Fraiser Island

This might be long...im sorry, but its worth it i promise!

So a couple of nights ago we met our groups, there was 16 of us total, but we were in 2 cars so 8 in each, my car was composed of myself, silvano (but was soon dubbed silvy, hes irish) and a group of 6 german 19yr old girls travelling together...buh. The other group was pretty awesome, 3 ppl from ireland (marty, james, and mary), 2 girls from england (Zoe and Angela), 2 girls from sweden (Sanna and Jenny), and another guy from england (Chris). So we grocery shopped the night before to prep for the morning, and got going the next day around 830 (up at 730 for the free breakfast tho).
After packing up our 4x4s the our 2 trucks headed off to fraiser island. Obviously, i chose to drive, so Silvy and I were the only drivers in our car, therefore we had the front seats and the german girls had the back. Leaving the hostel, I drove first, and immediately drove made a right turn into the rightside lane, unfortunately, they drive on the left in Australia, so we were off to a good start hahaha.
Fraiser is a national park, so there werent really any roads there, the one road that we had to start on was crazy bumpy and the german girls in the back were flying all over the place. The first day had us driving along the beach towards the village Eroug and then towards lake McKenzie...driving on the beach was AMAZING, going 80-90km next to the surf was definitely something ill be forgetting quickly. We werent allowed to swim in the ocean because there are alot of sharks and jellyfish around the island, so the lake was somewhat inland, but that was still really sweet to drive along. Lake McKenzie itself was GORGEOUS. WHITE WHITE sand, just like Seista Key, if not whiter, and the water was turquoise, just beautiful...and while were were there the next morning a dingo came wondering along the beach and started steal ppls food, they were actually pretty ballsy coming that close to ppl, but the park ranger said they wont bite unless theres pups around.
So the first night we camped out and the 2 groups stayed together, it was really sweet. The original intention was that because silvy and I drove and packed/unpacked the top of the van, the girls would do the cooking and cleaning, sounds fair...but that DEFINITELY did not happen. On top of driving all day, unloading and loading the roof of the truck, I made the hamburgers the first night (which were awesome), and the pasta the next night, and on top of it all, We had to tell them to clean up and every little thing...they werent all bad, there were a few who would help out, but overall, im glad the other group was there, cuz there would have been at leat 1 or 2 germans remaining on the island.
The next day we went to the lake again and then drove up the beach to the champange pools, theyre some shallow spots along the beach that the waves flow over and makes it look like bubbling champange. The beach was about 75km long, so there was alot of beach driving, so it was really sweet. That night we camped at K'Gari, which was an aboriginal site, so I learned how to play the didgeridoo, and actually got some sound out of it!! Nick (the guy who ran teh campsite) was showing us the spirits and ghosts that appear in our photos, so once i find somewhere to upload everything look out for the ghosts, theyll getcha.
We had to wake up at 530 the next morning to drive along the beach before the tide came up and washed out the parts we could drive on, so I drove us to Lake Wabby (or at least as close as we could get) were we had some breakfast, then hiked the 2.5km to get to the lake through the forrest.
Lake Wabby is this tiny little lake at the bottom of this MASSIVE sand dune. Like huge, huge sand dune, and when i climbed to the top, it was just a massive desert, kinda nuts especially with all the forrest around it. They said the lake will be gone within the next 100yrs or something like that because the dune slowly rolls into the lake. The flies were pretty bad at the lake, but we were feeding the dead flies to the cat fish in the lake, and the minnows were eating all the dirt and dead skin off the bottom of my feet, so now theyre nice and soft again hahaha
So overall the camping trip was really really really awesome, made alot of friends for when i head to the UK in the fall, so thats even better! The pictures are pretty sweet too, I just need to find somewhere to put them up.
Had a good alst night in the hostel, finished off the goon we didnt get to on the trip with some girls from Toronto and a guy from the UK, so even more new friends! And obviously continued to hang out with the group that I was camping with, so good times all round! Its about 1:30pm here right now (march 1st, 20 more days til my birthday!!) and im catching the 3:30 up to airlie, so ill be arriving there around 915 tomorrow morning, then headed off to sail the Whitsundays and go snorkeling at the great barrier reef on tuesday, so there will be another big gap in blogs.
My ipod finally made it to Brisbane!! so just 8 more days until i finally have music again (THANKS AGAIN PARENTS!!!) then off to india!!
SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG, ALOT TO GET IN

