So we had a great final day in Chicago.  Han and I, not realising there was a time difference, got up at 6:45 and were on the streets by 9.  We strolled down Michigan Ave waiting for the shops to open until we were finally able to go inside.  After buying a few things we continued the stroll admiring the architecture and the warm weather.  We ran into a little art fair and a restaurant where we enjoyed lunch before walking by the lake.  It was such a hot day – much different to the thunder storms the weather man predicted.  We walked by the beach and through a dead end park before heading to Navy Pier where we went on the ferris wheel.  It was a great idea to do the loop as we were able to see the skyline under a beautiful blue sky.

We didn’t stay out too long because of the heat so were back in hostel by the early afternoon.  We played music and caught up on emails until the free dinner was served and the hockey game commenced.  We talked to some other fellow travellers – one of which was from Han’s uni and studied a year abroad in UBC (Vancouver)…small world.

Knowing we had a big drive the following day we packed our bags and hit the hay early.  The following day we had a long drive to Minneapolis.  Through out the American highways we went through some pretty hick towns.  The ladies behind the service station counters had missing teeth and over the top blue eyeshadow, and they were very pleasant to talk to.  Many of the gas stops had room sized casinos and one had some Amish sweets!

We arrived to a very sweet old building in Minneapolis.  Seeing as it was raining and we were keen to get back we decided to stay only one night and set of early the next morning.  We grabbed some groceries and made our selves a good dinner before watching Sweet Home Alabama with some of the other travellers.  We shared our room with some friendly girls attending a coffee house convention and had a little chat before going to sleep.

We left nice and early the next day, which was a good thing seeing as we were on the road for over 13 hours.  It was a long drive through what we called the American prairies.  Parts of the land were covered in small rolling hills – it reminded me somewhat of a little hobbit village.  Eventually we drove though Rapid City and Keystone and eventually saw Mt Rushmore.  The carved faces are part of a giant rocky ridge and seeing as it costs $10 to park your car at a decent look out we never got great photos.  We had ourselves a dinner in a very wild western themed restaurant before finding a rest stop to park in for the night.  We went for the cheaper option of sleeping in the car – and it worked well enough.  Had had the front seats and I had the back.  It was warm and dry although leg room (especially on Han’s part) was a bit of an annoyance.  Needless to say we laughed about it the next morning and were soon on the road again.

By this time we were living of peanut butter (me) and jam (Han) sandwiches throughout the day and porridge for breakfast.  It wasn’t the best diet but we didn’t want to bother paying for much more.  We spent this day driving through the beautiful Yellowstone National Park.  We drove through so many different landscapes int he park including forests, snow covered mountain tops and a giant lake.  Everything was so beautiful, it didn’t take much to keep us happy.  We were held in a little traffic jam for 10 minutes which made us miss Old Faithful blow by 5 minutes.  Old Faithful is a famous geyser in the park.  From what I understand, a geyser is like an opening where boiling water shoots out of when the intense pressure gets too much.  The special thing about Old Faithful is that she blows every 45-90 minutes and the spray reaches over 50  meters in the air.  We walked around for what seemed like forever waiting for the next eruption (which was pretty cool after all) before hitting the road once more.  Driving into the night we finally found a rest stop we could call home.

The next morning we awoke to find ice on the windscreen and frost covering the grass.  Temperatures severely dropped during the night, although with my sleeping bag and duvet (doona) I hardly noticed.  Han definitely noticed, and we got up very early and were on the road a little after 7.  We were very excited that we would be driving back into Canada on this day.  Little did we know of the grumpy customs officer that would be waiting for us.

He asked so many questions of where we were going, what we were doing and why we were doing it.  He wanted to see the car’s rego, the bear spray and inquired about everything we had with us in the car.  It wasn’t a nice welcome at all back to Canada but Han and I quickly forgot about it.

Within an hour we were driving into the pretty town of Osoyoos.  Osoyoos is where our UVic friends, Jen and Leah reside.  The town is centred around a lake and vineyards mingle themselves amongst the residential streets.  We went to Jen’s and waited for her to finish work and come home.  She was so excited to see us, and we were to see her.  We went inside and started catching up on our long journey.  We had seen Jen just after leaving UVic in Kelowna where her grandparents live.  Kelowna is only a couple of hours north of Osoyoos.  Jen called Leah and soon we were all reunited talk and laughing and having a good time.  We had ourselves some dinner and went out for ice cream at the local.  On the way, we passed the filming crew for a bird watching movie featuring Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin.  Half the town had turned up the a Husky service station to watch Owen Wilson take and re take a diner scene.  It was a fun evening and we were all so happy.

The next morning after a delicious cereal breakfast Han and I joined Jen at her work where she took us on a tour of the desert.  The job was perfect for her as we both left with more knowledge and interest of the area.  Unfortunately in the last 10 minutes of the tour rain was bucketing down so we left the centre very wet.  We grabbed a bite to eat before joining Leah at her work.  She was making crafts for the summer program where children come everyday in the holidays.  She had asked us the night before if we wanted to help her look after twelve 3-5 year olds in a gym.  We thought it’d be a fun idea and agreed and had no idea of how good a time we would have.  Those kids had us running around for an hour!  Playing fish and sharks, and throwing balls and dragging kids holding onto hoops – we may as well have gone to the gym!   Feeling utterly exhausted we went back to Leah’s and spent time with her and her family over dinner.  Before eating we were able to talk to Jonny on skype and see his happy self.  Thank god for skype – it makes all these farewells that much easier.  Later in the evening we went out for more ice-cream and watched some tv before calling it a night.

Jen had the following day off so off Han and I went with her to Penticton so she could buy a new outfit for her other job at a restaurant.  Although the shopping wasn’t very successful, the day most certainly was.  The sun was pouring her rays so we found an outside cafe where we had fish and chips.  It was here that we decided that everyone involved in this exchange experience would meet up in Canada in 2020 for a reunion…so to all international or Canadian friends, expect an email/call in 10 years time!

That afternoon Jen’s Mum kindly drove us to a few wineries where we enjoyed some tastings before buying a bottle to have with dinner.  After a couple of glasses I got a little tipsy and it was all so enjoyable.  We went to Leah’s for a short time before farwelling her and heading back for one last night at Jen’s.  It was a sad farewell although we all know it’s not the end and we’ve all come out of this experience so much richer in friendships.

It was a bit of a scary drive back to Victoria.  The road took us up and around mountains…at one point we were driving through thick white fog although it didn’t last too long.  Next thing you know we were driving on the ferry and off on our final cruise to Victoria.  For the first time in all the time I’ve been here it was warm enough to stay on the outside deck and enjoy the stunning views.  I caught up in my journal and took some photos before popping inside for a quick bite before boarding the car and driving to the house.

The house is where 5 of our closest friends will be staying for their following year at UVic.  At the moment only Megan is staying here as she has a job in Victoria for the summer.  She has been such a great host and I’m really enjoying my stay here.

By the time Han and I finally got in we were tired and hungry for some free, unlimited internet.  We caught up with our virtual lives for a couple of hours before Meg joined us – she had been at work all day.  We were so happy to see each other and were soon seated around the table enjoying a delicious meal Megan had prepared for us.  It was soooo good.  We were midway through eating then what-d-you-know, Joe walks in.  He had driven up from Seattle to see us a final time before we left.  Han and I enjoyed cake and ice cream and we all talked about our summers before Joe went downtown and us girls settled in the lounge room.  It was so nice to be hanging around each other like that – brought us back to the 3rd floor lounge days.  After staying up as long as we could we finally peeled away and went to bed.

The following day Meg had taken off work so after she ran a few errands all 4 of us geared ourselves us and set of for the beach.  The weather here has been warm and sunny, lingering around 16 degrees.  We were at “French Beach” for about an hour until a chilly breeze picked up and we were forced to head back.  Here I faced a cultural difference that I hadn’t yet.  Apparently in Canada beach clothes are meant only for the beach, i.e. it’s weird to go anywhere else dressed in a swimmers and a sarong without wearing shoes..who would have thought.  We grabbed some ingredients and head back for our feast.  We had dips and crackers and cheese before our main pasta dinner that was then followed by mousse au chocolat.  We all felt fantastic by the end of the night.  Keith came over for a couple of drinks while meanwhile I was able to have my first skype with Kieran since leaving Victoria back in April.  It was sooo good to finally be able to talk again.  Conversation went well into the night and it wasn’t until the early morning that I finally went to sleep.

The following day was Han’s last in Canada.  All day it played on my mind that it was nearly over.  For the past 9 months I’ve eaten nearly every meal with Han and for the past month and a half we’ve shared a tent.  It’s hard to farewell someone that you spend so much time with and you get so close with…  We put the thought to the back of our minds and got the car ready for it’s trip home.  Joe left for Seattle so another farewell down we were ready for a mood lifter.  This is when we hit up the restaurant, John’s Place for a final serving of great bread and incredible desserts.  Together we shared a brownie sundae, a monkeys dream and each other for the final time.  Back at the house Keith came over and we danced around the back yard with sparklers before calling it a night.

It was tough the next morning.  We got up at 4 and we on our way to the airport my half 4.  We didn’t stay long at the airport.  I think Han knew best that the shorter the farewell, the easier it would be, and she was very right.  Tears were spilt but not for long.  It has been an incredible year and we have a future of overseas holidays to look forward to.

After getting back and sleeping until lunch, Meg and I eventually made our way to a nursery where we bought some herbs and flowers for her garden.  We got some cake ingredients from Caddy Bay and came back to the house to keep ourselves busy.

We had fun planting her garden and then in the kitchen making one giant banana loaf (which I’ve been snacking on ever since).  We had a fun evening and that made it a lot easier to get through the departure earlier that day.  After eating I had another much needed skype with Kieran before returning to bed for more slumber.

And now this finally brings me to this morning.  I awoke with Megan already left for work and had a quiet breakfast on my own.  After getting myself organised I headed off to UVic for what will be the last time.  I felt like a ghost walking through my past.  I recognised people and had all kinds of memories flowing back.  I bought myself a newspaper and sat outside the SUB, enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful summer campus.  I then did a walk around tower and through the caf – taking a couple of photos on the way.  I loved all the memories that flooded back…  Since then Meg and I have baked a keish and plan to head to her friends house later on.

Will probably have one last blog to conclude my year abroad…

Hope you’re well,

A xxx

Hello friends,

I’m currently using free internet (yay!) at our hostel in Chicago.  It’s so nice here!  Han and I have our own room, there’s a piano, guitars, pool table etc in the common rooms – this is easily our nicest accomodation yet.  We were on the road for a whopping 12 hours today – 1.5 hours longer if you count the subways and buses this morning…  We’re both quite tired but looking forward to a relaxing “no car day” tomorrow.  Now to fill you in on our busy week.

The last time I wrote you we were in a little log cabin in Mallorytown.  The next day we packed ourselves back in the pod and set off for Toronto.  It was a short drive and we were happy to see the city.  There was a mix up at the hostel, and it took a bit under an hour to sort out.  In the end they ended up giving us free parking, so we didn’t really mind.  The day we got into Toronto we decided to enjoy the rest of the day by wandering through the city.  We walked to Kensington Market which is this neat little community within the city for the alternative type.  It was like walking into a bubble without traffic and hustle and bustle and into a little area of comfort.  It certainly made us more intersted in Toronto.  In the evening Amy met up with Angus.  Han and I had been invited to a baseball game with some Irish people we met, but that fell through and we ended up going out for desert instead.  Feeling a little cheeky we ordered the Chef’s $30 sweet selection and were graced with a little choc cake, mango/rasperry sorbet and a mago upside down cake – all ridiculously delicious.  Unfortunately on the walk to and from the restaurant my foot decided to strain itself and has been in pain ever since…

Before the day ended we booked our tickets for a day trip to Niagara Falls and looked forward to the day ahead.  The whole Niagara trip took 12 hours.  We spent 4 hours at the falls taking in their emormity and beauty.   For a good price we went on the ‘Maid of the Mist’ tour that took us on a boat to the inside of the horse-shoe in the Canadian falls (they are split between the ‘Bridal Veil’ – American side and the horse shoe.)  Amy, Han and I then had lunch/desert at Hard Rock Cafe, got free fudge samples (a favorite past time of ours), walked around and then boarded the bus.  It took us to a little town with a name I don’t remember where we spent an hour and then a winery.  We had tastes of their wines – including ice-wine.  Ice-wine is made by leaving the grapes on the vine until there’s something like three consecutive nights of -13degrees, then they are hand-picked in the night time and made into wine.  It is incredibly sweet – almost too sweet, any very expensive (due to all the labour).  We arrived back to our hostel quite late, and although we were ready for bed we still had things to do.   Han and I drove to the airport, parked our car in long term parking and caught a serious of buses and subways back.  We ended up meeting a friendly man called Bubba (?!) who gave me his change for the bus, gave us directions to our hostel and gave us a pleasant conversation.  We were happy to meet him. 

Within 30 minutes of getting back to the hostel Han made a horrid realisation that she had left her greyhound tickets in the car.  She spent the next hour between the internet and the phone trying to find somewhere she could print her tickets before our 8am greyhound in the morning.  Fortunately she found a 24 hour internet cafe and the drama soon settled.

So the next day was very long.  11.5 hours on a greyhound between Toronto and New York City.  NYC is a marvelous place.  It’s full of lights and big buildings and it’s true what they sat – the city never sleeps.  Arriving in around 9pm, Angus met up with us and we went straight to Time Square.  Contrary to the name, it’s not an actual square but an area of streets where buildings are covered in screens and lights and the pavement is littered with people admiring them.  It was crazy to be there – certainly a place I hadn’t planned on visiting when I first decided to come to Canada.  We took photos, walked around and made it back to the hostel before falling asleep on the street.

We did so much in the next couple of days that I might have trouble remembering.   The first started with a 2 hour walk through Central Park and then walking down 5th (aka the fancy street).  We went to the Apple store that is shown on TV and a few other stores before catching a sub to the harbour where we could see the Statue of Liberty.  It looked very distant but very big.  We were thinking about catching a ferry past it, but crowds were ridiculous and we had other things we wanted to do.  Han and I split from Angus and Amy so we could view the 9/11 gallery and have a tour of ground zero.  Throughout the whole experience you could see and feel and lsiten to the heart break that so many went through.  In the gallery they played short documentarys of the event and had images ad quote on the walls.  One of the walls was covered with missing posters of people who were in or around the buildings and never found.  Another two walls was covered in photos of all who lost their lives.  As you can imagine, the experience was devastating.  We then went on a tour run by a group of 300 people that were affected by the tragedy.  We had two tour guides – one that was a paramedic on the scene and the other that was on the 3rd floor of the North tower when it fell.  They each told there storys and our guide explained that he was a Lieutenant of the fire brigade sent into the north building.  He said he had no idea of what to expect when he got called to the towers that day.  He went up the building and soon after hurried to leave.  He was one of about 14 people who miraculously survived the crash becasue he was on the 3rd floor.  This is an interview of him: http://www.history.com/videos/remembering-911-rescue-worker-mickey-cross—an-unsung-hero#remembering-911-rescue-worker-mickey-cross—an-unsung-hero
I’m not sure exactly what it’s about because there’s no speakers at the computers but I imagine he will say something similar to the story he told us.  Han and I were very moved by everything.  These days, the site looks like a construction area.  I decided not to take photos because it’s more important to see and experience it for yourself.

After that rollercoaster of emotion Han and I made it back to the hostel in time to meet up with Amy an hour later to see Sex & the City.  The movie was fantastic.  We say it in the Time Square area and the cinema was filled with New York women.  It was like a big girls night in.  Everyone was laughing and commenting and enjoying themselves.  I recommend for everyone to see it!  We loved it!

The next day once again started in the grand park.  We spent most of the day walking and sight seeing.  We saw Chrysler, Rockefeller, Empire State buildings, along with the beautiful New York Library (a must see!) and The Met(ropolitan Museum of Art).  The Library was probably my favorite.  We ended up wandering up and down the stair cases admiring the beautiful big building…  The Met was also pretty cool.  The building itself was stunning, as was the art inside.

That evening we all exchanged photos and I said my goodbyes to Amy.  It was fairly emotional, but I know I we will see each other in the not too distant future – and I’ve come to except that goodbyes don’t have to be so bad afterall.

Han and I were up early the next day for our final city and wander and Greyhound back to Toronto.  The ride went for what seemed like forever and we were very happy to make it to our hostel.  We were a little shocked by the place we were staying, though.  It was a university residence that they converted to a hostel in the summer – which meant we had our own dorm rooms, a lounge, and washrooms.  We may as well have been back at UVic without the people.  We had a good laugh, and went to bed – both extremely happy to at last have a whole room to ourselves.

Today we left early to arrive in Chicago at a reasonable hour.  Customs let us through no problem and we were in our new ‘home-country’.  America has ridiculous amounts of McDonalds – especially on the highways!  We talked and laughed and the 12 hour journey passed relatively fast.  The worst part was trying to find a park in Chicago (we ended up paying a supermarket to have our car for 2 nights).   The hostel is great and we’re very happy to be here.

Two weeks from now I will be flying home and that excited me very much.  I’ll leave it there for now.  I need sleep.
I hope everyone is finding jobs and enjoying being back in their own countrys.  There’s been a many of chats on the long roads of the good times we’ve had with our friends at UVic….

Love to all,
A xx

Hello all.  I’m currently sitting in a sweet little log cabin of the highway between Montreal and Toronto.  We pulled in here last night and made ourselves at home for a night…a couple of hours and we’re back on the road.

I’ll have to rewind all the way back to Edmonton.  It’s difficult to get internet while travelling so much.

So Edmonton Mall was huge!  Inside there was a theme park, a wave pool, a lemur display, a sea lion display, massive pirate ships and shops galore!  We hung around for a few hours to check it all out and then drove ourselves to the campsite.  I’d found one previously on the internet but it wasn’t really a place we wanted to stay.  The place was full of RV’s that had been there (and not very mantained) for a very long time and the few people that were sitting outside looked like they weren’t very welcoming to new guests so after a quick departure we found a much more pleasent park.  We haven’t been able to have a campfire sine Banff because of the fire ban, so we quickly put up the tent and put ourselves to bed for the night.

The drive out of Edmonton reconfirmed we were driving in the right direction.  With ease, the presenter announced the second stabbing in two days as well as “another” car rolling…

Our next night was at Regina.  It was a long drive there but we were greeted with a pretty campsite – on grass!  There’s not much to say about Regina except that it was very nice and I was able to stock up on my supply of apple beverage (77cents/litre!).

After an early start we were back on the road for Winnipeg.  It was a long drive but the beauty of the prairies kept us going.  There’s something special about seeing green grass, yellow fields and endless blue skies for hours on end.  The clouds did a little dance for us and before we knew it we were in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg is a very sweet little city.  Our first impression was that it had a lot of greenery and a beautiful big park.  Our last impression was that we all planned on returning someday.  We drove to Sheri and Ian’s house – they are family friends of Amy’s.  They were such wonderful people and were so interesting and kind.  Soon after arriving we went out for ice-cream and picked up some sweets at the High Tea Bakery.  We went back to the house and had a good old yarn with them both before walking to the restaurant where we would be having dinner.  We left the restaurant with full bellies and drove to the Forks – which is the touristy place of town.  It’s where two rivers meet and combine and was an important site for first nations.  We finished the day with an ice-cream and off we went for a great nights sleep.

The next day was Sheri’s birthday and Ian had greeted us with cinnamon scrolls and pain aux chocolats from the nearby bakery.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Winnipeg, and to all you Canadians that think it’s terrible, I hope one day you can give it a chance and have as good a time as we all did.

We were off for our next destination of Thunder Bay by mid morning.  Thunder Bay was much bigger that I expected.  The city was ugly but fortunately we were on the outskirts in a hostel run by a sweet old couple that had travelled the world many times over.  We set up the tent in record timing (mossies EVERYWHERE) and headed inside for dinner and tv.  There are 3 cats living on the premisis so we all got our dose of animals before drifting into dreamland.

In the morrow we set off to an Amethyst mine where we had a tour of the mining fields and searched through the dirt for our own gems!  We all enjoyed it and left with a little puch of jewels.  The afternoon was spent eating, bike riding and catching up on correspondance  (thanks to the free wifi).  Our night ended early and soon the sun rose once again.

We set off on the highway encasing lake superior to reach the provincial park on the other side.  It was very pretty here although mosquitos were having a field day.  Believe it or not, the beaches on the shore of Lake Superior are somewhat beaches.  We sat there watching the stunning sunset and making little rock towers out of the flat stones.  Due to lack of fire it was another very early night..

The next day we packed up the Pod and set out for Sudbury.  Sudbury is a town halfway between Lake Superior Provincial Park and Montreal – and this was the basis of our visit.  After pulling into the campsite I took myself with a stroll to get my legs moving again and we set up camp.  Then the fun started.  We hired a paddle boat to take out on the lake for an hour or two.  Seeing as thepaddle boat with the  number she gave us wasn’t around we tried taking another.  It wasn’t until we were waist deep in water that we realised the steering stick had broken off and fully clothed, Han and I jumped in and saved the day (ha).   Hoping for better luck this time we found another boat and set off again.  This time Han’s foot area was quite quickly filling with water.  We powered through and made it to the opposite bank and back just before Han’s site of the boat would start taking in water from the upper rim.  We all had loads of laughs and it was great to unwind after so much driving.

The next morning started at 5am and with a beautiful sunrise.  We ate, packed – all while trying to avoid the mossies, and were on our way to Montreal.

Montreal was a really beautiful place.  The main streets were buzzing and the side streets were lined with big trees bordering the 3 story apartments.  That afternoon we strolled around the city, not venturing far, and took in the sights.  Early the next morning Han and I were up and out for our walk to  Old Montreal.  By 9 in the morning it was around 25 degrees so we were boiling by the time we reached our destination.  We got lost a little in getting there and ended up walking for two hours.  We caught the Metro back, got some ice-cream and headed to a big park very close to Mont-Royal – the street of o ur hostel.  As the afternoon rolled around we went back to the Metro station to greet my friend Ryan and her friends Marc and John.  I spent my last summer in Whitehorse and this is where I met Ryan.  We would spend our evenings playing cards on her deck and talking and laughing and the like.  It was so good to see her again.  We had poutine at a well known place and caught up in the past year before heading back to the park to enjoy the afternoon warmth.   No doubt we will meet up again, whether that be in Canada or Aus.

In the evening Han and I grabbed a bite of dinner and headed to our extremely hot hostel (much hotter inside thatn out) and socialised with the other residents.  We met some really cool people and exchanged our road stories.  There was a guy who drove from San Francisco and another couple of gyus road tripping from Vancouver.  Han and I really enjoyed ourselves this evening.  We joined them at the park when night fell and after our last laughs made our way back to our beds.

Our last morning in Montreal was spent joy riding around the city.  It was so great to drive somewhere with no destination (or GPS).  We were aiming to go up a lookout where we could see the entire sity, but it took us 3 goes to get there.  We ended up driving through the most beautiful cemetry I’ve ever seen.  There were so many flowers and big shady trees and the graves sat on rolling hills with perfect grass surrounding them.  We got lost in here for a while, seeing a raccoon on the way and then tried making it back to the lookout.  We ended up driving through McGill uni and past hospital – in peak hour traffic!  We both enjoyed it anyway and made it to the lookout in the end.

We were joined by Amy and soon set off for Quebec City.  Quebec was another city, until we were in the walls of Old Quebec.  The streets were tiny and the big stone buildings were quite cool.  We went down the tourist streets (featuring the same old shops) and had a great time.  Our campsite was on a big hill and there was lots of sun and shade where we wanted it.  Han and I threw an apple around for a while and then I cleaned the tent out, we made dinner and hit the hay.

This brings me to yesterday (finally!).  We packed up camp and headed back to Old Quebec for a final time before leaving for a destination somewhere between Quebec and Toronto.  We had some amazing pasteries and off we were.  The drive was very easy.  We are currently at a place called Mallorytown and it’s very sweet.  Our log cabin treated us very well last night and I’m about to enjoy my porridge on the swinging chair on the little deck.  In less than an hour we will be on our way to Toronto where we will stay for a couple of nights before heading to the big apple.

Not long now until I’m home – it’s getting exciting.

Love to all,

A

Didn’t realise how little time there’s been between the last post and this one.  It’s strange living on the road because time isn’t as much of an issue as it would usually be…

So since I last wrote to you, we’d driven from Jasper to Lake Louise and finally on to Banff.  We made a critically wrong decision when going to Lake Louise and were still (very strangely) dressed in summer attire.  Turns out the Lake is at quite the altitude and we were absolutely freezing and looked totally out of place.  Although the place was beautiful we didn’t end up staying long and were soon back on the road heading for Banff.

Banff is a very busy little tourist town.  The streets are lined with souvenir shops and every second accent is Australian.  I much prefered the quite little town of Jasper.  We walked around the streets, treated ourselves at a church bake sale and set up the tent (in record timing).  It was quite funny driving into the camp site as Elk were casually grazing the fields.  It’s become quite normal for us to see deer and elk all over the place.  The site was fairly empty on our arrival – although this changed on the weekend.  We set ourselves up around a campfire and mastered the technique of cooking a perfect marshmellow..

The next day we decided we all needed a bit of a break from each other and drove downtown and split up for a couple of ours.  I amused myself by scouting out the cheapest icecream, indulging in 10cent/minute internet and generally walking down the street seeing what Banff has to offer.  We al met up feeling very refreshed.  Han and I had some icecream in a gazebo while Amz caught up on emails before we set off back to our tent.  We ended up hanging around the warmths of our fire all evening and having some laughs.  As usual we crept into our tent and had a mini giggle-fest before (somewhat) getting sleep.  (Amy and I have since found bruises on our hips and blame the gravel campsites….)

We left Banff fairly early and arrived in Calgary at noon.  Our UVic friend Jeff offered to take us in and we’re all feeling very appreciative!  Yesterday he took us out to the zoo and to a lookout that shows off Calgarys skyline.  We had burgers and watched the hockey last night (majoy Canadian fail!) before watching a movie and hitting the hay.  I had the most amazing sleep on a mattress last night!  Jeff’s family have been so kind and generous to us and we thank them very much.

In a couple of hours we will set of to Edmonton where (hopefully!) I will meet up with Shane (for those of you who know him).

Getting pretty hungry so I’ll be off. Hope you’re having as much fun as I am.

A xx

Road trip so far: success.  I’m currently sitting on the deck of our hostel in Jasper enjoying the evening sunlight and filling you in with all our adventures.  We’ve had so much beautiful weather on our journey and we’ve seen so much wildlife!  I’ll rewind to our day trip to Alaska…

We packed ourselves a lunch and off we went to Skagway, Alaska.  The drive takes no more than a few hours and the drive is incredible.  Uncle Al drove half way with us to show us some sights that would hopefully include wildlife.  We saw some Mt Sheep and Amy found a beautiful piece of clear quartz.  We said goodbye to Uncle Al and off we were on our way to Alaska.  It wasn’t long into our drive that we saw a big black blob on the road ahead.  As we drove closer we realised it was a big black bear.  The creature was beautiful.  The car was a bit of a frenzy from all the excitement.  For the rest of the journey we wore our “bear eyes” in hopes of seeing more wildlife.  We got into Skagway and strolled the old fashioned streets – tasting fudge at all opportunities (Han and I ended up buying some, of course).  The drive back was peaceful and although we saw no more animals we drove over snow covered mountain tops and clear blue lakes.

Our Whitehorse stay continued with browsing Main St, stocking up on gear for the trip and baking a cake for a meal we would be having with my family’s friends, Wayne and Di.  The evening was so enjoyable.  Both my Uncles came and we ate the most delicious food and talked and talked and talked.  We all loved it.

The next day we had a guided tour (thanks to Uncle Al) of Kluane and its wildlife.  We saw so many elk and mountain sheep as well as a couple of moose and a sweet little porcupine.  We did a mini hike up sheep mountain which gave us stunning views and we made back to the car just in time to miss the light snow outside.  The porcupine was so cute.  It was in a twig-of-a-tree trying to move around and going about it so awkwardly.

That evening I went and saw my dear old Grandma for mothers day.  She has severe alzheimers and is looked after in a nursing home.  It was very special and important for me to spend a mothers day with her.  After visiting we took my Uncles and our cars mechanic/Uncle Gords friend out for dinner at boston pizza.  Food was great, as usual.

This was our final evening in Whitehorse, so we packed our gear and got ourselves a good night sleep (which now in retrospect I’m very jealous of).  Day one of our roadtrip started early.  We ate breaky, made our lunches, did a final email check and off we were.  First step was dropping Uncle Al at the airport and getting a third key cut for the pod.  Then we hit the long open road.  The drive was 640km and took about 7 hours.  We didn’t see any mammals on this road until about 4.5 hours in.  Then all of a sudden there were bison everywhere.  The most incredible thing we saw were 3 bison, a grizzly and a black bear all the in one image.  We pulled over a met a girl called Laura who let us stand with her on her van to admire the view.  She was driving back to Fort Nelson and was very friendly and kind to us.  We left her with the bears and made our way to our first stop – Liard River Hot Springs.  This place was amazing.  I’ll certainly be back there one day.  The hot springs are so hot that your skin goes red and the banks are grass and earth and the floor is pebbles.  The place is so naturally beautiful.  We met a few guys from the states travelling to Alaska for the winter and managed to borrow the pocket knife of one of them to engrave our names into a fallen tree trunk.  We also passed the toughness test and placed our own rocks at the edge of the hottest part of the spring (technique required).  The place was great and believe it or not, camping was fun.  We struggled with a fire for a couple of hours before hitting the hay and getting some beauty sleep in readiness of the next day.

On this day we drove to our next stop over in Dawson Creek.  The drive took 10 hours this day, so we were in bed (or the tent at least) before 10!  Before hitting the road Han and I had a final dip in the hot springs which kept us fairly fresh for the trip.  We saw SO much wildlife on this trip!  Numerous black bears, a moose and it’s young, caribou, a whit wolf, deer and more sheep.  It kept the drive exciting.  We weren’t really in Dawson Creek for long.  The following morning we had the oil and filter changed before hitting the road for another long day of driving.

We drove for about 9 hours yesterday which brought us here to Jasper.  The place is beautiful.  The scenery and abundance of wildlife reminds me a lot of the north country.  There are deer all over the place and apparently bear too (although we’ve only seen one).  We had a quiet dinner yesterday which somehoe for me turned into a very loud vodka inspired night.  I ended up getting too excited and drinking way too much – which is why this blog may be below par.  For all those Aussies that were jealous of my lack of hangovers, be jealous no more.  Today was nightmarishly hung over, but I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying this place.

We got up super early and were soon on a 3 hour hike around the valley of five lakes.  The walk was beautiful and the fresh air did us well.  We grabbed a bite to eat at the hostel and hit up a cafe for an hour using their wifi.  In the afternoon we drove to Maligne Lake – which although still frozen over looks incredible.

I’m seeing so much beautiful scenery here!  We’ve been hanging around a group of really freindly travellers in the hostel.  It’s such a change from Kelowna.  In fact, Amy is currently talking to a guy from her home town.  Tomorrow we’re off to Banff and then we continue East.

I’m still missing UVic friends a lot but with home so close in sight it’s hard not to get excited.  I better share this internet – it’s very rare that it’ll work in the hostel.

Until next time xxx

Day 1, 29th April – Farewell Victoria

Leaving Victoria was very difficult.  It has nutured my life for the past 8 months and has hosted countless memories and friends.  It will always be a home for me.  Just last night we were channel surfing and came across news of Navy Day in Victoria.  The girls and I were so excited to see our little Vic on Tv.  Here I go again remonissing….  Back to April 29th, I had hurried goodbye’s (but not for forever) to all my dear friends before making my way for the final time out of ring road and to the dental surgeons for root canal.  You needn’t worry about cringing when hearing about root canal.  It’s a completely painless 2 hour procedure that leaves you feeling a millions times better walking out of the dental office that how you felt walking in.  Kieran and Angus were kind enough to be in the waiting room when I came out of the dentists and together we made our final trip on the #4 bus downtown.  There, a group of us had our last supper at The Local Kitchen before the departure.  Although the sun was shining it was a windy day and the chill of the weather didn’t really help keep emotions at bay.  It was here that Angus and Kieran stayed and Han, Amz, Ditte and I left for Vancouver.  I’m so so lucky in that Kieran will be in Newcastle by the time I get home.  I feel like I must let you Australians know that all 4 Aussie guys managed to get themselves into relationships on their time abroad!  Funny eh?!

So off we were on the bus, the ferry, the other bus (where we shared the backseat with some oldish creepy guys who thought they were the highlight of everyone’s trip), the sky train and eventually the hostel.  Inside our room was 2 bunk beds, one hosting a Brazillian fella who is on a Canadian holiday atm.  He was kind to us and didn’t seem to mind too much when we unintentionally dominated the room.

So far so good on the travelling front.

Day 2, 30th April – Vancouver

We got up very early on this day and made our first stop the greyhound office where I needed to go to pick up my tickets to Kelowna for later in the week.  From there we walked for a little over an hour around the harbour to the infamous Granville Island Markets where we feasted our eyes on the fresh produce and gormet foods.  Living on a budget has proved quite easy and extremely rewarding.  We all had fresh subs that cost no more than $2.50..yummo!

Seeing as the weather took a turn for the worst we head over to Metropolis for the afternoon.  The Metropolis is a huge shopping center filled with virtually everything.  The highligh of this was the Fro-Yo.  It is a chain store that has a buffet style layout where you fill your cup with flavoured (or plain) frozen yogurt and then top with fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts, etc.  For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to fill my cup with all of the above and it was delicious.

Later that night, Han and I had our first battle of patience.  First I started mimicing her and soon enough we were testing each other to see who would crack first.  I’m embarassed to say Han won.  Most of you know how much it bothers me hearing continous tapping – especially when the tappee is a set of keys!

So there is day two in a nut shell.  Spirits (as you can imagine) were very high indeed.

Day 3, 1st May – Vancouver

Our third day started a lot slower than the latter.  We planned to hire bikes (only $7 per hour) around Stanely Park.  The sun joined us and it was a beautiful ride.  The park is bordered by the sea and the views were stunning.  After the ride, Christian joined us for a coffee in Starbucks.  We walked around Vanc, basked in the windless-sun at Robson Square and made our way back to the hostel pub in time for the hockey.  Han, Amz and I were so tired that we slept the first couple of hours of the game.  We joined Christian, Arnaud, Ditte, Craig, Laura and her father for the last mintues of the game.  It was soon after this that Christian was emotionally farewelled…  Later that evening Craig, Han, Amz and I took a walk through Gastown towards what we didn’t realise was the ghetto/china town.  This place was scary!  We’d been warned of it, but didn’t realise where we were until there was no looking back.  The streets were lined with very dero (derolict) looking peoplee that probably had no home.  they looked rough to say the least.  As quickly as we could we made it to the other side of the great China town entrance arch and all was well.

We met up with Arn, Craig and Ditte for a final stroll through Vancouver.  It was sad knowing this was the last time I’d be seeing these guys for a very long time.  Many tears were spilt and the final farewells.  No doubt I will see my friends again, but that doesn’t make it that much easier.  Soon enough we were back in the hostel, cleaning up, packing, and falling back into our dreams.

Day 4, 2nd May – Kelowna

A 9:30am grehound delivered us to Kelowna at 4pm.  The day was long but I like having so much time to think and reflect.  We made it to our next hostel which was not welcoming at all.  It seemed we’d walked into a hostel housing a closenit group of Australians which meant we were outsiders for the remaining 3 nights of our stay.  Fortunately our 1 of our roomies was quite chatty and friendly and we weren’t put off too much.

We walked to the grocery store, picked ourselves up some goods for our stay and headed back to the hostel for an early night.

Day 5, 3rd May – Kelowna with Jen

The weather was abysmal.  This was a real shame seeing as Kelowna is very much an outdoors town.  It didn’t bother us too much.  We got to stay in our pajamas half the day before being greeted by Jen and driving to a sweet little goat farm.  We tried cheeses and treated ourselves to some fresh goat milked gelato.  We spent the rest of the day at Jen’s Grandparents house watching the Sex in the City movie and enjoying each other’s company.  It turned out to be a great day – just a little different to how we first imagined it.  I think it’s important to let expectations go, because then everything becomes so much more enjoyable

Day 6, 4th May – Kelowna with Jen and the Sun

I was so happy to wake up on this day and see the sun peeking through the shutters of the hostel bedroom.  Taking full advantage of the weather, Jen picked us up early and took us to a place she used to go hiking with her Dad called Bear Creek.  The hike took a little over an hour and guided us up mountains, over a creek, under a bat – at least a bat flew over us (in broad day light?!) and past a beautiful waterful.  I managed to finally start taking photos here.  We finished the hike just intime to avoid the looming clouds and rain that had been gaining on us over head.  We sat on some swings for a while before going to a sweet little cafe downtown for some lunch.  Jen took us back to the hostel and shared a sad farewell with Amy.  Fortunately Han and I will see her again on the 11th of June at her home on our way back to Victoria.  She left us with a bag of raison/choc chip cookies which were thoroughly appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.

We did another small trip to the grocery store before packing our gear once again and getting some much needed sleep.

Day 7, 5th May – Kelowna to Vancouver to Whitehorse

So finally I’m up to today (not going to let the days creep up on me like that again!)!  It was once again spent in a greyhound where I thought for another 6 hours.  I’m now sitting with Han in the airport.  She is doing something with sticky tape.  Amy is off with Angus who came across from Victoria to join her while they’re both still around.  Han and I are both getting fairly hungry so I’ll have to leave it here.  In a few hours we board a flight that will take us to my Uncles in Whitehorse.  I’m so happy I get to see them again so soon!  I thought it would be years before this day rolled around again.

Will keep you updated with the travels!  May even film a video journal entry later very soon.

Love to all,

A

Would have made it a lot easier to remember the details of this special day if I wrote this a couple of weeks ago.  As usual, I’ll do my best to remember the highlights.

So on the 23rd of April, 2010 I awoke and shared a breakfast with Kieran – who happens to share my birthday.  It was a fairly rushed morning as I had my final french exam at 9 that morning.  Kieran walked me to my exam and there I sat for the next 1.5 hours completeing my final academic UVic experience.  The exam went well (I ended up with a B- in the course) and soon enough I was back in res and ready to start the celebrations.

Han surprised us with a cupcake each from the all too familiar Ooh La La cupcake store on Hillside and they were sensational.  She bought a banana with cream cheese frosting and a chocolate mud with peanut butter forsting.  Definitely a great start to the day!  We got ourselves some lunch from the caf and head down the hill to grab some supplies from the grocery store.  By the early afternoon we were sitting outside on our UVic supplied blankets enjoying chips, dip, fairy bread (very Australian if you didn’t already realise) and some pringles.  The company was my favorite bit.  We ate ourselves silly although mid way the picnic was moved indoors due to rain.

Friends had united and surprised us (again) with a delicious chocolate mousse cake!  It was sooooooooooooo good – I think all would agree.  We were surprised once again when our dutch friend Yohan had baked us his mother’s wonderful apple pie!  I ate myself to glutenhood and had to sleep it off until celebrations could continue.  Within that time Kieran and I exchanged birthday cards and had a very animated visit from Marc and Jonny.

We pretty much arrived late to Felicitas where all our friends were drinking and enjoying themselves.  We had a few drinks ourselves, a few games of pool, a few mexi-fries and many many happy happy times with our friends.  The night ended in great spirits and it was a very wonderful birthday.  I still find it strange (in a great way) that Kieran and I share the same day of birth.

To further condense the last days of UVic into words, there were many tears, many farewells and much excitement for the adventures to come.  Victoria is home to me now, and it was the strangest feeling leaving it.  Especially the bus out of town.  Han, Amy and I are driving across Canada, Jonny’s travelling B.C., Kieran, Boyle, Watson and Josh are driving to Vegas where they’ll be meeting Angus and Christian, international friends are dispersing in San Fran, New York, Seattle and Tofino before returning home and all the Canadians are either working in Vic or returning to their homes across the nation.

It’s really sad because although I will see all the special friends again it will never be in the same environment.  They know how much I love them and how much I will miss them.  I have Australia to look forward to now.  Seeing my family, my friends, and experiencing Newcastle with Kieran will make it seem like a whole new place.

Next blog will be on my adventures across Canada.  Stay tuned!

Well it’s not long now until I farewell so many amazing friends and set off on the road trip of a life time.  8 days in fact.  It’s a bit eerie to know how soon it’s going to end.  I feel like my brain doesn’t understand this yet, and when I do finally come to realise this is goodbye (for now anyway) there will be a river of tears.  Don’t want to get spirits low, though.  To look at it a different way I now have friends living all over the world that I will one day visit and who one day visit me.

In other news, some friends and I went kayaking the other day.  We rented them downtown in the harbour and made our way up the channel.  Kieran and I shared a two person kayak, as did Jonny and Josh.  Boyle and Han went solo.  It was a beautiful sunny day and a very relaxing trip.  We saw seals, baby seals and avoided the dreaded Canadian geese.  We were on the water for about 2 hours and finished off the day with some tea at a local cafe and a big Mexican meal in a restaurant.  The food was excellent.

Speaking of which, cafeteria food is disgusting.  It’s not really food anymore.  I dread dinner as it’s usually foul and lunch isn’t much better.  Because of this, we’ve been eating out a bit lately.  Dinner at John’s Place (a restaurant downtown) and at Felicita’s has kept me going – not sure what’s in store for the remaining 8 days.

In two days it will be my, and strangely enough Kieran’s, birthday.  For those who don’t follow facebook, Kieran is my boyfriend also hailing from Newcastle and doing exchange at UVic – small world eh?!  Our friends are joining us for a picnic on campus and we’ll be continuing the celebrations at Felicita’s that night.

There’s a few farewell parties going ’round.  Hopefully after a few drinks I will still be able to celebrate the friends I’ve made and my time with them rather than thinking about not seeing them for years…

I can’t think of much else that’s happened.  It’s been super relaxing around here lately.  Seeing as it’s exam period and my only exam, which is French, is on my birthday, I’ve just been living the good life.  It’s so good to not have worked for the past nearly 10 months.  Will be a shock to the system to go back to working, although I’m definitely looking forward to the income!!!

I’ll leave it there.  Dinner awaits.

I’ll probably write one more blog before setting off on the road.  I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the journey and the adventures Han, Amz and I get upto.

Thinking of you,
A xx

Dear Everyone,

I don’t really have much to say, but it’s been a while since my last post and maybe you’re interested in my nothing?

As you know it was St Patrick’s Day about a week ago.  Needles to say, Canada (as usual) gave their all to join in on the celebrations.  The cafeteria was decorated with green stickers and nearly every person on campus sported at least one piece of green clothing.  There were big green hats and scarves and jerseys and shoes?!  It was kind of like Halloween, but in stead of dressing up as anything people dressed up as green.

At breakfast in the caf we overheard a group of guys on their way to start the drinks…  By the early afternoon there was a gathering in my residences celebrating…drinking?  Everyone was in a great mood and very much so enjoying themselves.

I ended up having a gathering in my room for pre-drinks before heading to Felicitas for some dancing.  The DJ was excellent and we all had fun.  The night ended with drunks and pizzas….I’ll definitely be celebrating this holiday when I return.

Other than that, you’ll be pleased to know the travel planning in right on schedule.  As of this Friday we will have gathered, paid for and organised every possible aspect of the trip.  After that it will just be researching into the places we are visiting and getting incredibly exciting.

As much as I don’t like thinking about it, time at UVic is running out.  It’s a thought most of us are avoiding…  It’s very upsetting to think about leaving the place and the people that have been part of the best experience of my life.  No doubt I will see everyone again, but never in the same room, let alone the same country.  I’ve been at this University for over 200 days now, and now there’s less than 5 weeks left….  I better cut it now before I start getting teary.

Even though this is probably un-necessary, I feel I should tell you that I wont be able to receive any mail you send unless it’s in the post by next weekend (3rd/4th April).  This is because post takes up to 10 days to get here and I will be leaving very soon.

Time for lunch!
Love to you all,
A xx

Hello world,

I hope you’re all wonderful.  It’s getting warmer over here and everyones spirits are rising.  The days are getting sunnier, although we did have a couple of hours of completely unexpected snow last week….

There’s been no big adventures this week, although lots of planning for a really big one.  I’d like to tell you all about the journey I’m planning with my dear friends Hannah and Amy.

We have organised to fly to Whitehorse (up North where my family resides) where we will spend a few days before driving “The Pod” all the way across Canada.  We will be stopping at places such as Jasper, Banff, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto to name a few.  The most easterly point of our travels will be New York, where we will spend a few nights soaking in the city.

I can’t even express how sad it will be when Amy departs for home in New York…. but after she does so, Han and I will get back in The Pod and drive West through the States back to Victoria.  We will be staying in Chicago, Minneapolis, Rapid City (featuring Mount Rushmore), Yellowstone National Park, Osoyoos (where we will see a couple of our Canadian friends for the final time before we leave) as well as various other places.

Overall, we have calculated there to be 141.5 hours of driving.  We will be on the road for 6 weeks in total and I will return home on the 20th of June.  We will be doing a lot of camping and can’t wait to experience everything Canada has to offer.

My Uncles have been extremely generous and I’m so grateful for it!  After days and days of planning everything seems to be falling into place.  Life just seems so right at the moment.  It’s so rewarding to feel like all the effort and time you put into something pays off…

I’ll leave it there, I’d love to hear from you.

A xx