tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24558313193863413452024-03-04T22:40:10.501-08:00Skippy or BullwinkleAustralians trying to work out CanadaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-39759347309410989992016-05-10T21:42:00.000-07:002016-05-11T17:46:52.011-07:00The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBC141TcK89bj_uA0lHwtr74Wwlb29AAP-XOxEKZV-nDYnbfkpQsy_gquLV35CbxCtA5aGWSV2jovOVe6glZ3K8NZQk3mv6MROOiIMneX2cDtrR-YQYCmBMDZoG-fqJf72QN_bpA2SLHl/s1600/Jordan-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBC141TcK89bj_uA0lHwtr74Wwlb29AAP-XOxEKZV-nDYnbfkpQsy_gquLV35CbxCtA5aGWSV2jovOVe6glZ3K8NZQk3mv6MROOiIMneX2cDtrR-YQYCmBMDZoG-fqJf72QN_bpA2SLHl/s320/Jordan-2.jpg" width="213" /></a>I've been slack at blogging over the past year (and more honestly). While we've been kept busy by Harriet over the past year, blogging about mine or O'Hara's baby leave would have been dull. Unless you find Netflix and napping interesting.<br />
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Something fun did happen in April however. We went on a holiday to the UAE and Jordan. I'm feeling motivated to write about the Jordan trip, partially because it was really cool, and partially because I feel bad for the country's tourism being decimated by the current situations in the Middle East. Also I wanted to share more photos without just doing the humble brag on Facebook. This is the humble humble brag.<br />
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In answer to the question that we were asked before we left, Jordan is safe. While they have land borders with Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, they've managed to keep themselves fairly removed from the conflicts. Our tour guide gave two reasons for this, a) they have no oil (well apparently it's there but they choose not to use it) and b) they like their King.<br />
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We chose to do a 5 night guided tour, as no one was interested in braving the roads. We went through <a href="http://www.jordantours-travel.com/">Jordan Tours - Travel & Tourism</a> and the total cost ended up being just over $1,000 CAD each (in a 6 person group). This included all travel once we arrived in Jordan including airport pickup and drop off, visas, hotels, a full time guide, one dinner and breakfast at Wadi Rum and entrance fees to all the sites we visited. Our guide, Ahmad Atwah, was super knowledgeable and available to us 24h should we need him. We all thought the tour was amazing and felt like it was good value. While smoking is still allowed in hotel rooms so that made it a little gross, all the rooms were very clean and we were able to get a cot for Harriet to sleep in. We would recommend the the tour company if you were visiting Jordan 100%.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLhgwUuKcPTN0rezuUnerynqbrneFcR9Ri7HNJeFb_4yv687GMh0L0AVwDCAiocjQU8hLhqfddBhthi3bEUrQh-Gfzjk-g9K21XTzB3Nrt0veBC_QAmrWarkPwYk5VCNugiR9VpSbbDfK/s1600/Jordan-49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLhgwUuKcPTN0rezuUnerynqbrneFcR9Ri7HNJeFb_4yv687GMh0L0AVwDCAiocjQU8hLhqfddBhthi3bEUrQh-Gfzjk-g9K21XTzB3Nrt0veBC_QAmrWarkPwYk5VCNugiR9VpSbbDfK/s640/Jordan-49.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why wouldn't you visit here?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQK3FTBAOoXFJOeLgBQCS6SS_4y5HzlyL_Sww7bRajm6K7yjlOAX6gmuRra5OwM-bxbYCMGBHGqmyXUWeCKuYnate_0QXi0XQCn9g4Azo7UPTjRqrDwD11LUWTxNDVIFNe6IQfgMi5lYTW/s1600/Jordan-39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQK3FTBAOoXFJOeLgBQCS6SS_4y5HzlyL_Sww7bRajm6K7yjlOAX6gmuRra5OwM-bxbYCMGBHGqmyXUWeCKuYnate_0QXi0XQCn9g4Azo7UPTjRqrDwD11LUWTxNDVIFNe6IQfgMi5lYTW/s640/Jordan-39.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just sharing the space with a donkey</td></tr>
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We flew into Amman on the first night, and were whisked through customs with a guide who got our visas all sorted for us. The next morning we were picked up from the hotel and taken straight to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea shore is the lowest land point on earth, and because it's lower than sea level (over 400m below sea level) there's no drainage into the sea meaning salts accumulate. The salinity is over 34%, so the buoyancy is incredible. It was way more buoyant than you would expect, it's almost impossible to get your legs under as they just keep floating up. It also tastes worse than you would think. There are signs everywhere telling you to keep the water out of your mouth, but with 3 engineers in the group we weren't satisfied until we'd tasted it. It burns, and takes a good 15min for the bitterness to go away! It was <b><u>not</u></b> like eating a mouthful of salt. The Dead Sea was probably the highlight of the trip for me. It's hard to explain just how much you float, but I promise you'll be impressed. Harriet wasn't overly impressed with the Dead Sea, when she first went in she thought it was a giant bath and proceeded to splash herself in the face. She clearly didn't listen to Ahmad when he told us to keep it out of our eyes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKHz4hF3TttAIw9y32dF2-f1bZ2X1MLxehLIop586ZgWowG6hnFz5Z9AACG0f-GGIBvjUknIYKTBJMOKxkExi75C8LPNQqs5m8PD5zqfV2-pze7ftxxqAD7qYhI-Gtcn03ubWQOr3AJT8/s1600/Jordan-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKHz4hF3TttAIw9y32dF2-f1bZ2X1MLxehLIop586ZgWowG6hnFz5Z9AACG0f-GGIBvjUknIYKTBJMOKxkExi75C8LPNQqs5m8PD5zqfV2-pze7ftxxqAD7qYhI-Gtcn03ubWQOr3AJT8/s640/Jordan-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming and reading</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidapY1XuQvetbcQK-ZOxvSnedG_RGkfnh65tMcrtLDaLPC2I4YJCIWeECr0Iwc9kjWqSuICxHZ-fXAVkd0Vn4JrkrdPq2YCNLDGQLPyUCRGbAb4V6LYPQjPbrAt5rsHT8EbAY1Tin71L0c/s1600/Jordan-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidapY1XuQvetbcQK-ZOxvSnedG_RGkfnh65tMcrtLDaLPC2I4YJCIWeECr0Iwc9kjWqSuICxHZ-fXAVkd0Vn4JrkrdPq2YCNLDGQLPyUCRGbAb4V6LYPQjPbrAt5rsHT8EbAY1Tin71L0c/s640/Jordan-8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dead Sea spa at the source</td></tr>
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We then travelled up to Mt Nebo, which is a proposed location of where Moses died and was buried. It provides great views of the Holy Land and looks over many historically significant areas. We also visited Madaba, the City of Mosaics and saw what is thought to be one of the oldest maps in the world.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJQotw4j6100QH9tOTLhjHcyLSHsqV4TWVBYuIohEL_P-vWmOLr5kI3v2S4XRh3dAOa7LxduFwGMmRsjsCEDmwChHHVvUS7d9uZFFstVwvfYe4U8HNKFPrjV9Eefx2cgw0QjvcfMZgUsG/s1600/Jordan-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJQotw4j6100QH9tOTLhjHcyLSHsqV4TWVBYuIohEL_P-vWmOLr5kI3v2S4XRh3dAOa7LxduFwGMmRsjsCEDmwChHHVvUS7d9uZFFstVwvfYe4U8HNKFPrjV9Eefx2cgw0QjvcfMZgUsG/s640/Jordan-18.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt Nebo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xWRkrPyf80kOgpzwMyZUqWytUPqJmbqEKUhUeMoEHHDtQP-xfr5neimFF4E54ynvaZOGz2Ur9tEkEWtcNrZ27Ve10NvTOXqW6xqgrcOkbUnG-tFkBCqva9nVjcGzoQVi7qfVbKWeoOaX/s1600/Jordan-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xWRkrPyf80kOgpzwMyZUqWytUPqJmbqEKUhUeMoEHHDtQP-xfr5neimFF4E54ynvaZOGz2Ur9tEkEWtcNrZ27Ve10NvTOXqW6xqgrcOkbUnG-tFkBCqva9nVjcGzoQVi7qfVbKWeoOaX/s640/Jordan-22.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Iris - Jordan's National Flower</td></tr>
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Our second day was spent entirely in Petra, a city which is build directly into the rock. A historically significant moment was when Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed there!! *jokes*. It is here that you can really see how the conflicts have ruined the tourism industry in Jordan. You can visit one of the 7 Wonders of the World and be free of crowds. We were getting annoyed that single tourists wouldn't move out of our photos. Harriet met her first ever anti-fan, while we were waiting in the shade for everyone to come back from the monastery, some guy sitting behind us said "who brings a baby to Petra?". He was Australian, so obviously a dick. In response to his rude comments, anyone who wants to. Surprisingly people live there any have managed to raise children to adulthood.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQxRYNZSEOOxztpgjtoiigTdLVANCmotAd5gulK0ZatKl2LMjafvQVeD3kVFZI1fwyZpcb_zfeQSN8jQ5FCaFTnK5CzhXySybfnEMqgoC6FNxQpv0dU_lKaY_9353tg8LsZjx40oP3mkl/s400/Jordan-35.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="266" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spirit Fingers at the Treasury</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkmOuzBMYdUx4TajInhR993Pj6jl5wZ2N1Elp-E3eBu0hwYeKewtEuJLUYLsQZOYfq4Ef-Blnk4duRpxCAYVO_qn8v06FJ5cbyENWBBzXiwIaot3nL2zwe5wDyis7oZcAntAyoA6FYU8L/s1600/Jordan-37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkmOuzBMYdUx4TajInhR993Pj6jl5wZ2N1Elp-E3eBu0hwYeKewtEuJLUYLsQZOYfq4Ef-Blnk4duRpxCAYVO_qn8v06FJ5cbyENWBBzXiwIaot3nL2zwe5wDyis7oZcAntAyoA6FYU8L/s640/Jordan-37.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princess H</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQxRYNZSEOOxztpgjtoiigTdLVANCmotAd5gulK0ZatKl2LMjafvQVeD3kVFZI1fwyZpcb_zfeQSN8jQ5FCaFTnK5CzhXySybfnEMqgoC6FNxQpv0dU_lKaY_9353tg8LsZjx40oP3mkl/s1600/Jordan-35.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6zzWf6yGZrIIW7g53y9YzrFEq85vftghlk6IM8w9yhY2HHrIVO46bP-BIJAxii14fyo6bogLlFcFXb0MdAGDQqWCQ3Novye1Jt3Plr8qz-uqcdKTFMS1CAClp510iD6f3iY-ejM_NDSV/s1600/Jordan-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6zzWf6yGZrIIW7g53y9YzrFEq85vftghlk6IM8w9yhY2HHrIVO46bP-BIJAxii14fyo6bogLlFcFXb0MdAGDQqWCQ3Novye1Jt3Plr8qz-uqcdKTFMS1CAClp510iD6f3iY-ejM_NDSV/s640/Jordan-43.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squad</td></tr>
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It was cool when we left, as it was late in the afternoon and so the sun had changed positions on the Treasury. This meant that rather than a bright gold, it was rose coloured. Second highlight for me was the moment you walk through a ravine and see the Treasury for the first time. It truly takes your breath away. I had a similar feeling when I first saw the Colosseum, which really makes me want to check more of the 7 Wonders off my list.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipi1iYtV8e8-l-Yj0ybkXqgbpMlQAWbcfhQJlOkmnCDXhLFkubHaZw_Nux3-ZP5UpRKz7-QamSymTOs4X6vcKsyyDCQZAHcZGg4ZSS8fSl8NUMcBBY9MVlLgCagwIJiM2AvplMPhdQLhSf/s1600/Jordan-46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipi1iYtV8e8-l-Yj0ybkXqgbpMlQAWbcfhQJlOkmnCDXhLFkubHaZw_Nux3-ZP5UpRKz7-QamSymTOs4X6vcKsyyDCQZAHcZGg4ZSS8fSl8NUMcBBY9MVlLgCagwIJiM2AvplMPhdQLhSf/s640/Jordan-46.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We found Indy</td></tr>
