tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34093321942203402432024-03-04T23:57:29.104-08:00Tales from the Knapsack"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose."Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-53826344553004993162010-11-30T00:35:00.000-08:002010-12-02T16:59:26.612-08:00Horses and Hiking<div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> My last bit of wwoofing for the month of October was spent at Ruapehu Homestead in Ohakune, the picturesque little town famous for being the carrot capital of NZ! Ohakune is located pretty well smack-dab in the middle of the North Island, in the shadow of Mt <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkwyGUU3wB4ragfwR3fceVjiEs42nLAmRMo4euoizTkQuf3w-xsOLru8oSckvxxMxzwpwYJotc-1yHEiSi9SLn94yVomSez7IBkjqzYFP6_XDFFvo38uWnKB3Ml4Tioz_e_sAiRYu7_VT/s1600/homestead+006.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkwyGUU3wB4ragfwR3fceVjiEs42nLAmRMo4euoizTkQuf3w-xsOLru8oSckvxxMxzwpwYJotc-1yHEiSi9SLn94yVomSez7IBkjqzYFP6_XDFFvo38uWnKB3Ml4Tioz_e_sAiRYu7_VT/s200/homestead+006.JPG" width="200" /></a>Ruapehu. It was here that I found a wonderful place to stay with Sue and Don, and of course Mia, Apollo, Cherokee, Apache, Angel, Tane, Dot-com, Jimmy... the horses ;) Sue and Don run a horse trekking business in this small tourist town, although in my 10 days here I only saw 2 tours go out... so the horses, many saved from the meatworks, lead a pretty chilled out life! My working days were spent with Marie, a fellow wwoofer from France, working hard caring for the horses- feeding them carrots and hay, brushing them, and cleaning stables. We also looked after the goats, sheep, barn cats, 3 dogs, AND chopped firewood. Heaps of firewood! Marie and I shared a caravan in the yard, where we enjoyed lots of tea in the evenings cuddled up with our books and some good French music, and woke often in the night freezing our butts off. Pretty easy going days mostly. Sue and Don were often quite busy with<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4R1nWLtRWjzPwz_mTid_NbexTeN9VdOJ-VDfBGtH55YFPKlJK0mvzhWTdLMJshcgdYcwGSt7nFVeBPhnbh_xYtppDJg9tNuKvsOeL6uQXnLEgyMQZA5Svi3c-cgn5yoxyEqHJB1-C-2jP/s1600/homestead+016+%25282%2529.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4R1nWLtRWjzPwz_mTid_NbexTeN9VdOJ-VDfBGtH55YFPKlJK0mvzhWTdLMJshcgdYcwGSt7nFVeBPhnbh_xYtppDJg9tNuKvsOeL6uQXnLEgyMQZA5Svi3c-cgn5yoxyEqHJB1-C-2jP/s200/homestead+016+%25282%2529.JPG" width="150" /></a> work and other projects on the go, so Marie and I did our own thing on the farm.</div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of course I couldn't leave without doing a proper horse trek myself! And so their daughter Veronica was sweet enough to take me out for a few hours, with Tane and Mia, through the trails and across the creeks of a neighbouring conservation area. Such a wonderful ride, and such a great place to stay. Couldn't be happier spending my days with the animals, getting cuddles from the cats watching the horses' antics in the paddocks. Such characters!</div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLcB1_bsqdONc_OOJ9zasrM-i0dyrDM5pq-9D9qOXJsO2-qVtsswSDV9Qy-9NrvcVJxHZLL41d8nCoovEVbsFuFHS_AB7i6iYj2t7RHJplUurN2Q0m5p4M-SEo3Tb8W7EEJN_EQWxJNoJ/s1600/tongariro+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLcB1_bsqdONc_OOJ9zasrM-i0dyrDM5pq-9D9qOXJsO2-qVtsswSDV9Qy-9NrvcVJxHZLL41d8nCoovEVbsFuFHS_AB7i6iYj2t7RHJplUurN2Q0m5p4M-SEo3Tb8W7EEJN_EQWxJNoJ/s1600/tongariro+080.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLcB1_bsqdONc_OOJ9zasrM-i0dyrDM5pq-9D9qOXJsO2-qVtsswSDV9Qy-9NrvcVJxHZLL41d8nCoovEVbsFuFHS_AB7i6iYj2t7RHJplUurN2Q0m5p4M-SEo3Tb8W7EEJN_EQWxJNoJ/s200/tongariro+080.JPG" width="200" /></a>On one of my days off I enjoyed a magnificent hike on one of New Zealand's best treks- The Tongariro Crossing! This alpine trek runs between 3 mountains, including Mount DOOM, and other landscapes popularly known as Middle Earth :) Although the day I chose to do the hike turned out to be a cloudy one (as it is 75% of the time up there), the views were still spectacular. My boots treaded across mosses, scrubland, lava rocks, and snow! The only snow I'll be seeing this season actually-- so crazy to be having 2 summers in one year. The best sight was the Emerald Lakes up at the top, a perfect, albeit chilly place for lunch. 8 1/2 hours later I was met by my ride on the other end, and back to the homestead. </div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My great days in Ohakune ended on Halloween- and although my heart was breaking to not be celebrating my favourite holiday, it was time to move on to my first job since Korea- Seacliffs Dairy farm in Hawera!</div>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-75765403912153943252010-11-17T13:51:00.000-08:002010-11-17T14:21:27.326-08:00Hot spots in Rotorua<div style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tues Oct 19: After leaving the macademia nut farm, I had a few days to kill before I was on to my next wwoofing destination. Since it was on my way south, and we had skipped over Rotorua during our roadtrip, I thought I might as well explore the place all the tourists flock to see. I luckily found myself a place to stay with Couch Surf host Jackson, and his 8 year old daughter <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzLabTjUOR-MyB2OFxN_6O9tM2v3CevxSJxy7Vtf6uNV6mWBHzsXIxnuvXKbOdd3o6voAA3FA0NT8VF3TkbZYDdcMw6lJsgC5nZzSGT6u9b7DJPtmTVPUbZ1HW9n7EKVsfhe30pMC1fZy/s1600/macademias+206.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Tao. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_lyNYtxfI1oPnfmHOLZVQiXPayy2maGsjMAXhSAEoGu0zUBWRiMyOkOs000vv0HZrP4EIIY2irVJKkvaZEYsJrX-RuAU63G4jTMaLia4pS_nHbnW2ZZOeeCHdPV1orNB2MC4gqWuOWjM/s1600/macademias+197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsf_IMpmYHOPP7jSQYlX6nxSdY37yQ_KskEmrmh7pjnbZyp2_eAuNgUxKoFOlxXfwMG60fEyoAUqNEjeons2gv9obJfkRNWAwwGMyEOgAwaJhJIvr3yxvGt1Y6yMYgp0OzYzNv9UXwEf_/s1600/macademias+167.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsf_IMpmYHOPP7jSQYlX6nxSdY37yQ_KskEmrmh7pjnbZyp2_eAuNgUxKoFOlxXfwMG60fEyoAUqNEjeons2gv9obJfkRNWAwwGMyEOgAwaJhJIvr3yxvGt1Y6yMYgp0OzYzNv9UXwEf_/s200/macademias+167.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
With hot pools bubbling up all over this volcanic-bed of a city, the smell of sulpher hung in the air when I arrived downtown. I spent some time exploring the many shops, and later met Jackson and Tao before dinner. They were very welcoming, and sweet enough to take me to see some of the hot pools traditionally used since way back in the day, in a Maori community outside the city. </div><div style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsf_IMpmYHOPP7jSQYlX6nxSdY37yQ_KskEmrmh7pjnbZyp2_eAuNgUxKoFOlxXfwMG60fEyoAUqNEjeons2gv9obJfkRNWAwwGMyEOgAwaJhJIvr3yxvGt1Y6yMYgp0OzYzNv9UXwEf_/s1600/macademias+167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzLabTjUOR-MyB2OFxN_6O9tM2v3CevxSJxy7Vtf6uNV6mWBHzsXIxnuvXKbOdd3o6voAA3FA0NT8VF3TkbZYDdcMw6lJsgC5nZzSGT6u9b7DJPtmTVPUbZ1HW9n7EKVsfhe30pMC1fZy/s1600/macademias+206.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzLabTjUOR-MyB2OFxN_6O9tM2v3CevxSJxy7Vtf6uNV6mWBHzsXIxnuvXKbOdd3o6voAA3FA0NT8VF3TkbZYDdcMw6lJsgC5nZzSGT6u9b7DJPtmTVPUbZ1HW9n7EKVsfhe30pMC1fZy/s200/macademias+206.JPG" width="200" /></a>Wednesday morning Jackson dropped me off in Kuirau Park on his way to work. It was really great, because instead of spending an arm and a leg at some of the main tourist hot spring locations, I got to wander around and see plenty of steam pools and boiling mud, for free! It was neat to read about how before we all become so paranoid and fenced off all these 'dangerous' pools, people used to come here to bath, kids would play after school, and ladies would do their laundry! </div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_lyNYtxfI1oPnfmHOLZVQiXPayy2maGsjMAXhSAEoGu0zUBWRiMyOkOs000vv0HZrP4EIIY2irVJKkvaZEYsJrX-RuAU63G4jTMaLia4pS_nHbnW2ZZOeeCHdPV1orNB2MC4gqWuOWjM/s1600/macademias+197.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_lyNYtxfI1oPnfmHOLZVQiXPayy2maGsjMAXhSAEoGu0zUBWRiMyOkOs000vv0HZrP4EIIY2irVJKkvaZEYsJrX-RuAU63G4jTMaLia4pS_nHbnW2ZZOeeCHdPV1orNB2MC4gqWuOWjM/s200/macademias+197.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From there I walked down around the coast of the big, beautiful Lake Rotorua, and through the Maori village of Ohinemutu. There were some really neat carvings to see in the main square, as well as a traditional meeting house, or 'whare', a church, and a crafts shop. Poking around inside I also met a few guys doing some spectacular carvings, something like totems, representing mythical characters and stories about healing, since the carvings were to be placed at the entranceway of a new hospital. So cool! </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VGsS2E-GoHjtOrovgCUHkcO1r5Iep4q8jPLHX_tInNjpeMN3oTQH1PKckqpgQSwDzwyrlTR5YLbB1Q_IT7SGxv5qKQCQBcEW-Babl2_NslHi1hyNGB5KZ1UjflilBNGfTqcCsqpJU79e/s1600/macademias+212.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VGsS2E-GoHjtOrovgCUHkcO1r5Iep4q8jPLHX_tInNjpeMN3oTQH1PKckqpgQSwDzwyrlTR5YLbB1Q_IT7SGxv5qKQCQBcEW-Babl2_NslHi1hyNGB5KZ1UjflilBNGfTqcCsqpJU79e/s200/macademias+212.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Later I walked down to the Goverment gardens and old city hall building, saw some spotless cricket fields (a popular sport here), and went to the art museum. Finished off the evening cooking up a great quiche dinner with Tao, who happens to make some very delicious croissants ;) Thanks for the great stay Jackson! Next stop, Ohakune... </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu77YLs1HFEuv3OOxGB2E0M8xQX00PaT7guLnDT7a9JHvHTrcNAINJ9lxZlYTp5kpTV5HN1PcQD4Ogkoz5EBKPhm0V-oc5bZPU-Cl_6_XlfSU43DzoT2crKup04W2ghktprlPbGdh54eCG/s1600/macademias+227.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu77YLs1HFEuv3OOxGB2E0M8xQX00PaT7guLnDT7a9JHvHTrcNAINJ9lxZlYTp5kpTV5HN1PcQD4Ogkoz5EBKPhm0V-oc5bZPU-Cl_6_XlfSU43DzoT2crKup04W2ghktprlPbGdh54eCG/s200/macademias+227.JPG" width="150" /></a>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-5279987969179621652010-11-12T23:51:00.000-08:002010-11-13T00:02:08.004-08:00A Nutty Week at Ohiwa Macademias<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6-8ed9Oon3l1yjDqhM8jetEXCjdnc2kfxVQqUc8giLQPpECoypmX9xx5OERFLjo-Inxs2WNUmSzm1RhI4pf3oj3tCfYnDz4cD3bmdy6_ESkiHjYFSjAMEiSlLzBMM0B-81Ivo4y_gqDV/s1600/macademias+025.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6-8ed9Oon3l1yjDqhM8jetEXCjdnc2kfxVQqUc8giLQPpECoypmX9xx5OERFLjo-Inxs2WNUmSzm1RhI4pf3oj3tCfYnDz4cD3bmdy6_ESkiHjYFSjAMEiSlLzBMM0B-81Ivo4y_gqDV/s200/macademias+025.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After our roadtrip, we spent a few more days back at Fruit Vans, a familiar and</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6-8ed9Oon3l1yjDqhM8jetEXCjdnc2kfxVQqUc8giLQPpECoypmX9xx5OERFLjo-Inxs2WNUmSzm1RhI4pf3oj3tCfYnDz4cD3bmdy6_ESkiHjYFSjAMEiSlLzBMM0B-81Ivo4y_gqDV/s1600/macademias+025.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> friendly place. We returned the vans, painted some signs, sold some fruit, had some laughs. Best of all, we pitched in with 3 other Canuks in the kitchen, ensuring the rest of the house could experience Canadian Thanksgiving, complete with a McDonald pumpkin pie and some Ammon stuffing. YUM! Sadly from there, the paths of 'team knapsack' have gone seperate ways, albeit for what we hope to be a short amount of time. And so here is an entry from Amanda, and what happened at wwoofing destination #2: Rewinding again, back to October 12th. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCnXdJjyAcjodyNqRgCxGh_ETwqxGJHoW3efpwvA8FWkIAzTFEwdhBAP2_9YT-wPa-2-1iTA4KWT_yWirdAfD59DbeBrLZY__XSvBevcvuEV14kl4FzZNHT-Ir7o9ltqqANdde0gHImZF/s1600/macademias+045.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCnXdJjyAcjodyNqRgCxGh_ETwqxGJHoW3efpwvA8FWkIAzTFEwdhBAP2_9YT-wPa-2-1iTA4KWT_yWirdAfD59DbeBrLZY__XSvBevcvuEV14kl4FzZNHT-Ir7o9ltqqANdde0gHImZF/s200/macademias+045.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Arrived by bus in Opotiki, east of Auckland in the lovely Bay of Plenty, to be welcomed into the home of Anne and Paul, founders of Ohiwa Macedemias. Nestled in a quiet spot up in the hills with ocean views, Paul and Anne have over the past 18 yrs built up an impressive orchard of macademia nut trees and replanted native bush, from land that was once overgrazed pastureland. What a beautiful place! Besides th</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BB3r2QKfLWxJ_kP5vB0bEovmntBqJuOJT43ZqCd7gqemR4T-tAhqkpkBmdIxzkS_MaYZ53FAaKd5Q8Lef4lzfeM5ZUAfHWU0g-3SmgTwK04OvGNy1Sgx-sJsbW0X0b71aG81Qa5eaDiU/s1600/macademias+060.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BB3r2QKfLWxJ_kP5vB0bEovmntBqJuOJT43ZqCd7gqemR4T-tAhqkpkBmdIxzkS_MaYZ53FAaKd5Q8Lef4lzfeM5ZUAfHWU0g-3SmgTwK04OvGNy1Sgx-sJsbW0X0b71aG81Qa5eaDiU/s200/macademias+060.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">e orchard of nuts, there were also chickens, 3 cows, and a herd of sheep that lived in amongst the trees. Of course we can't forget about Smudy, the little old Jack Russel blind in 1 eye, and Lennie, the big golden lab that chases opossums up trees in the middle of the night, barking until Paul comes out to shoot them! (Australian opossums are a destructive invasive species, destroying habitat and killing many native birds, so Lennie is doing her part</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNMdKjzUWskCJQJhWXgX1HXsMM6nGu5MZONX4uEVZT_uKimcxRMSWWlp85sRgR7CYwRkAGqrtrodxxIHMi1si5L437uQ_QTiiQbFg2UxxO67hsYWT2KeLOBvvRlSosNcDKTi5EgtweJ1b/s1600/macademias+056.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNMdKjzUWskCJQJhWXgX1HXsMM6nGu5MZONX4uEVZT_uKimcxRMSWWlp85sRgR7CYwRkAGqrtrodxxIHMi1si5L437uQ_QTiiQbFg2UxxO67hsYWT2KeLOBvvRlSosNcDKTi5EgtweJ1b/s200/macademias+056.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> ;). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As for the nuts- they made for a great week :) Everyday was a little bit different, and I basically got to help out in the process from start to finish. There was a great deal of nut-picking, along with fellow wwoofers, Tanya and Hennie from Germany, and Renelle from NWT. We laid tarps around the trees, and climbed right up into the branches with long snippers to drop the heavy bunches of green nuts from the treetops. We helped out in the husking room, where the nuts are emptied into a bin that removes the</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjms-oE474k78mF58eVKSPTcnxM53sMHy-0ZlIS1QbUJWgdrjFWBFyvMeuRjIxtdPV-jVx-3SA2sVkT0PCUMETPu1iG3GwNvnL8uNsMA9IloU5K0f-B7eUG7KQ9LGRwYAdBuYFGBNkFP6PK/s1600/macademias+085.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> green skins to reveal the small and sticky nuts. They're then weighed, and moved to a drying room, where they'll spend around 3 weeks before being cracked open, and made into a delicious array of treats by Anne. This is by far the best part- helping in the </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVl0hChoEslVSQlvbednh_Z_KFKsP8NSk6qBrD9zxsXbMTn9pN7mQulj8zmgeoP9lgB-xmUtuSHhgdI-CbU_hoY8UxC8StRcg04Mm8g_m7t8J0ZIq1wU9qwIinx6iF9NtaN_WAOIi-Nbw/s1600/macademias+080.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVl0hChoEslVSQlvbednh_Z_KFKsP8NSk6qBrD9zxsXbMTn9pN7mQulj8zmgeoP9lgB-xmUtuSHhgdI-CbU_hoY8UxC8StRcg04Mm8g_m7t8J0ZIq1wU9qwIinx6iF9NtaN_WAOIi-Nbw/s200/macademias+080.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">kitchen, sampling the spreads, crumbles, and yummy chocolate-coated, honey-roasted, or salted nuts, all to be sold at the market. Talk about fantastic! </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjms-oE474k78mF58eVKSPTcnxM53sMHy-0ZlIS1QbUJWgdrjFWBFyvMeuRjIxtdPV-jVx-3SA2sVkT0PCUMETPu1iG3GwNvnL8uNsMA9IloU5K0f-B7eUG7KQ9LGRwYAdBuYFGBNkFP6PK/s1600/macademias+085.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjms-oE474k78mF58eVKSPTcnxM53sMHy-0ZlIS1QbUJWgdrjFWBFyvMeuRjIxtdPV-jVx-3SA2sVkT0PCUMETPu1iG3GwNvnL8uNsMA9IloU5K0f-B7eUG7KQ9LGRwYAdBuYFGBNkFP6PK/s200/macademias+085.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There's so much more to macademias than cookies, we don't know what we're missing ;) </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Other odd jobs around the orchard included shifting the cows into different paddocks, removing a fallen tree from the driveway, driving the tractor, spreading compost, and getting accidentally shocked by an electric fence in the process... </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjms-oE474k78mF58eVKSPTcnxM53sMHy-0ZlIS1QbUJWgdrjFWBFyvMeuRjIxtdPV-jVx-3SA2sVkT0PCUMETPu1iG3GwNvnL8uNsMA9IloU5K0f-B7eUG7KQ9LGRwYAdBuYFGBNkFP6PK/s1600/macademias+085.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">owww! We also enjoyed many long hours cooking together in the kitchen, and were lucky enough to try some fantastic German dishes, healthy breakfasts from Paul,</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmpFdhq5CXQ5hHrcFJ6wKiOW8TFxblyl61rLW4Mkmm1L4ApfRhbuPQOSGfR8cRt4rgrsXnr7KFar1JbikcHTkAKGOEUXMAUSj2hp5xAVLgCmbWrdKlkC1zNjXbkQ39T7tN5OwBTjwC4LL/s1600/macademias+090.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmpFdhq5CXQ5hHrcFJ6wKiOW8TFxblyl61rLW4Mkmm1L4ApfRhbuPQOSGfR8cRt4rgrsXnr7KFar1JbikcHTkAKGOEUXMAUSj2hp5xAVLgCmbWrdKlkC1zNjXbkQ39T7tN5OwBTjwC4LL/s200/macademias+090.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> and tasty sushi by Anne. Renelle and I found time on a clear Sunday afternoon to head out to the coast for a 4 hour hike along Otarawairere Bay to Ohope Beach. Passing up over spectacular cliffs, she was good enough to humour me in posing for frequent photos, shared lots of great stories about life in the Territories, and her love of moose ;) </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br style="color: #38761d;" /></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I really loved it at Ohiwa, it was such a treat to feel so 'at home' so far from home, with such warm and caring people. So if any of you ever need some quality nutcrackers, macademias, or a great place to wwoof, Paul and Anne's is the place to be.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqs3-qKGm1kUIrnhKLLHwdH7n9nZtCu4njrzEl6oWQG1EmKOnNBvisxxPPgW4xWT59ZYxSNd9xWyz7G-NbY6bjfu7Ue3Y1zkdDtNhbn6inpVVB3HQ1C2Z6xeyEzkZ1udkEkps5FQ3kEYEp/s1600/macademias+150.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6-8ed9Oon3l1yjDqhM8jetEXCjdnc2kfxVQqUc8giLQPpECoypmX9xx5OERFLjo-Inxs2WNUmSzm1RhI4pf3oj3tCfYnDz4cD3bmdy6_ESkiHjYFSjAMEiSlLzBMM0B-81Ivo4y_gqDV/s1600/macademias+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqs3-qKGm1kUIrnhKLLHwdH7n9nZtCu4njrzEl6oWQG1EmKOnNBvisxxPPgW4xWT59ZYxSNd9xWyz7G-NbY6bjfu7Ue3Y1zkdDtNhbn6inpVVB3HQ1C2Z6xeyEzkZ1udkEkps5FQ3kEYEp/s1600/macademias+150.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqs3-qKGm1kUIrnhKLLHwdH7n9nZtCu4njrzEl6oWQG1EmKOnNBvisxxPPgW4xWT59ZYxSNd9xWyz7G-NbY6bjfu7Ue3Y1zkdDtNhbn6inpVVB3HQ1C2Z6xeyEzkZ1udkEkps5FQ3kEYEp/s200/macademias+150.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLELSBc4UCm6FQ5gFWYyVlY8lAvW6Mw5p60V6gZiPYz4rFgAVF5g9UeYqxwcpYCMvD5_r2vHXvuZznxjiWQzFKGdfz_Y32DoZuv_nrBTHvP-TRz38nQRAI6G5astp0RDqDbsHK3BD70xR-/s1600/macademias+165.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLELSBc4UCm6FQ5gFWYyVlY8lAvW6Mw5p60V6gZiPYz4rFgAVF5g9UeYqxwcpYCMvD5_r2vHXvuZznxjiWQzFKGdfz_Y32DoZuv_nrBTHvP-TRz38nQRAI6G5astp0RDqDbsHK3BD70xR-/s200/macademias+165.JPG" width="200" /></a>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-27284996220717424762010-11-11T22:01:00.000-08:002010-11-13T00:07:56.882-08:00Roadtrip- Campervan styles<div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-Mj-aq9zMroHDfI1tIIHcolIKnLdHNzz4x_2nOF20RFFiZFMGgyNO97xKq5qlupo4ktOiH20720O3Ow8hGbXdEd_JuvJhvnH4o12c3XxqybCDGgTUhogEN8LYBTig_BnTfplAR21YurO/s1600/Campervan+madness+182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br style="background-color: magenta;" /></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wVt_DC6QmNeB6I7t4rJBPDXPRL3HGNrteX0WCzWFe6RDIgKspGMsNGsQeysUlB7og4d0POgydj3XVou4O5QVZLh6iKvMrg-wC3Jkg7WqvJEE4NeLWTFDvWutUS7OCejKrmulqu4nFClx/s1600/last+bits+013.