of it, a fact for which I shed no tears.
In LA, I had booked a flight with a 4-hour layover so as to give ample time for switching terminals, having my baggage scanned, a thorough strip-search, and whatever else they had in store for me.
Instead, I exited the plane from YVR, baggage in hand, going over my story, only to walk down a short hallway, turn left and be right at my gate to New Zealand. That was it.
3 1/2 hours to kill: time to live American.
I stopped at a place called "L.A. Roadhouse Route 66" for a giant burger, fries, and beer, with service from a delightfully American waitress named Nicole, who seemed to be working at the airport to reinforce international perception of LA waitresses. She was very nice and smiled, but had a no-BS attitude and was one small-talk agreement away from an "Mmmmmm-hmmmmmmmm."
Internet time is running out, so I'll update further later. Now it's time to take advantage of the hostel shower and kitchen. Nom.