Rainbow Beach

So ive made it to rainbow beach now!
My bus left this morning from Surfers at 4:30, so im functioning on very little sleep. Tomorrow im headed off to fraiser island for a self guided 4x4 tour, and i over heard someone saying thats there are only 2 drivers for 2 tours (one driver being me, classic) so hopefully ill get something comped! hahaha
Finished the Black Dalhia, not to bad, kinda drags on a little too long tho...now to decide which of the 5 other books to start on next, i picked up cider house rules and the talisman in surfers, so between those 2 and memoirs of a geisha, the colour purple and water for elephants, im thinking elephants will be next...
the fraier island tour starts tomorrow and goes for 3 days, so ill be radio silent for a bit
see you on the flip side!

Byron and Surfers

So ive made it to Surfers Paradise safe and sound. Last night found another 5$ dinner adn just hung out with natalie jono and brianna again, it was a good day, the 4 of us went to the beach, i could actually go into the water finally b/c there was more then just me there to watch my stuff!! so it was a good day overall, still spending too much, but i only have 2 more weeks in australia then ill be able to live like a king!! wahahaha
Surfers Paradise is pretty awesome, its a fairly big city (at least it has all the fancy shops and tall buildings) but its build directly along the beach, so its really awesome, kinda of my 2 favourite things at once (beach and city) so im pretty happy here hahaha.

How Byron got better

SO as i was on facebook, i got a message from natalie, the girl from sydney from winnipeg, SHES IN BYRON TOO! so i met her for dinner at the cheeky monkey for 5$ dinner (fish and chips, it was massive and aweeesome), while we were there we met these 2 other ppl from BC, so we decided to hang out with them all night, it was sweet, we bought a box of goon to split amoungst ourselves and went to the pool at one of their hostels, once we got kicked out of there we headed to the beach to finish off the goon and partied there for the night, it was killer.
anyways, im headed to the beach while the rain holds off!
off to surfers paradise tomorrow morning, booked my bus today, so im outta byron by 830, it was nice and i wish i could have stayed longer, its such a cool little beach town, very similar to seista key (about the same size too), BUT if i want to see the rest of australia before i head to india, i gotta keep moving

Byron Bay

So the free internet follows me around! yahoo!
Made it to byron bay, the bus ride wasnt too bad, they played step up and step up 2, and then i slept from 12-6ish, waking up every few hours. I tried making myself as tired as possible for the bus ride (waking up early, running, walking everywhere with my giant kanpsack) but i just tired myself out for today instead, typical. So i went to the beach already this morning, and im headed up to the lighthouse on the eastern most point of australia now, but thats only b/c ive already had a 2 hour nap. Hopefully I'll meet some friends in the hostel so i dont need to drink by myself tonight hahaha (kidding, i would just read tonight instead...awesome)

THANK YOU PAULA, DAWN, MEG, AND EVERYONE ELSE AT THE BANK

To start...my thank yous
PAULA!!! thank you so much for getting my ipod sent to australia
thank you mum and dad for getting my ipod ready and paying for it to be sent to australia!!!
thank you meg and dawn (and anyone else who helped at the bank!) for unfreezing my funds and transfering my visa payment so i can go to india!! and frankly! THANK YOU dawn for the amazing book list thats keeping me occupied and sane with out my ipod, i may have to keep reading even once my ipod comes back
thank you pete for letting me stay at your place for the last few nights and for letting me use your ipod while running, on the beach, and everywhere else i could possibly think of, and also allowing me to do my laundry.

and now its my last day in sydney (finally! maybe my money will go a lil further up the coast) so my bus leaves at 7 tonight, so ill be in byron bay by 7 tomorrow morning. Im not sure when ill get to the internet next, so you all might have to wait until i get to lauras house in brisbane (so march 8th-ish?). I went for one last run today before i dont have an ipod at my expense and i saw a tree leaking sap that was BLOOD RED, it was weird, thought you should know hahaha.
alright well have a good couple of weeks, there will be a whole crap load of pictures to put up once i get to brisbane so hopefully laura will allow me to use her computer haha
talk to you all soon!!

Barmalow Beach

So i woke up this morning and it was another sunny day! Pete had suggested I head to Barmalow Beach, and it was awesome, of a bus ride away, but totally worth it, definatly not a touristy beach, i dont think i heard anyone with an accent other then Australian. It was really awesome. I walked the whole beach, there was one spot where the rocks made a lil wading pool, which was really neat. And there was an island that had a bridge to it, so i went and read on the island for an hour or so after i lied around in the sand. On the island there was the remains of a shark net that use to protect the beach, it was really neat. But the island itself was really cool, i climbed down the side for a bit and found this cave that I read in for a bit, then i watched the windsufers and sailing lessons, and laughed when the kids capsized their boats, it was a good afternoon
Anyways, follow the link to the pics i took...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2191906&id=90401387&l=bb33e

Travel Plans

SOOOOOOooooo, Ive finally booked something!
Im going to be headed to Byron Bay on friday night, staying there for 2 nights then headinig up to Fraiser Island where ill be doing a 4x4 tour...I get paired into a group of about 10 others and we each take turns driving around the island, they give us a map and all the camping gear we'll need, it should be neat...then im headed to rainbow beach for a couple of nights, then heading to whitsunday (a group of islands i believe), where ill be taking a sail boat on a 4day 3night tour of the isalnds and it will take me up to the great barrier reef as well. So then, from there I'll be catching another greyhound up to Cairns where Ill probally have a day to wonder around for the day and then ill get to the airport to catch a cheap flight back to brisbane (probally around the 8th of march i think) but from there ill catch a flight to india on the 12th (it was 200$ cheaper then leaving at anyother time) and go from there!
So after tomorrow night im not really sure when ill be making it to a computer, so ill be sure to post again before i leave

but now a bit about my day...Went downtown to book my tours, and then after realizing how much money i had just sepnt and figuring out how much money im going to have left I decided to run. So i went out for about an hour, and little did i know, SYDNEY IS BUILT ON HILLS!! I was running uphill for about 75% of the time, it was horrible, definatly cursed the city as i was going up a stupid steep hill. Overall though, it was a good run, got lost but some how managed to find my way back.
I stopped at the used book store again, so now i have a collection of 4 books with me, currently on the Black Delhia, but i also have memoriors of a geisha, the colour purple, and Water for elephants lined up, so i should be good for a while, but i did just go through 3 books in the last few weeks. So hopefully im able to find another book store or go through these a bit slower so i have something for india

testing...

Let me know if this works. ive posted my photos on facebook, buuuutttt theres a link below, if you cant see them ill try something else...
West Coast photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2191500&id=90401387&l=6fd09
Sydney Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2191594&id=90401387&l=e0d38

North Syd

So right after I left the free internet place last night, I got a call from Julians friend Peter, good timing too! Last night was the last night in the hostel for me, so when Pete called, he told me I could stay at his place for a few nights, so here I am! Its a bit further from downtown, but it was neat taking the train over the Habour Bridge this morning getting here!
So no I have a REAL bed to sleep in (its a double too! hahaha) and a computer at my disposal, so im gonna try and figure out how to get my photos on this thing, and once i can work the memory card in the slot theyll all be up on facebook too

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So i was awoken by the italian in my room this morning cuz he was trying to get a flight back to milan today but there was nothing availible, and his english isnt very good, so i had to talk to the guy at the flight counter for him over the phone, long story short, he cant go home until march 11. Anyways, so as i was turning over in my bed (this was around 9:45, my alarm was set for 11:30) i saw something that made me jump, BLUE SKY!! so with that i hopped out of bed, threw on my board shorts and an undershirt and headed out the door (only after applying alot of sunscreen, i aint gonna be no raccoon!).
So i stoped at the travel place and tried to figure out my plan, and it looks like i can get up the east coast (85% of expenses included) for around 800$ (thats bus, room, tours, etc) and it would be a hope on and off bus so should i want to stay a few nights in a city, i can just get on the bus when it comes back, so thats looking like the plan now, and the bus would take me all the way up to carines (and would include the reef tour too). Then i would just fly out of Carines to India instead (possibly cheaper as its closer to the mainland, thats next on my list after i finish this).
So after i talked to the guy, i went and spent the day on the beach, it was soooooo nice, a little overcast, but over all it was really nice, defiantly scored a good tan
Overall tho, im a little disappointed in myself today, i was doing SO WELL!! Along the walk to the beach, the path forces you through a string of shops and stores and food, and there to my dimise was Element, Billabong, and Quiksilver! It was horrible, i managaed to make it in and out of element and billabong without hurting myself (everything here is sooo expensive, $45 for a t-shirt! are you kidding!!!). But in Quiksilver i found a stupid amount of things i wanted. It came down to a pair of board shorts, they looked like they were from the 50s, yellow with black trim and tiki sharks all over them, they were ballin, once i can find somewhere to upload my pictures ill show you all! The other piece was a greeny-bluey shirt, plaid with black, yellow, red, purple, it was realllllly nice, and on sale. So i settled on the shirt, it was only 50 (compared to 70 for the shorts) but its gonna be worth sleeping on the streets for a night or 2 (as long as it doesnt rain, im golden).
Anyways, that was my day, its only starting to get darker now (more due to the on coming rain tho) so im off to shower and change into my new shirt, probally go hang out with the germans and norweigians on the floor below me for a bit (getting a ton of reading done too)
O and because i had to take the ferry to get to the beach, i was able to finally get some good shots of the opera house and the bridge
On to the next day, hopefully ill book my trip tomorrow and be able to get out of the money pit that is sydney before the weekend!

Rain, rain and more rain!

Well i realized i hadnt really said what ive been up to, so in short, went to the museum with Kelsey the other day (the girl from San Fransisco) which was interesting, lots of skeletons of everything you could think of, that was pretty neat. There was also a miassive rock and mineral display, so many different things, it was cool to think that all of it was natural because the colours and combinations of colours were just spectacular. That night i headed to strawberry hills with her a girl from winnipeg and a guy from ireland for $5 steaks, which were actually really awesome! especially for 5 bucks! im totally going back because their 5$ menu also had fish and chips and a bunch of other good stuff, so ill probally end up there again at some point. After dinner we went down to Darling Harbour, which was really nice at night, minus the rain that we kept trying to avoid!
Yesterday I went to Paddys Market with Kelsey and Natalie (shes the girl from Winnipeg) which was really cool, it was just a giant asian market place and everything was pretty cheap (both in price and quality) so i didnt buy anything. Then last night just chilled out, free bbq (luckily nothing was stolen this time while i was there) but i ended up just vegging out and watched oceans 13 and 27 dresses before heading off to hang with some swiss and german guys then i went and read for a bit.
nothing too fancy, but the weather wasnt anything i really wanted to go party in, so whatever, i needed a chillout night anyways.
hope everything is going well back at home!

Buh, Stupid Rain!

So its been raining since monday, and apparently wont be stopping until Thursday. Convenient, that happens to be when I plan to head off to the next city, i just gotta figure out if i want to go north to the floods (Brisbane, Carines) or south to the forest fires (Melbourne)...im thinking south first, for like a week, then back to syd for a few days then head up the coast to Sufers Paradise, Bryon Bay, and Brisbane. Hopefully I can go to Carines, but other backpackers and saying the greyhounds arent going up there because the roads are flooded...thoughts?!

GOON!!

So, for the ill-informed, goon is the cheapest, dirtiest wine in Oz, it actually says on the box, made with the assistance of milk, eggs and fish products (apparently fish eggs), BUT it does the trick, and helps me make new friends! I hung out with a guy from ireland, a girl from Winnipeg (FINALLY ANOTHER CANADIAN!), and a girl from San Fransisco (who im headed to the museum with today!). The art gallery was awesome yesterday, way better to do it by myself. I ended up taking a tour of the aboriginal works which was really really awesome. Im not going to bore you with all the details, but this one piece up close just looked like a bunch of lines making squares with white dots in the squares, but from further back it transformed into an image of the clouds reflecting on the water, it was amazing, like, buh, awesome.
I also picked up a new book yesterday, so ive started reading the diving bell and the butterfly, which seems really cool, and Dawn (my old boss) just sent me a MASSIVE list of other books to read in liu of my iPod (THANKS DAWN!!!!!), so ill be getting started on that too!
I grabbed a little note book, which is already slowly being filled with names to add to facebook, the books i need to read and a list of songs that i need to get put onto my ipod shuffle (my parents said they would mail it over to me (thank youuuuuu)), i just need to figure out where im going to be in 2 weeks hahaha, which is a task on its own.
also in this book are addresses for post cards, so if you want one, start emailing me your address (and tell me if you want one from india or australia, im holding out for india for most ppl i think), so ZINKIE@GMAIL.COM, but i cant guarentee that ill send one to everyone, i only have so much money, and most of it needs to go to the goon hahahaha
so im off to the museum and other fun filled day of learning! yay!!

CARLA WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU!!!

So my day was a bit different then i expected, i ended up finishing my book, so tomorrow Im going to try selling it to a used book store and get a few in return, but thats besides the point. It was really really nice out this morning, but ended up getting cloudy by the time i was done my book, so i didnt end up going to the opera house, but i got alot of reading done in the botanical gardens.
Anyways, I ended up going to the NSW Art Gallery this aft instead (This is where you come in Carla), it was reallllly good (FREE TOO!!!), but i went with some friends from the hostel that didnt appreicate it as much as I did and I could tell they were getting bored, so Im gonna go back tomorrow so I can read everything they ghave next to all the paintings and take photos of a few that I like, but the aboriginal art and art work by australians was really something, I kinda wished that they offered some sort of course back at home for it, because some of the compositions and stylings of the works were really nice (thats why I wished you were with me Carla, no one else had the patients to follow along the gallery with me) OH! they also had a bunch of oriental works that were really neat as well, got me all excited for India!
Another day down, almost time for me to figure out my next move, I might try and stay at the hostel for a bit longer, but i was also thinking of going to a hostel closer to Bondi Beach, the only con is that its not within walking distance from downtown, so thats the biggest problem im facing right now (its a tough life, but someones gotta live it)

Wednesday!

So its gorgeous out today! After the past two days have rained, its finally sunny, although ive decioded to stay off of the beach (let my eyes cool down a bit), I am going to be out and about! So im off to the botanical gardens and the opera house (to get a NICE picture of it, its far too yellow when its gross out).
The zoo yesterday was awesome, we saw mother nature continue its work in the form of 2 "bearcats" some endangered spieces from mylasia. I got a video too (obvy). Anyways off to enjoy the weather! (im getting better with the shorter posts, eh?!)

Phone number

so to call out of canada, apparently you need to dial....
011-614-1593-0453
call, text whatever, im happy to hear a bit of home every once in a while!

Michael the Raccoon

So the beach was awesome yesterday, Bondi was gorgeous, but there was a stupid amount of ppl there, so I've been told to try manly beach instead. Anyways, i got ALOT of sun, and seemed to put sunscreen everywhere but my feet and my eye sockets, so now i looke like mother nature punched me in the face.
thank goodness for sunglass to cover up my mistakes hahaha
anyways, just a short note today, off to the zoo with some guys i met last night from the UK

Saturday Night

So i know I said I was gonna try to stay away from the computer today, but i needed it to make me feel better.
Last night was really really good, I meet a whole bunch of ppl at the roof top bbq the hostel throws every weekend, so I hung out with this swiss guy and a bunch of germans (aparently 60% of the backpackers are german). Anyways, it was really good, I met this one german who knew who classified was, so that was crazy exciting.
BUT When i returned to my room, my iPod was not where I put it. And its so bizarre too, my camera was still there, the head phones (both pairs) were still there, my sunglasses were still there, just so frustrating and crazy! I'm praying that it wasnt stolen and that im just an idiot and put it somewhere else, but I dont know why the headphones wouldnt be with it and I tore my knapscak apart and I couldnt find it anywhere, AND ITS ONLY THE 2ND NIGHT! WTF!!!!
very frustrating, im obviously gonna keep looking for it, and i already told the ppl at the front desk, so hopefully it turns up (i think i might go crazy if it doesnt).
Anyways, im determined for this not to ruin my trip, i need to expect the good and the bad, but this just blows.
Phone is a lil messed up, I had to register the phone, which i did yesterday, but when i call to upload the mins, it just asks me to register again, tres frusterating.
anyways, im off to the beach
pray for my ipod (read sanity)

PHONE

So i got my phone working!! Incoming calls and text messages are free, so send as many texts that dont require a response as possible! Once I got my phone unlocked everything turned out pretty well, so yahoo! My first day in sydney was pretty exciting, wondered around everywhere, did a LOT of walking, downtown is really nice and theres so many parks everywhere. LUCKILY, theres a free internet cafe (for backpackers) across from my hostel, so I've been here a bit, but im noticing my addiction to the internet alot more here hahaha, so im gonna try and not be here everyday.
I still havent figured out how to upload any of my pics yet, so no one gets to see the GIANT bats that were just chilling out in the park yesterday, i was convinced they were going to try and eat me, but they just hung there (seriosuly tho, theyre massive, like the size of my head massive, probally bigger).
Started to meet a few ppl, a guy from england sleeps above me, and theres a couple from germany who are on the top bunks of the other 2 beds (I was suppose to be in a 12 bed room, but they were full, so im getting the 6 bed room for the same price, holla!). Didnt meet the british guy until this morning, but the germans I met yesterday afternoon, and theyve already told me i speak to fast (apparently common amoung canadians). Anyways, i went out and wondered the streets last night, just stopping in random pubs to try the local beers, a few good ones, I think i only found one that wasnt that great, but Id still drink it again. I mostly wondered around by myself last night as the germans were out hobo hunting, they had rented a camper and it got broken into and all of their things were stolen by the homeless ppl, they saw them wearing their clothes and decided to stalk them until they broke into another camper so they could call the cops on them. Funny stuff either way (but apparetnly typical for the area I'm in, Kings cross in a nice mix between strip clubs, hole in the wall bars, and fancy upscale dining).
Anyways, just being lazy today, woke up to late to get to the beach to make it worth it, so I decided to come down here and update you all while my iPod charges. Anyways I'm off to sit in the sun in the park and probally read for a bit
And now for my phone number:
+61415930453
61 is the country code, and had you been calling me in australia, the (0)4 would mean its a cell phone, so my number (incase you find yourself in oz) is 04-5193-0453. Like I said, incoming calls and text messages are free, so call away! (the + is suppose to be there as well, but if it doesnt work try using 00?)

Hello from the future!

So its friday morning, and its thursday back at home!! The future is wonderful, good weather and lots of sun! Longest flight ever, and the movies were no good at all!! But i got a bit of sleep in, minus the kid screaming at 4 in the morning (vancouver time, i guess?). Anyways, just killing some time prior to checking in, thought Id let you all know I arrived safe, already having problems with my phone and trying to get the new SIM Card to work, so ya'll will get my number once I know it.

Whistler and Van-City!

So on Jan 28th I left for whistler, which was incredible, the alpines were awesome to ski through, and contrary to Allans pessimism, the cliffs werent nearly as scary as he made them out to be. Will and I went down a few cliff, followed by will falling off a ledge, which may have been one of the funniest things I've seen in a while (hes fine, I'm not that horrible for watching my brother fall 5 ft!) Skiing in the clouds and the views were killer, but the best part was when the runs would break into the middle of the pine trees and all you could smell was the moisture of the clouds mixing in the with trees, ppl pay alot of money for that scent and never have I experienced something smelling so awesome and powerful.
The bus ride to and from whistler was pretty cool too, cliff face on one side and a massive drop on the other, I'm just glad I didnt need to drive, but it provided some pretty awesome views.
As for vancouver!!
Lauren and Kate were very gracious hosts providing me with an air mattress that puts Veros to shame (thanks anyways tho vero, it was better then the floor hahaha), and wondering around vancouver when lauren was working resulted in some interesting things. Particularly when I accidental wondered into East Van where I got to see all the wonderful homeless ppl, crackheads, heroine addicts, and prostitutes. I very quickly moved my wallet out of my back pocket and into the front where i proceeded to keep my hands on my phone and wallet just in case hahaha, and that was also around the same time that I found the signs all around me really interesting and started avoiding eye contact. Luckily it was only 630ish so the action was just getting started and I got out of there after I saw the dirty old white guys following the asian prostitutes up the stairs, good times.
The next day was pretty sweet too, once Lauren got off work we headed to the aquarium! But with my luck we got there at 430, when the place closed at 5! We still decided to go for it tho, half price entry allowed us for run through the whole place quickly watching the otters, seals, turtles and TONS of other fish and such. The belugas were defiantly the most enticing, the baby was adorable and the grandma was preggers so we were trying to see the bump, which was VERY prominent. Other then the lack of time we were able to spend there, the only other thing that sucked was that I got the song "Baby Beluga" stuck in my head until we started drinking hahaha.
Once we left the aquarium we wondered around stanely park for a while and eventually walked ourselves back into town where we had the genius idea of trying to find tickets for the Canucks game! After stopping at the liquor store to get some predrinks we downed those and hopped into a cab to get to the GM place. We were hesitant to buy from scalpers, but once we discovered that a pair of tickets for the game would cost us 135$ each, we decided to by from the guy who looked homeless 2 tickets together for 50$ a pop. Lauren and I both made mental notes in case the tickets were bad and we could come back and jump his ass to get out money back. THANKFULLY the tickets were legit and we got pretty good seats in the upper balcony.
The game itself was awesome, the canucks finally won a home game, which i accredit to us being there, but ppl could argue that. Little did i know how different the spectators were here then they are back out east, making a comment about the leafs and dropping the F-bomb resulted in the first 3 rows ahead of me shooting me evil, evil looks, but it was worth it cause I got to chirp Sundin all night. Again tho, karma turned against me and Sundin scored, got an assist and some how got the games 1st star, whats with that! Luckily Jew informed me that Sundin has a personal vendetta against me, so he probably played harder after he heard me yelling at him (this is probably why they won, again, as a result of our presence). So as the game ended, we continued to drink and be belligerent (mostly me, laurens a lady and doesnt do those things haha) and headed back to the bar, and then eventually back to the sweet sweet apartment and partied to some S Club 7 (just a bit of a throw back).
Anyways, that was Whistler and Vancouver, good times had by all, and now I must prepare for my flight tonight! 2 1/2hrs to San Fran, connect and 14hrs to Sydney!

The story so far...

So for those who need to catch up...
Leaving ottawa was tough, alot of good times where had up there between work and school and friends and what not, so that was hard, but it was all worth it. Florida was pretty awesome, got a new pair of shorts which are pretty ballin, and some white frame oakleys, also tres ballin. Florida acted as a great base tan, although it starting to fade already (i'm not terribly worried tho b/c ill be arriving in sydney where they are having a heat wave like no other) and was overall really good, kelly, eryn, tony (kellys boyfriend) and I had quite the drive down, and although we aruged a bit, it was all worth the sun and the beach.
Leaving nice weather like that for the bitter cold of canada was not fun, but needed to happen! so back to toronto I went and spent the rest of the time between seeing as many ppl as I could while I had a car hahaha. So to those of you I got to see, thanks! and for those of you who I missed, im sorry, but I should be back by june, so all is not lost!

Welcome!

So i've decided to blog about my adventures rather then email everyone all the time, this way you can check whenever you feel like it and you dont keep getting stupid long emails from me as I move around! So I hope you enjoy it!