Two Days Left to Go

Two days left, and I must say, I'm SO ready to be home.

Thursday - we MapQuested the dealership from which we bought our car... Started driving, got somewhat lost, but passed tons of other dealerships so we decided to continue on that road. We wanted to find a self-car wash but couldn't find one, so we stopped at a full service one. We sat in the little room waiting for our car to be finished and when we looked out the window, noticed our car was out and there were people under the hood... Well, since we hadn't ordered any cleaning under the bonnet, we decided to go out and see if there was a problem... Actually, there was a problem. The car we drove in about 20 minutes ago now wouldn't start... The manager explained that this was common with this model of VW and we just had to wait for it to dry out... Three hours - and a couple mugs of free cappuccino - later, they changed the broken coil (free of charge to us), we paid $45 for the wash (the wax and detail were free), and we were on our way with our very shiny car. The dealer across the street came over and offered us $1,500 for it, but since that was the first offer, we decided to get a second opinion... After driving around for 3 more hours and seeing every dealership close before our eyes, we were regretting our decision to look further... We were feeling doomed for the day and decided to drive back to the hostel... We saw one dealership that was open, accidentally passed it, spent 15 minutes trying to turn around, got lost, and saw another dealership that was about to close... We decided to check with the guy anyway - just in case... After a look behind the wheel, in the boot, and under the bonnet... He said he'd give us $1100 for it... Brandon, being the stud he is, got him up to $1,500. We signed the paperwork and skipped happily down the street toward the train station...

Friday was dreary... It rained all day and we sat in the hostel and watched movies. We went out a few times in search of food. We ate sausage rolls and boxtys for brekky and then Thai food for a late lunch. We skipped dinner. I read my new Paulo Cohelo book and we went to bed early.

Yesterday was also dreary... We are lucky enough to witness the hardest spring rains in over a century. Yay... Same drill as Friday, but we decided to go out last night. We bought a couple of jugs of Carlton Draught ($32) and copped our first buzz in weeks. Yay.

We woke up this morning, hungover in our room that smells like mould and stinky feet... Walked outside and it was SUNNY! The sunshine made everything much better for me. We walked down the street farther than usual and went to the cafe from which B bought some coffee the first time we were here. I had remembered the good looking breakfast and wanted to go back for a try... There were no open tables when we got there, so we sat with a couple of ladies at a table outside and ordered our breakfast... I ordered the big breakfast, complete with sausage, bacon (which is like our ham), roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, fried cheese, fried eggs, and toast. B got a salmon omelet, and we both got cappuccinos. It was completely worth the $40 we paid for it all. That was the best brekky I've had in a long time.

Again, I'll say it... One more day left after today, and I AM READY TO BE HOOOOME! ...

We made it!

After a day of driving to Sydney and a full morning of being lost just outside of Sydney with seemingly no way in... We asked a guy in the car next to us for directions and we finally made it!

We have checked into our hostel - Billabong Gardens - in Newtown and cleaned out our car - Sir Alfred Blue. Tomorrow, we're going to wash it and try to sell it back to the dealership from which we bought it. Wish us luck...

... I guess that's really all I have to say for now; I just wanted to take advantage of the FREE Internet! WOOHOO

Gold, Jerry.

We finally made it to paradise! Surfer's Paradise that is! It's warm and sunny and on the Gold Coast. YAY! Last night we went to a club called The Bedroom. It is a place where hot, scantily clad women abound. The music is bumpin and the strobe lights are aplenty. We got in free with our hostel and the first drink was on the house. This is the first time we've been out in several weeks and it was very entertaining. We also have a six-share dorm room to ourselves last night. Things are looking up. :)

Yesterday, we did a bus tour of Brisbane. Such an awesome city! It's built on the Brisbane River and is so modern and clean. We got off the hop-on, hop-off bus at the Botanic Garden just in time to catch a free, hour tour by a volunteer. We were lucky enough to have two volunteers and only three tourists (including me and B). We saw the tropical rainforest, the bonsai gardens, the Japanese Gardens, the fern area, and the herb garden. We saw plants, trees, lizards, flowers. We tasted bright, pink honey suckle flowers, smelled a unique variety of magnolia tree, and tasted herbs. It's so much more fun to be lead around by someone who knows what they're talking about - especially when it's FREE! Yay! We also went to the beautiful state library! A very modern building with open balconies on all four floors that look out onto the ground. (It's hard to explain, but just trust me that it's really cool.) Included in the bus tour was access to the CityCat - the water bus that goes all up and down the river. Very, very cool! We got on around 5:00 and rode up to the mouth of the river. There were huge, expensive houses and tall, glass buildings all along both sides. We stood out on the bow and breathed in the cool air and took some great pix. By the time the boat turned around, it was starting to get dusky, so as we came back to the city, the sky was dark and the buildings and bridges were brightly lit up. Amazing!

The day before that was all driving... but I did buy some material and have been hand sewing a purse. It's purple and brown and stripy. I like it... The reason we were driving all day was because we went to the Carnarvon National Park area. We took a long side trip to hike the trail, but when we got there, it rained on us all night and the trail was too muddy, and the weather too cold to be an enjoyable trip... So we drove to the middle of no where and camped for $34 for pretty much nothing...

The day before that, we CAMPED UNDER A BRIDGE in Emerald, Australia... Yes folks, a new height to our travels... We are officially very homeless. :) After we woke up from the dogs "next door" barking... we drove out to Sapphire and did some fossicking (digging for precious stones)... The bloke at the shop was, in our minds, the perfect mold of an Aussie - really friendly, wearing a big hat, short shorts, hiking boots and a collared shirt. He was an older, less commercial version of Steve Irwin. I really wish I had of taken a picture of him! After looking aimlessly for about an hour, the dude showed us how it was done. He came out and got on all fours and found a little zircon in about 30 seconds. After that, we had a better idea of what we were looking for, so we found several minuscule zircons and one tiny sapphire. Score!

Birds

Birds. Birds. BIRDS!

Imagine it. 6 a.m. Birds! All I hear is BIRDS! Squacking. Chirpity Chirping. Bleeting. Whiperwhilling. Tweeting. Twittering. Chattering. Thousands of them. Ringing in my ears. Can't sleep. I just want to SLEEEP! It's 6 a.m. for God's sake! QUIT SQUACKING! ... A momentary lul. Then they begin again. Louder this time! Larakeets. Gulls. Curlews. Brahmney Kites. Boobie Birds. Albatross. Pipers. Honey Eaters. Wedgetailed Eagles. Turnes. Cockatoos. Loud. soft. fast. slow. ALL-AT-THE-SAME-TIME! AHHHHH!!! WHY!??

We experienced our best Australian drive yet! The road from Cairns to the Daintree Forest was amazing! We curved along the ocean the whole way to the Daintree. There, we arrived just in time for a croc tour! YAY. We got a small electric boat, which we were assured would get us very close to the edge of the water - and to the crocodiles that may be lurking there... or sunbathing as it were. The boat was small - there was room for me and B, a family of four, two dudes from southern Australia and our Dundee-hat-wearing guide. We putted up the very calm waters, straight to our first croc... The guide knew exactly where it was from the last tour he took out... So he pulled right up, really closely in my opinion... eek! Would he come and snatch one of the little ones out and eat her up right before our eyes? ... It turnes out that that would be entirely too much effort. The six-foot lizard just layed there on the shore, bathing in the sun. He lazily opened his eyes once or twice to see what was disturbing his peace... We sat there for several minutes and snapped pictures while the guide told us some facts about crocs and about the Daintree... Apparently, crocs don't eat as much as the Discovery Channel would have us believe. They are satisfied with about a chicken a week, and they can go six months to a year without eating anything at all... Pretty crazy. Also, crocs haven't changed at all in the 140 million years the Daintree (also unchanged) has been there. They are perfect and need no evolutionary tweaks... So on we went in the other direction... the rainforest and Dividing Range (mountains) all around us. Beautiful. We saw a tiny, baby croc, which was no longer than the palm of your hand. He was sitting on a small branch, just over the river, also sun bathing. It was surprising how small those things are when they are born! He was, according to the guide, six months old. ... cool! Other life we saw, included lizards, snakes, birds, flowers, trees, etc. ... Cool.

We got back to the shore, said our goodbyes, ate some lunch, and listened to all the fun things we could do in the area. We decided to drive to the Daintree National Forest area, which is only accessible by ferry. It was very smooth "sailing" across the river, and we drove up the coast, through the very thick rainforest to our first lookout. From there, you could see the ocean, several small islands, and Cape Tribulation (our ultimate destination). Twas very beautiful, and foggy - perfect for a rainforest, we thought. We continued to drive along the small winding roads, with trees along both sides and arching over the top of the road. We saw clear, rocky creeks running under the road at several places. It was very magical, with all the fog and drizzel. We made it up to Cape Trib and walked around, took lots of pics and then found a camp site. We set up and then had dinner - pizza and a jug (a little smaller than a pitcher) of beer - at the cafe by the campsite. Twas our first jug here. It was nice to spoil ourselves a bit. It rained all night long, but our tent is a good one so we stayed dry.

We woke up early and started back down south, to Cairns. There, we stayed in the same hostel as before, ate at the same "free" restaurant. I had sea bass and B had chicken parm - all for $10. The next morning, we showered and checked out (showers are so wonderful and sometimes rare, so I have to point them out... LOL)... We were lucky, as the Cairns festival was going on this weekend. We saw two sets of Aboriginal dancers, lots of Aboriginal artwork, and ate some good, Aussie food - Kangaroo burger with tomato paste - it was soooo good! Yay!! After our wonderful day of good food and culture, we continued our drive south. We bought some oil for our car - for $13 dollars!! And stayed the night at a rest stop just past Townsville.

Yesterday, we came back to Airlie Beach - which has been our favorite place. It's a small town, with one main road, and beautiful ocean along the whole stretch. We have purchased several good books from a little used book store, with prices that are even more expensive than new ones would be in the states - APPRECIATE where you live, seriously! The books have kept us from going crazy, and spending all of our money! It's a little overcast and muggy today, but it is beautiful, and the breeze is cool. Yay for Airlie!! Today is a good one.

:)

We finally made it to Cairns! WOOT.

Yesterday morning, we got up at 7:30, packed our bags and walked down to the bus station for our daylong adventure. We were taken to the marina by the most beautiful aqua water I have ever seen. We - along with the other 33 passengers - were given a safety briefing and then led to our boat - the "Big Fury" - by a long haired 20-something Aussie named Cam. We had an hour-long boat ride out to the snorkeling bay where we were fitted with masks and fins (not to be confused with "flippers," which are dolphins :) ...), and then we jumped into the beautiful AND FREEZING water. We swam away from the boat and to the reef to see the brightly colored coral and fish. There were all shapes and sizes of both - green, yellow, purple, red, black. We saw a really huge clam, which didn't look like a clam at all. It was grown into the reef and was about the size of a basketball. If I hadn't been told it was a clam, I would have thought it was some kind of alien being. :) Very cool! After an hour, we swam back to the boat and had a cruise around the islands. After another hour, we hit the beautiful white sands of Whitehaven Beach. Apparently, before it was declared a state park, they dug up several tons of it to make the Hubble Telescope... We jumped out and played around in the water for a few minutes before being called to lunch of sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, prawns, fruits, etc. It was good and we were hungry! After a little more play, we headed back to Airlie Beach. We walked along the ocean back to our car, then we snuck a shower at the hostel we had already checked out of and hit the road. It was dark by the time we set out, but we drove and drove and listened to our iPod thru the tinny car speakers. Around 10:30, we found a rest stop that clearly said no camping allowed, and pitched our tent between some camper vans, very near other tents that were illegally set up. (We're so rebellious...)

This morning, we woke up bright and early and got back on the road. We arrived at Cairns around 1:30 and found a hostel near the ocean. It is much warmer in Cairns, as everyone said it would be. YAY! So we walked up the street to the lagoona and had a brisk swim, then laid out in the warm sun for about an hour. ahhhhh... After that, we walked around to the many tourist shops and wasted some time until the Woolshed opened at 5:00. The hostel we're staying at offers a free meal here - or you can upgrade to the regular menu for a few dollars more. We totally upgraded! B had a steak dinner and I had a Thai green curry and chocolate cake. YUM YUM! After dinner, we chilled on the couches in the very hip restaurant and watched music videos. Twas good! I've been longing for a couch and a good movie. Couch and music videos was almost just as good!

So now we're back at the hostel doing internet schtuff. We check out by 9:30 in la manana and are heading to the Daintree National Forest. Hopefully there, we won't want to spend so much money! I'm excited to check it out. We're in the wet tropics now, so the scenery is a little different from the scrub brush and eucalyptus trees we've gotten used to. We're also gonna go on a croc tour. Cross your fingers that we don't get eaten. :)

Miss ya!
A

How Ya Goin?

Sooo... We're coming home early... We couldn't get work visas and are running outta money fast, so we've decided to get the hell outta Oz... We'll be flying back on Tuesday, Sept. 7th. ... This is a good thing. :)

The past few days have been spent at Airlie Beach. It's not entirely warm, so we haven't been in the water at all. We've basically been walking around, eating, and playing on the internet... Not a whole lot to do when you're broke. And the Pokies (beers) are never under $5 each, so nighlife is sorta out too. We did buy some Goon, however, which is fake wine. It's pretty nasty, but it does the trick. All of the alcohol here is really expensive, even in the liquor stores, due to high taxes. The cheapest bottle of liquor you can buy is a small $20 bottle of no-name vodka. Rum is $35 and up, a case of beer is $45... Ouch...

Tomorrow shall be fun tho! We're going to go sailing, snorkling the Great Barrier Reef, and then to an awesome tropial paradise called Whitehaven Beach. Can't WAIT!

So a few random things about Oz...

A shopping cart is a Trolley. A baby stroller is a Pram. A small glass of beer is a Pokie. Layaway is called lay by. They say "cheers" a lot. It can mean thank you, or hello or goodbye. They also say, "How ya Goin" instead of what's up or how are you. Sunglasses are called sunnies. Breakfast is known as brekkie. The pharmacy is the chemist. You don't rent anything, you hire it. A car collision place is called "smash repair." Cars are really different here. New cars with pickup beds on the back of them are really popular. All of the road kill is kangaroo... They can really f up your car. There are signs for them everywhere, as well as for koalas and sheep. The town of Mackay is pronounced mack-eye. The town of Cairns is pronounced Caines (no r). They say mate a lot. The people are very friendly. It gets dark early ... 'cause it's WINTER. We're living in the future. It's 12:45 p.m. on Sunday here, and it's only 9:45 on Saturday night there. We're also walking around upside down. We're on the other side of the world, people!!!

xo
A

Walking Greatly

On the 8th, we started out early... First we went to the Parks Dept to get our camping passes for the 30k Whitsunday Great Walk. Then, we went by the grocery store and picked up our food for the next three days. We drove out to the Whitsunday trail head at Brandy Creek and parked our car. We spent the next 30 minutes clearing out all of the unnecessary items out of our packs. After all was clear, we put on our fully packed (with food, water, tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, clothes, etc) bags for the first time... Yeoza! They were HEAVY. So crap, I have to carry this for 3 days up mountains?! ... No whining ... So, on we go up the rocky path toward our 1st night's camp site called Repulse Creek. The walk was pretty easy. We stopped a few times to take our packs off and rest. We cleared the first 8.3k's in around 4 hours. We arrived at the rainforest camp site, ate spaghetti and set up camp. We took a bunch of pictures of the giant, white tree we were camping by and decided it was the protector of the jungle. :)

Day two - we packed up our schtuff and filled (+ filtered) our water bottles and off we went... Up, up, up, up, up the many mountains to our next camp. We were pretty surprised to find out how freaking steep the trails were. We were definitely trudging up, and in some parts down, in pain. This jaunt was 11.5k's and took us about 6 hours. (Pretty sure I've never walked that far, or for that long, at once in my entire life.) We stopped along the path to eat some premixed tuna sandwiches. We were passed by a dude who was running the whole 3-day trail in one day. CRAZY! Other than him, we didn't see anyone else on the trail or in the camps for the entire 3 days. We finally arrived at the Bloodwood Camp around 4:00, set up camp, ate, and soon got in our (new and much larger!) tent, as there was no seating or tables for us to chill at. Soon after we got in, it started pouring rain. It didn't stop pouring all night long - and I can attest to this because I was up all night with a stuffy, runny nose... B gave me his sickness. BOO!

We woke up around 6a and packed up camp ... in the rain ... and we took the next 8.5k's at the highest speed possible. Our packs were slightly lighter since we had less food and water, so that definitely helped. The pathway was really muddy, so we were slipping all over the place. I was getting lightheaded every time my heart rate went up and I had to breath thru my mouth 'cause my nose was plugged. Did I mention it was still raining?... gur! After about 3.5 hours, we made it out to the other side, at Airlie Beach. We walked down the street of the brand new housing development that the trail led into... I felt like a homeless person, as I was all muddy from the trail, and hadn't had a shower for 3 days AGAIN! yuck... On we walked to the hostel we had stayed at before, checked in and paid a taxi $40 to take us back to our car at the trail head. We drove back and immediately jumped in the shower. Yay! After getting gloriously clean, we walked around in search of some food. A lot of the restaurants were closed as it was around 4:00 and it wasn't quite dinner time. The ones that weren't closed were around $25 bucks a plate. Finally, one of the restaurants owners who was closing down for the day directed us to a fish and chips place just off the main strip. Neptune's was fantastic! Best food I've had yet in Australia! Their fish and chips plate was $10, and the outside seating offered a perfect ocean view. The coke was still $4 for a small bottle, but we bought one anyway. There are just some things worth spending extra money on... After dinner, we walked around a bit, got the free wifi from McDonald's, bought a bottle of (really nasty) wine for $6 and went back to our room. We had a lot of fun last night, staying up til the wee hours of the morning, talking to all of our English roommates and their friends - we're now staying in a 8 bed dorm room.

Today, I woke up early and slipped out to have a breakfast of banana nut bread and a fresh fruit smoothie and have some quality Internet time.

We're still trying to decide if we're going to stay the entire 3 months and try to get jobs here, or if we will just do the rest of the things we want to do here and fly home. I'm on the side of getting jobs at the moment, but it tends to change for both of us daily...

Peace and love ya'll. :)

A long en

Sydney, August 2nd... We started out on the morning in search of a car. We decided to go to Liverpool, an hour train ride from Sydney. We ended up buying a car at the 1st place we looked, after walking around all day, talking to every car dealership in Liverpool and the next town over. The test drive was an entertaining experience: B was driving a standard with the shifter on the opposite side of the car, while driving on the left side of the road - everything was backward! There was a ton of traffic, we didn't know the area well, and it was at night! So he was focusing on shifting backward while I was trying to tell him what lane to be in and which way to turn to get back to the dealership. It was pure adrenalin rush insanity! So what else to do, but buy the car? Ha! We made and offer and asked if the accepted credit card. We thought, if we could put it on my Discover Card, we could just pay it off when we sell the car back in three months. Well, they ended up not taking Discover, so we had to pay from our bank acct. The only way to do so was to use the check card, as it was a bank holiday and we wanted to get out of Sydney ASAP (it's expensive!). $3,350A later, we had to run B's card 3 separate times and my card once because it wouldn't accept a transaction over $1,000... So we got the car, and then had no idea where we were going. First we had to get gas. We got turned around 3 times and B kept driving in the Right lane... OOPS! We finally got back to the hotel to pick up our backpacks and headed out of town - without a map! The first night, we drove til we had to sleep and pitched a tent at one of the many side-of-the-road rest stops available to us. It rained all night long and B about froze to death because he didn't get the warm inner liner for his sleeping bag... Blah!

The next day, we woke up at our regular 5:30a and continued our drive north toward Cairnes (pronounced Cains by the Aussies). The beginning of the day was fabulous! We went to Seal Rocks and Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse. The views were BREATHTAKING! I can't wait to post pics! There was a 260 degree view of the bright green ocean, tons of rock cliffs, etc. It was really, really windy, but sooo beautiful! I said if I don't see anything else the whole time we're here, the trip was worth it just to see that! ... Guess I shouldn't have said that... as soon after, we started freaking out about money. We spent half of ours on the car, so now we had to decide how we could get by the other half - $3,000 total - over the next 3 months. Everything in Australia is SO expensive. We spent 20 bucks on a pack of cigarettes and a coke a few days back... Which was another fun adventure... B going off the cigs cold turkey... we won't go into that or much else over the next couple of days... Basically, days were spent driving without much stopping and eating our grocery store meals in the car. At night, we were cold and miserable, it rained the whole time and we were sleeping in a one-man tent that was too short for Brandon. It was pretty bleak overall...

August 5th, things started looking up. We stopped at one of the many road side information centers available to us. The attendant suggested that we check out Wreck Rock in Deep Water National Park. So on we went. We stopped at a gas station on the way to book our camp spot. Further down the road, we stopped at a local shop and bought a sea fishing pole, in hopes of catching our dinner. The rest of the way there was mostly dirt road. Toward the beginning of the drive in the park, we came across an awesome lagoon, where we were sure a croc would come out and eat us at any moment. :) Soon, we arrived at the camp site and set up camp. I took a nap cause I was gettin cranky and when I woke up, we cooked our second camp meal - boiled carrots and potatoes and fried lamb chops (that I bought at the gas station in the way in). It was actually really good. (For some reason I'm always surprised to get a good meal at camp.)

Next day, we got up and started exploring. We walked out to the beach and along the rocks. I took tons of pictures of the textures, bright colors, and little pools of life within them. Later on, we took a 3km walk thru the rain forest to the next camp over. We came out on that stretch of beach and decided to walk that path back to our place. I stopped at every mass of seashells on the way and picked up the small ones with holes in them so I could make a necklace. Back at camp, B made us some spaghetti and I made my necklace. We went to sleep soon after the sun set (at 6:00p)... There are no fires allowed in the parks, so there isn't much to do after it gets dark... not to mention that we didn't have coats or blankets to keep warm in the cold breeze.

August 7th, we got up early and got the heck out of there. (The area was very secluded, so we were ready for some interaction with other people!) Several hours down the road, we came to Mackay. We stopped and got a hostel and immediately got in the shower! We were totally ripe from three solid days in the wilderness without bathing! I think it may have been the best shower I have ever had. Yay! We got all dressed up and went out on the town - in search of food. We got Chinese takeout (cause it's cheaper than eating in) and took it back to our room. Then we started watching the movie Stripes - if you know what it is, you'll certainly make fun of us - on the first TV we'd seen in days... We got sucked in and ended up going to bed at 8:30, instead of joining the hoppin' bar party downstairs... We're so lame... LOL

Today - we got up and headed a few more hours down the road to Airlie Beach - the hopping off point to the Whitsundy Islands. We got a hip hostel with a bar, DJ, cafe, etc. Tomorrow, we're going to buy a bigger tent and then we're heading out on a 3 day hike/camp - the Whitsunday Great Walk to be exact. After that, we plan on staying in the area for a few days, so hopefully internet access won't be so hard to come by.

We miss all of our friends and fam, so drop us a line and let us know what you've been up to!!

XO
A

Australia Day One

I shall begin at the airport, where I just-so-happened to mention to the desk man that we were on honeymoon and he gave us eight free drink tickets for the airplane. Score! To be fair, I should mention that this was just after we realized we were supposed to apply for Visas to get into Australia and didn't do so prior to showing up at the airport... Thank goodness for B's mama's iPhone and the fact that the Vi
sas are electronic!

After two short plane rides and a third, offering 15 PAINFUL hours in a seat from LA to Sydney - 1/4 sleeping 3/4 being pissed off that we couldn't - we arrived in the Sydney Airport. Customs was a breeze and we caught a bus to the hotel, no problem! We arrived at the hotel around 10 a.m., but check-in wasn't until 3, so we walked around, went to some book stores (to find a travel book), and found a little piece of heaven called the Australian Square Food Court. There, we ate freshly made sushi rolls and Greek food, and drank fresh-squeezed strawberry-mango-orange juice. Yum! With full stomachs, we decided to find something to do. We found the Sydney Botanical Gardens where the entry sign read "Please walk on the grass, hug the trees, and talk to the birds." So we walked on the grass, took a bunch of pictures of birds and bats, and smelled the proverbial roses. Then went back to the hotel and promptly passed out cold for 13 hours... We woke up around 5 a.m. and could not possibly sleep any more.

So we flipped on the TV, watched CNN, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several other American programs before watching the sun rise over Sydney from our 22nd story hotel window. After about an hour of lounging, we decided to get out of our room. We went outside to find no hustle or bustle... It took only a second to realize it is Saturday and no one is working! With most of the area closed, we went out in search of breakfast. There was a take away place right by the hotel, but it was 10 bucks a plate - a little more than we were looking to spend (after realizing it's going to cost us hundreds of dollars to get out of Sydney in a couple days), so on we walked... Downtown Sydney looks like any other big city - tall buildings, street sweepers, lots of concrete... We were walking around aimlessly and finally saw a McDonald's... so we caved and spent almost the same amount there. LOL...


After breakfast, we walked around the Circular Quay - the walkway along the harbour that offers views of the Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Harbour Bridge, ferries, restaurants, shops, etc. We went to the opera house and bought standing room tickets for the 1 p.m. showing of the Marriage of Figaro for 42 bucks! We walked around a bit more and when it opened at 10, went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was free!

After the museum, a walk back to the hotel, and a quick lunch (more sushi and Thai food), we walked back over to the opera house. I sweet-talked the usher into letting us sit down, so we got standing room prices for actual seats, which would have been $105! Thank goodness we did, as we would have been standing for four hours straight! The opera was magnificent - funny, witty, beautiful - a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yay!!

After all that fun, we were looking for a good, cheap pub. We asked the hotel concierge where we could find one... He informed us that we were looking at $25 a plate for a plate of fish and chips - and beers would be expensive too. We couldn't really convey that we were poor, so we decided to walk somewhere else and ask a random stranger... After about 15 minutes of walking, we asked a bookstore worker, and she told us to go to Newtown. Finally, some direction! After a 15-minute subway ride, here we are - at the Basil Bistro inside the Sandringham Hotel - where we had a HUGE plate of fish and chips for $12 and a glass of beer for $5. The band just stopped playing, but they were AWESOME! Two dudes with slide guitars, playing old blues covers. Fantastico!

Now to get off of here and enjoy my brew!

Ciao

Our fairytale wedding has come and gone! I don't think I've ever been more tired in my entire life! The past three weeks have been INSANE! I haven't had time to sit down for one second! I whine, but it has all been so completely worth it! I'm soooo happy to be Andrea Inda! Now we can start on the Happily Ever After part!!

We're flying to Australia today! We finished packing and buying last-minute gear yesterday. Still have to go to Wally World to buy some eye masks for the 15 hour flight "down under." Plane leaves at 5:30 p.m. We'll fly from OKC to Salt Lake City then to LA and finally into Sydney! We arrive at like 6 a.m. their time and then we'll find our way to the hotel. EXCITING!! My mom used her flight miles to get us a suite in the 5 star Sydney Harbour Marriott, which just so happens to be in the glorious middle of everything cool! It offers panoramic views of the Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, shopping districts, etc., etc., etc.

It's almost here!! Now to finish loading my iPod... :)

It's About Time

It's about time I write a new blog, since it's been almost 2 months since the last! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote...

Brandon and I got engaged!! We drove to Denver and picked out the ring together. After a couple weeks of wear, we took it in and had a larger diamond placed in the center! It's very pretty and very princessy. Brandon picked it out and told me to try it on. We knew it was the one right when I placed it on my finger!

My mom gave me money from my grandma's will almost a year ago. I wanted to save it for something special that would last a long time and could be passed down to future generations. Finally it dawned on me that a ring would be the perfect thing. Yay!

Just before the engagement, I went to St. Louis to visit Jen for a week. Kyla flew out, too, and we had a marvelous time, filled with shopping in The Loop district - where I found the most amazing white, high-heeled cowgirl boots in the whole wide world!, a tour of the AMAZING Saint Louis Basilica,





the arch at night,







Greece at the Fox Theatre, with special performance by American Idol Winner Taylor Swift (LOL),








lots of good food and bars in the Central West End and a live African tribal performance at the St. Louis Museum of Art.



Kyla, Xander, Ben and I had a jam session in Xander's room. We were all singing silly songs and playing our toy instruments at an unreasonably high volume... 'Twas quite fun, really!



After playing like we were rock stars, we decided to take it to the next level and get our noses pierced! Here we are at the left with our body piercing guru. Yes, I know, we're hard core... ;)


... Jump ahead a few weeks, and... A couple days after B and I got engaged, I went to Houston to help my mom sell her house. As soon as she sells, she's moving from Houston, back to Owasso. :) We both got a lot done while I was there! I packed up a lot of her trinkets and unnecessary-at-this-moment items, and Craig came up to celebrate Valentine's Day and then drove the truck full of Mom's stuff back home to Owasso.

Many days, many tears of frustration *sniffle* and an Excel spreadsheet later, I finally booked our wedding venue! Tarp Chapel in Broken Arrow is the spot to be on July 24th, 2010! I am so relieved because they take care of everything: chapel, dressing areas for bride and groom, lots of photo ops, reception hall, complete with tables, chairs, tablecloths, and center pieces, food, non-alcoholic drinks, and the wedding essentials: mints, nuts and punch! This is the prettiest, most care-free venue I could find! It's just what I wanted!

B and I are so lucky to have so many good friends and family in wedding-friendly occupations. :) My amazing friend Helen is going to make the wedding cake. DJ Steve Cluck is going to be the reception mix-master. My Aunt Cindy is going to be our wedding coordinator, florist and officiant. B's friend Dustin will be our photog. Old co-worker and friend, TV's own Joe Cappa is doing the video. And last, but certainly not least, Tulsa entrepreneur, the talented Jonathan Justus will be doing the wedding party's hair!

My best friends Shannon, Jill and Sharon will be my Maids/Matrons of Honor! The rest of the wedding party to be announced at later date. :)

Now back to ME! My mom and I went dress shopping the day before I came back home to Breck. After looking through and trying on like a billion dresses, I found the perfect frou frou fairytale princess dress! The boutique that I found it in was beautiful and our sales gal (who helped me put on and lace up the dresses) was really sweet and not pushy!

I probably tried on about 30 dresses in all. Every time I came out of the dressing room (seriously every time!), Mom would say... "Oh Andrea. Oh Andrea... That's just so beautiful. You look so beautiful" ...


It's funny... I have never been much of a girly girl, but I had SO. MUCH. FUN. trying on those huge, heavy dresses!

... more to come!

Cheese and Chocolate!

Since about Tuesday, I've been hanging out with my roommate, Kara. She is saving me from myself, and from cabin fever. Thank goodness!

We've also been hanging out with her friend, James, who... went to CULINARY SCHOOL! ... Yes!





Friday night, he made mac and cheese with ham and broccoli. Now, this isn't boxed mac and cheese... OHH NO. The "cheese" was actually two different types of cheese melted into whipping cream and heavy cream with some butter... Add some blanched broc, ham, chili peppers and noodles, pair with ciabatta bread and Voila! Everyone agreed that it was the best mac and cheese they've ever had in their lives...


Tonight, James came over and suggested philly cheese steak... I think B is in heaven, cause cheese is SO his thing. Again, more cheese and more cream. Pretty sure I just gained 10 pounds. mmm

While the boys cut the veggies and meat and cooked them all together, Kara and I worked on the CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM SCRATCH!


If you've never made or had chocolate cake from scratch, I emplore you to buy a box of Hershey's semi-sweet cocoa and take the recipe from the back of the box... I promise you that you will make the richest, moistest, best-est chocolate cake you have ever eaten. (ever)

We are the Champions, My Friend - Ullrfest 2010

Founded in 1963, Ullr Fest is an annual week-long festival held by the town of Breckenridge. It "pays homage to the mythical Norse God of Snow, known as Ullr (pronounced Ooh-ler)."

Monday night, B and I went to the Ullr bonfire. It met at the Nordic Center at the Breck Golf Course. We get there and there are a TON of people EVERYWHERE... We were the youngest people there. I'd say the average age of these peeps was like 60... But, we made the best of it with their free appatizers and drinks - I had a hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps and B had a Crown and Coke. Then, I met up with Ullr himself (pictured to the right, lol).

After about 30 minutes, we walked from the Nordic Center for what seemed like FOREVER along a snow-covered trail with tiki torches on either side to the Ullr Bonfire. The bonfire was a little smaller than expected, but the ambiance was awesome. It was really cold outside, so the bonfire was a relief to whichever side of your body that was facing it. There were people, young and old, families and friends all standing around. There's something about bonfires that put my soul at peace.

I signed us all (myself, Brandon, roommate Kara, and Kara's friend James) up for the Ullympics. On Wednesday night, we left about five minutes before we had to be there, didn't know where we were going, got turned around, and finally used the "call a friend" feature and found our way to Carter Park about 10 minutes late - luckily everything in Breckenridge is close. We hurried inside to sign our waiver, promising that we would not to sue if a large cast iron object randomly struck us in the head...

We were the first team in the first event of the night, and I was the first person to throw the skillet... Ohh the pressure! Object of the game: slide the cast iron skillet to the center of the orange bulls-eye.

Team Avalanche threw our practice round: I accidentally threw two in a row, Kara broke a handle off hers, and after the boys went, we were ready for the real deal... Brandon is pictured to the right, mid-throw of his perfect bulls-eye. Altogether, we scored a high 30 points, which would prove to be the best throw of our heat, and the second best out of the 18 teams competing.

After we were done and watching the other teams, we sent Kara and James on a beer run. They got back before we moved to the next round! Score.

Next, we walked around the dog park to the tennis courts. Here, we competed in the team ski... Teams of four climb atop over-sized wooden skiis to cross country ski up and around and by the competing team. You can see the bottom of one of the skis in the photo to the left... Our team heaved and hoed and left and righted to a time of 1:30, barely stopping to push and heckle the other team in the middle. We beat the competitor by like 30 seconds and came out second overall in this competition.

After standing around drinking and watching for a few, we made our way to the third and final round. The most ridiculous of the games, this one required one person to spin five times around a ski poll then go rag doll while their teammates dressed them in a one-pieced snow suit, ski boots, googles, and lei. Then, they spin around the poll five more times and run across the snow field in their new gear, grab a bowl of flower, run back to their team and fish a piece of gum out with their mouth, chew it, and then spit it in their palm... Hilarious to watch! We only sat out for one round, and chose James to be our team member of honor... :) We prepped, worked out the strategy and in a couple seconds the whistle was blown! Turn, Turn, Turn, Turn, Turn, Ragdoll, pant legs up, ski boots on, WAIT the right foot won't go in! Suit up body and over arms, boot in, goggles on, lei placed, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, RUN! Get the bowl! There it is. Come BACK! Fish... Gag. "BEEERRRRR" Gag. Drink. Find Gum, Chew, DONE! Horray! Now can someone lead him to the bathroom before he pukes!

Finally done! We're all frozen, James can't see or breathe, so we go into the club house and wait for the results of the evening. We're buzzing around, laughing and talking, and finally the moment arrives! The scores are to be revealed. Third place goes to (drum roll) Bumble Bee Tuna! CHEERS. Second Place ...... Peak 11. This is the biggest Ullympics ever. Thank you sponsors blah blah blah and the winner is.........AVALANCHE!!!!! RAAHH RAHHH!! WHOO HOOOO!!!! Come get your four cases of beer, bottle of Ullr Schnapps and huge goody bag. We totally made Breckenridge history!

Gorge-ous

A couple days after Christmas, B and I went up to the Royal Gorge. You know? The huge hole in the ground in Canon City, Colorado. We bought a season pass - which just so happened to be cheaper than a day pass. Not sure how that works...

It took us a couple hours to get from Breck to the park. Once we got there, they almost didn't let us in without printed tickets because their internet was down and they had no way of checking our confirmation number... I didn't accept that possibility and they reluctantly let us pass anyway. ...

Once inside, we went straight to the incline railway and down to the bottom of the gorge. This one is the WORLD'S STEEPEST railway, at a 45 degree incline. It took about 5 minutes to get to the bottom and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the canon walls on both sides all the way down.

The Arkansas River rushes below the lookout, so we thought about jumping in and seeing how long it would take us to get back home to T-Town.

We took a quick pic and B's favorite sunglasses fell about 150 feet to the ground... :(

After mourning the loss, we rode back up to the top and made our way over to the Aerial Tramway. It is "1,100 feet above the canyon floor and is the world's longest single-span Aerial Tram." - They're all about the "world's largest and longest" at the Royal Gorge.

The ride to the other side was majestic. It took us about 15 minutes to get over there. Once there, some passengers got out to walk to the animal park, but we decided to drive instead.

We got back to the main part of the park and drove through the small "town" and over the "world's largest suspension bridge" to the other side of the gorge. Over there, we drove through the small animal park. We saw elk, American bison, and bighorn sheep. I felt bad that they had to be caged in, but they were busy eating and didn't seem to mind.

The bridge was cool. It hangs "1,053 feet above the Arkansas River and is the world's highest suspension bridge. A legendary feat of engineering renowned the world over, the bridge was built in 1929 for $350,000. The cost today would easily exceed $15 million."

Cool stuff. Definitely worth the trip to Canyon City. :0)