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wVt_DC6QmNeB6I7t4rJBPDXPRL3HGNrteX0WCzWFe6RDIgKspGMsNGsQeysUlB7og4d0POgydj3XVou4O5QVZLh6iKvMrg-wC3Jkg7WqvJEE4NeLWTFDvWutUS7OCejKrmulqu4nFClx/s200/last+bits+013.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">Oct 2nd-9th: Time for a wwoofing break to get out and see what we could see of this </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wVt_DC6QmNeB6I7t4rJBPDXPRL3HGNrteX0WCzWFe6RDIgKspGMsNGsQeysUlB7og4d0POgydj3XVou4O5QVZLh6iKvMrg-wC3Jkg7WqvJEE4NeLWTFDvWutUS7OCejKrmulqu4nFClx/s1600/last+bits+013.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: white;">beautiful North Island. With Sandie, Jess, and fruitvans friend Vanessa from Belgium at the wheel, a team of 2 camper vans arrived in Cambridge to collect Lyndsey and Amanda from the farm. Reunited again! </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Day 1: From Cambridge we headed a few hours south to <b>Taupo</b> for the night, walked around a largely deserted downtown, had an Indian supper, and camped out in the vans in the parking lot of a hostel. Turns out we were far too early in the season for campersleeping- it was freeezing outside! </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yegYl35xb7Zg-7UCFk1dzMSLbbnNdOTOarM_PU-XLrXN7bfCXswZ7qyac6iEaf7tLypQ89bojY8IKWW_C2_Me5mw3ggM2isW3agvyM4jACjpWFJeKnDNrsGF5r9ZU5DLrjRc61wxjlu5/s1600/Campervan+madness+070.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yegYl35xb7Zg-7UCFk1dzMSLbbnNdOTOarM_PU-XLrXN7bfCXswZ7qyac6iEaf7tLypQ89bojY8IKWW_C2_Me5mw3ggM2isW3agvyM4jACjpWFJeKnDNrsGF5r9ZU5DLrjRc61wxjlu5/s200/Campervan+madness+070.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-Mj-aq9zMroHDfI1tIIHcolIKnLdHNzz4x_2nOF20RFFiZFMGgyNO97xKq5qlupo4ktOiH20720O3Ow8hGbXdEd_JuvJhvnH4o12c3XxqybCDGgTUhogEN8LYBTig_BnTfplAR21YurO/s1600/Campervan+madness+182.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-Mj-aq9zMroHDfI1tIIHcolIKnLdHNzz4x_2nOF20RFFiZFMGgyNO97xKq5qlupo4ktOiH20720O3Ow8hGbXdEd_JuvJhvnH4o12c3XxqybCDGgTUhogEN8LYBTig_BnTfplAR21YurO/s200/Campervan+madness+182.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxD6aLs0hyphenhyphenPY3mYxIZtBV2diYh052ir34lLSEoF573CvreU7pQUtAn_UXKUKLo05vXWX_rx78Lp9PmGZwsUa1TEGKpIx4qGvTAyXacv8EKtviW5RhWWrjN3bnQ6GCQcU_lz82yPYPwaAE/s1600/Campervan+madness+259.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxD6aLs0hyphenhyphenPY3mYxIZtBV2diYh052ir34lLSEoF573CvreU7pQUtAn_UXKUKLo05vXWX_rx78Lp9PmGZwsUa1TEGKpIx4qGvTAyXacv8EKtviW5RhWWrjN3bnQ6GCQcU_lz82yPYPwaAE/s200/Campervan+madness+259.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">Day 2: We had a chilly breakfast overlooking the lake and snowy mountains </span><span style="background-color: white;">in </span><span style="background-color: white;">the distance, and made a quick stop at a Gypsy Fair- how fitting!</span><span style="background-color: white;"> After passing many a pastureland full of sheep, our first touristy stop was the thermal springs <b>Orakei Korako</b>. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We had to take a short boat ride across the river to walk amongst features like the 'Artists Palette', 'Devil's Throat', 'Diamond Geyser', 'Hochstetter Cauldron', and 'Aladdin's Cave'. Add on some boiling mud, a mineral waters that can </span><span style="background-color: white;">polish silver jewelery and you've got a pretty dynamite place! </span><span style="background-color: white;">North to Rotorua, hotspring capital of NZ, we skirted outside the downtown to </span><span style="background-color: white;">see the <b>Buried Village</b>, a museum and archaeological site telling about the volcanic explosion of Mt. Turangi that buried the English/Maori settlement, Te W</span><span style="background-color: white;">airoa, as well as 5 other Maori villages in 1863. From Rotorua we drove to the west coast, parking it in a surfing town called <b>Raglan</b>. </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2XBxW1dfIDsNU8ilRTGLy0fukZly9DYDrBY9Uh5EPdyf6yunpkq6x2Ckpql5TrbDYOpvOZVT2IRc9wXq8tGkzJkUjBAWAthNrxs1pRZY3uhY249Gks00HMYAPx2M7JR9Sev0yo-ShYTx/s1600/Campervan+madness+442.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2XBxW1dfIDsNU8ilRTGLy0fukZly9DYDrBY9Uh5EPdyf6yunpkq6x2Ckpql5TrbDYOpvOZVT2IRc9wXq8tGkzJkUjBAWAthNrxs1pRZY3uhY249Gks00HMYAPx2M7JR9Sev0yo-ShYTx/s200/Campervan+madness+442.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">Day 3: From a list at the info centre of, 'Things to do in Raglan', Sandie made the excellent selection to choose to visit a little-visited site called <b>Te Toto Gorge </b>Scenic Reserve. The ocean-side road turned inland and UP, pavement gave way to gravel, and signs marked only with an '<b>!</b>' warned of obstacles ahead. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2XBxW1dfIDsNU8ilRTGLy0fukZly9DYDrBY9Uh5EPdyf6yunpkq6x2Ckpql5TrbDYOpvOZVT2IRc9wXq8tGkzJkUjBAWAthNrxs1pRZY3uhY249Gks00HMYAPx2M7JR9Sev0yo-ShYTx/s1600/Campervan+madness+442.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: white;">Rounding a bend we were met by a gorgeous grassy meadow high on cliffs beside the ocean. Excellect photoshoot location! Not far outside Raglan our mini-convoy got seperated through a gas station stopoff-mixup, and so with 2 in one van and 3 in the other, and only 1 cell phone between the 5 of us (with the 2 people having said number all being in the same van as the phone) we resigned ourselves to continue north to the other side of Auckland to find each other at Orewa springs. After some backtracking and more confusion, fate intervened and we happened to pass each other driving down the street! Crazy times on the road we say! That night brought us to the quaint town of <b>Warkworth</b>, where we chose to treat ourselves to a proper sleep at a motel. We earned it! Pizza, beer and a warm bed can only lead to good things ahead. </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Day 4: Our lovely sleep had us ready for a leisurely day to enjoy stopoffs at </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGDm7lCmRe56r53s_kcb_mAFmg56DEeG1vl2Zls6vwtdLuBJLCQ1llhGKma-95Dj1l7UMdLq6uX9EAvErVpDYSPwBtKZ223XqwBKabYv7ieBC2ONFX6OK5T9JhhkQN4jsL_w1zUsLLg8l/s1600/Campervan+madness+584.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGDm7lCmRe56r53s_kcb_mAFmg56DEeG1vl2Zls6vwtdLuBJLCQ1llhGKma-95Dj1l7UMdLq6uX9EAvErVpDYSPwBtKZ223XqwBKabYv7ieBC2ONFX6OK5T9JhhkQN4jsL_w1zUsLLg8l/s200/Campervan+madness+584.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">Mangawai Heads for views of the Hen and Chicken Islands, and nice long break at <b>Langs Beach</b>. One of the things on Lyndsey's to-do list was to see a winery, and so just outside Whangarei we turned off into <b>Longview Estate Winery</b>, for a $5 wine tasting :)</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGDm7lCmRe56r53s_kcb_mAFmg56DEeG1vl2Zls6vwtdLuBJLCQ1llhGKma-95Dj1l7UMdLq6uX9EAvErVpDYSPwBtKZ223XqwBKabYv7ieBC2ONFX6OK5T9JhhkQN4jsL_w1zUsLLg8l/s1600/Campervan+madness+584.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: white;"> NZ wines- 2 thumbs up! After a frolic in the park and a visit to an internet cafe, we stayed in <b>Whangarei</b> in the parking lot of the info centre- complete with showers and 24hr toilets :) </span></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuFGArxEViMvLzDkvDkyQ1IZ0H5_VLinHoNriZYXX33E7XSBQlp6ztl6U_N5ojwkDSPms9PqJrw58FWiT4bRU-xqQelgiTXy10-SiT1s8HZ1AYTyRGS764eIuvBPPzbB1ABqXmhq5gZ1i/s1600/Campervan+madness+790.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDmaH5ifLrcpMcf6EZ9EBRUGuC8Y0G6UTpnF2yH_ZWm182lYpcQ2wQCDxuJ2Ho2IgkM6fDtiuEssGd8bt9WxLn_dr3u3himwLNOEJWZ0R-moo3HzlxYMVhH0eEo_ulIzXudggN7iAkCwz/s1600/Campervan+madness+689.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDmaH5ifLrcpMcf6EZ9EBRUGuC8Y0G6UTpnF2yH_ZWm182lYpcQ2wQCDxuJ2Ho2IgkM6fDtiuEssGd8bt9WxLn_dr3u3himwLNOEJWZ0R-moo3HzlxYMVhH0eEo_ulIzXudggN7iAkCwz/s200/Campervan+madness+689.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Day 5: Early rise and coffees to fuel the day, our first stop was the <b>Kiwi house</b> and Bird Sanctuary. Finally we get to see a real kiwibird! We got a short lesson about them before heading in- Fun Facts: Kiwis lay the biggest eggs of any bird in the world (going by weight </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDmaH5ifLrcpMcf6EZ9EBRUGuC8Y0G6UTpnF2yH_ZWm182lYpcQ2wQCDxuJ2Ho2IgkM6fDtiuEssGd8bt9WxLn_dr3u3himwLNOEJWZ0R-moo3HzlxYMVhH0eEo_ulIzXudggN7iAkCwz/s1600/Campervan+madness+689.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">ratios), and the chicks hatch fully feathered and ready to go! Inside they had a close to genuine nocturnal environment, where we were lucky to see the little big-bummed kiwi foraging around for bugs. Very cute! </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuFGArxEViMvLzDkvDkyQ1IZ0H5_VLinHoNriZYXX33E7XSBQlp6ztl6U_N5ojwkDSPms9PqJrw58FWiT4bRU-xqQelgiTXy10-SiT1s8HZ1AYTyRGS764eIuvBPPzbB1ABqXmhq5gZ1i/s1600/Campervan+madness+790.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuFGArxEViMvLzDkvDkyQ1IZ0H5_VLinHoNriZYXX33E7XSBQlp6ztl6U_N5ojwkDSPms9PqJrw58FWiT4bRU-xqQelgiTXy10-SiT1s8HZ1AYTyRGS764eIuvBPPzbB1ABqXmhq5gZ1i/s200/Campervan+madness+790.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Like so many other birds here, the kiwi is endangered, and this particular one was bred in captivity. We also visited </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuFGArxEViMvLzDkvDkyQ1IZ0H5_VLinHoNriZYXX33E7XSBQlp6ztl6U_N5ojwkDSPms9PqJrw58FWiT4bRU-xqQelgiTXy10-SiT1s8HZ1AYTyRGS764eIuvBPPzbB1ABqXmhq5gZ1i/s1600/Campervan+madness+790.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a bird sanctuary next door, where sick or injured Tuis, Pukekos, Petrals, Mawpaws and other birds were being rehabilitated to be re-released into the wild. Before leaving Whangarei we stopped to see the </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuFGArxEViMvLzDkvDkyQ1IZ0H5_VLinHoNriZYXX33E7XSBQlp6ztl6U_N5ojwkDSPms9PqJrw58FWiT4bRU-xqQelgiTXy10-SiT1s8HZ1AYTyRGS764eIuvBPPzbB1ABqXmhq5gZ1i/s1600/Campervan+madness+790.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Abbey Caves </b>and clambered over some crazy rocks in the forest- rushing back to the vans e</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">arly thanks to more than a few warnings about break-ins there. Onwards to Paihia for another sleep in the vans at a nice hostel, complete with hottub and swimming pool! </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBr6Uzsdym7-XOzRtU_oFgRLO-cDcijp4czMs13N3EFZJtgG-8pYI2VV83uDMAIYfle9sXHXxocviRj2VEkdKrgJFA-Mkmt4YjvmLNZUeI2i3N42pApBtBiYGprPl7sFjPGeDIOG_EY9bG/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+029.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBr6Uzsdym7-XOzRtU_oFgRLO-cDcijp4czMs13N3EFZJtgG-8pYI2VV83uDMAIYfle9sXHXxocviRj2VEkdKrgJFA-Mkmt4YjvmLNZUeI2i3N42pApBtBiYGprPl7sFjPGeDIOG_EY9bG/s200/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+029.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6: <b>Paihia</b> is a small beach town, beautiful, and nice and quiet this time of year. Sunny weather called- time for some biking! Lyndsey and Amanda headed out for ride to see the <b>Waitangi Treaty Grounds</b>/museum where Maori cheifs and the British crown signed the treaty in 1840, founding New Zealand as we know it. Sandie, Jess and Vanessa headed out on a bike ride through some trails along the creek, and we all met up later to drive on to <b>Kaitaia</b>. North north north! There isn't much to this town, so we stopped on the outskirts at the Ohaka Motel. The hotel was pretty much right out of the 60s, with plush red carpet and wood panelling in the restaurant- but the food was great and the beer cheap :) </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yegYl35xb7Zg-7UCFk1dzMSLbbnNdOTOarM_PU-XLrXN7bfCXswZ7qyac6iEaf7tLypQ89bojY8IKWW_C2_Me5mw3ggM2isW3agvyM4jACjpWFJeKnDNrsGF5r9ZU5DLrjRc61wxjlu5/s1600/Campervan+madness+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOjTGZ2IGRy9y2OD6Fmf8_FLY-UrgTUBcmqtg1RV_aKOW20URrD-6S2PX8iyJ7pxD_tyb8Tp5kmxZDimrd9KL0-ixMksrJIPWpzC9rfBVLsVMHATHdZEoBJX3BH4zJZvz1FxlnCmI0LUZ/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+192.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOjTGZ2IGRy9y2OD6Fmf8_FLY-UrgTUBcmqtg1RV_aKOW20URrD-6S2PX8iyJ7pxD_tyb8Tp5kmxZDimrd9KL0-ixMksrJIPWpzC9rfBVLsVMHATHdZEoBJX3BH4zJZvz1FxlnCmI0LUZ/s200/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+192.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIH4IyEBjjQSHCDE6OwV2rwSfEwbekygQUgQby1vgumdme1IsvSIDPRBHoyV2iuu3JDFBD7mYeKTbT9a7RH50L-xN0klPJniazAO4DSC4meeKAA6c2jnPm46YPMK4hk4BEUAxMAIMa_ED/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+152.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIH4IyEBjjQSHCDE6OwV2rwSfEwbekygQUgQby1vgumdme1IsvSIDPRBHoyV2iuu3JDFBD7mYeKTbT9a7RH50L-xN0klPJniazAO4DSC4meeKAA6c2jnPm46YPMK4hk4BEUAxMAIMa_ED/s200/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+152.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">7: Big day today! Being the big tourists we are, we joined the <b>Sand Safari</b> bus tour to take us the last leg of our trip heading to the 'Top' of NZ. We visited the 'Gum Diggers Museum' to learn about the ancient buried Kauri trees there that were dug up to extract sap, or 'gum', used for lanolium and furniture polishes back in the day. Stopped for the best ice cream in the northland, before finally arriving at <b>Cape Reinga</b>! There were gorgeous views all around, from the forest park reserve in the south and east, the crashing waves over the cliffs below, north over a blue sea where the Tasman and Pacific collide, </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVGD1IwF6dzty5ODXoFTmUNoBHrUlbJJyKr51Ne0a8e4AlyHVkEs_aHrx8ZvfSZYgIjpcdPr3z8q7dQQ_SwCdhAiHheYfhmy0HgOUoUWqp1YLB3aNLVXK_E1-ou56RiKYgnd1xvFtk8g6/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+217.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVGD1IwF6dzty5ODXoFTmUNoBHrUlbJJyKr51Ne0a8e4AlyHVkEs_aHrx8ZvfSZYgIjpcdPr3z8q7dQQ_SwCdhAiHheYfhmy0HgOUoUWqp1YLB3aNLVXK_E1-ou56RiKYgnd1xvFtk8g6/s200/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+217.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">and west down </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOjTGZ2IGRy9y2OD6Fmf8_FLY-UrgTUBcmqtg1RV_aKOW20URrD-6S2PX8iyJ7pxD_tyb8Tp5kmxZDimrd9KL0-ixMksrJIPWpzC9rfBVLsVMHATHdZEoBJX3BH4zJZvz1FxlnCmI0LUZ/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+192.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">90 mile beach. After a quick lunch it was on to the sanddunes, where the driver pulled our some sleds and had us give it whirl! It was worth the hard climb up the sand, and we all had a few great runs, complete with mouthfulls of sand. We enjoyed the view all the way back to Kaitaia, as the bus drove us the entire lengt</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOjTGZ2IGRy9y2OD6Fmf8_FLY-UrgTUBcmqtg1RV_aKOW20URrD-6S2PX8iyJ7pxD_tyb8Tp5kmxZDimrd9KL0-ixMksrJIPWpzC9rfBVLsVMHATHdZEoBJX3BH4zJZvz1FxlnCmI0LUZ/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+192.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">h of 90 Mile Beach,</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVGD1IwF6dzty5ODXoFTmUNoBHrUlbJJyKr51Ne0a8e4AlyHVkEs_aHrx8ZvfSZYgIjpcdPr3z8q7dQQ_SwCdhAiHheYfhmy0HgOUoUWqp1YLB3aNLVXK_E1-ou56RiKYgnd1xvFtk8g6/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+217.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> right across the sand. </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We saw only a few people collecting shellfish, a lone seal, and the rusted remains of a car that got itself stuck in the sand years ago. Wicked day! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7H0_7jVBkYfzAzQNdkiFnfuCw_r4fbRDZHo5lDIfDhIQuCC86KcYIwC_YuWOxW9jhiXWfOjxXe-CNklrvTX4ht_3kSBXCzHej6L-ypFkJOa1gb8FcTtHNcMPGr3NRnzKmyuTa-RkqvWp8/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIH4IyEBjjQSHCDE6OwV2rwSfEwbekygQUgQby1vgumdme1IsvSIDPRBHoyV2iuu3JDFBD7mYeKTbT9a7RH50L-xN0klPJniazAO4DSC4meeKAA6c2jnPm46YPMK4hk4BEUAxMAIMa_ED/s1600/Oct+6+and+Oct+7+2010+152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoyTgOng8xDRrVSp3tQAfB5WWsw0DYIwDbvx4SSnTzzs-ZO_HSNhykOxf6PCurbwnQcMg3gN2vK9qlCJUBO9kwMV1TbDcPyoOuwO9knxuagB2Yt3LDzPD75MItRNtyAIjz6NuJSmRm1Ol/s1600/last+bits+069.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoyTgOng8xDRrVSp3tQAfB5WWsw0DYIwDbvx4SSnTzzs-ZO_HSNhykOxf6PCurbwnQcMg3gN2vK9qlCJUBO9kwMV1TbDcPyoOuwO9knxuagB2Yt3LDzPD75MItRNtyAIjz6NuJSmRm1Ol/s200/last+bits+069.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Day 8: After a few pitstops to see some 2000 yr old, enormous Kauri trees along</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> the way, and 4 hrs of driving our hectic week came to an end. It was back to Auckland to return </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the vans and move on. A sad night with Lyndsey leaving us the next day- but we enjoyed our last visit the best we could with a devilish dinner at 'Hell Pizza', and some beers out at the pub. Off to the airport once more- so glad to have had such a fantastic adventure with ya Lyndsey! Wind-up kiwis 4 life ;) Great times, great company- campervan roadtrips are the way to go.</span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-3145570999969678432010-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:002010-10-28T17:44:36.610-07:00Mooloo livin, the Organic way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reeeewiiiind! Sept 25-Oct 1: A week of wwoofing with Amanda and Lyndsey :) Beautiful rolling hills. 4 lambs. 3 cats. heaps of chickens. 1 dog. 5 kayaks. home-made cheese. 130 happy cows. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKj-abiLw7OkvY4yWUbE3DOyahw6apElOEUMquSadmwpca_KBw59hWxagtITYuxd3E_EYTP7wzYxH7CnfaQJuXGIKyiP7lf2JaF0XXhraXTy71eDPFe0ZK72psZPC8GJSLmuNqrRf4_YG/s1600/Bylands+297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKj-abiLw7OkvY4yWUbE3DOyahw6apElOEUMquSadmwpca_KBw59hWxagtITYuxd3E_EYTP7wzYxH7CnfaQJuXGIKyiP7lf2JaF0XXhraXTy71eDPFe0ZK72psZPC8GJSLmuNqrRf4_YG/s200/Bylands+297.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is the paradise just outside of Cambridge is where Lyndsey and I landed for wwoofing destination #2, while Sandie and Jess stayed behind in Sunnvale for some more fun at Fruit Vans. What better place to spend a week than on the Bylands organic dairy farm? We were warmly welcomed into the bustling home of Phil and Tracy Bax, parents of 4 teenagers and owners of a working 130-cow herd, affectionately known as the 'Mooloo Clan'. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0cQV-rqpO0AUwW-lKPVEvAGwzT83fyRsKUImNobERgmRWnec-aNzB2xKkBwq5G_czYtl30_L16zZ3HEjxzkUKygwdIqVcfP6EBvWnu0wiEerkDaseS-0TgyYfSKwh13nXPrelrpP_Ccp/s1600/Bylands+335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0cQV-rqpO0AUwW-lKPVEvAGwzT83fyRsKUImNobERgmRWnec-aNzB2xKkBwq5G_czYtl30_L16zZ3HEjxzkUKygwdIqVcfP6EBvWnu0wiEerkDaseS-0TgyYfSKwh13nXPrelrpP_Ccp/s200/Bylands+335.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We spent the large part of our 4 hour working days helping out around the garden- weeding, trimming, mowing lawns, and planting berries and veggies. We also made it out to the local HoraHora elementary school where youngest Bax member is one of 50 students (grade 1-8 incl!), to do some planting. Other fun included collecting eggs from the henhouse, AND we made CHEESE! Yes, real feta cheese- milk straight from the cow. Ohhhh man talk about delicious, this is something everyone should know how to do. YUM!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian2zdQoG7WfJzt_Djiin1GzSQqzvq1bCLuJ3CnhEmaSP0volSix_nFzglvWhoEY8fFacchOvvV-LizPkBmp8wL3JPPOVBQw4wX9E-mwneJBA1XE312a3ImIuJTrdDD8XcA8KlZ_6TKsVc/s1600/Bylands+219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVnjq0MmGQkIA5fsMJ8GKKrB9cgDFJAwtARitZ9gelPS-22OlXkDDaGmZ50_fJAHvBnUZiZdGTzBj6yeHOylb5bGf9I9LEHNrDsrp1-tfgj74i6CXctY4VOUHyYWvptSlX1i67cSmbc39/s1600/Bylands+311.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkR71wSoUCl6PGcsfE9kXL-p3enmN9YkphPLJ6iozaBGD1y7Epk6OItKVnfdEE_hCI6k47NafqMt2LSFa2AyOtJGkPOkyENOAMQ08XCOHTdRiIkcUyRURSKnYBIk8fhdEEzdO21r0wX6P1/s1600/Bylands+195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkR71wSoUCl6PGcsfE9kXL-p3enmN9YkphPLJ6iozaBGD1y7Epk6OItKVnfdEE_hCI6k47NafqMt2LSFa2AyOtJGkPOkyENOAMQ08XCOHTdRiIkcUyRURSKnYBIk8fhdEEzdO21r0wX6P1/s200/Bylands+195.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our highlights were of course spent with the animals. On the afternoon of our first day, as well as the last one, we witnessed the birth of 2 wee baby calves! Even covered in embryonic goo, newborn calves are incredibly adorable, and we felt very lucky to be present for such magical moments ;) Most everyday we got to go out and bottle-feed the 4 baby lambs who also called the farm home, and enjoyed thier antics almost daily, as they broke free of their paddock and ran and kicked</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVnjq0MmGQkIA5fsMJ8GKKrB9cgDFJAwtARitZ9gelPS-22OlXkDDaGmZ50_fJAHvBnUZiZdGTzBj6yeHOylb5bGf9I9LEHNrDsrp1-tfgj74i6CXctY4VOUHyYWvptSlX1i67cSmbc39/s1600/Bylands+311.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVnjq0MmGQkIA5fsMJ8GKKrB9cgDFJAwtARitZ9gelPS-22OlXkDDaGmZ50_fJAHvBnUZiZdGTzBj6yeHOylb5bGf9I9LEHNrDsrp1-tfgj74i6CXctY4VOUHyYWvptSlX1i67cSmbc39/s200/Bylands+311.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> their heels around the yard. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They were like little fluffy white Houdinis! If that wasn't enough cuteness, we also went with Tracy to feed the older calves (they're seperated from their moms and kept all together in another paddock. There's too many calves to keep them with their moms, since that would mean the moms not being milked for the people), filling </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">up a big container of milk with teats all around the outside, </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LmSvEyj-Q3sZrTYciB4eQ4oyo7vzie4HbQwgN-jemqQn01zn6KmgzyuTxqyj-78CI7OGQqzmc_CpZ5nKhkZllJNKgRXGZo8vnm0au2zo_ImXxXZcGsCeHpM44IGldbLyJJWt2XcdJerx/s200/Bylands+264.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody> </table><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the 'Junior milk bar', or as Tracy called it, the calf-eteria. ha! It was really sweet to see how Tracy treated all her cows-- the calves are all given names, and for many of the older cows Tracy could tell us who their mothers and even grandmothers were! These people really care about their animals.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg1F-9D53vQU73axld8kgCajYYcimiEqJJODCdo8-84Rzo9EGE58lyxsQwi7fSlULU9A7VRkIvB4XWiiMj7kDlTY3T2SR5Pw-rxVfcHCQCCb1NaJU53tPfImPpQrFmCStAIVjt63Amq4J/s1600/Bylands+247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg1F-9D53vQU73axld8kgCajYYcimiEqJJODCdo8-84Rzo9EGE58lyxsQwi7fSlULU9A7VRkIvB4XWiiMj7kDlTY3T2SR5Pw-rxVfcHCQCCb1NaJU53tPfImPpQrFmCStAIVjt63Amq4J/s1600/Bylands+247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg1F-9D53vQU73axld8kgCajYYcimiEqJJODCdo8-84Rzo9EGE58lyxsQwi7fSlULU9A7VRkIvB4XWiiMj7kDlTY3T2SR5Pw-rxVfcHCQCCb1NaJU53tPfImPpQrFmCStAIVjt63Amq4J/s1600/Bylands+247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg1F-9D53vQU73axld8kgCajYYcimiEqJJODCdo8-84Rzo9EGE58lyxsQwi7fSlULU9A7VRkIvB4XWiiMj7kDlTY3T2SR5Pw-rxVfcHCQCCb1NaJU53tPfImPpQrFmCStAIVjt63Amq4J/s200/Bylands+247.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course we were not about to miss seeing the milking process in action. And so midweek Lyndsey and I dragged ourselves out of bed with the sun, went out to the milking shed for both a morning and afternoon milking to find out how it all worked. The first day Phil showed us how to put on and take off the 'milker', but </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">at times we felt a little in the way! Second time around was much better, as we got the hang of it we were able to know when one was done milking, to take it off and switch it to a cow on the other side. We also sprayed teatree oil on their teats afterwards (feels better!), and watched Tracy give them different homeopathic remedies- all chemical free. Despite our best efforts at staying clean with our coveralls on, we both got thoroughly covered in poo- while on one occasion I even got sprayed in the face. Aughhh all hazards of the job! </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When not working hard on the farm, we also enjoyed a bike ride through the countryside, and an awesome kayak ride down the river. Phil took us out in the evening, through the marsh and a small gorge up the river, where we stopped for a break on the bank and had a little fire. By that time it was dark, and as we floated with the current back downsteam, we were met with an army of glowworms all through the gorge! It as a magical site, and a wonderful surprise added to an already awesome trip. Had some great evenings cooking for the the family, tried our hands at homemade tortillas, did puzzles, and drank beer by the fire. This is the life :) </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVQ_d6SAUxBfybMizJvUtoCWIZb19rx97tYldEFyXRHoFgjUWSmXvz9itXZZxIZhzWYfbgl-b27yUwHFhzSYlMHm0lLFdSzaUB7cuXpTKGRvYyg1kkxv5_HI4ZFZxaXo85ejLpeUzPRQl/s1600/Campervan+madness+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVQ_d6SAUxBfybMizJvUtoCWIZb19rx97tYldEFyXRHoFgjUWSmXvz9itXZZxIZhzWYfbgl-b27yUwHFhzSYlMHm0lLFdSzaUB7cuXpTKGRvYyg1kkxv5_HI4ZFZxaXo85ejLpeUzPRQl/s200/Campervan+madness+008.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian2zdQoG7WfJzt_Djiin1GzSQqzvq1bCLuJ3CnhEmaSP0volSix_nFzglvWhoEY8fFacchOvvV-LizPkBmp8wL3JPPOVBQw4wX9E-mwneJBA1XE312a3ImIuJTrdDD8XcA8KlZ_6TKsVc/s200/Bylands+219.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Awesome time in Waitopo, thanks Bax family! </span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-74330034400812540082010-09-24T01:19:00.000-07:002010-09-24T13:29:24.311-07:00Fruity Wwoofing<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="" style="color: #b45f06;">Fruit Vans!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpUKqCL-VVDJN5twsQED9F2f1Ju3iJaoQ7mRfqw4htJqEjlZSsELo_0PsApct_4mexpb2QlUrcK_0SEPj1HBmeGK0lx3nu177Pbk-uIWKXRJ-J7gY-Z61pLSrj2UBgZ_ivvcYpQq7d3VC/s1600/fruit+v+2+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpUKqCL-VVDJN5twsQED9F2f1Ju3iJaoQ7mRfqw4htJqEjlZSsELo_0PsApct_4mexpb2QlUrcK_0SEPj1HBmeGK0lx3nu177Pbk-uIWKXRJ-J7gY-Z61pLSrj2UBgZ_ivvcYpQq7d3VC/s200/fruit+v+2+027.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #b45f06;">A week at Fruit Vans and so far our first WWOOFing experience has lived up to all expectations :) We arrived last Friday in Sunnyvale, a suburb in west Auckland, to a bustling household tucked away at a deadend street. It's a different kind of 'farming' experience- since, well, there is no farm! It's a business started 3 years ago by Taryn and Marcello, an Australian/Brazilian couple (front-right) who began with 1 van selling fruit from local growers on weekends, and has now grown to become an operation so big, that they have 2 houses full of wwoofers (up to 20 in the summer months), and 25 vans. Yay for eating locally! </span></div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">The house is filled with many other eccentric travellers from all over the world. Though English is dominant, there is also a lot of French, Spanish, and Portugeuse being spoken. We are having such a great time getting to know everyone! To say it is a house of laughter would be an understatement- there always something fun going on- cooking, games, wine, you name it ;)</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm3UPPhGR1HLCxuH6TzksgwkWAn__V7NzTMcVxoARKFHEYUdLGN4DbgFc6M_GfxQdsq-TpdSQ_jJ8dWbdCHrPk_STmn-nyMwm33c7R-c7n7-LOI330phBfXVwMHOhFxYSL7RAHTobOMnI/s1600/fruitvans+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm3UPPhGR1HLCxuH6TzksgwkWAn__V7NzTMcVxoARKFHEYUdLGN4DbgFc6M_GfxQdsq-TpdSQ_jJ8dWbdCHrPk_STmn-nyMwm33c7R-c7n7-LOI330phBfXVwMHOhFxYSL7RAHTobOMnI/s200/fruitvans+052.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #b45f06;">As wonderful as the house activities are though, there is much work to be done. Our 4-5 hour work days started with the 'mouldly' unpleasant job of van cleaning, in preparation for the selling season. Sandie and I were assigned 5 vans in the backyard parked under some trees- opened the doors and watched the mold spores fly. ACK! Being in such a state we thought for sure they'd been there a number of years-- but nope- try 3 months. Turns out mold in New Zealand is out of control- and has even been known to grow in Taryn's spice rack. Bleh! It took the bulk of us wwoofers 3 days to clean out the whole fruitvan fleet- scubbing the vans mold-free inside and out. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVVGiMxrGpvFZv0PR_5jXZ-wC0wBhMjjDrhy7ZoK2ADaMtTyQlQpBdPgMFy4M7MM0ToHwpavbeLacglH1nOhyS8UaWTZezb28cTBL2-OKAkWjzL2XRIgcPclX8CIHC6BsCy5V6DJqd46j/s1600/fruit+vansvans+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVVGiMxrGpvFZv0PR_5jXZ-wC0wBhMjjDrhy7ZoK2ADaMtTyQlQpBdPgMFy4M7MM0ToHwpavbeLacglH1nOhyS8UaWTZezb28cTBL2-OKAkWjzL2XRIgcPclX8CIHC6BsCy5V6DJqd46j/s200/fruit+vansvans+012.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">On one of our first nights here we were in charge of cooking dinner for everyone. Amanda thought it would be fun to bring some Korea to Sunnyvale: on the menu was bibimbap, japchae, kimchi, and kongnamul. What a beautiful meal it was! Throughout the week we have individually been in charge of lunch/dinner and have cooked up many delicous soups and salads.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK9Ay7F9Prr5Uc80FjbMC2oo0ZhjxFmLEtFwgKRQOB6stGeQSbjMR0RiYCBgjxk5-_dUVH-SGPOX-mrhhiR7FifKyFjzz76eCri8SqZ5fbD5CNKaIo4bGKXGsKqk2e7jsqshBs6eWIdOr/s1600/fruit+v+2+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK9Ay7F9Prr5Uc80FjbMC2oo0ZhjxFmLEtFwgKRQOB6stGeQSbjMR0RiYCBgjxk5-_dUVH-SGPOX-mrhhiR7FifKyFjzz76eCri8SqZ5fbD5CNKaIo4bGKXGsKqk2e7jsqshBs6eWIdOr/s200/fruit+v+2+009.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #b45f06;">Then came Tuesday and a very special arrival- Lyndsey! Amanda's good friend from home has joined in on our crazy adventure for 3 weeks. She was eager to do some wwoofing so Amanda went to collect her from the airport (beautiful sign in hand) and brought her back to Fruitvan central. Jetlag wasn't plaguing her so she dove right into weeding work. So nice to have her here! You compost queeen you.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Late Tuesday evening Taryn opened up a rather important letter- a rental house inspector was due to arrive the next morning. dun dun dun- mobilize operation house clean and evacuation... = bonus day off! </span></div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TuA7a_Ll5RefiPeGI2jYES5d1p2pZY5iHfJdLwMpyfeqEIRO07efM9U2o6yFltjcfK26Ed5KpMmtmXhSesNaTPgNxnx6cvaQpAHb-xIhZeU90NrqrQhNXhWcNayRybTmhftd3n4Jxkm0/s1600/fruit+vansvans+112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TuA7a_Ll5RefiPeGI2jYES5d1p2pZY5iHfJdLwMpyfeqEIRO07efM9U2o6yFltjcfK26Ed5KpMmtmXhSesNaTPgNxnx6cvaQpAHb-xIhZeU90NrqrQhNXhWcNayRybTmhftd3n4Jxkm0/s200/fruit+vansvans+112.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Turns out all the Canadians in the house decided we needed to do some hiking despite the constant rain. Vicky, a spunky ex-pat from Montreal, loaded us in her car and we headed to the Waitakere Ranges with a quick stop in Piha at Lion's Rock for some ocean views. After perusing a guide book we settled on the Fairy Falls LOOP- a supposedly easy trail not requiring us to drag the guide book along . The forest was subtropical, very lush. green and filled with very wacky sounding birds. The views were amazing- decending down many steps we approached a stream which lead us to the falls. (There were no fairies.) The sun joined us as we basked in the wonderment that is the fairyless Fairy Falls. A few kms later we discovered we were slightly lost- as we emerged to a small with no sign of Vicky's car. Turning back into the forest we decided to follow another trail we recognized, heading up a rather steep hill. Luckily for us we found the car within the hour... lesson learned- never leave your trail guides at home kids! Quick coffee break at Elevation cafe where we see Auckland city spread out before us, and back to the house.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Later in the week Sandie worked on : organizing the growing clutter called a kitchen, decorating the living area with global community inspired posters, and general yard/painting upkeep. Amanda worked on:</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> dismanteling big avocado crates with Vicky which included lots of crowbar/ hammer demolition. RAWR! Also weeding, and shovelling clay and rock soil to build up the compost walkway. Lots of dirty fun ended in a trip to the laundrymat. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTdSzUaG9WvKz3_A-9ZG0sErcHVGwnMn8yE4ZXsro8XFHIKWZyJu-qgHwP3uuX8ThnTCX2aSYoXB-PiubgFiO9Yd_hNS5e5yQTJEzh7l5AqHxGSOlLH-vlq22tC_Z2zrOsuniJE-Ekwi5/s1600/fruit+v+2+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTdSzUaG9WvKz3_A-9ZG0sErcHVGwnMn8yE4ZXsro8XFHIKWZyJu-qgHwP3uuX8ThnTCX2aSYoXB-PiubgFiO9Yd_hNS5e5yQTJEzh7l5AqHxGSOlLH-vlq22tC_Z2zrOsuniJE-Ekwi5/s200/fruit+v+2+005.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">PS.... Oh, and top it all off-- We were both offered PAID positions selling fruit at the other Fruit Van house 2 hrs south of here, in December. Did we mention how much we love these people? EEEE!</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TuA7a_Ll5RefiPeGI2jYES5d1p2pZY5iHfJdLwMpyfeqEIRO07efM9U2o6yFltjcfK26Ed5KpMmtmXhSesNaTPgNxnx6cvaQpAHb-xIhZeU90NrqrQhNXhWcNayRybTmhftd3n4Jxkm0/s1600/fruit+vansvans+112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"></span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrr1FbkQOW3DF15_X2Z-osEVNHNy1POyF6ZtgFd2I9BbzmPDIjuO8mSfnZD6M6Uc3mzz87I8GSTDeMHhUaSmQyGcIUzsQD4_sJEi_oGoKKsR4TBE3FpVqMDucghIYoj8QeKryjc3Xkr1k/s1600/fruit+v+2+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrr1FbkQOW3DF15_X2Z-osEVNHNy1POyF6ZtgFd2I9BbzmPDIjuO8mSfnZD6M6Uc3mzz87I8GSTDeMHhUaSmQyGcIUzsQD4_sJEi_oGoKKsR4TBE3FpVqMDucghIYoj8QeKryjc3Xkr1k/s200/fruit+v+2+046.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-41220030208273166742010-09-19T02:01:00.000-07:002010-09-19T02:23:11.921-07:00Kia Ora, New Zealand!<div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wednesday September 15</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLDxnPXAPKKpJWCsCIolNdtf_rYKsrG_DGpAKFf_FL0EdJQnZCnj0Y7_VvAQ7rTOh7EA_Yleo6QaYBPu-E3590ndujZzqx_1qXhfE0vQVEw6mNhR03gOOJn-NysRl6jlMxHJH8tasy6j3/s1600/fruitvans+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLDxnPXAPKKpJWCsCIolNdtf_rYKsrG_DGpAKFf_FL0EdJQnZCnj0Y7_VvAQ7rTOh7EA_Yleo6QaYBPu-E3590ndujZzqx_1qXhfE0vQVEw6mNhR03gOOJn-NysRl6jlMxHJH8tasy6j3/s200/fruitvans+005.JPG" width="200" /></a>Made it to New Zealand!! Auckland to be exact and let me tell you- it is cold! So much has happend thus far that it seems impossible this trip has only just begun. With no couchsurfing requests responded to, we headed to the YHA hostel downtown. It really worked out for the best as we were able to recieve loads of help from the staff who are also visitors.</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sQbTFhOGQNKkCcCjmTprsH6mKzE8p2P0l4AeYK1MiVJ5wD4QgZ63Dx1vbCjnonO8hsYcBTeEC32sLc10AThSGbA1Dkv3rNsfb8yeQYbuz1wvniS8K0GIfdIRVAeCp6ds948Hy2jmnmet/s1600/fruitvans+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sQbTFhOGQNKkCcCjmTprsH6mKzE8p2P0l4AeYK1MiVJ5wD4QgZ63Dx1vbCjnonO8hsYcBTeEC32sLc10AThSGbA1Dkv3rNsfb8yeQYbuz1wvniS8K0GIfdIRVAeCp6ds948Hy2jmnmet/s200/fruitvans+014.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXihBoslcFPPNCGm9uUxUz-nKiU8amtx9rVOcipoNRx_GYyreEpOcdQnt2bjdwids8-JVt_6RVHfh57S9GlOMjq1jt4vVlKGyc20s2F4CJB_AVujZxBHl2zQghDF0T4AoJ3oJrqRCKu0a/s1600/fruitvans+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXihBoslcFPPNCGm9uUxUz-nKiU8amtx9rVOcipoNRx_GYyreEpOcdQnt2bjdwids8-JVt_6RVHfh57S9GlOMjq1jt4vVlKGyc20s2F4CJB_AVujZxBHl2zQghDF0T4AoJ3oJrqRCKu0a/s200/fruitvans+015.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We didn't do any sightseeing as we were trying to set up some wwoofing, get bank accounts, and set up our IRD numbers. Amanda took us out for some Korean food (she has been missing it terribly). Jess enjoyed a plate of squid, while Amanda and Sandie had some veggie Bibimbap. Delish! </div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRq58e1n4eJtnYvwpn4xr9GAYomeWh8dBbgNCpUdQpWGclXLLbAK6dwoTc9vrlwqHKOxBmdskJfKeADfD8q-J4x5YdSCIHu8wH6F83jsCG_lI0dGx0V3ugBYw5o0XQPfIFXv9jkrda2BZ/s1600/fruitvans+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRq58e1n4eJtnYvwpn4xr9GAYomeWh8dBbgNCpUdQpWGclXLLbAK6dwoTc9vrlwqHKOxBmdskJfKeADfD8q-J4x5YdSCIHu8wH6F83jsCG_lI0dGx0V3ugBYw5o0XQPfIFXv9jkrda2BZ/s200/fruitvans+038.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are quickly discovering that the weather in New Zealand is highly unpredictable. Day 1, and already we have been caught out in the rain without any appropriate gear. HA! There is just no sense in checking the weather here- just go out prepared for anything, because the rain comes and goes alll day.</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZJt3v5EYkOU4rXiB9lZ_yQB5R2S4EUVM_onuaB_VHVOzK3d0Oazo2EvE2Meel8otxiuyWmlUJdUtC_cSfEn-hIldpZo_lmUmDw2-RWHC-Aku2jlL0CcSrm9k_xsADCJ9te0MX0R4jUeR/s1600/fruitvans+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZJt3v5EYkOU4rXiB9lZ_yQB5R2S4EUVM_onuaB_VHVOzK3d0Oazo2EvE2Meel8otxiuyWmlUJdUtC_cSfEn-hIldpZo_lmUmDw2-RWHC-Aku2jlL0CcSrm9k_xsADCJ9te0MX0R4jUeR/s200/fruitvans+027.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Turns out the weather was also matching our mood, as getting responses from Wwoof hosts was turning out to be somewhat difficult. Naively, we thought that it would be a very simple task since our book is just jam-packed with farms! However, it seems that most are booked many months in advance, or they don't want us. </div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As our spirits were beginning to dampen and the general mood was not so good, some luck came our way. Unknowingly, the four of us (Amanda, Sandie, Jess, and Lyndsey joining in a few days) had been emailing the same place- Fruit Vans... and they pulled through! One more quick call, and our pestering worked: they said they could take us the next day. YAY! Wine was purchased and a night of celebration was in order. We ventured out and found a Brazilian bar with a live band and lots of happy people. Gooood night </div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks to all the celebatory wine, getting up in the morning wasn't easy. We spent the afternoon sorting out all our stuff in the city and caught a taxi out to Sunnyvale- home of the Fruit Vans! West Auckland suburbs here we come. </div>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-45837741150087075412010-09-17T05:25:00.001-07:002010-09-17T06:20:25.407-07:00Volcanos, kava and warm fuzzy feelings<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">And all good things must come to an end... our last week in Vanuatu, in a coconut shell:</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">*OK a big one-- lots to tell about in this post!*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">After getting back from Nguna last Monday, Sandie, Jessica and I hunkered back down at our old guesthouse at Eman Imalo, resuming our places in room #11. We spent most of the day sipping smoothies on the waterfront, and making plans for the week </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">to come- what to do in Van</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">uatu, and were to stay in New Zealand. We had high hopes of taking a</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> trip to one of other isl</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">ands by passenger ship, but with boat schedules conflicting and different ideas of how each of us wanted to spend our last days the</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">re, w</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">e settled on sp</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">litting off. Sandie and Jess stayed back in Vila for some quality time with old friends- Etha, Frankie, Mark, and Robert, while I made up my mind 15 minutes before the Air Vanuatu offic e closed </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">on Monday to go get myself a ticket to Tanna Island, leaving on the next available flight Wednesday morning.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Sandie's week: </span> Jess and myself were keen to spend as much time as possible with our Ni-van friends, so a few extra days in Vila was just what we wanted. Wednesday found us hiking down to the local market to buy fresh foods for a picnic lunch with Etha. We had such a lovely catch-up with lots of reminiscing from our time on Tanna last year. Thursday was spent enj</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >oyin</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >g beach weather, getting burns, and ending the day with a few Tusker's (Vanuatu's local be</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >er). Air Vanuatu's pilots all happened to be out for an evening of fun and showed Jess and I a good time. We explored some of Vila's expat nightlife and had hangover's the next day to prove it! The rest of our time was sp</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >ent enjoying all of the company our friends had to offer and getting to know Vila a wee bit more. Sandie had another lesson in sunscreen application after experiencing an awful burn that lasted way too long. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Amanda's week: </span> The major draw to Tanna was Yasur Volcano, the most accessible active volcan</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >o in the world, and one of the main tourist hot spots in Vanuatu. After a 40 min flight, the 2 hour driv</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >e across the island to the bungalow </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >was an exciting one: the roads got worse and worse as we went, turning from bumpy pavement, to dirt, and</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" > then to paths only 4-wheel drive vehicles could navigate. We stopped at a small roadside market in the shade of a giant banyan tree, and enjoyed views of small villages and smiling waving people along the way. The sun had set by the time I arrived at Island Dream </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >bungalow in Port Resolution, but the hosts Nancy and Nassam cooked up a wonderful meal of veggies and rice before they left me in my own little hut for the night. All I could make out in the darkness was the red glow of Yasur just over the ridge.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >My timing </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >couldn't have been better arriving at the bungalow- in the next village over about a 45</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" > minute walk away, a ceremony was being held to celebrate the circumcision of 5 young boys f</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6zl03h9W_Sd6DqkMhVmW4vv-oxRU2aGwp7NT5ab5bkLe7jcA85e9VTpp2pMye4uA00Y8plC8gUU1zSmgwZ7MPBN0N_sHkO0qhs78ajRBEIW3jM-jewQ978Fu8Y5gw9o0CTvvfiewhEsa/s1600/tanna+etc+166.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6zl03h9W_Sd6DqkMhVmW4vv-oxRU2aGwp7NT5ab5bkLe7jcA85e9VTpp2pMye4uA00Y8plC8gUU1zSmgwZ7MPBN0N_sHkO0qhs78ajRBEIW3jM-jewQ978Fu8Y5gw9o0CTvvfiewhEsa/s200/tanna+etc+166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517868755481519042" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >rom 2 different families, between the ages of 6 and 11. It's a tradition widely p</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >racticed on Tanna and much of Vanuatu, held a few times a year in a village when the parents of these boys feel... it's their time. The boys leave their families for around 5 weeks to stay at the nakamal, a taboo place in the village where on</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >ly men are allowed. The cut is carried out by</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" > an elder man in the village with a sharpened bamboo blade and a local anesthetic of some kind. They'll stay a few more weeks, and</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" > then this ceremony is held when the boys come out to see their mothers and the other women in their families once again. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmbfD6649wyrPtO0v6y18xdhDOtrupAKA2KEIlstkoVJtHsZZyHfdgNeokBmIvlrQIjgxFR0D8RwcjVH_7RxWTI9wKs4juLOJf3nGOmWim0PIDk8x2nkUo1WEpemWaK7k2qiBUk7dCkqn/s1600/tanna+etc+142.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmbfD6649wyrPtO0v6y18xdhDOtrupAKA2KEIlstkoVJtHsZZyHfdgNeokBmIvlrQIjgxFR0D8RwcjVH_7RxWTI9wKs4juLOJf3nGOmWim0PIDk8x2nkUo1WEpemWaK7k2qiBUk7dCkqn/s200/tanna+etc+142.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517867942993897842" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >The whole thing was amazing to see. In a large clearing there were men (and very ripped ones at th</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >at ;) ) wearing purple and green skirts (f</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >rom each family) br</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >inging out piles and piles of food and gifts to be exchanged between families. It was divided in 2 and piled high in layers </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >of fruits, root veggies, smoked meat, colourful fabrics, woven mats and baskets. As the hours went by and the gifts were arranged, a conch shell was sounded and a procession of men and the boys c</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >ame out with painted faces to be welcomed back to their crying mother's a</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >rms. Pigs and cows were also offered, </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >and I witnessed animals being killed for the first time. No easy sight to see...(or hear), but it was comforting knowing they </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >at least lived happy lives in comparison to their North American cousins. From there, there was lots of dancing and singing to enjoy, complete with colourful face paint, grass skirts and even garland they wore around their heads.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" ><br /><br />After a lazy afte</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgiS4xn8V8bZKTANfTkwJcixCJJvSHT0s6kd19pgsvvZv2vq5V5RQ_6zz__xFWjDd_Z2s6F_aqqjRAUD471ITQrKb4QIz0NjPlIkZOa251jNoDArXQKnzJtz4W4KIXvlULO1cdG_rb-QT/s1600/tanna+etc+248.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgiS4xn8V8bZKTANfTkwJcixCJJvSHT0s6kd19pgsvvZv2vq5V5RQ_6zz__xFWjDd_Z2s6F_aqqjRAUD471ITQrKb4QIz0NjPlIkZOa251jNoDArXQKnzJtz4W4KIXvlULO1cdG_rb-QT/s200/tanna+etc+248.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517869172550940674" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >rnoon and a walk to the black sand beach, it was time for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yasur</span>! I was joined at the bungalow by an Aus</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >tralian family of doctors and their 2 kids, who I went along with on a tour to the volcano. A dr</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >ive across the ash plain, up the mountain, and a short walk brought us to the rim. Standing near </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >the edge we were witness to periodic bursts of lava fireworks , with the occasional ash cloud and sulphur explosions. Too a</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >mazing for words- I never imagined witnessing anything like it. One epic wonder of nature :) </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >Friday I spent some time with Andrew, Trudy, Allister and Samantha (Dr family) and went for a walk through Port Resolution village (named by Capn Cook himself) and on to the White Sand Beach</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >. The kids, Allister and Sam had gone on ahead with Nancy's daughter </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >Wahpoo to the beach to swim with a group other kids. It was funny to come walk up the hill on to a stunning stretch of white sand, completely empty but for a group of almost 20 little ones with the beach all to themselves. We enjoyed a bit of snorkeling before we passed around our goggles to share with the kids, who I think enjoyed them more than I ever have. A long day in the sun was followed by a delicious dinner, and a trip to see the 'John Frum' worship a few villages away. John Frum is a sort of cargo cult from the 1940s, when many Americans landed on the shores of Vanuatu during WWII. Many villagers in remote places had never seen such modern technology, and revered the novelties they brought. And so years later, groups have continued to get together and sing about the return of a certain "John Frum..."Am</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-family:lucida grande;" >erica. Interesting stuff.</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />Saturday- After an early morning swim, Amanda returns from Tann</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">a to find wine and Tuskers already flowing. Franky, Mark, and Robert came over to Iman Emalo to join in on the fun. The boys, of course, had to have their kava session before indulging in any liquor. We </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">all ventured out to a bar downtown and enjoyed a night of</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> dance and drinking. </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The next two days were spent enjoying the amazing weather, and searching for Ww</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IZEfvHlsBwxAiYWfj8Jwv1wFHM7kEUt8nva15_1sWYopO_lOE6czM_o8gu4AYLv3nLqPkvTve0EqsrK7HJqTgBTXpKqZG0P1lXEn6JDwBULDgV-AXbftpwkupYA61QV7O6ymK29C3Q2Q/s1600/vila+026.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IZEfvHlsBwxAiYWfj8Jwv1wFHM7kEUt8nva15_1sWYopO_lOE6czM_o8gu4AYLv3nLqPkvTve0EqsrK7HJqTgBTXpKqZG0P1lXEn6JDwBULDgV-AXbftpwkupYA61QV7O6ymK29C3Q2Q/s200/vila+026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517866053772937538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">oofing in New Zealand- it was hard to imagine that we were indeed leaving this paradise. Monday afternoon we decided to rent ourselves some scooters- as Jess had zero experience we rented a 2 seater for A</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">manda and a single for Sandie. Our scooter provider gave u</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">s next to zero encouragement leaving us with tales of "many accidents", and untrustworthy taxi drivers. His final wor</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">ds to us were, "Don't kill yours</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">elves", followed by an awkward giggle. It was a lovely ride to Pango, in and around Vila, with quick jau</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">nt out to the entrance of the Cascades. After a sprinkling of rain and a small fright, Sandie has retired from scooter r</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">iding. We were all thanking our lucky stars and decided tonight was as good as any to get "kava'd". </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >Prior to arriving in Vanuatu we had decided kava would be something we would experience in all it's glory, and so we left Jess and ventured out with Franky to our local Nakamal. It was a</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYkfNfDQo7Nq-PdfzWwxuWVXufJKncCfTFXK7uYWLS33RA-Ca9srNY6TR2hux3gHnFfBiZJZpxujZOPP-DCQIcAv98SKzmJw0Jbi4HFdCEY0t_OHXgSlkpAUeQ5EI2GHNUjPpDg-8ddiw/s1600/vila+054.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYkfNfDQo7Nq-PdfzWwxuWVXufJKncCfTFXK7uYWLS33RA-Ca9srNY6TR2hux3gHnFfBiZJZpxujZOPP-DCQIcAv98SKzmJw0Jbi4HFdCEY0t_OHXgSlkpAUeQ5EI2GHNUjPpDg-8ddiw/s200/vila+054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517867927186721250" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >mazing to have Franky with us as he was an excellent guide to teach us the ins and outs of kava. He to</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >ld us the appropriate time to wait between shells (equals about a cup) of kava, as kava is not something you chug. Another lesson in kava etiquette- spitting is essential. You CAN'T help but spit repeatedly. The nakamal is a very quiet place, kava is not a drink that makes </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >you loud and boisterous. After 3 shells we were beginning to feel the spirit of kava- let me tell you, it is a slow one. Feeling as though we could handle more, we got some kava to go, using Jessi's water bo</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >ttle, and Franky came with us back to Eman Imalo to finish off our </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >drinks. The feeling of kava is not comparable to anything we've ever had. We felt like we weighed about 5 hundred pounds each and our movements were very slow and awkward. Jess describes us as quite dull, but a novelty. Quickly drinking our last shells, Amanda most immediately turned green. </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >Franky let us know LATER that we should have been eating something at this point as is would ward off sickness. Thanks for that! ;) We slipped into a deep sleep hoping we would awake the next morning refreshed and energetic.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Tuesday- Our </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao_SrFyZSL5Jq_bI3yJ9rmPLAD2HW1eBVPIK-iCkKmmOJ0L0Nix0_OZdTPvcvjDgiKdevzJVUMWa3IyEWlpEmM2yh4RrDVBhhcdqTHX2vDy8kXl-c3D5djQsk9j4ZUp4jRBS1djfj11w4/s1600/vila+116.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao_SrFyZSL5Jq_bI3yJ9rmPLAD2HW1eBVPIK-iCkKmmOJ0L0Nix0_OZdTPvcvjDgiKdevzJVUMWa3IyEWlpEmM2yh4RrDVBhhcdqTHX2vDy8kXl-c3D5djQsk9j4ZUp4jRBS1djfj11w4/s200/vila+116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517866045099400674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">last day in Vanuatu. Amanda and Sandie woke up with gigantic kava hangovers- not to be confused with an alcohol hangover. We felt a few hundred pounds lighter but still sluggish and a little nauseous. The Cascades waterfall was the last destination on our list, and must-see in Vila. Despite the steady downpour (the first we had this whole trip, and very in-tuned with our emotions) we walked through gorgeous jungle on our way to a most bea</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">utiful waterfall. Making our way uphill, over steams and through the bush, w</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">e came to a five-story waterfall that swept over slippery stones. The whole scene around was something out of a story book- it's hard to grasp just how stunning it was. We ended the night spending a</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> wonderful evening with Frankie and Mark, and were just floored at one of the most amazing gifts ever--- Frankie wrote us a SONG (and let the waterworks begin). A theme</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> song, if you will- about the 3 of us. Such a thoughtful thing to do- THANK YOU Frankie, you are unbelievably sweet, will listen to it always and think of you and wonderful Vanuatu.</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />Wednesday and up before the sun- away we go... NZ here we come! So much sadness consumed us as we left this beautiful place, but much excitement too- whose to</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> say what a year among the kiwis will bring? Thanks for the laughs and the memories Vanuatu, lukim yu :)</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocFaF3jUiLgHvtYSFCRgZxviTj-Ik95BRxcepC0Fh3VypRhfG88eUv1D0YY_LsdDxr0Q9e1ddicd4e4WDuWhReT6IO2n0bat7ANwP4Ao7DsUgSikKpA3I9Xrnes2f4KkBqkoaGT9D1mQT/s1600/vila+012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocFaF3jUiLgHvtYSFCRgZxviTj-Ik95BRxcepC0Fh3VypRhfG88eUv1D0YY_LsdDxr0Q9e1ddicd4e4WDuWhReT6IO2n0bat7ANwP4Ao7DsUgSikKpA3I9Xrnes2f4KkBqkoaGT9D1mQT/s200/vila+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517870573758152594" border="0" /></a></span></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-47869567579100157092010-09-07T16:38:00.000-07:002010-09-17T06:24:54.703-07:00Life on Nguna- i stret nomo<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">So why Nguna? Nguna is a small island off the much larger Efate Island, where the capital of Vanuatu is. This is wh</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ere Frankie (Sandie's good friend she met volunteering here last year) is from. H</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMpjTztY1_qQ4B2SlrjnQEXCEtbhk73XLLEkYIhz4d_CAqY5m8iRgWZWMHfXWvQBbtbncjfV0WHxCGikFVXEZSw25dqbDzlkNZte5_Vsu4omaCNhkJxjellc2ZnMNrI9-oN-qwEIvrRfv/s1600/taloa-nguna+033.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMpjTztY1_qQ4B2SlrjnQEXCEtbhk73XLLEkYIhz4d_CAqY5m8iRgWZWMHfXWvQBbtbncjfV0WHxCGikFVXEZSw25dqbDzlkNZte5_Vsu4omaCNhkJxjellc2ZnMNrI9-oN-qwEIvrRfv/s200/taloa-nguna+033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514330587623910978" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> very kindly arranged our whole </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">stay for us to camp near the beach, on his grandpa</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> Fred's property in </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Taloa Village, and we never could have imagined what </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">an amazing time it would be.</span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">The 3 of us</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> arrived on Tuesday after catching a truck from do</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">wntown Vila to the northern si</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">d</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e of Efate, passing on our way lots of bush, coconut plantations</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">, and the island where Survivo</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">r wa</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">s</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> filmed. After an hour drive we arrived at the dock, where we</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> watched a family of dolphins pass by as we waited for our boat. Frankie's cousin Kalmelu was there to greet us, horsing around wi</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">th some little kids o</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">n the beach as the boat pulled up. He and the kids helped us get our tents set up under a mango tree, a sto</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">nes throw from the coast</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUsSZh_WJZzd7RqiSQSg5ahviXixAWUGMPMhsP-xO70jRUJT6duWpoSs6CmyRDNPRKABKffjU5SQH6Zh8Os8zGeHXloM2-FZpxoBdeozMBXsC26n6WKBlu7_xw2lHNVkLjlc1DGn2J9Nf/s1600/taloa-nguna+078.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUsSZh_WJZzd7RqiSQSg5ahviXixAWUGMPMhsP-xO70jRUJT6duWpoSs6CmyRDNPRKABKffjU5SQH6Zh8Os8zGeHXloM2-FZpxoBdeozMBXsC26n6WKBlu7_xw2lHNVkLjlc1DGn2J9Nf/s200/taloa-nguna+078.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514396297193560754" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">From Wednesday on, the fa</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">mily really made us feel at home. We enjoyed wonder</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ful meals with them all week, with plenty of fresh fruits and delicious islan</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">d ea</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ts- including laplap- a mashed banana (or taro, or sweet potato...) dish, made with</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> coconut milk and a bit </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">of spice. It's poured together in giant pandanus leaves and wrapped up into a rectangular bun</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">dle, about the siz</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e of a big flat cake,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> and then covered with the hot lava rocks and a pile of other dampened leaves over the fire. It's </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">got a </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">chewy texture- filling and </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">tasty! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Life on the </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">island is pretty basic, and everyone there lives very much off the land. </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Kalmelu and his wife Ros</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYOSPWRRLKXZvLK0Rou-vLpttg-fk9N1ZqyKybog6Tpa3R4BbW10KQXDfqJw9_3YJq3mEK9XT-qi5ivf2HElTQlfmZubCbdbHAjKTh4rCvoNaOnYmwhMicBUy8JvoYsb3HpSO_7uM4opD/s1600/taloa-nguna+375.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYOSPWRRLKXZvLK0Rou-vLpttg-fk9N1ZqyKybog6Tpa3R4BbW10KQXDfqJw9_3YJq3mEK9XT-qi5ivf2HElTQlfmZubCbdbHAjKTh4rCvoNaOnYmwhMicBUy8JvoYsb3HpSO_7uM4opD/s200/taloa-nguna+375.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514423526473834338" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e for instance, h</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ave a very modest house, with a small 2 burner gas cooking stove,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> and anot</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">her shelter o</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">utside</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">to </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">make a fire a</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">nd cook things wit</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">h heated lava rocks. Washing dishes/clothes/yourself is</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> all done in </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">buckets, and the few electric lights are power</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">d by a recently-installed solar system. There are chickens running around everywhere with cute baby chicks in tow, as well as th</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e odd pig.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">On Wednesday we got to go for a walk into the bush to Fred's garden, where he very pro</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ud</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ly showed off his money-making crop of vanilla beans, as well as his banana trees, grap</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pFGE8nXwy5Eooyk2UMc2OuzSLf_u9YRu18FF9r2x2t0VNz3wAfadRS_Q26MLyOoMEWSDJrY3Td6k1J61GEz94Y15f3sn6n3auV_C_VVF2dPW51vTNP55maN1kZ4x9xo3LX-er_SdE1xx/s1600/taloa-nguna+052.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pFGE8nXwy5Eooyk2UMc2OuzSLf_u9YRu18FF9r2x2t0VNz3wAfadRS_Q26MLyOoMEWSDJrY3Td6k1J61GEz94Y15f3sn6n3auV_C_VVF2dPW51vTNP55maN1kZ4x9xo3LX-er_SdE1xx/s200/taloa-nguna+052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514327202744131842" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">efruit, ma</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ndarins, and lots of root veggies like taro, manioc, and sweet potato. We watched a</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">s Kalmelu </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">climbed up into the thorny mandarin tree and dropped down some fresh fruits for us snack on, and als</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">o tried some sugar </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">cane. mmm so good! Every family has a garden like this- there are only 2 very very smal</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">l stores in the village where you can buy the most basic dry goods, and maybe some beer and cigarettes. Went for a walk down the beach were we </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">met some very friendly teenage girls, Alice, Rota, and Relina, who we chatted and played a bit of volleyball with. For dinner that night we joined in with some of the extended family at Freds with some</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> singing </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">and worship before dinner,</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> and were off to bed early. Not much going on after the sun sets at 6:00! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> Thursday was a very </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">full day. After an early morning</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> walk into the village, a long sw</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">im and lunch, we joined in with the women- grandmothers, aunts, cousins- in making dinner. More laplap! We got to scrape out coconuts into a pile of shavings, ring out the milk fro</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">m it, p</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">re</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">pare the leaves and wrap u</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">p the whole thing together. We sat around for while after that</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvscMmn68436reY6CYpJ4oNCCVfSp9tIscrSN7E_np03VFZFNR91-ENFvUuOiL6lxdOsp3wjyf74f9n2xLFJqEyscTvZyI0EzyAi0kIxwBy8yKfa-mZ3wVKxKz33S0N4sBS1313FQuSp6/s1600/taloa-nguna+206.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvscMmn68436reY6CYpJ4oNCCVfSp9tIscrSN7E_np03VFZFNR91-ENFvUuOiL6lxdOsp3wjyf74f9n2xLFJqEyscTvZyI0EzyAi0kIxwBy8yKfa-mZ3wVKxKz33S0N4sBS1313FQuSp6/s200/taloa-nguna+206.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514327210805972114" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">, and watched and learned a bit of weaving. Rose makes some beautiful baskets and purses, and goes to the market in Vila for a 4 day stay every 2 weeks to sell them. It's quite a bit of work, but of course s</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">he makes it look easy. Rolling the long </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">pandanas leaves of the tree to flatten them out, dyeing them, weavin</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">g, stitching- it's a process! </span> Enjoyed dinner and lovely sunset and coconuts :)<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Friday we enjoyed a long</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> walk into the bush part way up the</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> (extinct) vol</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">cano </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">to get a bea</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">utiful view over the water and surrounding islands. Stopped off at an amazing Ban</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ya</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">n</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> tree- a massive tangle of roots and vines, for a quick climb into the</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmNMAQXEHbna8TZf_1SdkVq9atCIWD3FDKd6st0ruHEkRcw88E8IsM1BQrdq4UbBRuRvd-h9A4iptnra3x8trBrQPrQeEicNZKsCmlD_F74ShPgntz2Y9DVN35vlGr2bTagQ1B-SYFn-D/s1600/taloa-nguna+266.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmNMAQXEHbna8TZf_1SdkVq9atCIWD3FDKd6st0ruHEkRcw88E8IsM1BQrdq4UbBRuRvd-h9A4iptnra3x8trBrQPrQeEicNZKsCmlD_F74ShPgntz2Y9DVN35vlGr2bTagQ1B-SYFn-D/s200/taloa-nguna+266.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514398574997373954" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">tree tops. </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Enjoyed quite a long swim, snorkeling and checking</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> out the colourful fish and c</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">oral nearby, and then felt an earthquake!! Nothing bad luckily</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">, but quite the rumble. It's a pr</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">etty bizarre feeling when the beach shakes so much! </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ha!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAgWnHJvOC6kr09hyphenhyphenz3Vbuo_oNrG2aBSY7jZ1we0vqKruo9WCEhseiUtjcn3Tue_2Xjwe2RKq6Op8xZW8JdphhlXw76_UT-iBTFqoTeKz5y5gZc4bl2QmmeqDG1Vb77vXCKlAWjZF-CCu/s1600/taloa-nguna+544.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAgWnHJvOC6kr09hyphenhyphenz3Vbuo_oNrG2aBSY7jZ1we0vqKruo9WCEhseiUtjcn3Tue_2Xjwe2RKq6Op8xZW8JdphhlXw76_UT-iBTFqoTeKz5y5gZc4bl2QmmeqDG1Vb77vXCKlAWjZF-CCu/s200/taloa-nguna+544.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514415705446114834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Saturday-we had a morning </span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">walk-about down to volcano rocks on the beach. A girl (Chrissy) was cleaning co</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ral o</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">n the beach which will later be used to build her house- she wanted to show us something. Chr</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">issy led us to a nearby bird filled cave. Sandie stuck it out for a few minutes before fleeing. Later in the afternoon </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Amanda decided she would like to go for a small swim- where s</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">he would meet jelly fish jerkface! ouch! f</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">rankie came on the evening boat and set up camp with us. We helped prepare another meal- which we all enjoyed together. The three </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">of us purchased Tusker earlier in the day and brought it out for the campfire, and Franky had brought 2 bottles of red wine from Vila. Great night of laughing, dancing, and getting to know more of the wonderful people from Taloa.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Sunday- We all enjoy</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L0Dn2Oa87zjv2Fpgvv9okLhBsEyrICLG1GlehcskOQZKBZeQNH2b0F0MSKjBK7kcE-nOPPymSIzM2X6mOVV2QjTfMJubTsLiKK6wfNTepaaHbd9gbdNSd4JUj-Ih1taN_LYKN4J8E6Wd/s1600/taloa-nguna+559.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L0Dn2Oa87zjv2Fpgvv9okLhBsEyrICLG1GlehcskOQZKBZeQNH2b0F0MSKjBK7kcE-nOPPymSIzM2X6mOVV2QjTfMJubTsLiKK6wfNTepaaHbd9gbdNSd4JUj-Ih1taN_LYKN4J8E6Wd/s200/taloa-nguna+559.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514419345012441042" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ed a bit of a sleep in. Everyone enjoyed a good breakfast at Rose and Kalmelu's before g</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">etting ready for church. Rose happend to have 3 extra island dresses- we were all over the chance to get to </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">wear them! The service was in Nguna's native language so not even </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Sandie </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">and Jess could decifer anything- but on we sang. They can really belt out a tun</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e. The afternoon was spen</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">t wi</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgco_RVwZOav5Mz4BIw8on2L99GrkNzs16I2XChYztho19A-WzNIYX_nqp2BFxJ6Rxz_c_K6ID7_k6xfV4SqoTergGUyKJNzsbNLiHxznSDL2xhSHlir4ANxL8Z0ngyIcj4vnNNvXEb2_lz/s1600/taloa-nguna+605.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgco_RVwZOav5Mz4BIw8on2L99GrkNzs16I2XChYztho19A-WzNIYX_nqp2BFxJ6Rxz_c_K6ID7_k6xfV4SqoTergGUyKJNzsbNLiHxznSDL2xhSHlir4ANxL8Z0ngyIcj4vnNNvXEb2_lz/s200/taloa-nguna+605.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514420270256779330" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">th more singing and lying about in the sand. Franky told us many stories of kastom on</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> th</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e island. It is such a vastly different culture from ours- h</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">sure loved his captive audience.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> Since it was </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">our last night Rose wanted to make something special for supper- banana cake! </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Wonderful feast, great conversation, loving Taloa.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Monday- Edna gav</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEsNnAVz_Zm-zLhbOjZ4nsqyJEcwZLBTqgXgUE4UubD5H-VMcUG9Tdgcn5GLAYXheB94ikihINkTCboUCkpwi9I8y-DsThXFsSVER-LPIS3AgLJ8TCJyg5FaI9MzoRa6SmqLqQzJlXPRm/s1600/taloa-nguna+611.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEsNnAVz_Zm-zLhbOjZ4nsqyJEcwZLBTqgXgUE4UubD5H-VMcUG9Tdgcn5GLAYXheB94ikihINkTCboUCkpwi9I8y-DsThXFsSVER-LPIS3AgLJ8TCJyg5FaI9MzoRa6SmqLqQzJlXPRm/s200/taloa-nguna+611.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514421490490323602" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">e us a wake up call at 4:30am which we all slept through </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">until Franky said at 5 it was time to go. Lot's of people came out to help us</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> load up our tents and luggage. Rose gave each of us beautiful purses that she had woven sometime that week- so sweet! We all said our good-byes and loaded into the boat- back to Efate. Great ride back into Vila filled w</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">ith more laughs and yes, you g</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">uessed it, more singing!<br /></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-77582923322586925642010-08-30T12:48:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:00:44.354-07:00Vanuatu- Mi likem yu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqqSC67EPs2l2dYPBqzrZs0fxRmz9U2vQTs7XCxOrDvRsnr4uwG8K8ZIOZUWscpWrYMapCsSPH6wtAG9ZDG4WKaeXcGAs8_G9X1774f7xbS5PN-a1eeYp6kXL9s8m5nVeFs3c1E8ScvTO/s1600/vanuatu1+019.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqqSC67EPs2l2dYPBqzrZs0fxRmz9U2vQTs7XCxOrDvRsnr4uwG8K8ZIOZUWscpWrYMapCsSPH6wtAG9ZDG4WKaeXcGAs8_G9X1774f7xbS5PN-a1eeYp6kXL9s8m5nVeFs3c1E8ScvTO/s200/vanuatu1+019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511295015200712978" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >Voted happiest place on earth:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >It's green..it's hot..it's tropical..it's Vanuatu- and we made it! We have successfully set our watches to island time- hence the lack of blog. We have been staying at Eman Imalo guesthouse and Noel (the owner) has been just wonderful. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >Our first day in Port Vila was a long one. After settling in we went into town and drank the local Tusker beer with some Australian yachties that we met. In the evening we drank some kava at Freswata 2. For those that don't know- Kava is a miiild halucinogenic strained from a plant, that </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >mostly just m</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOG2eotqZFE8ZGuqbYPMTfLcNqLmWCoB9JAPInkbBf9Ck8NfsZ6dhZYR0TciMOag-n9FIOsxKrpoc-hh5EoXjEjSZiV3UvsFQs_7-rLVBRfmIUddjUvvM5bK9e7EQwqHSZqdzLNIxYOkr/s1600/Holly-van+070.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOG2eotqZFE8ZGuqbYPMTfLcNqLmWCoB9JAPInkbBf9Ck8NfsZ6dhZYR0TciMOag-n9FIOsxKrpoc-hh5EoXjEjSZiV3UvsFQs_7-rLVBRfmIUddjUvvM5bK9e7EQwqHSZqdzLNIxYOkr/s200/Holly-van+070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511296166062815794" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >akes you sleepy and is a huge part of Ni-Van culture. Unlike the outer islands in Vanuatu, women are allowed in the Nakamals (kava bars) here in Vila. We had a great evening with new friends an</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >d </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >enjoyed a solid sleep.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >Thanks to the roosters, our next day had us up a bit early, round 5:30am? We went for a walkabout in the community we are staying in, taking in all the sights and smells, and practicing a little French with neighbours. In the afternoon we went for a swim while Robert, who I know from last years trip to Vanuatu, watched our belongings and laughed at our saltwater clumsiness. Robert suggested we drink Kava with him in the evening, and we just couldn't resist. He</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" > hinted that we should go home and prepare supper before having Kava as we wouldn't have the energy afterwards. While at home Franky, another friend from last year, came by with gifts of pomplemousse. We all ventured to a Nakamal together, two shells later- Amanda and Sandie are ready for bed.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" >Up with the chickens</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG36EOvIgMXoV273-gir6dKGVa0auZT8y3K7TnPWm40gHZo21FgKshwuPkr9F_ZW-73Es_3KXxOKLETOHaVrrYceLu2GaJ-7wFR-ZaNkPot39jZN5yDZ9Z3aeJjQJsBd41q1POClmKcx0/s1600/vanuatu1+086.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG36EOvIgMXoV273-gir6dKGVa0auZT8y3K7TnPWm40gHZo21FgKshwuPkr9F_ZW-73Es_3KXxOKLETOHaVrrYceLu2GaJ-7wFR-ZaNkPot39jZN5yDZ9Z3aeJjQJsBd41q1POClmKcx0/s200/vanuatu1+086.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511295017118564786" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" > once again yesterday, and feeling very hot, we all decided an early morning swim was a</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" > good idea. The rest of the day was spent enjoying a small spel (nap), exploring the market,</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" > and sorting out future travel plans for Vanuatu. We are leaving first thing today for Nguna- Franky's home</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);font-family:arial;" > island. A 45 minute back of truck ride, and a small sail after will take us far from internet. After our visit to Nguna we are planning to take a ship north to the volcanic island of Ambrym. Updates when we return- Lot's of love to every one. I stret nomo!! (it's all good for everyone) ;)</span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-64327946436925604192010-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:002010-09-17T06:21:36.531-07:00Gone Hollywood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_CzvekYdLPUwot_RBtFb7NQWZ-_piASucYEHbWUtb5b5iAYuwGDhIJ2Ea8XyWGoUPHdThDyM0qNrrYdN8bcakSw582iZB30DVwMj-gCuD8_RfOhMqQHmmYHf1rrO5LthRg7YmxDzQFRq/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+052.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_CzvekYdLPUwot_RBtFb7NQWZ-_piASucYEHbWUtb5b5iAYuwGDhIJ2Ea8XyWGoUPHdThDyM0qNrrYdN8bcakSw582iZB30DVwMj-gCuD8_RfOhMqQHmmYHf1rrO5LthRg7YmxDzQFRq/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510587168433570162" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Woke up in LA the other day- who ever imagined we'd actually make it this far? The very LAST stop! Excited and tired to be there, we arrived in North Hollywood after a very restless 8 hr bus ride through the night, and grabbed a taxi to a hostel to drop our stuff. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSNiPFFEZ6e9PGfv2aMoXtOvLLjfqp3fqlF0m80HiOEVp7JrRnjm8RluBC2xNdla4Oid_oEIkISGsLy5uCA56xX96TsZN_RHxsJst1uxqQaCdGI6UkzR9QsP3lAGRVkQdpW2qhqzqnkoJ/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+184.JPG"><br /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >We took advantage of some coffee, cleaned up and were out the door to meet our 3</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >rd travel buddy, Jessica, who'll be joining us for the next leg of our trip. We made our way up and down the Walk of Fame just outside t</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >he hostel, taking loads of shots of the stars of all ou</span><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNDLLonwOCmwXRHEnf1Aq-YzKHwrgxl7cbUjFAgYpVEtyMA9xoptvmwmqdUEYN7N2McNdw6L9HM7Lw91wqED45ZjKpMSSAhqcnqDayaNoyvfcDwnFfWiFBo6SLVkTMZ_mRBJviM57ewN4/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+102.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNDLLonwOCmwXRHEnf1Aq-YzKHwrgxl7cbUjFAgYpVEtyMA9xoptvmwmqdUEYN7N2McNdw6L9HM7Lw91wqED45ZjKpMSSAhqcnqDayaNoyvfcDwnFfWiFBo6SLVkTMZ_mRBJviM57ewN4/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+102.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510580347849526818" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >r favourite actors, musicians, etc. We also met some MJ and Marilyn Monroe lookalikes, and a Spiderman from Mississauga who very kindly offered to pose in a photo. We passed the famous Chinese theatre, the Kodak theater (where they hold the Oscars) and got a nice view of the Hollywood sign from the top of the mall. Woo!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnZsh3DloMQmYC5vqeN6Sz29CEi_o_T7oFKzOzyQxAZWlaPtLKUCQ2BZaz9u-jo2bpJTM8qp3Gly6nUGn6C1GRAa6rf73ry39qrSCLDjJ2IQ9dAkqy3ABS4mepKyBrL9CMTh_T_7-MkI/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+184.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnZsh3DloMQmYC5vqeN6Sz29CEi_o_T7oFKzOzyQxAZWlaPtLKUCQ2BZaz9u-jo2bpJTM8qp3Gly6nUGn6C1GRAa6rf73ry39qrSCLDjJ2IQ9dAkqy3ABS4mepKyBrL9CMTh_T_7-MkI/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+184.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510588969364568082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >We later strolled down the Boulevard to haggle some bus tour prices to see what we co</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >uld see of the city in such a short time. None of us were too keen on seeing any celebrity homes, but this seemed to be the highlight of most every tour. After settling on one we hopped on </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >openair bus to Beverly Hills. Some highlights of the tour included the chicken restaurant where Brad Pitt worked as a chicken mascot in his pre-movie days; Rodeo Drive; the tree Lindsey Lohan drove into last year; the 'body parts' hospital where lots of stars get their Botox fix; famous clubs where Janice Joplin (etc etc) played; the homes of tons of celebrities (Robert Deniro, Orlando Bloom, </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgutmTUwLl-ScmnUxOkFeR3G3TWitTAAh-58CuP2fmp1AbKX1DZi8o9VNN4mncItaqgmIvRdw_8UrGwR2pR52aFw-OjAHsOaAFbUy6CtU1nyhdfGAaXowY-j4SeP9qQn6HxdvG4n4ehgcTx/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+197.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 108px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgutmTUwLl-ScmnUxOkFeR3G3TWitTAAh-58CuP2fmp1AbKX1DZi8o9VNN4mncItaqgmIvRdw_8UrGwR2pR52aFw-OjAHsOaAFbUy6CtU1nyhdfGAaXowY-j4SeP9qQn6HxdvG4n4ehgcTx/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+197.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510580342018484050" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Leonardo Decaprio, the house MJ died in, Tom Cruise + Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, Ben Affleck + Jennifer Garner; the list goes on ), all filled in with other ridiculous facts that none of us ever really needed to know. All in all it was a fun little jaunt around la la land!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlhPjgcHHNtHYaogjLP2ZSsPV2nFCCKzPEUpouUw7MFnDaViRffNGBS33O3RTS6H4V38_FHXrw2VzQdX6YiYUc0fTYOonOtV6CFVsiXWxEtcZ65uUVNqrpTC98n1QcqePiK5ttZdaNPXz/s1600/Holly-van+026.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlhPjgcHHNtHYaogjLP2ZSsPV2nFCCKzPEUpouUw7MFnDaViRffNGBS33O3RTS6H4V38_FHXrw2VzQdX6YiYUc0fTYOonOtV6CFVsiXWxEtcZ65uUVNqrpTC98n1QcqePiK5ttZdaNPXz/s200/Holly-van+026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510587176472782034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Sandie and I ended the afternoon with some pints at the Pig N' Whistle, Hollywood's oldest restaurant/bar, and then checked out a movie being filmed infront of the Chinese theatre-- when what famous person would reveal himself? None other than Justin Timberlake! We're bringin sexy back... Yeah! ;)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Onwards to the airport for a 11:30pm flight!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Things were going smoothly until we are about 10 minutes from LAX, and Jessica says, "Hey! Where's my wallet?" The rest of the van got dropped off at the airport while Jess frantically trecked back to the hostel. Amanda and I begin to sort out our luggage when I discover an entire bottle of shampoo has exploded all over my stuff! ah! Cleaned up, we are going to check when the lady informs us we need to have an exit ticket from Vanuatu in order to board the plane. Whoops! So much for deciding on this later... and so after a mad dash to find some internet, we booked our Vila to Auckland flight for the middle of September, and made it back in line. Amazingly, we all made the flight- just another airport adventure.</span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-51835743645282437532010-08-26T16:46:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:00:02.155-07:00The San Fran contradiction<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Mecredi- A week come and gone- day 8<br /><br />We knew this would be the day we got rid of the ol' buick. Amanda ventured out to see some sights with her friend Janet, while I waited with the buick for a tow truck that </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">would be there "within the hour".</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Amand</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpikN85isKknmVCsV6jVfSx08bFQHVKa7SUsBW0BcT9vr8apCwD_3MEBvKLJhpb6xVwzpUCKoG_XgTaIYAr_luVESN6-K5jXJb7yaqG62dknSYqT81wcDvrb6DCX3vLq2Q0wddeD4rEW0n/s1600/roadie+3+313.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpikN85isKknmVCsV6jVfSx08bFQHVKa7SUsBW0BcT9vr8apCwD_3MEBvKLJhpb6xVwzpUCKoG_XgTaIYAr_luVESN6-K5jXJb7yaqG62dknSYqT81wcDvrb6DCX3vLq2Q0wddeD4rEW0n/s200/roadie+3+313.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509888606311457058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">a's lovely day- Crookedest street in the world, Fisherman's wharf, laid around th</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">e park, watched sea lions, went shopping, lovely catch up with Janet.<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZaZr4zTKwmV_tTcmSp6Rgi1LiGsqQDwlodgv0iJPE4EzxuYc6b4WFaAQQsyWIDb-fshWUx-7VLfpddzMdvy13I_H56oEzkYLTIw-u53hpKpJnxjKT6twBQD3L1eB3hupyd8Wz43doqJz/s1600/roadie+3+305.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZaZr4zTKwmV_tTcmSp6Rgi1LiGsqQDwlodgv0iJPE4EzxuYc6b4WFaAQQsyWIDb-fshWUx-7VLfpddzMdvy13I_H56oEzkYLTIw-u53hpKpJnxjKT6twBQD3L1eB3hupyd8Wz43doqJz/s200/roadie+3+305.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509887541823869170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Sandie's crappy day- Sat with the buick in San Fran's hottest day of the year. </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> Tow truck fi</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">nally comes 5 LONG hours later, and the Buick is gon</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">e. Worse yet-n</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">o money for it. A bittersweet end- happy the </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">car is gone, but ever grateful it got us this far. We cursed and doubted the poor thing many times since Winnipeg, but it got us through nearly to the end. Cheers Buick, we love you!<br /><br />The day ended with a lovely dinner foll</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">owed by drinks with Jason</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> and Janet. We were all the loving the hot hot weather along with the rest of San Francisco.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Day 9- Wednesday- Amanda</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> and Sandie joining the thr</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ongs of tourists<br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVx1Kv0XDihm8HPZdqfP8dtcVkuz6yEfYqEeT0niohcYge-wyuDqlN3VmdgFVHm7rXPDM2K-LIiGmXdeZXx6ErVREPa6yNqyN4MN_dTmAFKpfuW9j9Tb8KIef10ceq1TkRmHlQVQcQYfuH/s1600/roadie+3+390.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVx1Kv0XDihm8HPZdqfP8dtcVkuz6yEfYqEeT0niohcYge-wyuDqlN3VmdgFVHm7rXPDM2K-LIiGmXdeZXx6ErVREPa6yNqyN4MN_dTmAFKpfuW9j9Tb8KIef10ceq1TkRmHlQVQcQYfuH/s200/roadie+3+390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509886503803937330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Our day bega</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">n with sorting and repacking our belongings, trying to give Jason his living room bac</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">k. First stop of the day- Full House house, and the infamous Victorian Painte</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">d Ladies. We took the city bus to Alamo Square, which gives </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">a great view of the famous ro</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">w of 7 houses set infront of the San Fran skyline. We sang more of the Full House song and had a riot trying to imitate the Tanner family as mu</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ch as possible in a hilarious s</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">eries of pictures.</span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcCe9440t8RJWFYiL2ct8TS-r2U3Ul5VDZObjhgJqZjZq_cRZF45pzidseDmbvhy3RaAnpxlbdCko20pBOms9EIwJVU36rW3FFOwRK5QAwSClQmL9c8OyziYRy9Bn466jeBNgwAs3ghxt/s1600/roadie+3+431.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcCe9440t8RJWFYiL2ct8TS-r2U3Ul5VDZObjhgJqZjZq_cRZF45pzidseDmbvhy3RaAnpxlbdCko20pBOms9EIwJVU36rW3FFOwRK5QAwSClQmL9c8OyziYRy9Bn466jeBNgwAs3ghxt/s200/roadie+3+431.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509886499121507970" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">From ther</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Yreq-Mbt4kv3XuEPI4bgBw2RCOSeFSST0xgDyp3pzDciCMmzQRIrJj7kyePT4st8hO-RM-KD5XJGc5WJsrvz12lueTJGG0umeB0tCBI3w4y9bVBfXtKqf3Xr_sVm_pWjN40n0-Chw0ay/s1600/roadie+3+364.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Yreq-Mbt4kv3XuEPI4bgBw2RCOSeFSST0xgDyp3pzDciCMmzQRIrJj7kyePT4st8hO-RM-KD5XJGc5WJsrvz12lueTJGG0umeB0tCBI3w4y9bVBfXtKqf3Xr_sVm_pWjN40n0-Chw0ay/s200/roadie+3+364.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509888609159226930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">e we took the bus back downtown towards Fishermans wharf, passing through the Jazz district, Japantown, and </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Chinatown. At the wharf we ate the famous sourdough breadbowls filled with a veggie alternative to the classic clam chowder.<br /><br />After lunch we went and saw the sea lions, and took a tou</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcSOM0IGAvl_XUaznXll9zJVwQ85Dw3IFaJP_qPumMOLFGnBu96uimyDgVshx735tIln-WeXdgoawIZ6nmE_RLodI8qxvczforEwJFu5vy4O1oBatdQ_mHLvdUBGoaDctJlVHpayVNM42/s1600/roadie+3+517.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcSOM0IGAvl_XUaznXll9zJVwQ85Dw3IFaJP_qPumMOLFGnBu96uimyDgVshx735tIln-WeXdgoawIZ6nmE_RLodI8qxvczforEwJFu5vy4O1oBatdQ_mHLvdUBGoaDctJlVHpayVNM42/s200/roadie+3+517.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509883952849655282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ris</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">t photo </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">on the famous</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> trolley. Then it was time for a ride on The Dixie- Joe </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">D</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW29SC61Br__-K_ZjyS5YJ45cZZ72BNFycZDQD0-MAHmebsEUOTOXVLmfoF5rNuLZ6BB9VlP5xhrJE99B_ZWlp2NwvrkST5-bi0T0FbNsKZTjhvuq7zCxzk1etgAUW2yxSlb8S8SHNhVIw/s1600/roadie+3+506.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW29SC61Br__-K_ZjyS5YJ45cZZ72BNFycZDQD0-MAHmebsEUOTOXVLmfoF5rNuLZ6BB9VlP5xhrJE99B_ZWlp2NwvrkST5-bi0T0FbNsKZTjhvuq7zCxzk1etgAUW2yxSlb8S8SHNhVIw/s200/roadie+3+506.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509885310244817234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">im</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ag</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">gio's da</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">d's 1923 fishing boat. We went for a rough s</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">a</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">il around Al</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">catraz island, and Amanda saw a harbour porpoise! We had a great view of the city </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">and also witness</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">e</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">d the </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">fo</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">g roll in over the Golden Gate. Captain</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> Morrie was a ho</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ot, he told us m</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">any stories of fishing on the open sea.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBgkrR9uroVFUVNIp6IMbnWGor3Xf-x33oqeoz7X0auAXGsTB-XHS3DROmd5L5gcYgZnbYcoeepQgM1CuqKbjXtL1gJB5uu0PMnFrhpz53KruYnEqMQtN2TYkjLdv1dfYp7jLOV4QGtpl/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+008.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBgkrR9uroVFUVNIp6IMbnWGor3Xf-x33oqeoz7X0auAXGsTB-XHS3DROmd5L5gcYgZnbYcoeepQgM1CuqKbjXtL1gJB5uu0PMnFrhpz53KruYnEqMQtN2TYkjLdv1dfYp7jLOV4QGtpl/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509883943422046930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">We dashed back to Jason's, via Coit Hill, where we got another am</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">azi</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">ng view of</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> San Fran, this time in it's usual fog. We packed and loaded all our stuff, and the lovely </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Janet and her old students visiting from Korea dropped us off at the </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Grey</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">hound.<br /><br />Another</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEvOc2SCuzvSn8oroGNnkLXCINYrej3eab_rXGHJQQraFjRremDJfLjgg338L7bKLoi7lfy8WxxAakmzPOVhGOP-_6XVi6nK7vVRLfeReWCKMQBZLHf0umwbtQZe_JMnB35FBYvhaYcBG/s1600/sanfran+and+hollywood+019.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEvOc2SCuzvSn8oroGNnkLXCINYrej3eab_rXGHJQQraFjRremDJfLjgg338L7bKLoi7lfy8WxxAakmzPOVhGOP-_6XVi6nK7vVRLfeReWCKMQBZLHf0umwbtQZe_JMnB35FBYvhaYcBG/s200/sanfran+and+hollywood+019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509882547582232418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> sad good-bye, we would have loved to stay in San Fran longer. We'll miss you Janet, come visit us </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">in NZ!<br /></span></span></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-40007396724294603742010-08-26T15:46:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:01:36.592-07:00Golden Gate-Golden State<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Monday monday monday. Day 7<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">After a chilly sl</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oEIpXvz8DqzXbWtdre1PHYGxF2Zxg9yhQFxcERmE11jBPJgLYkE0aW4RL8KLZarn99Ii1N-3nfltVrjoYQtM2XY8e-pJZVCKGp_Pt0yotoD_wdhmDNCzz_sXWbvD1FV7C4Qh-q8AlgOw/s1600/roadie+3+206.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oEIpXvz8DqzXbWtdre1PHYGxF2Zxg9yhQFxcERmE11jBPJgLYkE0aW4RL8KLZarn99Ii1N-3nfltVrjoYQtM2XY8e-pJZVCKGp_Pt0yotoD_wdhmDNCzz_sXWbvD1FV7C4Qh-q8AlgOw/s200/roadie+3+206.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509866699452430322" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">eep in Redwood National Park wearing all the layers we had- brr, we ventured on another h</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">ike for one l</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">ast frolic amongst the Redwoods. We never did see any bears or mountain lions, but </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">we did lot's of birds and a banana slug.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">A few hours into the drive, temperatures sp</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">iked to a whop</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">p</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8RELGTBTrlPBUQVhDmHHZeQwcqKaIbFTADBnSJ3ugzMS0-fR_lEL2sHpMUV0jl3RDHc0K-efEDzFAn0mhs880u5MrICbGPw13MAkNukRCftJw2xJknrmdJo68C0UaAuZn42MIUhqDRcv/s1600/roadie+3+253.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8RELGTBTrlPBUQVhDmHHZeQwcqKaIbFTADBnSJ3ugzMS0-fR_lEL2sHpMUV0jl3RDHc0K-efEDzFAn0mhs880u5MrICbGPw13MAkNukRCftJw2xJknrmdJo68C0UaAuZn42MIUhqDRcv/s200/roadie+3+253.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509866057710929266" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">ing</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> 36 degrees! We spotted a waterin</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">g hole with load</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">s</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> of people en</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">joyi</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">ng a swim and decided we just coul</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">dn't resist. We quickly turned off the freeway and changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed a fast refreshing </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">swim. Nothing else of note on the drive except more Redwoods, which soon turned semi-desert landscape, farms, and more hot weather. Bo</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">y could we use an A/C </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">right about now!</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Roughly 7 hours later an orange beacon of happiness appeared before us...it was the Golden Gate bridge!!! *insert Full House song here" A landmark seen so oft</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">en of T.V. right before our eyes- we were thrilled beyond explanation. BUT... there was a hitch. Who knew there'd be a toll to get across the Golden Gate bridge?<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Us-"How much is t</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfHjqaFfM8YfmrMAlhjkYrnNrOu63vu0jAa1pa6sQM49k2T1IBjr2-TTRDZgHMnLOoUG0u6MJRP0lgGZCCHYFHRVOqDl82-gunvkOqZ_EBE5P0flx8UrNf5ltpw8OLJbYwVuS1SMECSgY/s1600/roadie+3+284.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfHjqaFfM8YfmrMAlhjkYrnNrOu63vu0jAa1pa6sQM49k2T1IBjr2-TTRDZgHMnLOoUG0u6MJRP0lgGZCCHYFHRVOqDl82-gunvkOqZ_EBE5P0flx8UrNf5ltpw8OLJbYwVuS1SMECSgY/s200/roadie+3+284.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509866050875370242" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">he toll?"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Bridge lady-"$6</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Us-"Oh, we are sooo sorry, we only have $2 between us! Oh wait, we have lot's of Canadian coin too- don't suppose you want that?"</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Bridge lady-"No."</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Us-"*crickets* So what do we do?"</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br />Bridge lady-"Where are you from?" (while counting a wad of bills and not making eye contact)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Us-"The Prairies. In Canada."</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Bridge lady-"So you're from Canada...?"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Us-"*more crickets*........"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Bridge lady-" *sigh* Go on-there will be no charge today."</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">A little embarrasing, but not enough to damped our Golden Gate high... That was until the streets.<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">As we ma</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlag6WGE-RMOIAoKxw7_314TARO9_VIILef05TjUiVLq4nKbvFRDtAurORbMkKO0vz-KtwvYVsc_xZ-YBzV6JOfvWvwLYq41F4mHgpK0kiqMIS-ZOfA1BheHzrLRdmydXBmdBwjaP47iNk/s1600/roadie+3+295.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlag6WGE-RMOIAoKxw7_314TARO9_VIILef05TjUiVLq4nKbvFRDtAurORbMkKO0vz-KtwvYVsc_xZ-YBzV6JOfvWvwLYq41F4mHgpK0kiqMIS-ZOfA1BheHzrLRdmydXBmdBwjaP47iNk/s200/roadie+3+295.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509862843580794098" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">y have mentioned before, the Buick is a bit of a dodgy vehicle. It has been known</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> to stall, and doesn't exactly stop on a dime. In search of Jason's place (Sandie's 2nd cousin), we made ourselves into quite the spectacle as we shouted, laughed, and cried; driving up, and down, and UP, and DOWN the incredibly unsafe and inhumanely steep streets of San Fran.<br /><br />Following Grandpa's old '85 Truckers Atlas, we finally made it to 290 Green Street, at the top of yet another brutal hill. </span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Jason welcomed us into his roof-top home overlooking the Oakland-Bay Bridge </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoXfS6wO45mHaT7DUhvGt3RfDAjDrP5grd7EilOKfHgQR-k3pxXWwrUPTSGJf02P-aF5o-xAy8eQvP4wmrvf7Q4iPHwud0v4WdZSC8tSgCWnNyl6RqEoAaCpXgBsY4VxlnsqrtmQVpN-f/s1600/roadie+3+302.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoXfS6wO45mHaT7DUhvGt3RfDAjDrP5grd7EilOKfHgQR-k3pxXWwrUPTSGJf02P-aF5o-xAy8eQvP4wmrvf7Q4iPHwud0v4WdZSC8tSgCWnNyl6RqEoAaCpXgBsY4VxlnsqrtmQVpN-f/s200/roadie+3+302.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509862829166486354" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">and </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqL3HgnRKXIUyXV0BaFSiBeNdnIJzgWorDTIUjAhKtDtQBjIpUCyOPbbdsxXZG9bdeqAv1OeZoFoc5NATpunMtExv3zSSKPjDdcOZosiJ-3rQ73akV_y92YRqWugBlbkZwZek5Uk68YCPV/s1600/roadie+3+296.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqL3HgnRKXIUyXV0BaFSiBeNdnIJzgWorDTIUjAhKtDtQBjIpUCyOPbbdsxXZG9bdeqAv1OeZoFoc5NATpunMtExv3zSSKPjDdcOZosiJ-3rQ73akV_y92YRqWugBlbkZwZek5Uk68YCPV/s200/roadie+3+296.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509862837725806786" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">a stunning view of the city, and took us out for a d</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">eli</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">cious dinner and wine at Calzone's. Thanks Jason! </span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-69320249446995634352010-08-24T22:58:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:02:22.479-07:00Wonders of 101<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Day 6- Sunday</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">After a refreshing sleep and shower </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">we made our way to our next </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">destination- Redwood National Park, California. But first- the b</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">eautiful and wonderous landscapes of Oregon. Veering west after Eugene we passed a momma deer and her Bambi twins, and soon found ourselves on the 'Scenic by-way', highway 101. We passed through some picturesque to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">wns- Dune City (obviously full of s</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">and dunes), Bandon, and Gold Beach. Not a McDonald</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">s or Taco </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Bell in site, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">how refreshing! We stopp</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ed for a quick run outside Dune </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">City</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> through </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">some trails in se</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">arch of sand </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlYcfgKXCLP-SFesI8cyQb071vQh4q6tyR4jRwz5IOBZgUg-NewiLjzHU033Bh9qm-QPT5TObbOrwRlPS9bHAt_rZb6eJFaVXaRM5qqgypuInAc5epijvQ1CeL5qtF44GNMC6tx6mH-CP/s1600/roadie+3+080.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlYcfgKXCLP-SFesI8cyQb071vQh4q6tyR4jRwz5IOBZgUg-NewiLjzHU033Bh9qm-QPT5TObbOrwRlPS9bHAt_rZb6eJFaVXaRM5qqgypuInAc5epijvQ1CeL5qtF44GNMC6tx6mH-CP/s200/roadie+3+080.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509850127906467986" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">dunes, and hopped back to the car.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Hours later t</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">he forest and tree plantations </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">gave wa</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">y to ocean- and one of our highlights of the day- a photo sh</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">oot pitstop in Cape Sebastian. One of many possible turnouts along the winding road </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">along the Pacific, we found a spot we couldn't resi</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">st. Dashing down the sand towards the ocean, in the shadows of huge rock outcrops expos</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ed in l</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">owtid</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">e, the wind pelted us </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">with sand and nearly blew us over as </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYzwkZ5ub-LHmzvRlYVW9eY31A1rmKKfi21_67p9YM2OhgjGUxOg-Iw-NIbJ0PyOZCTW40FV4-SZAAyZFfUV-_aHx1QryuCF9wnvN7ihl6UL4hBbtZ4Z4DI_CIQqjZlWsbNGpjF9af8Ur/s1600/roadie+3+131.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYzwkZ5ub-LHmzvRlYVW9eY31A1rmKKfi21_67p9YM2OhgjGUxOg-Iw-NIbJ0PyOZCTW40FV4-SZAAyZFfUV-_aHx1QryuCF9wnvN7ihl6UL4hBbtZ4Z4DI_CIQqjZlWsbNGpjF9af8Ur/s200/roadie+3+131.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509850117302149410" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">we ran through the water and climbed the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOxInSIV3vNj-A2_PZt8x2oW-1uDJFSHUgfFVSRBwvBPWoQIwbtEUN9YMr6jRqqWqCVkv7RHDI2igz1e13cLeAtlmRciFAOLzqnLWRk6jdLINuicSweNUjkBWF7MRXR6OeAAtgHQep0el/s1600/roadie+3+138.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 129px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOxInSIV3vNj-A2_PZt8x2oW-1uDJFSHUgfFVSRBwvBPWoQIwbtEUN9YMr6jRqqWqCVkv7RHDI2igz1e13cLeAtlmRciFAOLzqnLWRk6jdLINuicSweNUjkBWF7MRXR6OeAAtgHQep0el/s200/roadie+3+138.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509850136295455810" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">rocks. Words </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">cannot d</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ecri</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">be- it was magic! </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">At long last, we cross our last state line into California (naming as many California</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggTGCwTVOmiyAk_hVApfCecmwt-9XWco9_xCbTVFSvBt0SYLJOnkbdC7zMmMyWFSbKodH1Ek4izejei-1WSHcN3xCMt2hyVakHRRKXDm3Zr7PSTEBN57pxMDXgFp_menDqWvoBSVZAYBX/s1600/roadie+3+186.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggTGCwTVOmiyAk_hVApfCecmwt-9XWco9_xCbTVFSvBt0SYLJOnkbdC7zMmMyWFSbKodH1Ek4izejei-1WSHcN3xCMt2hyVakHRRKXDm3Zr7PSTEBN57pxMDXgFp_menDqWvoBSVZAYBX/s200/roadie+3+186.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509852304039499842" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">-</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">t</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">hemed songs as we could), and made our way into Jedidiah Campground. The Redwoods, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">w</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">it</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">h a captial R, most definatly 'Stand' up to their reputation. After pitching our tents i</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">n site 93 it was time to he</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ad out to explore before </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQTT-pE-iVxQ-1VBFGBfsEdAdlVXisMgL4zwb9OUbiow4CJvCaERQjTMVw1hLcU7PLVZR5AlN8M1O7oZtglXKEeWEF-cVVBKnS9K4GnC1XwK1645GDVDmqn4lHo1H0LR52RjIo0FxqRMC/s1600/roadie+3+189.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQTT-pE-iVxQ-1VBFGBfsEdAdlVXisMgL4zwb9OUbiow4CJvCaERQjTMVw1hLcU7PLVZR5AlN8M1O7oZtglXKEeWEF-cVVBKnS9K4GnC1XwK1645GDVDmqn4lHo1H0LR52RjIo0FxqRMC/s200/roadie+3+189.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509852319629605826" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">the sun went down, and so we made</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> our way to the </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">great great great grandfather of redwood trees- a tree SO big, that you can </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">wa</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">lk 22 steps (or 23 for Amanda) around the trunk of the tree. It is HUGE. Fun fact: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">this particular grove is also where Star Wars was filmed, wow! The ground was carpeted in clover and ferns, and giant redwoods towered all around-- this is one very</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> special place. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZ06ZDgi-BYPdC7lpAoSo0SVJV4YP7QahnkspwbgoqKZ0-6Fpdzh6-NJ8yzszg6z_5wTTp4HFAI4BbBNL_3sj_QfcJ-I9h1odMrW9mApRI3EcldrGPJ5TPlqVE8AMVeHwGGUwTPRJtMXD/s1600/roadie+3+196.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZ06ZDgi-BYPdC7lpAoSo0SVJV4YP7QahnkspwbgoqKZ0-6Fpdzh6-NJ8yzszg6z_5wTTp4HFAI4BbBNL_3sj_QfcJ-I9h1odMrW9mApRI3EcldrGPJ5TPlqVE8AMVeHwGGUwTPRJtMXD/s200/roadie+3+196.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509852311986120674" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Ended the night chowing down on some smores around the camp</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">fire, and laying</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> up</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> as much as possible against the cold CA nigh</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">t.</span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-91490758441526787812010-08-24T22:44:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:03:18.037-07:00Goodbyes to Canada<div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Day 5- Saturday<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6Zonqb-3Ebl7GK-O_NdJA8UpGVOUim0XgRB2XXvWj8hAdwW6REEOMbjO40zsmSAmWttBpyo9x4baQYM2_yJs8bszJtltEa6Je-TdpwuyRrE3n-a3Oa5NrI-dxfWfb9Jet7H3A4SXP-nr/s1600/Roadie+2+145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 150px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509560073929669122" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6Zonqb-3Ebl7GK-O_NdJA8UpGVOUim0XgRB2XXvWj8hAdwW6REEOMbjO40zsmSAmWttBpyo9x4baQYM2_yJs8bszJtltEa6Je-TdpwuyRrE3n-a3Oa5NrI-dxfWfb9Jet7H3A4SXP-nr/s200/Roadie+2+145.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />We started our day with a quick crappy brekkie at the hostel, and made our way to Stanley Park. It was full of beautiful trees, runners, city ocean views, and even some bald eagles. Unfortunatly, we were crunched for time so we said our good-byes to Stanley Park and made our way on the sky tr</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">ain back to Surrey. After one last Tims stop we made off to the border- ready for the 2nd half our trip. The b</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">order, sadly, was as busy as can be- and after a lengthy 2 hour wait in our stalling buick we finallllly made our way into the U.S.A. Hellllo Washington State!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The initial drive was easy-going, but it wasn't long before we hit the crazyness that is the int</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">e</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">r</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">st</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">ate through Seattle. I (Sandie) happened to be driving and nearly had a heart attack whil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErlwEdksqiLJWrEsn8-u9sqDtGOcDj6ElzCvt8-YipTVcpnCfchQDtrmckNJa4hCsPKEQemkzNx5aCb4XNHJnX-poAxuhyUMha1YKrpCICTPqrCdhBZR8k_tyGJq6E6sKyuzmrTk2NGC-/s1600/roadie+3+003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 165px; float: right; height: 121px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509560082086581714" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErlwEdksqiLJWrEsn8-u9sqDtGOcDj6ElzCvt8-YipTVcpnCfchQDtrmckNJa4hCsPKEQemkzNx5aCb4XNHJnX-poAxuhyUMha1YKrpCICTPqrCdhBZR8k_tyGJq6E6sKyuzmrTk2NGC-/s200/roadie+3+003.JPG" border="0" /></a>e<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnnVMG1kUGgV8vbzW63xmA5BJEc4biog1lUxfQXWUsurIrJ8xQ37mi4BDnBfQ9M3ELfPG6wQqWg968Ycg8mS5Dsqm_cDr2noGzOytQzXMvK6PFURty4nL59VREPvQi4DGe1NjmYjgk2J9/s1600/Roadie+2+153.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 164px; float: right; height: 123px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509233837073940802" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnnVMG1kUGgV8vbzW63xmA5BJEc4biog1lUxfQXWUsurIrJ8xQ37mi4BDnBfQ9M3ELfPG6wQqWg968Ycg8mS5Dsqm_cDr2noGzOytQzXMvK6PFURty4nL59VREPvQi4DGe1NjmYjgk2J9/s200/Roadie+2+153.JPG" border="0" /></a> Amanda </span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">was enjoying what she calls an </span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">amazing city skyline. All the while this is going on, Seattle radio stations were playing around with remixes, most notable being a Coldplay cha-cha. We </span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">pulled over just outside of Seattle for a driver switch over, and met some nice guys at a gas station on their way to a hemp festival. haha!<br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />The afternoon quickly passed, bringing us to a dusk drive through Portland. The city looked beautiful and we were both keen to stop but again we were in a time crunch. Putting as many miles as possible behind us we made our way into the state capital, Salem. A few miles off the highway we saw a bright light- the Budget Inn. $48 dollars, and bag full of Chinese take-out later, we hunkered down for the night to the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbulVNwKiAGZ3QaYOKiD1P9ViweltaiFteAk9VjxM1n42Gxr7VIoGKDq1wzs_MsBRI6-29oqnAdzcfBTvouBZfaRD52kvWfSrRBZUzI3t11KxlrYWfhMgX2ioaE3eCHlgCjE664jOypjsd/s1600/roadie+3+012.JPG"></a>comforts of a warm shower, cable tv and a cozy bed.<br /></span></span></div><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 189px; display: block; height: 131px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509560825660034482" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuP2nh_x4kv6omWMPvgKvXOFzWHrHUi7Zsz9h8hZv5Fx-XQwkE5b-SzptO1uZl36IW4tmZSvyLV9gjAwHD6TvtCCfNVKOBozMOI9G5AKxTJHLYvwI4_yCGGuJ8uXDihUcnP0zFaz8NKkG/s200/roadie+3+013.JPG" border="0" />Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-23558271032885746142010-08-21T23:28:00.000-07:002010-09-17T18:04:07.156-07:00Mountains and rats<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >Where were we? Ah yes, in the car, sleepi</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ng on a residential street in Banff! You'll all be happy to know that we had a dece</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >nt night in the Buick, complete with a sheet curtain, sleepingbags, and the wind</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ows rolled up as we watched deer and coyotes walk by; and what felt like 100 trains rumble down the tracks</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" > through the night. Ban</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ff was too rich for our blood though, so after a quick </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >tour around town and a free breakfast at Subway, we</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" > were on our way to Lake Louise!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >Lake Louise, as y</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus9ZLRtSx7TzC24NczBeX_3da2XEQ8OMnYycofeuNKUj8Zl36kSbBQG-SlKI_JRthjIUFj16NvpzJNUOfpbDUnj25GQR2yctZp40Ig5-vqwrDLSt6sGwhvQ69v_xNciyi3NkOEEsD0NFA/s1600/Roadie+2+021.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus9ZLRtSx7TzC24NczBeX_3da2XEQ8OMnYycofeuNKUj8Zl36kSbBQG-SlKI_JRthjIUFj16NvpzJNUOfpbDUnj25GQR2yctZp40Ig5-vqwrDLSt6sGwhvQ69v_xNciyi3NkOEEsD0NFA/s200/Roadie+2+021.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508143061322132610" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ou can guess, was "Stunn</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ing!", "Beautiful!", "9 out of 10 tourists give it a big thumbs up with 2 </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >pe</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ace signs!". Great reviews eh? It was a perfect setting for your typical tou</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >rist photo inf</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ront of the lovely turq</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >uoise, and freezing water, set </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >against the towering Victoria Glacier. We picked the shortest of the trails and did the 6km hike that bordered the lake. A picnic lunch on a rock in a mountain-fed stream finished off our sightseeing- it was time to get back on the road.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >The drive from Lake Louise to Golden was something out of Sandie's worst nightm</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidu0F1vMLV4aorlKut4HKgmso4i_LLZc84LnKKm8cXQzvCheV2UvFkdcc8G7Mi8Rgde-PhafnBHTHkUR1JJQXlJ8tNb5MM4f1R74coz3073fusUvpKUYNk2dFRFtN4qoM822xudJk_Zslw/s1600/Roadie+2+079.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidu0F1vMLV4aorlKut4HKgmso4i_LLZc84LnKKm8cXQzvCheV2UvFkdcc8G7Mi8Rgde-PhafnBHTHkUR1JJQXlJ8tNb5MM4f1R74coz3073fusUvpKUYNk2dFRFtN4qoM822xudJk_Zslw/s200/Roadie+2+079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508143911645324050" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >are. Nails were dug into the dash as we flew along steep, death-defying hills, and past 'run-a</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >wa</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >y' ra</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >mps provided in the event your car can't hack it. We had to stop in Golden for a breather, an</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >d to do a quick tune up and top-off of fluids, as Sandie l</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ooked for a used car lot. Luckily we met a</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" > ni</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >ce BC man named Reg in an old yellow camper van, who</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" > let u</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >s use his funnel and provided us with a much-needed security blanket as he drove behind us all the way to Kamloops.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" ><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnee-cZiBtso-t2WQWLZb8kntSOqWZiemZBsuciu77bnGUW9vUYIGqSbH5cTk1T4LwG10VXOuaGdPVwRxgE8GNoUZxf9u1EDmCZwQ8Ry-KQOLOkvn7KICyS1mVcVt8Y64_9pTYQ2CFdNj/s1600/Roadie+2+089.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 141px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnee-cZiBtso-t2WQWLZb8kntSOqWZiemZBsuciu77bnGUW9vUYIGqSbH5cTk1T4LwG10VXOuaGdPVwRxgE8GNoUZxf9u1EDmCZwQ8Ry-KQOLOkvn7KICyS1mVcVt8Y64_9pTYQ2CFdNj/s200/Roadie+2+089.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508143075547010146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >We also met 2 young hippi</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >es (16 and 18</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >) lookin for a ride, and who </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >smelled as though they'd been lookin for a while. Another animal surprise with this pair- as we turned around to chat with them in the backseat, we</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" > discovered </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >a 3rd travel companion- little Greta, the baby white rat. "Oh, is that ok?" asked Melissa- Well, sure, we suppose. On Sandie drove as Greta ate some of our veggies and ran amok all over the back</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >seat.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" >We found our couch surfing destination in Kamloops, with a 50-something host named Ruth. We enjoyed a delicious home-made plum crumble with 3 other surfers, and elderly lady named Flo. A good evening exchanging travel/WWOOF stories and off to sleep in the gazebo out back, thankful for a mosquito-free night.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" >Day 4</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" ><br />The smoke got thicker the further west we we</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >nt, and so what was a mildly hazy mountain view eventually disappeared in thick clouds of smoke. Luckily it cleared up as we made our way out of the Okanogan valley. The drive was pretty- river, gorge, green, and less scary.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCDsryIS-A4qhQARHA2uYALxjrYTB3tZUnURb9hKF94URlaldtlAx571JHmpZlo3UoT8xBkG_YsJ1kv5wnscNBKeA6UV9pXI8FxIx5DBaZLVqG4EVgsvRlNdiH68BFyS6sYrZQP3LhQVz/s1600/Roadie+2+092.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCDsryIS-A4qhQARHA2uYALxjrYTB3tZUnURb9hKF94URlaldtlAx571JHmpZlo3UoT8xBkG_YsJ1kv5wnscNBKeA6UV9pXI8FxIx5DBaZLVqG4EVgsvRlNdiH68BFyS6sYrZQP3LhQVz/s200/Roadie+2+092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508122250062806274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" ><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Con</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >sideri</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >ng</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" > how finicky the car is in city driving, we de</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >cided long before it wouldn't be taking us into downtown Vancouver. We parked in the suburb of Surrey, and took the Skytrain to Main Street to the C & N Backpackers Hostel</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >. Dropped our stuff and made our way to Gastown to see the Steam Clock and meet an old friend. It was great catching up with Aly and reminicing about old Roots & Shoots times over Mexican food (our first real meal we've purchased since our roadtrip began... oi!).</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >After supper it was over to the Sea Bus to North Van, just for the view. Met a couple of nice guys from Mexico and exchanged emails and a souvenier pen. Spent the better part of the evening exploring Granville and Davies downtown, which was full of buskers, food and fancy bars. Long day! Back to the hostel for our last sleep in Canada...<br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxO9EZHs0cfsvRDVB3XhXCiaKc0-WO1OLjW-pNrNZ3sFzHrjYRX6ll05uJdnGfc8m6TvVCsZckbNh5yJ1cPs1k7IXWyJumGONjWgC0eusgfnAdPtu8KcNoQxgcphn_7RLats1eaoyKRvw/s1600/Roadie+2+123.JPG"> <img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxO9EZHs0cfsvRDVB3XhXCiaKc0-WO1OLjW-pNrNZ3sFzHrjYRX6ll05uJdnGfc8m6TvVCsZckbNh5yJ1cPs1k7IXWyJumGONjWgC0eusgfnAdPtu8KcNoQxgcphn_7RLats1eaoyKRvw/s200/Roadie+2+123.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508124316691035570" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:times new roman;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Note: We realize we worried some family with our stories of hitchhikers, and we just wanted to let everyone know that we're driving by lots and lots of them on the road, and have only picked up twice- young ones that look lots like us.. of course it only takes one- so we promise no more, we don't want more worry! Sorry guys! </span></span><br /></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-89082046874125224162010-08-18T21:12:00.000-07:002010-09-18T23:30:28.556-07:00Alberta- more than just oil<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #006600;">Look at the jello on your spoon...it's vibrating. There is a T-Rex in the distance, VelociRaptors</span></span></span></span> <span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">in your kitchen. We are in the Badlands!!<br />
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8XRL6laVuajdHN2U7DkjouMzkIv-pbHBGF7vVQFh63PoVl0uylV523cbQ0anzOc4KYhz8-zE24OrFblVda1NOJkW8n_KRmUr47d_46oWXeWVQoRZty3mOo3PagtvTnuGI092_CumWkoQ/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+074.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506973847217155938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8XRL6laVuajdHN2U7DkjouMzkIv-pbHBGF7vVQFh63PoVl0uylV523cbQ0anzOc4KYhz8-zE24OrFblVda1NOJkW8n_KRmUr47d_46oWXeWVQoRZty3mOo3PagtvTnuGI092_CumWkoQ/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+074.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 137px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 182px;" /></a><br />
<span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Driving from M</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">edicine Hat our destination was Drumhellar- we di</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">d</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">n't </span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">make it to there, instead we went to the Dinosaur National Park- about an ho</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">ur </span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">and half north of</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Medicine Hat. The scenery was much the same as Saskatchewa</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">n</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> except there were more cows and oil rigging machines. It really is like a norther</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">n T</span></span><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">exas.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
Dinosaur National Park was awesome!! The sun was </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxUZLW7di9grvDNfCzXGOkSzMdAlNUWJG4PZHJCmptWbQvJrkyE-F455IxXe0n68hnADAGnPKCEDaYNR2Sd0CIteiUrtK_NIkSywSnuoKEKcCg7k4ZXmQju8500gmny9aZz5LCH4Po_eo/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+085.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506973438182019890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxUZLW7di9grvDNfCzXGOkSzMdAlNUWJG4PZHJCmptWbQvJrkyE-F455IxXe0n68hnADAGnPKCEDaYNR2Sd0CIteiUrtK_NIkSywSnuoKEKcCg7k4ZXmQju8500gmny9aZz5LCH4Po_eo/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+085.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">shining, the mossies were biting, and the Prairies gave way to a beautiful gorge of rocky Badlands. We even saw a real fossil with a structure built over it's original excavation spot.<br />
<br />
<br />
After a lovely day of exploring, it was back in the car for us with Calgary and the Rocky Mountains on the horizon. The car gave us some troubles in Calgary with city driving (never again) but smooth sailing on the highway. Squeals of excitement filled the buick as we entered the mountains- suddenly wheat gave way to evergreen trees and beautiful landscape all around.<br />
<span style="color: #006600;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_3C_eT3PJBmqJgvNyHcHhRWI0VcaRtbAL8fRJLKSvPPnBDFBXGmGSs_B6CWPD1Ikj087uak07K_xhkmryMFfoDpd-MtlhPxCiX6tSX23IF3QR1lKa9UJEqg4BXsYUZA307O_k4m0j76B/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+147.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506974434873041154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_3C_eT3PJBmqJgvNyHcHhRWI0VcaRtbAL8fRJLKSvPPnBDFBXGmGSs_B6CWPD1Ikj087uak07K_xhkmryMFfoDpd-MtlhPxCiX6tSX23IF3QR1lKa9UJEqg4BXsYUZA307O_k4m0j76B/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+147.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 233px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 175px;" /></a></span></span>...Which brings us to our current location- the Samesun hostel bar, Banff, pounding back a pitcher of Beaver beer. Tonight we sleep in the Buick on a residential street where we are very much out of sight. Life is good. Tomorrow- Lake Louise and Kamloops! Love to all!<br />
<br />
<br />
</span></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-77380086434971640542010-08-18T20:17:00.000-07:002010-09-18T23:54:59.605-07:00The Praires and their Infinate Flatness<span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">Hi there!<br />
The ol' buic</span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxarZc3WzpKLiHhmmKgdoKejedE6aOznqsM0gTcPeYrkYud-7NBJGxDL6Fy6uoR_wjh-R5SsZig1OB5Z_RDtW2UcItU6uJx_hHrym3g7tppXGdno8HsHuBQIZh63Tp7223WPj3tHaOVy3/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+036.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506965424762704306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxarZc3WzpKLiHhmmKgdoKejedE6aOznqsM0gTcPeYrkYud-7NBJGxDL6Fy6uoR_wjh-R5SsZig1OB5Z_RDtW2UcItU6uJx_hHrym3g7tppXGdno8HsHuBQIZh63Tp7223WPj3tHaOVy3/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+036.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 130px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 174px;" /></a><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">k</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"> made it through the Prairies! We had a minor detour around Winnipeg thanks to me not kn</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">o</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">wing my own city. After an enthusiastic sing-a-long to Don't stop believin', we were on our w</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">ay. Just west of Brandon we made a </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">funflower pitstop, and did </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">a bit of a photoshoot frolicing in the cheery yellow field. An hour or so later we made it to our first border c</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">rossing- </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">Saskatchewan: "Naturally!".</span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h6DyRVbBtsXxviqIph2vzUGXv8HC2XISLs-syBo2dci_tfV8IptnRDs18DEnzUZIF7yKpqi1f0K8j9rHn4F2Xp6zSyH9zuEm5Zm9I1x69SjV1nrS2Z35t6_uwvhW0-Pf52ldRcXc9PV_/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+045.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506965995927076194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h6DyRVbBtsXxviqIph2vzUGXv8HC2XISLs-syBo2dci_tfV8IptnRDs18DEnzUZIF7yKpqi1f0K8j9rHn4F2Xp6zSyH9zuEm5Zm9I1x69SjV1nrS2Z35t6_uwvhW0-Pf52ldRcXc9PV_/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+045.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 143px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 180px;" /></a><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">What can we say about Saskatchewan?</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"> As you probably know, not much. We'll sum i</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">t up </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">with flat flat flat. The flattest thing I've (Amanda) ever seen! It defies imagination- how can fields just go on and on and on-- for sooo long? I was also impressed by the abundance of grain elevators, abandoned houses, combines, and wheat.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><br />
Stopped for a quick lunch in the small town of Wolseley. Temp was around 10 degrees, and we carried on</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">. We didn't make any stops in Regina, but we did pull over in Moose Jaw for some juice, where Amanda saw a cowboy (handlebar mustache and all:).<br />
We saw the epitomy of prairie livin just outs</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">ide of Moose Jaw. A young fella of about 12 herding cattle through a field with a shotgun and his dog in tow. On we drove.<br />
<br />
Driving for what felt like ages through nothing but fields, and almost no sign of human life, we drove through the big city of Swift Current and took a risk....<br />
NOTE- not the readers digest version...parents read at your own risk.<br />
We spotted a hitchh</span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoDJtjMGQFInr0n9DPaeWSUHtg1raaywb5K3HCWKSdfFlF9r9dS-RaXyDOduM_-06ghMss6fECUVdkkpoM_ZsyUxzUFI5htiGpEkxhxIbUC1-xfyvWLXpSGkUOU_xRSxdzT55JKW4betb/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+067.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506966477645547538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoDJtjMGQFInr0n9DPaeWSUHtg1raaywb5K3HCWKSdfFlF9r9dS-RaXyDOduM_-06ghMss6fECUVdkkpoM_ZsyUxzUFI5htiGpEkxhxIbUC1-xfyvWLXpSGkUOU_xRSxdzT55JKW4betb/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+067.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 113px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 151px;" /></a><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">iker- </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">(dun dun dunnnn).... </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">and his pup!!! We went with our gut a some trust and had Cody and Jade join us our 2 hour journey to Medicine Hat. Cody the 21 yr old from Hamilton was a character and told us many tales about hitchiking/train hopping to BC, this being his 8th time. We now know which train cars are suitable for hopping and which are not, and how the conductor changes work along the CN line.<br />
<br />
After dropping Cody and Jade at the Value Village in Medicine Hat we made our way to our couch surfing destination- Tim and Blaire's! Tim and Blair were some of the most wonderful couch surfing hosts we could have hoped for. T</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">hey waited up for us even though we didn't get in till 8:00, and had a lovely dinner together, and a quick tutorial on "So you think you can dance". We had a great time getting cuddles from Kaya the retriever, and their 2 kittens, Mi and Fa- </span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">also- best sleep ever :)</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"> Than</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">k</span></span></span><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;">s so much guys!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><span style="color: #ff99ff;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #663366;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvwKjIdQfkcthTXcMGszr92K-E7LmX1WlHBiHYf_GFEJFBJUIVhr0KaHR457o50MaMDHmokaoIVGh2XtFHDDylqF7oyfq3PWSP_BUMQo2bECwsbsrrNMzHlFudP0FdgtAy1GKQmJH8Yv2/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+073.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506967016860325778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvwKjIdQfkcthTXcMGszr92K-E7LmX1WlHBiHYf_GFEJFBJUIVhr0KaHR457o50MaMDHmokaoIVGh2XtFHDDylqF7oyfq3PWSP_BUMQo2bECwsbsrrNMzHlFudP0FdgtAy1GKQmJH8Yv2/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+073.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 136px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 182px;" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409332194220340243.post-74930286289603345882010-08-16T20:30:00.000-07:002010-08-18T21:10:41.289-07:00Happy day 1...eveHello! and Hello!<br />from Sandie and Amanda :)<br /><br />Writing our very first blog entry from the chilly streets of Winterpeg Mani(snow)ba (ha ha)- where August 16th tempertures are due to dip to a chilly 7 degrees tonight. All the more reason to leave first thing in the morning.<br /><br />The destination? The sunny south Pacific island nation of Vanuatu- you know, where they filmed Survivor that one time- to be followed by an undetermined number of months in New Zealand for some WWOOFing (organic farming) and perhaps some paid work to fund further travels-- we'll see what happens!<br /><br />Mode of transportation? Sandie's grandparent's abandoned (but still running!) Buick bound for the junkyard. So we thought, why not give this car one last grand adventure?<br /><br />We'll be driving to explore the 'Land of Living Skies'; a jont through the rockies; a stopoff in the Olympic city; and a scenic drive down one of the most beauuuutiful highways in the USA, along the Pacific coast. So long as everything runs according to plan, with our Couch Surfing and camping, we'll be arriving in LA on the 26 to catch our 11:30pm flight.<br /><br />Wish us lots and lots luck! We'll do our best to keep you posted on our misadventures and any discoveries we make along the way!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-EDY4Gn_XCNFgmhbg2wlb5L4awiTXo5-Ahn_udXjbfjxK4MSfHdhgy4KpOdC-VZjONiwxlk6NmwtOyCoEkTVmTwDpcxKKlRTVhk5B6E74zT4ty-1LfY03AMhyFjMDzLh45wRdkbEIdjp/s1600/Roadtrip+part+1+012.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-EDY4Gn_XCNFgmhbg2wlb5L4awiTXo5-Ahn_udXjbfjxK4MSfHdhgy4KpOdC-VZjONiwxlk6NmwtOyCoEkTVmTwDpcxKKlRTVhk5B6E74zT4ty-1LfY03AMhyFjMDzLh45wRdkbEIdjp/s200/Roadtrip+part+1+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506968254411066690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Stay tuned....:)Amanda y Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03782518439316022397noreply@blogger.com3