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The third day we visited Little Petra, which is another site about 20 minutes from Petra. We were literally the only other people there, aside from a Redbull Formula One car which was obviously filming some sort of ad or promo material. It was amazing to us to be in such a location, with literally no other tourists around.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidALv0FTecJqofWdhjDYFi1xZ45Y836wYH8wgd22hnO3TkFoyq7ZqwsEP1jMG0SG1O-MPliwPrZnG46hMaZ8uRjgllA84CRfQAi3HQBVmgo6UTAB3pYP4CPxaj0fdLx63ykk2z720zcUFM/s1600/Jordan-67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidALv0FTecJqofWdhjDYFi1xZ45Y836wYH8wgd22hnO3TkFoyq7ZqwsEP1jMG0SG1O-MPliwPrZnG46hMaZ8uRjgllA84CRfQAi3HQBVmgo6UTAB3pYP4CPxaj0fdLx63ykk2z720zcUFM/s640/Jordan-67.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harriet has her people</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7w38Rv2zGFWpHrxJKBFXROE7Bedm64FCSSPRqr1Mboqn8wzskIPIJAAmgNvezlEeWat9ALbn9pwWOripupU32-vj5gg0hhhljYpN-FakybnCszEysHeM5KaDLgF5BAIgkyHCBGi4OCpW/s1600/Jordan-66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7w38Rv2zGFWpHrxJKBFXROE7Bedm64FCSSPRqr1Mboqn8wzskIPIJAAmgNvezlEeWat9ALbn9pwWOripupU32-vj5gg0hhhljYpN-FakybnCszEysHeM5KaDLgF5BAIgkyHCBGi4OCpW/s400/Jordan-66.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A local at Little Petra making yarn with camel hair</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From there we travelled further south to Wadi Rum, where we spent the night in a Bedouin Camp. This was technically "glamping" as our tents had double beds and bathrooms, and it was a<span style="font-family: inherit;"> beautiful night in the desert. We were cooked a traditional meal, which is similar to the <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525;">hāngi in NZ. The meats and vegetable are cooked in the ground surrounded by hot coals. It was obviously delicious! The next morning we were up at 5am to see the sun rise after a short camel ride. I'm still unsure about camel riding, and how kind it is, but these guys weren't whipped or beaten and they were generally left to roam free when they weren't being used. This was the only time on the trip where H didn't have her own cot, but we managed to get her to sleep boxed in with suitcases. I think by this point she could pretty much sleep anywhere.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9NQDQFuoH23E_iiwg7og6ZkbcmtxzBQgyRpU0BD3e7SQcB-bVG3M5bwmTgwR94vGxC4C94eyzgw0j-czEpknYbGm86TSX7P7NUqYsGqW2LzxhOAlZVizOZYxZU5J6eVuLDjAiAIS7ARv/s1600/Jordan-76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9NQDQFuoH23E_iiwg7og6ZkbcmtxzBQgyRpU0BD3e7SQcB-bVG3M5bwmTgwR94vGxC4C94eyzgw0j-czEpknYbGm86TSX7P7NUqYsGqW2LzxhOAlZVizOZYxZU5J6eVuLDjAiAIS7ARv/s640/Jordan-76.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desert tea is the best tea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS7Hy6pWXOY6ySvaoQ9svzDlqSyigXgyNBVJQdo_6FXBm0NdhuOyAXDiIAb_W6QDpWLM2r0U2oiQWfeHdJIqs3WcrxVIUfWOSfA6QldDLMPwfThCZKB2tU8z3gV67DtVChpmcgRpzdoC8/s640/Jordan-72.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our tent on the inside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKYG9ZONzJhPZH1kjWe1rirPFweG8dwLTv4bhscb1fd7y7KgvYku1u9VTyqsglea3uw1rKPE9Kl_PMN0JHq0CrE6uTRZN-NuC5sQLZiZOZoUrTXe7JPk59ANz-Fzejwt1OQI18v6XZq8J/s1600/Jordan-84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKYG9ZONzJhPZH1kjWe1rirPFweG8dwLTv4bhscb1fd7y7KgvYku1u9VTyqsglea3uw1rKPE9Kl_PMN0JHq0CrE6uTRZN-NuC5sQLZiZOZoUrTXe7JPk59ANz-Fzejwt1OQI18v6XZq8J/s640/Jordan-84.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the moon rise with Lex in the desert</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaS1W1AaY8nF7aslPyw5pXs9F9vzIY2cDKzJ2xf9Nxw44eEYuXbbTnBWnb69OeH9xKXHO1UwWpACmpevnwt2cVNu3zBKiWSEEjybfwKTFBE1behDQTWLj1QYgYe6JIFeJMmEOdJKTnaP2/s640/Jordan-81.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the sunset in Wadi Rum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pn_z_CGj0b7xPlA-wfm8WDEJi_oAIOee3auTGAP-fXGy9hy_kCSvTAeIQXzYsQb7QdDhXYssRCfh5b6r6TE82F9e_5sViiVVMsT0QUabXV9aZXvoihY2BVhyjTOWcIOe-QHqAhv88lzT/s1600/Jordan-88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pn_z_CGj0b7xPlA-wfm8WDEJi_oAIOee3auTGAP-fXGy9hy_kCSvTAeIQXzYsQb7QdDhXYssRCfh5b6r6TE82F9e_5sViiVVMsT0QUabXV9aZXvoihY2BVhyjTOWcIOe-QHqAhv88lzT/s640/Jordan-88.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise camel ride</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;">After Wadi Rum we travelled to Aqaba, and had a quick snorkel in the Red Sea. We were told it's some of the best in the world and weren't disappointed. Another nice part of the lack of tourists, is the water was quite clean. You didn't come out with a layer of oil on your skin which was pleasant. While we were there, a group of school girls were also visiting. According to our guide they were from a small town in Jordan and had clearly not met tourists before. We were considered extremely interesting, likely partly because of our skin and partly our choice of swimwear. I told O'Hara to take some tips from the girls who stood in the change room staring at me get changed saying "I love you" over an over. They were all really sweet, and even with the significant language barrier, we kept them entertained. Harriet and I got to have a sing-a-long with around 8 girls while the rest were snorkeling, which was another highlights for us. After visiting some markets at Aqaba and stocking up on dates (obviously) we made the long drive back to Amman watching the sunset over Jerusalem where we spent the night before flying out the following morning.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWNibBq-t9pIWAgzLHEvzUxW5HAAtEIQNG_DuUViL3VsaL0o6t5P3I89pjuTMdCBOa-_Aj8XOj39ZzouqiCG4uRCSe-zfEiFGGn7IuRAEZQ_O2gzvmw7HT5uwmfA_66GrxIQNVqcJbiY8/s1600/Jordan-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWNibBq-t9pIWAgzLHEvzUxW5HAAtEIQNG_DuUViL3VsaL0o6t5P3I89pjuTMdCBOa-_Aj8XOj39ZzouqiCG4uRCSe-zfEiFGGn7IuRAEZQ_O2gzvmw7HT5uwmfA_66GrxIQNVqcJbiY8/s640/Jordan-100.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was after I said I was Australian. They went mental splashing me</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had a fabulous time, and would honestly recommend the country and the tour company. Travelling with Harriet was also ok. She was exhausted by the time we got back as she was forced to have her naps in the car (not her favourite) and we were often in bed late, but she managed with no ill effects. She also struggled a little with the food, as there </span></span></span><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">isn't a lot of vegetables. One day I think she only ate Hobnobs... but since being back she's been eating normally, so we didn't ruin her temperamental toddler pallet! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><i>Update from Alexis: </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"</i></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #1d2129;">I would like to make a slight amendment to your blog..."Travelling with Harriet was also ok"...ummm H is a legend!!! She rolled with the punches, she received an obscene about of attention from the locals (it was like she had her own paparazzi), we wer</span><span style="color: #1d2129;">e all deprived of vegetables and I think she complained the least about it, and given the broken nap times she cried less than I have while in the midst of studying for my exams. Also you and O'Hara are incredibly calm parents, so I would like to give you, O'Hara and H more credit than "it was ok"... it was AWESOME!"</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #1d2129;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">So Alexis is </span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">obviously amazing, and this is why H loves her so.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-27177041211878314512016-05-01T19:52:00.001-07:002016-05-01T19:52:50.541-07:00F is for Franchises and FloatingNow I'm not really sure if this is mostly just in Kamloops, but there seems to be an unnaturally large amount of franchise restaurants in Canada. Franchise restaurants are in no way limited to fast food outlets such as Maccas or KFC, there are some nice restaurants included as well.<br />
<br />
In Kamloops (a town of 100,000) we have, the Keg, Rick's Grill, Earl's, Milestones, Whitespot, Original Joe's, Boston Pizza, Shark Club, Moxie's, Brown's Social House, Cora's, Mike's Steakhouse Casual, and Kelly O'Bryan's. There are also many associated with hotels and I'm sure I'm not covering them all.<br />
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While I find it frustrating because it means there is less room for variety, there are some benefits to having common restaurants. It means you're able to go anywhere in Canada and eat out at a restaurant that you know is going to be the same. For families it's handy.<br />
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Floating is now one of my absolute favourite things to do. I've never done the Australian pilgrimage to Laos for the float there, and unfortunately I think I'm a little old for that one now. I've settled with doing it in a first world country, where the chances of being poisoned by whiskey are low, but being hit by a boat is slightly higher.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl-yjirieqMVxeaSC9tLH4scePRgd_FuioRmbk9-RW9KQLv2H3h8PXoryCnjUnnxB051y3BqIgcGtkUHDQubwUvRtR1g1hVtgAvVlK8QgI01C-sKlDUX-vHLkY0NE_SkkQMll3z3kB6iK/s1600/P1020697.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl-yjirieqMVxeaSC9tLH4scePRgd_FuioRmbk9-RW9KQLv2H3h8PXoryCnjUnnxB051y3BqIgcGtkUHDQubwUvRtR1g1hVtgAvVlK8QgI01C-sKlDUX-vHLkY0NE_SkkQMll3z3kB6iK/s320/P1020697.JPG" width="320" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-30712937727509142132015-08-11T20:32:00.001-07:002015-08-11T20:32:14.785-07:00A Different Kind of SeattleO'Hara turned 30 this year. Yep. The dirty thirties are upon us. It's terrifying. We decided we wanted to travel to Seattle to celebrate his birthday, but we entered visa limbo for a few months and weren't sure if we would make it back into the country if we left. You know how something like 96% of illegal aliens in Australia are Brits who over stay their visas? That was us for a while! We had applied for our visas though, so sort of had a bridging visa, but not. It was a weird few months. The best part was I was still being paid by the government for maternity leave.<br />
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Luckily, a week before his birthday we received our new visas, so our trip to Seattle was on. Alexis, Hal, Greg and Lil all decided to join us for our first adventure with baby. Harriet was 13 weeks old, had her Canadian passport, and was leaving her country for the first time. It took me 21 years to achieve the same feat. Clearly Canada to the US is different from leaving Australia, but can someone remind her of this when she's 16 and complaining I don't let her do anything?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfdcMnemuKYgluHDshFFgEf4NG9aBwMi6JKXWA5ywAIzQP4B47bd8S_i8glAsMrNlvxyUuavpae6h3YWonDFedN-Pt3avjdKuKCECEXGznYZihWDpOLThoobANAV0LxzQcOHYmsETLYAW/s1600/seattle15-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfdcMnemuKYgluHDshFFgEf4NG9aBwMi6JKXWA5ywAIzQP4B47bd8S_i8glAsMrNlvxyUuavpae6h3YWonDFedN-Pt3avjdKuKCECEXGznYZihWDpOLThoobANAV0LxzQcOHYmsETLYAW/s640/seattle15-1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First timers keeping it cool</td></tr>
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Harriet has never been a good car baby, but luckily for this trip she slept almost the whole way. Me sitting in the back entertaining her probably helped. Monte (the dog who always gets car sick) also joined us, so it was a real family holiday.<br />
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Our first night we revisited one of our favourite stops from our fist visit in 2012. The Seattle Crab Shack. Armed with a hammer, some bibs, and a delicious cocktail, we filled our self with crab. By the time we were done, Lex and Hal had arrived so we met them for a nightcap at the hotel bar. We were staying at the W, and it turns out their bar turns into a bit of a club at night... so Harriet also had her first clubbing experience. Pity she slept through it. Some guys in the lift told us the baby really bought the vibe down though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvsHdhEYuUEsm1EoruWA3fpixpQHy1NtcGMsmSV2qVHnWlSo51PBmqNYRKzgBmD0umMYN9eiQpQ5UckV0Q259fZUfbgNYOBplG1jOu-jkzelxBOIE8LaFThZWaFY4aIED5hwEwnvpBWKN/s1600/seattle15-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvsHdhEYuUEsm1EoruWA3fpixpQHy1NtcGMsmSV2qVHnWlSo51PBmqNYRKzgBmD0umMYN9eiQpQ5UckV0Q259fZUfbgNYOBplG1jOu-jkzelxBOIE8LaFThZWaFY4aIED5hwEwnvpBWKN/s640/seattle15-2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harriet is clearly enjoying her crab</td></tr>
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The next morning we did what many visitors in Seattle do, and took the dogs for a walk to find good coffee. We didn't do this on our first trip there, and it was a nice experience. Seattle coffee is a winner. Australian approved. For O'Hara's birthday lunch we went to an amazing French restaurant that kept us full until a night at Safeco field watching the Mariners beat the Athletics and eating garlic fries. It was a good game and Harriet maintained her legendary sleeping status by staying down pretty much the whole game. She gave me a few scowls every now and again when the crowd had a big cheer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3KcSVvEkC8sP9Nyxm96uc0uAIQ3wGb_z2_e1JYwWcNb7B6jKBTNKPgOwYKA3Ld0I3kojKwXwMA_P_h603nrAM6uvuQqqKOmjDz05tz2kKg0hhoGRVU52NVryMeTQvBF9zQ1DBHTkB2bz/s1600/seattle15-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3KcSVvEkC8sP9Nyxm96uc0uAIQ3wGb_z2_e1JYwWcNb7B6jKBTNKPgOwYKA3Ld0I3kojKwXwMA_P_h603nrAM6uvuQqqKOmjDz05tz2kKg0hhoGRVU52NVryMeTQvBF9zQ1DBHTkB2bz/s640/seattle15-3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee and baseball</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7IgAzBVGzwCMBcnM8k67e0GtA7huYxwAu6n_LHLHLrHVklhF90zskbUkmhb9cHYutH8hyEYrRamRaj8lYc9C-HSP8EznsY-8a5E4RHLghr19moFaE5mJszBpPcsmal-obVaSj3KRlI69/s1600/seattle15-4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7IgAzBVGzwCMBcnM8k67e0GtA7huYxwAu6n_LHLHLrHVklhF90zskbUkmhb9cHYutH8hyEYrRamRaj8lYc9C-HSP8EznsY-8a5E4RHLghr19moFaE5mJszBpPcsmal-obVaSj3KRlI69/s640/seattle15-4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Why are you keeping me awake dada??"</td></tr>
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Seattle is a really fun city, and it's nice that it isn't too far from Kamloops. We really should take advantage of the trip more often. Kudos to my legendary friends who hung out in the hotel room with me multiple times while the pump party was going on. Harriet appreciated the food, and I appreciated that I could drink... You know you have great friends when they don't mind keeping you company while you transfer your hotel room into a dairy. You also know I'm not a good friend, when someone steps in spew because you're yelling "WATCH OUT" and they're too busy trying to avoid cars to watch their feet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVi5u4VtVZAY7wACtFvrkdTQr_jnh3sUAYtdKL5_iLF49izXjMkVczrdl-4wna0gFK1_gpaavB2x9Qj-msqfIoGxSvZhGxQH3U9eIfVzrtmNFvqKajLbI3d2aXRQQrLHrO_sYOSwhQZVQa/s1600/seattle15-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVi5u4VtVZAY7wACtFvrkdTQr_jnh3sUAYtdKL5_iLF49izXjMkVczrdl-4wna0gFK1_gpaavB2x9Qj-msqfIoGxSvZhGxQH3U9eIfVzrtmNFvqKajLbI3d2aXRQQrLHrO_sYOSwhQZVQa/s640/seattle15-6.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family at Pike Place markets (too busy for a dog and pram...) and the Seattle Great Wheel</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-3395325521289212272015-07-20T03:24:00.000-07:002015-07-20T03:24:49.357-07:00Fourth of July in Portland, Oregon Things I would not recommend: travelling to one of the coolest cities for 4th of July, when 8 weeks pregnant. You will not be a good time. I have limited photos of the trip, as I was spending more time in bed that experiencing the city. A disappointment!<br />
<br />
Prior to conception we planned a trip to Portland, Oregon which was going to be amazing. 4 days of drinking beer, brew-cycle tours, eating seafood and tax free shopping. There was nothing that could go wrong, until little mini got involved. Now that I'm 33 (oooohhh written a while ago!) weeks pregnant, I feel great about the situation, but anyone who's been 8 weeks pregnant and suffered the wrath of "morning" sickness knows it turns you into a walking downer.<br />
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So my recollection of the holiday includes mostly lying in bed watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix, and trying to communicate to O'Hara that he needed to bring me home more food. Disaster.<br />
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Exciting things did happen though, I was just semi present for all of them. We did a Brew Cycle Tour for 4th of July, which basically consists of a 13 person bike that rides around the city trying out different pubs and breweries. We thought it would be appropriate to get dressed up in our finest 4th of July attire... but it turns out Portland is a little too cool for that. I think we looked great, but everyone else thought we were morons. There is a small chance they thought we were taking the piss. Which we weren't... 100%.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp6oTotUp-ELX9lGKh_KOUS3c0yxiUD8mJeMixmbGhBjxBIhRAjM1NonOSFoE8G_QFBBqMaY8AV9AGKpuAlBycmXol9gB74Wlw2ebcamOf2uCsGHgFn_4SSzZUUp0bu8o3ctlAsuXYjuG/s1600/portland1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp6oTotUp-ELX9lGKh_KOUS3c0yxiUD8mJeMixmbGhBjxBIhRAjM1NonOSFoE8G_QFBBqMaY8AV9AGKpuAlBycmXol9gB74Wlw2ebcamOf2uCsGHgFn_4SSzZUUp0bu8o3ctlAsuXYjuG/s640/portland1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying super hard to be fun here</td></tr>
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We ate at this food truck party place (a block that was dedicated to all food trucks) multiple times. Cheap and delicious food, where you can chill out and eat in the sun was a lot of fun. I know I at least ate a southern pulled pork roll and bratwurst at some stage.<br />
<br />
We went to a cool brewery, Cascade Brewing Barrel House, that did sour beer. Yep. I have a stash of that waiting for me in February (now drunk and delicious)! We also ate Vietnamese multiple times as this is something that is seriously lacking in Kamloops.<br />
<br />
There were adventures that I'm aware of but didn't partake in including, buying bulk fireworks and setting them off, the blow up balloon adventure, piano bar and plenty more pubs. In the end it was a good thing I wasn't involved in the fireworks purchases or burning, as I'm a total wet blanket about them. All I see is missing fingers. which makes me a bit of a buzz kill.<br />
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We're hoping to go back to Portland in 2015, so I can experience it for all the good times glory.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFBGiBCyCePYTw6aPJlcJ5fRicxG1sFw0MJWAJMkLj7FmpBCW843wQS8VWiSCiaHORxuHGd9ngQ3vPTOppOsb6PDXSVatNOCiDJfS7WFfBP66v3Ls1iNNXjijDn2Vvi2aUuuAB0d-IvpG/s1600/portland2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFBGiBCyCePYTw6aPJlcJ5fRicxG1sFw0MJWAJMkLj7FmpBCW843wQS8VWiSCiaHORxuHGd9ngQ3vPTOppOsb6PDXSVatNOCiDJfS7WFfBP66v3Ls1iNNXjijDn2Vvi2aUuuAB0d-IvpG/s640/portland2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewcycle Portland and Shotguns</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-68883139852066227042014-12-21T18:11:00.000-08:002014-12-23T00:24:02.699-08:00A Very Monster Christmas<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05NksoxZeARM-7pFkgcSGfY1QFoHKXg59eEzgWO7I7KpwajXhl_pAdCdfzaNmmygf_HicNHsxfEwWIKh4jyk3ZizXT3UKKzvAashuqtyJzumjjaRbAo2qyQiFD5HG0zgkkwErM5YR6-qa/s1600/P1080812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05NksoxZeARM-7pFkgcSGfY1QFoHKXg59eEzgWO7I7KpwajXhl_pAdCdfzaNmmygf_HicNHsxfEwWIKh4jyk3ZizXT3UKKzvAashuqtyJzumjjaRbAo2qyQiFD5HG0zgkkwErM5YR6-qa/s1600/P1080812.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having some snuggles on my Gilly blanket</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This year has been a big one. I was born, so obviously the world got a little better. Not sure how it was managing before I came along, but that's now in the past. My first three months were awesome. I had my brothers and sisters to play with whenever I wanted and the couch was free for the taking. Then something horrible happened, I got taken to this place called "The O'Hara's".<br />
<br />
After the first shock of being taken away from my family, life slowly got better. I made a new friend called Gilly, who I think is my new big sister. She was cautious like me while I was still nervous going to a new place. I got so nervous in the car I got sick twice. They seemed to stop the car whenever I got sick, so this is probably how I'll get out from now on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83Pd9nP_59m1ONOH0UA89H-vfzhoYgRcm7MKfWZusaSFR3GsPwAIlChYXUui2X7dy02YfnlOTGh7xIzzMMv8UUR9rLGYXeDpEEeflawL_R8ZoGR8dA422GLzvpS76lHzDVamp5WDmEoLG/s1600/IMG_6025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83Pd9nP_59m1ONOH0UA89H-vfzhoYgRcm7MKfWZusaSFR3GsPwAIlChYXUui2X7dy02YfnlOTGh7xIzzMMv8UUR9rLGYXeDpEEeflawL_R8ZoGR8dA422GLzvpS76lHzDVamp5WDmEoLG/s1600/IMG_6025.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing my bed with Gilly</td></tr>
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<br />
I've made lots of new friends this year, London is my Goldie friend who keeps telling me she wants me to be on the "A-Team". I don't know what this means, but she plays rough and loves tug. I just lick her butt when I want her to calm down. Freya is my puppy friend who's only 2 months younger than me. She was small when I first met her, but something has changed. She seems to be growing faster than me. Luckily I'm the fastest. I also have my little friend Finny. I loves him. He's small. I find other Yorkies at that park and harass them like I would Finny. They like it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBuSs-UUkl_h3Bu7QciHLxh8I24IwtjeqnyjZV60uhtfMB0jSrgWcHiCMKEYRNGEPXIIeBNV0QMOkHh5CIcPwTrSEBeoZKgkL75-XV1oo6iCOJ_xyx3u_u4Yg2pfZOypHEB64EUtMhlD2/s1600/IMG_6235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBuSs-UUkl_h3Bu7QciHLxh8I24IwtjeqnyjZV60uhtfMB0jSrgWcHiCMKEYRNGEPXIIeBNV0QMOkHh5CIcPwTrSEBeoZKgkL75-XV1oo6iCOJ_xyx3u_u4Yg2pfZOypHEB64EUtMhlD2/s1600/IMG_6235.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is my favourite</td></tr>
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As As I'm a fancy pedigree, my breeder wants to put me in dog shows. I've done 2 shows now, and keep winning ribbons (by default - but shush), but I'd rather just play with all the funny dogs. Alexis also keeps calling me "Boo Boo" which is totally mean, but maybe it means I'll be famous one day. The best part? I get to keep my balls, which is great because licking them is my favourite activity.<br />
<br />
Sometimes when my housemates are at work, they drop me at a giant play pen called daycare. At first I was nervous, as I don't like it when they leave me. After 2 days though I made some new puppy friends, and I started to love going. Then something weird happened, they made me swim. I've tried to tell them I don't have the body design of a swimmer, and I'll never be the "Thorpedo" (whoever that is) but they are persisting. I've also been going to daycare with Gilly and Freya on the weekend, except my owners are there and we do tricks for treats. There are tunnels and jumps and all sorts of strange things that I do, but O'Hara doesn't. Fat arse. Gilly is a massive showoff, she wants my treats I think. I like when O'Hara tells me I'm a good boy, but I also like smelling things and trying to get Gilly and Freya to play with me.<br />
<br />
My favourite things in 2014 have been:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5ZzsMptNo6bJV9maBRL0AJxPiwq55AQ0sV_RjRR7QOSPGGsjoGVNk34n-teXAvhdZ_knrYPCLxcv-Qy3mOxsnBkp64pBXoy3ANzvbkYx8gwPzj0IbgnvpnTrLhqOopP72oZqsbJUy-lG/s1600/P1080821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5ZzsMptNo6bJV9maBRL0AJxPiwq55AQ0sV_RjRR7QOSPGGsjoGVNk34n-teXAvhdZ_knrYPCLxcv-Qy3mOxsnBkp64pBXoy3ANzvbkYx8gwPzj0IbgnvpnTrLhqOopP72oZqsbJUy-lG/s1600/P1080821.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merry Christmas!</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Playing with my boxer friend at daycare</li>
<li>Chasing small dogs that I confuse for rabbits</li>
<li>Going to Kenna Cartright park with my friends</li>
<li>Playing at the beach</li>
<li>Snuggling on my Gilly blanket</li>
<li>Annoying Gilly</li>
<li>Jumping on the couch</li>
<li>Stealing food that my slob housemates leave lying around</li>
</ul>
<div>
There was the dark time during the pink eye incident of 2014, which occurred after my housemates deserted me at a kennel over Thanksgiving. I made the most of the situation by sniffing a lot of new butts, but I might have gotten a little close as I ended up with a persistent eye infection. Huge mistake.<br />
<br />
My housemates keep talking about how I'm going to be a big brother in 2015. Not sure what this means, but I think it's a good thing. I'm hoping it means they are getting me a Yorkie!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Merry Christmas!!<br />
<br />
Love Monte<br />
a.k.a The Monster, Monte Boo Boo or "what sort of dog is that?"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCMiipouz5CPGaIRsOm4Ms6Fbn5_5CEiXqlle7XxAQlXQPpasW_d3uBl-lHneRBCun_RadU2Ntw2-mV63xdRfzWjKlk-zMP_DaZurML7WghUWuA-8LY5vt_hiG880hIm-crqrMNC6oRz3/s1600/Christmas+Dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCMiipouz5CPGaIRsOm4Ms6Fbn5_5CEiXqlle7XxAQlXQPpasW_d3uBl-lHneRBCun_RadU2Ntw2-mV63xdRfzWjKlk-zMP_DaZurML7WghUWuA-8LY5vt_hiG880hIm-crqrMNC6oRz3/s1600/Christmas+Dogs.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilly, Finny and Me being restrained by a stranger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-15850440722209953792014-10-21T19:10:00.002-07:002014-10-21T19:10:33.891-07:00An Italian Adventure for a Special BirthdayMy Aunty Ann had a very special birthday this year. She had originally planned to travel to Italy for her 50th birthday, but stupid cancer put a spanner in than plan. While I'm in no way glad she had to deal with that, I was glad we were in a position to join her when she decided to do the trip for a second time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B6FRGvae3m0kbxDP4N4A_iUGyO598ovBhsPFOfY-cBt6qH1qM-R1kzMONiQKA1eMnecbPkqDHrZqQWKsshZ4P3Bk4q6uWPMwX1k-ud7tUYAeoSb37d_vyZ0hfGGduBsjlqhCtWhgTDQ1/s1600/sestri+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B6FRGvae3m0kbxDP4N4A_iUGyO598ovBhsPFOfY-cBt6qH1qM-R1kzMONiQKA1eMnecbPkqDHrZqQWKsshZ4P3Bk4q6uWPMwX1k-ud7tUYAeoSb37d_vyZ0hfGGduBsjlqhCtWhgTDQ1/s1600/sestri+3.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sestri Levante</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
O'Hara was offered the opportunity to do his Project Management Professional course, so unfortunately had to make some changes to his itinerary last minute. This meant I was travelling by myself to meet my mum and Aunty in Sestri Levante, Italy. This trip was a family catch up by epic proportions. My mum and Aunty were obviously both there. My brother Callum came across, who I hadn't seen since leaving Australia the first time. My cousin Peta came for a few days, who we hadn't seen since visiting her in Europe in 2008. Clauds, who is a friend from college also was there, so this was a fantastic week that I got to spend with family and friends.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSEgMI8KCVW48OXX4F3YkUW1wPs7k7hB2M6CBKXXKF69z79GHf0DnHqIIeEfQJ1zqG0zrTPr3eexui4Ph4_zgVMqnWljaesyfdVTmmB0N3cBlnwojx8y-tCFy0OQwdcNuPRFHkjmZ6nb1/s1600/sestri1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSEgMI8KCVW48OXX4F3YkUW1wPs7k7hB2M6CBKXXKF69z79GHf0DnHqIIeEfQJ1zqG0zrTPr3eexui4Ph4_zgVMqnWljaesyfdVTmmB0N3cBlnwojx8y-tCFy0OQwdcNuPRFHkjmZ6nb1/s1600/sestri1.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends and family enjoying some beautiful days</td></tr>
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Sestri Levante is a little village half way between Genoa and La Spezia on the Mediterranean Sea. This town is a tourist hot spot for Italians, and is slowly becoming more popular with the internationals. The day I arrived, it was the end of a long weekend and the place was buzzing. I failed a little at life when I first arrived, as I didn't have a working sim card and everything in Sestri closes between 12 and 3. I had to do some loitering outside a newsagent until they reopened so I could get a sim and text my mother. Obviously I have become completely useless without a phone, as I had no concept of pre-planning when and where to meet her. Once I was settled, I got down to important activities. Ordering cocktails and eating the free appetizers. This was easily the theme of my Italian adventure. Eating and drinking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDA7Q7WeQPv3BNY7Hst8BqBIVDcQ4BWTmCX6_HDXrG-3xtbIAEuRoCHJad4JPvwr-pFpBCg826f8CR-u_qK1sY_0BiyhlsoYIXuuqiblLw6XVnIus9KDKvYfuM-5iZ1Kvz4QNp6lOWwv88/s1600/sestri+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDA7Q7WeQPv3BNY7Hst8BqBIVDcQ4BWTmCX6_HDXrG-3xtbIAEuRoCHJad4JPvwr-pFpBCg826f8CR-u_qK1sY_0BiyhlsoYIXuuqiblLw6XVnIus9KDKvYfuM-5iZ1Kvz4QNp6lOWwv88/s1600/sestri+2.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our favourite things</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We spent some days wandering the streets of Sestri, checking the shops, finding the best spritz cocktails, and generally relaxing. We spent a morning in La Spezia, being toured around a local farmers market. An afternoon getting soaking wet in the Cinque Terre. An evening learning how to prepare delicious Italian food. We travelled to Santa Margherita Ligure, for more shopping and eating and then travelling to Portofino for the afternoon to see how the other half (0.1%) live and more of the above. Drink. Eat. Repeat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_Kvf2hEknmNYqdqFVaY0XXrq8kenWr1OA1p8dpW_mMZQyfW6lfAD2w8clR3T_vmkbXGcNKrUjloBb5D1CUR93BLThmzbLTImIkHyRUvzqxhDYsFdus74oxqLBTRC2RDKMd_Z1AdfFJu8/s1600/sestri6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_Kvf2hEknmNYqdqFVaY0XXrq8kenWr1OA1p8dpW_mMZQyfW6lfAD2w8clR3T_vmkbXGcNKrUjloBb5D1CUR93BLThmzbLTImIkHyRUvzqxhDYsFdus74oxqLBTRC2RDKMd_Z1AdfFJu8/s1600/sestri6.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinque Terra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHWhn1ngxC16n_yrUP89Zo2UDR5EtjEFbfsHOXThMoNT-KInUDpcBEGwTgZko0LfsEMJn2zxFqAeffFcGtCgDxKc3US7p_7jryKXSHuAZKuhLNpmIvqwZtzsUHeOihBbZ49rcmUbJpzDv/s1600/sestri5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHWhn1ngxC16n_yrUP89Zo2UDR5EtjEFbfsHOXThMoNT-KInUDpcBEGwTgZko0LfsEMJn2zxFqAeffFcGtCgDxKc3US7p_7jryKXSHuAZKuhLNpmIvqwZtzsUHeOihBbZ49rcmUbJpzDv/s1600/sestri5.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmers Markets at La Spezia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNGs_uoAu7XG649soqjW5-xDFrUyNiLuhp7_oHAZCVFIvYF8V81M6FKSkMyTh_Fg2Ubn9Prt5QRnVoKHPIbfYkIQS4fUWi0e2qW4Gvc8mWyAPMkHr6MIbKIinmLgNJmh2W8_aa7TqVmM4/s1600/sestri4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNGs_uoAu7XG649soqjW5-xDFrUyNiLuhp7_oHAZCVFIvYF8V81M6FKSkMyTh_Fg2Ubn9Prt5QRnVoKHPIbfYkIQS4fUWi0e2qW4Gvc8mWyAPMkHr6MIbKIinmLgNJmh2W8_aa7TqVmM4/s1600/sestri4.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure </td></tr>
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The fabulous trip was finished with a birthday lunch for Aunty Ann where we were able to celebrate with some lovely people in a beautiful part of the world. It would be impossible to plan a more perfect trip. Then I left my Fitbit on a table at a coffee shop on the last morning. Life fails for arrival and departure!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwlmXHEoChIATmqyo_oH3vbpYiXbnXvJmXujLuUaSNIBNyz_hROa1g7EFKcTkL_wT26DOYuzyc-vwRT0eDJDWm7HsG4jXhTd34Uq5UFTQTX15oMCp00rqOJO358FF1IQu1BTy0qhUIXDf/s1600/sestri7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwlmXHEoChIATmqyo_oH3vbpYiXbnXvJmXujLuUaSNIBNyz_hROa1g7EFKcTkL_wT26DOYuzyc-vwRT0eDJDWm7HsG4jXhTd34Uq5UFTQTX15oMCp00rqOJO358FF1IQu1BTy0qhUIXDf/s1600/sestri7.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The wonderful company we had after Aunty Ann's Birthday lunch</td></tr>
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I miss you all already.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-21418159297831865942014-10-14T20:34:00.002-07:002014-10-14T20:36:59.289-07:00A True Northern Adventure. Whitehorse, Yukon.So, I've been incredibly slack in the blog updates. I'm going to play the "busy" card which I HATE with a passion... but a lot has been going on since Easter. Trip to Europe, holiday in Portland, new puppy, new fun stuff going on at work, and I've been growing a fetus. Yep. Come February 2014, O'Hara and I will be joining the world of parenting. Terrifying! Anyway, let me take you back to April 2014. A whole 6 months ago.<br />
<br />
Anyone who has spent any time with us over the past two years have almost certainly heard us *me*, utter the phrase "I have got to see the Northern Lights while I'm here!". One afternoon I was casually complaining to my boss, that it was so expensive to travel north. He looked at me like I was a bit of a moron, and said "Not really. Air North flies out of Kelowna and it's pretty cheap". 5 minutes later, he'd sent me a link to the winter packages and a plan was born. A week later while chatting to our Aussie travelling contingent (Wilson's and Greg and Lil), dates were set and a week after that the flights were booked.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhEfSpEPf4DGlp-N_6O5QeYkT8SJR9vzJAziC3_Zz9CpWB8xtCTVfB5D5m1F3pJkC77JfW3GPCYw-AVPyU-dXEMwroTsq6bWY-GBoaQL1Ss9vZaph-M00kRgGqzRtpObo1xj0Xplb6IBK/s1600/yukon7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhEfSpEPf4DGlp-N_6O5QeYkT8SJR9vzJAziC3_Zz9CpWB8xtCTVfB5D5m1F3pJkC77JfW3GPCYw-AVPyU-dXEMwroTsq6bWY-GBoaQL1Ss9vZaph-M00kRgGqzRtpObo1xj0Xplb6IBK/s1600/yukon7.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hello Yukon!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It turns out there is plenty to do in the Yukon, and we didn't really get close to the other things we considered. Depending on the time of year, your activities can vary. I read reviews that Spring was a shitty time to visit the Yukon as winter activities are done and summer activities haven't started. I'm calling bullshit, though there is a chance we got super lucky. The weather was incredible, we saw the Northern Lights, the snow was gone from the road, it was light until 10:30 at night, and my body was loving the extra sun.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtuz0QGyPZtTLKyzLT7BmZjeuIN1g87qozqqu4PLadVcnvkX5yOS4u1nbBe_hS5eton9RPfM37AWB11LUmXrljNr5DUrJzWK2hKkEIYmUAFpEU0DZnb8c26ml5A9kUfKEwAUr5z10Y7l5/s1600/yukon4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtuz0QGyPZtTLKyzLT7BmZjeuIN1g87qozqqu4PLadVcnvkX5yOS4u1nbBe_hS5eton9RPfM37AWB11LUmXrljNr5DUrJzWK2hKkEIYmUAFpEU0DZnb8c26ml5A9kUfKEwAUr5z10Y7l5/s1600/yukon4.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Checking out the sunset over Whitehorse</td></tr>
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O'Hara and I arrived on Thursday night before Good Friday, and spent the next day wandering the streets of Whitehorse and visiting the museum. We found a fantastic breakfast place, the Burnt Toast Cafe, so good in fact that we ate there 3 days in a row. We visited the Whitehorse museum which had a bunch of information on how the town started up, and all the wildlife that exists in the area. As a gold town, there was a lot of interesting information for two gold miners.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEZ5quvWSM6bRU_Sv2v_tL_F_GBcv6DIo00o7ldkYPegwTDy58K7xVjcf1tUg5Dw3DXUAqERZo6vyeIDcOr7HYGcwLG8k6Emgrl7zAk6zhncE_9j0c-mphpKvOeAi5wa79hS-cuytqg1-/s1600/yukon1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEZ5quvWSM6bRU_Sv2v_tL_F_GBcv6DIo00o7ldkYPegwTDy58K7xVjcf1tUg5Dw3DXUAqERZo6vyeIDcOr7HYGcwLG8k6Emgrl7zAk6zhncE_9j0c-mphpKvOeAi5wa79hS-cuytqg1-/s1600/yukon1.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">MOUNTAIN GOAT! It's a real animal!!</td></tr>
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We drove out on our second night in an attempt to view the Aurora Borealis. We'd been told to drive towards the hot springs, as you need to be away from city lights in order to have good viewing. While driving out there we spotted it in the sky. We were pumped. With added determination we drove on and found a park a few minutes outside the Takhini Hot Springs. We set up shop, made a hot milo, and waited. Nothing. All reports were saying the aurora should be raging, but we couldn't see a whole lot. After about 20 min of shivering and trying to spot what we thought was the aurora we packed up and drove towards home. Not 5min down the road, we saw it... apparently we'd been parked just out of view.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaln5QSHE_-9AZoV48r-NJVUcEtlfe7B6QgirU9LrxJhwtWVuWU8I_UrA75B2RoiJIbbS3T1UjFRJavY50Beeoo6dQ19l1aglxtTiEnEAx3dKkdlIpqtQhgTbdEXaoke3Aan0kfnjfHvo/s1600/yukon2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaln5QSHE_-9AZoV48r-NJVUcEtlfe7B6QgirU9LrxJhwtWVuWU8I_UrA75B2RoiJIbbS3T1UjFRJavY50Beeoo6dQ19l1aglxtTiEnEAx3dKkdlIpqtQhgTbdEXaoke3Aan0kfnjfHvo/s1600/yukon2.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">My camera isn't designed for this... but awesome none the less</td></tr>
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The next day we went to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve to check off a few animals of our bucket list. Unfortunately the moose was MILES aways, so really could be anything. We did see a mountain goat though, which was pretty damn exciting. After viewing some nifty creatures, we went out to the Takhini Hot Springs. They have an amazing crepe restaurant which was ridiculously good after a morning of walking around the wildlife preserve. The hot springs were HOT. It was really relaxing, but I can imagine it would be an incredible experience to be there at night, in the snow, drinking beers. It would also be awesome to sit back and watch the aurora overhead.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNX9-fWZfjo-2MCMpCG0TEMBVuGcvdBgW2zRqPwTUZvDeu1mhR-YKYyskiQU6sY7Z3FULsoisUe1AgWAodwabutLfGrAuEr0t-61WZxWPYdlU1OXaJpDZyAc4rgWzFOCHGxc-tqZr_Efo/s1600/yukon6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNX9-fWZfjo-2MCMpCG0TEMBVuGcvdBgW2zRqPwTUZvDeu1mhR-YKYyskiQU6sY7Z3FULsoisUe1AgWAodwabutLfGrAuEr0t-61WZxWPYdlU1OXaJpDZyAc4rgWzFOCHGxc-tqZr_Efo/s1600/yukon6.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hot spring times</td></tr>
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That night we had grand scheme plans to view an aurora "storm" that was coming through. We found a beautiful lake that was still frozen and we set up shop complete with fire, beer and sausages for dinner. As it was spring we had to wait until about 11pm before it was dark, which meant plenty of time for fun photos. Lil was in charge of this because a) she's the best photographer, and b) I forgot to charge my camera battery. Genius. I think we were at Lake Laberge, but I can't guarantee that. Unfortunately the storm didn't come through until about 5am, way after we had gone to bed and the sun had started to come up. Now I'm an expert and aurora watching though, I'll try it out in Kamloops if a big storm comes through again.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyUSl3Ug4QXx4HVPonw49MxZTqOX1YXZYEOYP4AGPAsbNlLYClMaeuZdOyC7LQcQMZ11JUW14_jnHLno_Iyj56AYUm4zgB__WNyj1BK6HtBLiPhb8ziHZhfOGR4QXXfi0uSKA0NF_kImU/s1600/Yukon3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyUSl3Ug4QXx4HVPonw49MxZTqOX1YXZYEOYP4AGPAsbNlLYClMaeuZdOyC7LQcQMZ11JUW14_jnHLno_Iyj56AYUm4zgB__WNyj1BK6HtBLiPhb8ziHZhfOGR4QXXfi0uSKA0NF_kImU/s1600/Yukon3.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Lil Difilippo took these stunners!</td></tr>
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From what we managed to see of the Yukon in the 3 days we were there, it's a pretty special place. I hope we get up there again!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Our Yukon crew. Aussies taking over Canada!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-62300627781304521992014-04-17T18:32:00.001-07:002014-04-17T18:32:57.468-07:00Vancouver International Wine FestivalI have been slack. Really, really slack. I'm going to blame it on work being crazy busy (partially true), but I have managed to keep up to date with the Real Housewives of Melbourne and Facebook... So really I've just been slack. Sorry! I'm going to take you back to the first weekend in March. Yes, that long ago...<br />
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There has been a bit of a theme since coming to Canada, we're pretty good at going to wine festivals. It could possibly count as our super power. Since being here we've gone to 4 wine festivals, all with a fairly similar outcome.<br />
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While all the others were all Canadian wines, this one had wines from all over the world. Including Australia. Unfortunately the wines from Australia left a lot to be desired. Yellow and Pink were on the menu, which was disappointing. As we've drunk a lot of Canadian wine, we focused our attention on French and Argentinian wines. In particular, the ones we couldn't afford. </div>
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To start with, we drank champagne (or French champagne as they like to say on the Real Housewives of Melbourne). As we went to the Saturday afternoon session, it wasn't overly busy and we were able to hit the booths as fast as we liked. We tried some delicious champagnes, and I'm hoping they were of higher quality than Pink and Yellow. As the prices were often over $100, I suspect they are a little fancier. The aim of the afternoon was to drink enough champagne that it covered our $65 ticket. The result? Great success.<br />
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After focusing on bubbles for a while, we moved to the Bordeaux and Rhône reds. After a few glasses our power of words was failing us. In an effort to tell the young French man serving us from one winery that I liked reds with a bit of tannins (robust?!), Alexis told him I liked "strong" wines. He took that to mean I am a huge derro, and poured me the cheapest, shittiest stuff. After I poured it out, I turned to Lex and said "I think I'm being judged." She laughed, but when we turned back to him and I said I didn't like it, he turned the bottle over, showed me the alcohol contest and said "but it's very strong?!" The shame!</div>
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We moved on from French wine after that. Too much judging. We tried some from Argentina, they must have been good as we bought a few bottles. There were also tastings from the USA and Chile. It was a great afternoon and we followed it up with a delish dinner and cocktails from L'Abatoir, and a hangover driving home the next day. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-11859706845780127942014-02-09T18:40:00.000-08:002014-02-09T18:40:28.963-08:00Australia Day in the SnowThis year we didn't go down to Vancouver for the amazing spectacle that is Moose's Down Under. As we'd just got home from being in Texas, and it was a Sunday it just wasn't worth the drive over the Coq. Instead we celebrated as only Australians know how. Up the hill.<br />
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Now, unfortunately this year the snow has been nothing short of hopeless. Fortunately for us however, the weather was particularly warm this weekend. Therefore it was spring conditions in January, so the little snow that was left was at least soft. This was particularly useful this weekend as O'Hara and I decided it was necessary to do a run in our bathers. Or in O'Hara's case, his undies and the Australian flag. Does this count as desecration? It's probably lucky we have more lenient rules about the flag in Australia.<br />
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As it's pretty standard for Australians to want to take their clothes off, there was a huge group of transplants that were stripping off for a run. Because we didn't know anyone there, we decided to do it ourselves. This was a good and bad idea. Good because there was sun on our run, bad because it meant we had to explain ourselves. It was awkward on more than one occasion.<br />
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The worst part of my time was when I managed to loose my snowboard down the hill, while I was wearing nothing but a string bikini. Anyone who snowboards knows it's a huge rookie error to leave your board flat side down... well I did that on the worst possible of days. Luckily for me I was spared the agony of having to trek down the hill to get it as a very kind snow patrol guy was bringing it up just as I realised it was gone.<br />
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Unfortunately the bikini I wore, was bought back in about 2006. The southern cross on my butt looks more like a square than a diamond, but hey. You win some, you loose some.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-83066362134265964862014-02-03T19:47:00.001-08:002014-02-03T19:48:13.265-08:00Texmess Part 2: Dallas and AustinSo, the reason for us planning a last minute trip to Texas came about because we had friends who would be travelling though (and obviously because we've always wanted to go!)<br />
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After Salado, we drove up to Dallas to meet Camille and Meagan. Because they had come across from New Mexico, or northern Texas somewhere they had a bit of a drive before getting to Dallas. While we were in Salado a bunch of people told us they didn't like Dallas, but Fort Worth was ok. Always down for travel advice, we visited the Fort Worth Stockyards on the way to Dallas. The stockyards are an area in the city that is all cowboy. They have a huge indoor rink where rodeos are held on the reg. There are also a bunch of bars and shopping areas which are pretty cute, and the worlds largest Honky Tonk. I'm not even sure what that means. Twice a day they also run the longhorns through the street. Just for fun! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Fitzy is locked up under a southern sorority girl, and protected by longhorns. At Billy Bobs in FW.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">You can make them into a chair... or ride them!</td></tr>
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In Dallas we tested out AirBnB, which we hadn't done at all before. Basically you are renting out someones house, so you can get a big place for a few people and not pay an absolute fortune. The place we stayed at was pretty awesome. Spa on the rooftop, large kitchen and living area and 3 bedrooms. It's pretty weird being in someone else's house though. </div>
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I took us on a slight mission on the first night for some delicious Mexican food. We didn't want to drive, so we could take full advantage of the margaritas (obviously) so I found a place we could walk to. I always forget that walking around cities you don't know isn't always the best idea, and in this case it was a little shady. Luckily we had no problems and took the highway route on the way home! The next day we had southern soul food for breakfast and we got our first taste of grits. So, grits are basically just ground corn they are sort of cooked up like porridge. For breakfast I had them with garlic, poached eggs, bacon and lots of cheese. It's a strange texture, but they were pretty delicious. We then spent the afternoon touring the JFK museum. This was pretty interesting for us, as none of us knew a lot about what happened. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Causing trouble in the hot tub. Also, Po Po on segways! YES!</td></tr>
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That night we met up with some friends, of our friend's boyfriend. Lost? It was a long connection, but in true southern hospitality, these guys met us out for drinks! It was awesome and super lovely of them to meet us. They also provided the perfect guidance for what we should be doing in Austin.</div>
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Ah Austin. The town we'd heard so much about. This city did not let us down. Our hangovers may have thought otherwise, but it really was a good time. Austin's 6th Street, seems to be a never-ending street full of bars and restaurants. We ate the best wings we've ever had there, had many delicious cocktails and pulled out some of our best dance moves. We found a Flick look-a-like, witnessed some questionable co-worker activity and played arcade beer pong. It had everything we needed, and I wish we could have spent more time there.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsaGgEyq7d0lEpUD3fGdkYb-wQfz70fyF41AzOhNfAbiqoag7CKZOP0C3cAd_CbYMsqxQJst_eL6ul6mIEkHD2W9fQ4cEDUtYW3WSI6JRPAEjNEhuHuPYUL_Mob8eTbKiy25X1WGyhnt3/s1600/texas23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsaGgEyq7d0lEpUD3fGdkYb-wQfz70fyF41AzOhNfAbiqoag7CKZOP0C3cAd_CbYMsqxQJst_eL6ul6mIEkHD2W9fQ4cEDUtYW3WSI6JRPAEjNEhuHuPYUL_Mob8eTbKiy25X1WGyhnt3/s1600/texas23.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Capitol Building. Struggling with life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr-y9mIZRHqQhsr4jytjfVfOoIprR-_vI9kayKAkgVNrzk4AMpIO0W4k629qLYhpo7JqTWPiuff6oEaeihIS0XhHnx2vmxE6F1Fn3ONxZfGd57ljrTjOOENmMGxOud-qSr8LUp39kyPAs/s1600/texas22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr-y9mIZRHqQhsr4jytjfVfOoIprR-_vI9kayKAkgVNrzk4AMpIO0W4k629qLYhpo7JqTWPiuff6oEaeihIS0XhHnx2vmxE6F1Fn3ONxZfGd57ljrTjOOENmMGxOud-qSr8LUp39kyPAs/s1600/texas22.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">So many loves.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
On our way back to Houston we stopped at City Market in Luling, for some more BBQ. This place was impressive. There was a huge line to order your food, but this was totally worth it. We may have over ordered, but again we weren't super sad about the situation. I haven't eaten BBQ since getting back to Canada. I'm ready to get back on that horse!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNrbqxeA0CcgUJQg-QFCre3vfd-0c3O7n84FT27f3p5FokcIDqTF6gQx2btvuZMk5lyK_0UnQ6EKGxCD3SIqiy94T-iZPNRix64pQirFjjACf6BOTUUOnwf0dMFrW82FapdY92FbNbzGZ/s1600/texas21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNrbqxeA0CcgUJQg-QFCre3vfd-0c3O7n84FT27f3p5FokcIDqTF6gQx2btvuZMk5lyK_0UnQ6EKGxCD3SIqiy94T-iZPNRix64pQirFjjACf6BOTUUOnwf0dMFrW82FapdY92FbNbzGZ/s1600/texas21.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Meat, meat, meat! Say "no" to carbs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-53256058000612856092014-01-21T18:12:00.001-08:002014-01-21T18:12:13.191-08:00Texmess Part 1: Houston and SaladoHowdy partner! Reporting back from our Texas getaway. We’ve
wanted to go to Texas for years. Back in 2008 when we were travelling Europe we
stayed with a friend of my Aunty’s. and she told us all about the time she
lived in Texas. We were hooked.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conveniently, we had some friends from home that were
planning a bit of a road trip from Vegas to New Orleans. We managed to tag in
with that lot and meet them in Dallas and Austin. Now, before that happened
O’Hara and I spent 4 nights exploring some other parts of Texas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_8-E3kloDwo2T4eNKnajdM3paEK3pOi754CW1b9sAHwa6j-7SwSPtBctHGwsuAQS2vU1yh_NoGerpgFKIcKCUOOWC0zZTq1ZihqBgIkTepChQeHnZAFmNmSFjE8cHxeoc2VPQertYJTc/s1600/texas3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_8-E3kloDwo2T4eNKnajdM3paEK3pOi754CW1b9sAHwa6j-7SwSPtBctHGwsuAQS2vU1yh_NoGerpgFKIcKCUOOWC0zZTq1ZihqBgIkTepChQeHnZAFmNmSFjE8cHxeoc2VPQertYJTc/s1600/texas3.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boots and belts everywhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First night in, we managed to catch up with a new friend
that lives in Houston. We only just met him over Christmas at a friends
wedding. Perfect timing! He took us for some fabulous tacos and margaritas and
then followed it up at a true cowboy bar. This was our first western bar experience,
complete with trying to two-step and line dance. We learnt a few moves, all in
preparation for when we take up the rodeo circuit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0VIKKi_rdYj1Y1WsNvUXEvxTcx5DOJym5Jcu-idgS-7PLRxhq8MrYf8FpGLzlpxjsZxoiAEO2K2Z1R7tZTQ57CyNzgHRhxH7IV-o5Wazl7NL3AVjrwiyWfa2DNUc8T-B6QZH7zbnJCtF/s1600/texas1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0VIKKi_rdYj1Y1WsNvUXEvxTcx5DOJym5Jcu-idgS-7PLRxhq8MrYf8FpGLzlpxjsZxoiAEO2K2Z1R7tZTQ57CyNzgHRhxH7IV-o5Wazl7NL3AVjrwiyWfa2DNUc8T-B6QZH7zbnJCtF/s1600/texas1.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nailed it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday we got lucky, and were taken to a shooting range
for some clay pigeon shooting. We had done this once before at a friends farm,
and I was rubbish. Don’t think I hit a single one. This time however I bought
my A game. O’Hara did not. I absolutely cleaned him up. It’s one of the only
times I’ve beaten him in any sort of sport. Poor kid was not impressed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a brilliant morning shooting things, we tried to pick
up our hire car. Unfortunately for us, it closed at 12. Epic fail. We made a
mad dash back to Deavo’s place booked somewhere else, had to call them and ask
them to stay open for a few extra minutes and got a car in the nick of time. We
were just way to relaxed for our own good, and it was day 1.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfKR0e_lye1n-BWmd3D-HQ9zH7a8Z-hPGvtwJafpn3RzoKfuVd0772Wgc0aW64GPhUqhIFvNQCXNPrOFsapAHlplr7Kz-4_uOxtaei_VJ8izi31Ky1yUn2sq6qlLIp0suJ50ixZm_5y9m/s1600/texas2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfKR0e_lye1n-BWmd3D-HQ9zH7a8Z-hPGvtwJafpn3RzoKfuVd0772Wgc0aW64GPhUqhIFvNQCXNPrOFsapAHlplr7Kz-4_uOxtaei_VJ8izi31Ky1yUn2sq6qlLIp0suJ50ixZm_5y9m/s1600/texas2.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saw a lot of this</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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After finally getting the car, we drove the 3 hours to Salado,
which is a cute little B&B town about an hour north of Austin. We stayed at
the Yellow House Inn and couldn’t have asked for a better place (don't even get me started on the breakfast. It was incredible). Salado is a
fairly central location, which meant we were able to explore the area easily.
We visited the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco. Explored the funny little Homestead
Village and ate delicious homemade and homegrown food. Acted like fools at
Belton Lake at sunset. Spent hours looking in antique stores in Salado and ate
more great food. <o:p></o:p><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97CpwQOcnhttBzpXFrKHJJpIlsyVGxKU6a3O2U0yrPV4VUvbZ0FqJKH1d2hA21w0SP9wM0R2iHDx_GOixVRITZ3JY6QEbcrLvaH2IYzKTXxAeosIe8Ta1Kk2TtmP6mtGUW7WNsisOcEMj/s1600/texas4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97CpwQOcnhttBzpXFrKHJJpIlsyVGxKU6a3O2U0yrPV4VUvbZ0FqJKH1d2hA21w0SP9wM0R2iHDx_GOixVRITZ3JY6QEbcrLvaH2IYzKTXxAeosIe8Ta1Kk2TtmP6mtGUW7WNsisOcEMj/s1600/texas4.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homestead</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-16256303964340808172014-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:002014-01-13T17:00:19.067-08:00White Christmas Round 2The first year was just a practice round, this/last year was the real deal. This Christmas we again congregated at Kelly and Paul’s
house for an Australian Invasion. The main course… a Turducken!! For those that
don’t know, a Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a
chicken. The turkey is a whole bird and the duck and chicken are de-boned. It
was absolutely freaking delicious. As is the Canadian thing to do, the whole thing was chucked in a turkey fryer. These miraculous contraptions are the
easiest way to cook a turkey. Rather than waiting around the over for hours, a
bird can be done in about 45min! As the outside skin of the bird is the only
part in contact with the oil, it’s also not nearly as bad for you as you would
expect.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz6Sqc-PagRsXor1UzgSKBa-DTwjFZGiL-uU_eQstU4fLt3Ey5obLr_pyvm83cGF5VOyQNz38eGK-lcic-Cvhs6wVPEqzQUrVwFXD77mLt8UszxG8kXLU-88utfre8HXlDGGwyMDldy9b/s1600/christmas1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz6Sqc-PagRsXor1UzgSKBa-DTwjFZGiL-uU_eQstU4fLt3Ey5obLr_pyvm83cGF5VOyQNz38eGK-lcic-Cvhs6wVPEqzQUrVwFXD77mLt8UszxG8kXLU-88utfre8HXlDGGwyMDldy9b/s640/christmas1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made Christmas ham! All by myself! I think that's why O'Hara wore the jumper again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUvh6GZNemrUNxzS5rTfAvj_q5P74ecW29LYDYbDzcInhe9SS3Au7CT-Sul0Et1tbWHGWSN7FKyBUk5uIoROMUWoC4gJ_0zGYnphUphfpi4J_ODD84k4RIALoXZ2Va48Z6FlPP5iS1-nx/s1600/christmas2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUvh6GZNemrUNxzS5rTfAvj_q5P74ecW29LYDYbDzcInhe9SS3Au7CT-Sul0Et1tbWHGWSN7FKyBUk5uIoROMUWoC4gJ_0zGYnphUphfpi4J_ODD84k4RIALoXZ2Va48Z6FlPP5iS1-nx/s640/christmas2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most delicious birds you've ever seen, and Master Chef.</td></tr>
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I ate myself stupid and suffered from the turkey sleeping
power for a good hour after dinner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Boxing Day, Kamloops was the lucky recipient of freezing
rain. Australians, this is rain that is super chilled so as soon as it hits any
surface it freezes. It also happens to turn every flat surface into a skating
rink. We were planning on leaving early and driving to Whistler to meet a
friend from high school, but this mess and black ice on the road meant we
delayed until after lunch. Luckily for us it warmed up and the roads were clear
and we got to see Sarah and Shaun. Unfortunately we could only stay for one
night as we had booked Silver Star for the next 5 nights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cR_lPRygYfhdTm8BY8dka3keimDEiQi1Rq3cUTwnB0rCsY5iEfRIEq9Nq84nmV1UiR4YWMagOIakX3rr-q0i3T0O3E4SrxeqYTkp-7u8OAs6njETZXEypVkFFs5Cr9F3nIBT7G2tjIYO/s1600/christmas3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cR_lPRygYfhdTm8BY8dka3keimDEiQi1Rq3cUTwnB0rCsY5iEfRIEq9Nq84nmV1UiR4YWMagOIakX3rr-q0i3T0O3E4SrxeqYTkp-7u8OAs6njETZXEypVkFFs5Cr9F3nIBT7G2tjIYO/s640/christmas3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friend! High school friend!</td></tr>
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Silver Star was a great success for the period between
Christmas and New Year. The Wilsons, Ouimets and Greg and Lil were all there to
ski with, drink with, eat with and play games with. We managed to get 4 solid
days of snowboarding in, though I’m unsure if my skills progressed at all.
O’Hara and I have taken it upon ourselves to learn how to do jumps on our
snowboard. I think this should be quite easy, as children seem to have no
problem doing it. Sadly for us this isn’t the case.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuELkKIf7AVL091ET_LZMzbGzUVuf5z6HdyYvf_rcfw3tNfAiw3nP6-FJodra7SYirXfhc7mdPKLN2urcanzBdHLh403fCdNPo88B0yvn3I4MAtkA6lEIsggpsrzEWWDRKGrwvhPrCphv/s1600/christmas4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuELkKIf7AVL091ET_LZMzbGzUVuf5z6HdyYvf_rcfw3tNfAiw3nP6-FJodra7SYirXfhc7mdPKLN2urcanzBdHLh403fCdNPo88B0yvn3I4MAtkA6lEIsggpsrzEWWDRKGrwvhPrCphv/s640/christmas4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I look casual, but really fell about 5 times trying to get this pic.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBPM4RaW3aNL0mRZvhr1SQSuTerR0kPN-7lr-ne4ocBwVQjpWxXjJfHgFmQ9-dpVSOOJmppLUMHpWpRyBoMbnEXcYZWZtHn9SB66zhjSrRJvTuQ2PwnmPJKX5ir0VI5wtM6cq5v5X9036/s1600/christmas5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBPM4RaW3aNL0mRZvhr1SQSuTerR0kPN-7lr-ne4ocBwVQjpWxXjJfHgFmQ9-dpVSOOJmppLUMHpWpRyBoMbnEXcYZWZtHn9SB66zhjSrRJvTuQ2PwnmPJKX5ir0VI5wtM6cq5v5X9036/s640/christmas5.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With views like this, why wouldn't you get a pic in the snow in your bikini? </td></tr>
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We went on a snowshoeing adventure while we were there. That was a good time! A guide took us on all these paths you'd never see by yourself. Or if you did, you'd likely get lost and die. We had one near miss where we had our own adventure, but everyone made it back safely. New Year’s Eve ended up being a slight fail. The boys made
the mistake of going way too hard, way too early in the hot tub. As O’Hara has
found in the past, this can and will end badly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-89707477027676301712013-12-16T20:43:00.000-08:002013-12-16T20:43:41.105-08:00A Christmas LetterThis is our second Christmas in Canada. We've never been organised enough to send out Christmas cards, let along write a Christmas letter. We love receiving them, bring them on please! So here is our attempt.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The O'Hara's Christmas Letter 2013</div>
<br />
<div>
Well, haven't the last 20 months just flown by! We've had too many good times to count since we've been here. We've eaten great food, made great friends and travelled to some amazing places. As we keep telling our bank, we're here for a good time, not a long time. Some highlights of our Canadian time include;</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Meeting my brother in New York;</li>
<li>Travelling with our Canadian and Australian friends to Vegas;</li>
<li>Going to Taco parties in LA;</li>
<li>Going to Chicago with our friends from Mexico;</li>
<li>Going to weddings in Wisconsin and California; and</li>
<li>Visiting the Niagara Falls on the American side.</li>
</ul>
</div>
We've been doing our best to integrate ourselves into Canadian life. I'd say around 50% of the time it's been a success. Sometimes lost in translation gets us confused, sometimes it's our skills. Here's some things that we haven't quite gotten right:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6pPnoheggot2aNHiVu4EZlaHsVlumYPjBwpGm5hp_w10Po1ELNLmU1hsDUdu8thKR5Ltal9QU9iJRwYhcSPVQeQipqSicaI1UR0B__mxiR6_7Fz32D4PjrMdaonbdTzgzOS83HO_4-Ba/s1600/IMG_0102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6pPnoheggot2aNHiVu4EZlaHsVlumYPjBwpGm5hp_w10Po1ELNLmU1hsDUdu8thKR5Ltal9QU9iJRwYhcSPVQeQipqSicaI1UR0B__mxiR6_7Fz32D4PjrMdaonbdTzgzOS83HO_4-Ba/s320/IMG_0102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>O'Hara has been fishing around 10 times. Not even a nibble. He has seen them swimming past his line on an underwater camera. They're just not interested.</li>
<li>I can't shovel the snow from the driveway with any success.</li>
<li>O'Hara ran the car into a snow bank, because he was distracted by an excavator.</li>
<li>I spend too long talking to border security, in the hopes they are distracted and give us extra passport stamps.</li>
<li>O'Hara's toenail has left a scar on someones ankle.</li>
<li>I will be the only one in the room laughing at beaver jokes. Other times I make beaver jokes in inappropriate company or at inappropriate times.</li>
<li>O'Hara is maintaining the Ugg boots are appropriate to be worn by men. No one agrees.</li>
<li>I still think that east is towards the coast. I get people lost when giving directions.</li>
<li>O'Hara is a retardant for wildlife. He's down about 15-1 for bear sightings with me.</li>
<li>I thought that the large bins that appeared around Halloween were for waste pumpkins. O'Hara carried mouldy carved pumpkins up our driveway to the street, only to find them full of sand. For the ice. Obviously.</li>
<li>O'Hara bought one set of warm, one set of cold lights for the Christmas decorations outside. Two-toned is not trendy.</li>
<li>I make fun of Canadians too much. It's too easy. #sorrynotsorry.</li>
<li>O'Hara asked two girls if they wanted to dink with him on his bike to the pub. That means something different here.</li>
</ul>
<div>
We've had some great successes. We've travelled to places we never saw in our future and seen things most people only see on TV or in postcards. Some of our best successes include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Living in Canada for nearly 2 years and not ending every sentence with 'eh!";</li>
<li>Instead referring to everything as "brutal";</li>
<li>Doing fully sick "jumps" on our snowboards;</li>
<li>Conveying sarcasm;</li>
<li>Using our "Canadian" accents to translate from Australian. "Oh Heeirra";</li>
<li>Fly kicking Christmas trees;</li>
<li>Loving the shit out of poutine; and</li>
<li>Travelling further east in Canada than most of the Canadians we've met. </li>
</ul>
<div>
We love having guests and have had some wonderful times with our friends and family. More of you are welcome. Have I not made this clear enough?! We've explored, hiked, fished, kayaked, camped, swam, drank, eaten, played candy crush, snowboarded, sledded, skated and talked with some of our favourite people in the world. Our most favourite guest of all? ...... Gilly! I managed to win her back over after two nights and a few walks up Kenna Cartwright. I thought that friendship was over, so what a relief when she loved me again!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As my Christmas gift to every one, O'Hara and I got out the cheese and created some wonderful "traditional" Christmas photos. I am taking a huge risk putting these online guys. These photos will probably end up on that "AFP" website (I'm not saying the full name, otherwise it might come up in a search). Y'all are welcome! Merry Christmas xxx</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4e0_8YzC5FU7P5M7a1VwZqnXu9iOuFLv9dJIhOJhRkAKRqBRExldqpCZxC06Y7icjo5XFwtisGIzwcDYSrOkSqKmiFsYKNs1EqRrEXxIg7LxgeCMVYdzyWM7Rv6KvqIBDz-w567-L2L9z/s1600/awkward+christmas2-TWINKLE-2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4e0_8YzC5FU7P5M7a1VwZqnXu9iOuFLv9dJIhOJhRkAKRqBRExldqpCZxC06Y7icjo5XFwtisGIzwcDYSrOkSqKmiFsYKNs1EqRrEXxIg7LxgeCMVYdzyWM7Rv6KvqIBDz-w567-L2L9z/s640/awkward+christmas2-TWINKLE-2.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh my GOODNESS! Gifts xxx</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFjNXP1yA6E2I9bdsioAHX41ceuJsUIAL758gMc1V-00uS8AviPqgH6nbh6hmvDY5PPd2CsL-9DQCz9LZhc4WbQ1smLdtG1MVudoxejbIyMLAvGa9cO8c__DVnhNXp1FZaeuYJMoD0Hw9/s1600/awkward+christmas-TWINKLE.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFjNXP1yA6E2I9bdsioAHX41ceuJsUIAL758gMc1V-00uS8AviPqgH6nbh6hmvDY5PPd2CsL-9DQCz9LZhc4WbQ1smLdtG1MVudoxejbIyMLAvGa9cO8c__DVnhNXp1FZaeuYJMoD0Hw9/s640/awkward+christmas-TWINKLE.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cringey, cringe, cringe!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
You can probably tell, we're basically Canadian now. I'm surprised they haven't handed us new passports yet.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-70508921595712071392013-12-01T19:20:00.004-08:002013-12-01T19:29:01.134-08:00A Christmas Preparation WeekendChristmas preparation has began at the O'Hara household! Last year we were out on the east side for the few weeks before Christmas so we didn't get too involved with decorations. We didn't even have a tree, it was depressing.<br />
<br />
This year is different. We have no holidays planned until next year *sob*, so we had to get a tree. And put up some decorations. And drink eggnog. And make a Christmas wreath. It's been a fun weekend.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_RpnH7ROKbmsHRO0eGIiKXxhR9qTvAMwnwBsiI-Rnwnml5gw-o4Ry50ZcUVaY3OJrmcaz8dGmFEo_GGKChlMLIPKcUgLTvbk9wslnYtH2RQCLbgwQS0Oqgz3dR1zinMaZBqZU69MXaS0/s1600/wreaths2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_RpnH7ROKbmsHRO0eGIiKXxhR9qTvAMwnwBsiI-Rnwnml5gw-o4Ry50ZcUVaY3OJrmcaz8dGmFEo_GGKChlMLIPKcUgLTvbk9wslnYtH2RQCLbgwQS0Oqgz3dR1zinMaZBqZU69MXaS0/s640/wreaths2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy wreath ladies!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Saturday we got up semi early to get our second day up the hill in. One of my favourite things about Sun Peaks is we get some random inversions happening. It means it will be freezing cold and raining in town, but then sunny and wonderful up the hill. There has been record snow for this time of year, which means our boards haven't suffered the rock death that they normally would for his early.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvqfzcLXYuSdzGos5h5S8mJCZvcMgMyWE9axRB9fuPBY5dvvAyuw5uVJiCsRS_EbFRTY4hsE6DiQvjXIXhQ3DUyCxl6FfgaYmcDyNOwPBCG7BsuGDeUVBaHK-zNJzQIbmM0FHa_1qnjl5/s1600/wreath4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvqfzcLXYuSdzGos5h5S8mJCZvcMgMyWE9axRB9fuPBY5dvvAyuw5uVJiCsRS_EbFRTY4hsE6DiQvjXIXhQ3DUyCxl6FfgaYmcDyNOwPBCG7BsuGDeUVBaHK-zNJzQIbmM0FHa_1qnjl5/s640/wreath4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturday snow day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Saturday night I had a girly night, with some Canadian friends attempting to teach me how to be crafty. I needed a lot of assistance. A lot. Luckily Alexis is super nice and stopped my wreath from becoming a Jersey Shore disaster. There was still bulk glitter, even with assistance.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_W2TpfqvC-8dKvss1vmzTizsaDlnDTLQVaazCGIVLcXh_ozVxlUvUTobzcSc2h_l1nMc_fmY3PpR_okhWt_cZ4qMkH2ZiYQ-LgJ7-euzxuFA_RqLGmHMpHWOD59vf1CPUVC7DWZqrHwV-/s1600/wreath1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_W2TpfqvC-8dKvss1vmzTizsaDlnDTLQVaazCGIVLcXh_ozVxlUvUTobzcSc2h_l1nMc_fmY3PpR_okhWt_cZ4qMkH2ZiYQ-LgJ7-euzxuFA_RqLGmHMpHWOD59vf1CPUVC7DWZqrHwV-/s640/wreath1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The process!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Sunday we went out to Woodward Christmas Trees. It's a Christmas tree farm just outside of Kamloops. They also have a wine tasting room. Amazing. We went out there on Sunday morning with Alexis and Hal. There is already snow, and it was a winter wonderland.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGXYUHMUcRQ0JQzc15tvugzmubMRsOMiyVFG_8NJMYTIwk7nwiMdpaCw4xCLhEwQR5goWPesuB0Nis5v_sGxRGNysNXOxCDIaV1sQyM54-USWWnRzqZQQ9T-d6OY7ROVp5H0MryKCAlT9/s1600/wreath3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGXYUHMUcRQ0JQzc15tvugzmubMRsOMiyVFG_8NJMYTIwk7nwiMdpaCw4xCLhEwQR5goWPesuB0Nis5v_sGxRGNysNXOxCDIaV1sQyM54-USWWnRzqZQQ9T-d6OY7ROVp5H0MryKCAlT9/s640/wreath3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tractor ride! Clearly I can't pull of the half shaved head look. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We mastered the Canadian experiences this weekend. The weekend was perhaps only topped by O'Hara's last weekend. That weekend involved snow boarding, ice skating and hunting deer.
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-40142254028663822762013-11-18T19:45:00.000-08:002013-11-18T19:45:13.373-08:00Australian Invasion in VegasWe're on our way to creating an annual Vegas trip tradition and on November Long we went on our third trip to Sin City. Activities were significantly organised by O'Hara which meant we managed to have a boy weighted weekend. Not a sad thing, as it meant we checked off a lot of bucket list items that we hadn't got around to on other trips. We also hired an 8 seater "car" for the adventures. There were 3 people in our group 6'3" and over. It was cosy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I almost got everyone. These people wouldn't work with me!</td></tr>
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Day 1: Shooting big guns and driving fast cars<br />
Since we first went to Vegas, we've wanted to do this. There are a few different places you can go to shoot ridiculously unnecessary weapons, O'Hara chose the Pro Gun Club. This ended up being a really good choice. It was located about 40min away from the strip, at an outdoor range. The weather was perfect (around 24C) and it was a good morning in the sun. From memory we shot a hand gun (Glock for the girls, 50cal Desert Eagle for the boys), AK-47, grenade launcher, Uzi, sniper rifle, and a Saw.<br />
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It was bad arse, and it was fun. I learnt that I am a terrible shot, I suspect my right eye is not the dominant one even though I'm right handed. It was hard work just keeping my eye closed and the sight lined up. Epic fails. Lil was a legend at it. Jealous.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guns and big bullet shells. Super bad arse.</td></tr>
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After guns, O'Hara, Clint and Greg went to drive race cars. O'Hara wasn't too impressed with his skills. Apparently he spend half the time trying to change gears by turning high beam on. I don't think I need to worry about him quitting his day job. I spent the afternoon drinking margaritas by the pool with Joey. Super class and another check of my Vegas bucket list.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Hara et moi</td></tr>
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Day 2: Valley of Fires<br />
The first time we went to Vegas we did a trip out to the Grand Canyon and since then we've wanted to explore more of the outer areas. There really is so much to see in that area and surrounds. We tossed up between Death Valley and the Valley of Fires. In the end VoF won out as it was only a 45min drive away. We couldn't guarantee not being hungover and sleeping in, so chose the one that was easiest to get to. It was beautiful. If you're lucky I'll put some of Lil's (much nice) photos up, so you can get a better feel!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our crew. We are amazing.</td></tr>
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This was a good choice. VoF is a spectacular place, with the beautiful red rocks keeping us entertained into to the late afternoon. We didn't even end up seeing Lake Mead which we were planning on going to for a picnic. We did see 4,000 year old petroglyphs that were very cool. It makes me angry at society that some were vandalised, but it's amazing how these have lasted. We also managed to get two takes of "What Does the Moose Say?" in. That was special. We left at 11, so if you want to spend a full day there I'd recommend going a bit earlier. Picnic or not, we had a lovely day and didn't allow blood sugars to get too low. It was a little touch and go towards the end there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ones who didn't have to climb to the highest point, and 4000 year old petroglyphs.</td></tr>
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Eatings:<br />
We ate some delicious meals out with one dinner being at the Tapas restaurant in the Cosmopolitan and another Fleur at Mandalay Bay. I managed to eat myself into a literal food coma on the last night. It wasn't pretty. It's nice eating out at good restaurants though, as we don't get that opportunity in Kamloops.<br />
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Gamings:<br />
Our first night we made a trip out to Fremont St to give the newbies an idea of old Vegas. As always it didn't fail to disappoint. That place is not G Rated. There were flashing nuns, a creepy guy with a lady on a leash, a "firewoman" and an old guy dressed as a slutty angel just to name a few. It was dirty, cheap and amazing. We still didn't win big.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOY_s1izK9WZojP_liVP5kcf9GP9kMY6dNDsIZQo6nJrK6UrsO0wSCV-Pey9Vrd43MgqJuKO3oxmW1d1PJdBCVvufhHRkgJ1wgfYWhV4qy4xbfaKA0Oa-6hgfiZGtv02aZQPla4O6Uf3wq/s1600/vegas13.7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOY_s1izK9WZojP_liVP5kcf9GP9kMY6dNDsIZQo6nJrK6UrsO0wSCV-Pey9Vrd43MgqJuKO3oxmW1d1PJdBCVvufhHRkgJ1wgfYWhV4qy4xbfaKA0Oa-6hgfiZGtv02aZQPla4O6Uf3wq/s640/vegas13.7.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steph did a good job as shooter. Probs got us up 5 bucks. Jackpot!</td></tr>
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We sucked at Craps. We continue to not follow our plan of only playing at tables that look like they're having a good time. We'd get bored and just choose a table at the casino we are at. We had a couple of low wins, but mostly just losses. Clint was convinced Joey was bad luck... then she won $300 in the pokies (slots). Jel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful moment, and a beautiful view.</td></tr>
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We stayed at the Cosmopolitan, which is a really good time. It's nice staying in a fancy hotel even if you don't spend a lot of time in your room. When you're wandering back to your room, it's a good opportunity to explore. I swear I didn't take the same route more than twice.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-74923792388802315692013-11-06T22:17:00.003-08:002013-11-06T22:17:47.550-08:00Learning to Curl (and be Canadian)I'm sure you've all heard of curling. Probably mocked it at some point in your life. Laughed at the guys sweeping the ice with a broom. