As Promised

Day 1 of the trip was a success even though it took 14 ½ hours. But I guess that’s not too bad considering I drove 800 miles. I finished up all my last minute packing on Monday by 12:30am so everything was completely ready to go in the morning. All I had to do was change clothes and brush my teeth, which turned out to be a good thing since I woke up for the first time at 3am. I managed to go back to sleep for a little while but around 6am I decided to just get up and go. After one last drive through town I said goodbye to Depoe Bay and was officially on the road by 7. It seemed somewhat appropriate that it was a dreary and drizzly morning (which was uncharacteristically rare for the Oregon Coast this summer).

Interstate 5, the part of the drive I was dreading the most, actually turned out to be the best. Between Depoe Bay and Albany (where I first reach I-5), there was some road work adding about 30min to my trip, and then in the last portion near Visalia there was also road work on highway 99. Other than a little slowing near Sacramento the trip was all smooth sailing, especially once I reached California and the speed limit went up to 70mph. I was surprised but grateful that I only had to stop for gas twice. With my new snug top shell and everything I own packed into the back of my truck I thought I would need more than that, but 2 ½ tanks got me all the way to Grandma Crisp’s.

Being back in CA and in Visalia is turning out to be pretty nostalgic. Just the smell of Grandma’s house and to a degree the whole town is extremely comforting. I’ve realized more and more how much I appreciate my family. It really started in college when for the first time I was around people who weren’t so fortunate in their personal lives. Regardless of economics or race, this was about the wealth of love and support, or lack thereof, which I had not been exposed to in high school. The more people I meet the more fortunate I feel to have such unconditional love and support from my family and close friends. I’ve known for a long time that you are what is most important in life and I truly feel like my decision to move and go on this journey will help me appreciate that even more. Despite how much of my heart I left in Oregon.

My New New Exciting Plan

Surprise, surprise—my plans changed again! Not only did I fail to log some of my summer adventures, but I also failed to move at the end of summer ‘09. It’s hard to believe that it has been over two years since I last posted (TWO YEARS!!!). When my job at the Sea Hag ended, I floated around a bit and bartended for a few months until I found a job at a bank in Newport, Oregon, which is commuting distance from Depoe Bay. I worked there for a year and really enjoyed my coworkers, but realized that I didn’t see a future for myself at the bank or on the Oregon coast. Finally I made the decision to set a date and move.

Because Depoe Bay is such a tourist town, there are a lot of seasonal job opportunities available. And even though I was leaving the bank, I wanted to stay for a few more months, save money, and enjoy the rest of my time in Depoe Bay. And since June, that is just what I’ve been doing. I work at the Chowder Bowl, which is a great family owned restaurant in Depoe Bay. But coming up here in about a week I am driving all the way to Pennsylvania. I bought a canopy shell for my truck and I’ve consolidated all of my stuff so that it fits in the back.

I’m excited to go but sad to leave this beautiful place and all the great people I’ve met here. It’s nice to be back on the blog and I’m looking forward to writing about my trip—thanks for reading!

My New Exciting Plan

I know my last post said that I was staying in Santa Barbara, BUT after a lot of thought I have changed my mind. Originally I was thinking, "If I don't have a plan, I should just stay here." But the more I thought about my options I realized, since I don't have plans I should go somewhere else, do something different, do anything! There is no better time than the present.

This all seems a bit cliche, I know. But I do have a temporary plan for the summer. My roommate Lola's Dad co-owns a restaurant in Depoe Bay, Oregon. They need waitresses for the summer and there is also a house on the property where I can live rent free. So I'll be saving money, doing something different and exciting, and living in a new beautiful place! Another great part about working there is that Depoe Bay is only 2 and 1/2 hours from Beaverton, where Megan and Trevor live!

After the summer, if I haven't found a job in Portland, I'll move back to good ol' PA and live with Mom and Dad. I was hesitant to do this before because I was worried about isolating myself on the East Coast. But it's always been a dream of mine to live and work in NYC, so I'm going to make it happen!

So I have three weeks left to enjoy SB and my friends here. It will be a whirlwind of final assignments, planning, packing, and of course GRADUATION. I'll keep you updated on my move and summer adventure!

Thanks for reading.

Hiatus Discontinued

Ok so I lied, I never came back and posted pictures from Australia-- I'm sorry.

BUT I have new and exciting things to talk about like the ever looming question, "WHAT AM I DOING AFTER GRADUATION?"

...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Currently my plan is to apply for jobs but rent a place in Santa Barbara. If I find something good that I want to take (basically anything right now) I will take it. But since I don't know if that will happen I want to stay here and work the jobs I have and enjoy California.

I will update as my job search and graduation plans progress. For now I hope you all are doing well and you will hear from me soon!

Byron Bay and My Last Days in Sydney

Sorry it has taken a while to post, there has been so much going on that it has been hard to find time to write. With that said, this might be a lengthy post but bare with me-- I promise it will be worth it! I'm just going to go by day so I don't forget anything, please forgive the repetition.

Wednesday ended up being the perfect day to get to Bryon Bay because our hostel had a deal with a local pub for a free BBQ dinner. It was pretty crowded and a little crazy but we ended up having a fun night. The pub had a bunch of games and contests for prizes, like a hula-hoop contest for a Whitsundays island package. We couldn't have used any of the prizes but it was still fun to watch people participate. We also sat with our dorm-mates who were a group of English people doing our same bus pass but headed North. They were really friendly and we ended up hanging out with them the rest of our time in Byron.

On Thursday we decided to try snorkeling one last time and it turned out to be our best experience since Fiji. It still wasn't sunny but the boat took us out to a cluster of rocks about 100 meters away from the beach. When we jumped off the boat, it was a good distance away from the rocks and I was creeped-out by how deep the water was; I didn't look down through my snorkel until we were in the more shallow area near the rocks. The first 30 minutes was pretty standard except there were some larger fish than we had seen anywhere. Then when we had about 15 minutes left we saw a sea turtle! It was a young one so it wasn't too big but it was just floating around near the rocks and letting the tide carry it around. It swam for a while and we followed it until it went past our boundary. We were so happy to finally see a turtle. It was so graceful underwater and it surfaced a few times which was cool to see. After the first one went away we saw another one that was bigger but not as pretty. It didn't do much swimming, but once it bit onto the rock and ripped something off to eat. By that time I was more comfortable with the deep water and I snorkeled back to the boat. It still kind of gave me the hibbie jibbies, but I didn't want to miss the chance of seeing something out there.

Friday morning we caught a shuttle and headed to the airport to go back to Sydney. We made our way to our hostel in the city and then met up with our friend Georgie and her boyfriend. Her dad is a member of a rugby stadium and so he gets tickets to game and we all went to a National Rugby League game. It's hard to explain the game because it's not like the rugby we have in America, it's more like football. Here are the highlights from the game. It was really exciting because it was so close, if you watch the whole clip the kick they miss at the very end would have tied the game. And yes, Pamela Anderson was there (no idea why), but so was Russel Crowe because he owns one of the teams.

Saturday morning we headed to Paddy's Markets, which is a huge ground level market place below a mall in Sydney. It's basically a bunch of stalls with really cheap clothes, food, and souvenirs. It kind of tired us out, but that night we still hit the town with our some of our friends we have met here. The area that our hostel is in is really popular on Friday and Saturday nights so it was nice to be able to stay in the area and walk home instead of having to take a cab, which are really pricey here.

When we got up on Sunday we headed to Georgie's boyfriend's apartment to make them biscuits and gravy. Over here they call cookies biscuits and they don't have American style biscuits. Georgie's boyfriend loves KFC and here it comes with french fries so we had to show him what our kind of biscuits were like. They turned out pretty good for our first time and we all had a yummy American breakfast. There are a lot more differences between our food which I will post about next time. After breakfast we headed to the Sydney Zoo. We got there just in time to catch an elephant show. They were demonstrating how smart and coordinated elephants are and they were actually kicking a regular size soccer ball back and forth! They could do other amazing things too like balance on a balance beam with alternating front and back legs extended so they were only standing on two legs. It was so cool to see such huge animals doing tasks like that. Another highlight was seeing koala's eating. They had a feeding time at 3 o'clock which is when they were most active because on average koalas sleep 20 hours a day, which is more than sloths. All they did was sit there and eat, but as one of them was climbing down the tree we could see that she had a little baby clutched to her stomach. It was really small and didn't move much, but it was still cool to see. There was also a newborn baby gorilla and a platypus tank where we could watch one swimming around.

Today is my last full day in Sydney. We don't really have anything planned because we have already seen and done almost everything (that we can afford). Tonight we will have dinner with our friends and Georgie and then tomorrow we head to Sydney Airport to fly home. It's really strange because our flight departs here Sept. 2nd at 1:10pm, we have a three hour layover in Fiji, and then we get to LAX on Sept. 2nd at 1:20pm-- we lose no time at all traveling. I wish the flight were actually 10 minutes instead of 13 hours!

Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean I'm done posting. Next time I write it will be from Santa Barbara but I want to share my general thoughts about Australia, traveling, other people we have met, and of course pictures. I put them onto Georgie's laptop last night and there are about 1500(!) so look forward to some good albums.

Surfer's Paradise

Well the city is exactly like what everyone has told you. There is a huge beautiful beach with great waves and skyscrapers lined up as far as you can see. It's amazing how many resorts and apartment buildings there are! I have no idea how they all stay in business but I guess this is a really popular tourist destination. There are three great pictures of it at this website.

Our first day was predicted to be the sunniest so we headed for the beach. The clouds finally parted but the wind was too cold, so we headed back to the spa at our hostel. The place the we are staying is unique because there is backpacker accommodation but it is joined to a hotel. So we get to use all the hotel amenities (like the spa and the sauna), and there is a TV in our room. But anyway, that night we stayed in to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Unfortunately they didn't start until 10PM so we started falling asleep by the time the guys started doing the speeches. Good thing the highlights were on the next day.

We decided to try some snorkeling, again, and signed up for a kayaking trip for our second day. The sun was out for the most part, but it was still kind of chilly. We went out in a bay near the city and headed for a small man-made island. They built the island to protect the marina from cyclones. At that stop, we snorkeled around a jetty where a lot of fish gather. The visibility was great but there wasn't a huge variety of fish. Our next stop was a on a larger natural island where we went on a bush walk. Bush walk is what the call hikes in Australia; it basically means to walk around in the wilderness. The walk was nice and we got to see a few wallabies. The best part though was seeing the surf on the ocean side of the island. The waves were huge and there were tons of surfers and boogie boarders out in the water. Our guide told us that it is one of the best surf beaches in the world and that a lot of professionals go there.

The only other activity we have done here is walk around and window shop. Because the city is such a tourist spot, there are lots of cool shops and interesting restaurants and pubs. There is also a strong Asian influence here because there is an Asian airline that comes to the Surfer's airport. All the signs are written in multiple languages and there is a lot of Asian cuisine. We've also been watching some Australian Idol, which is pretty fun. There are in the audition stage and there is a judge like Simon, so it has kept us entertained at night.

This afternoon we head off to our last stop on the coast, Byron Bay. I might not post about that until I get back to Sydney on Friday. I think our hostel might have free internet! I have also been making a list of foods to talk about so that will be coming soon too.

Q & A Session

My brother-in-law Trevor asked me some questions about my last post so I decided to answer them for everyone.

Q: Did the goat taste like chicken?
The goat meat was dark, so no it did not taste like chicken. I can't really compare it with another type of meat but it would be closest to pork. I think it was boiled because he was carving it from a big chunk that was in a pot full of juices. The seasoning had a bit of a curry flavor to it so I think it was cumin.

Q: Did you feel like Indiana Jones when you cracked the whip?
I did feel pretty powerful with the whip once I got the hang of it, but not as cool as Indiana because he made us wear goggles. Something I learned that I didn't know is the noise from the whip is created because you are breaking the sound barrier. If the whip hits the ground before it moves fast enough, there will be no sound. Because of this, he also had us stand on milk crates.

Q: Did you make eight seconds on the bull?
I actually lasted longer than 8 seconds! The bull bucked 8 times and then started to spin. Both times I rode it forward I lasted a few spins, but then flew off the front. When I tried it backwards it was actually easier because even though there was no rope to hold, the body was more narrow so I could grip with my legs better. One thing I didn't know about riding a bull is that you put your strong arm in the air. It goes against your natural instinct because you want to hold onto the rope with your stronger arm, but putting it in the air gives you better balance and control.

Q: Was the DVD on the bus 'Crocodile Dundee'?
Haha, No we mostly watched mindless movies like Old School. But we did watch one that was a documentary called 'Kenny', which is about a man who works for a portable toilet company. It was supposed to be really funny but I just thought it was kind of sad how poorly people treat him. Plus I think a lot of the humor was Australian.

Q: How would you describe the noise you made on the didgeridoo?
It is really hard to describe the sound, but it is almost like techno music. It is sort of annoying at first but then as you listen it kind of puts you in a trance. That sounds really strange but to watch a video that will give you a better idea click here (disclaimer: the sound isn't working on this computer so I'm not sure if this is the best example, but it should give you an idea).

Thanks for the great questions Trevor!