When I made plans to leave New Zealand, I had a few options. First, my bike was going by boat to Vancouver, so I was in no rush to get there, which allowed me to fly back home and spend a few weeks visiting some family and friends in Iowa, Minnesota, and Colorado. The next thing I had to decide was if I wanted to fly directly from Christchurch to Minnesota, or if I should head somewhere else first. When I started looking, a few days in Hawaii seemed to be an option that didn’t cost any more than flying directly to Minnesota. As I messed around with the dates a bit, I found that I could fly to Maui, stay six nights, then fly to Minnesota for $60 less (including 6 nights accommodation) than a direct flight from Christchurch to Minneapolis…pretty easy decision.

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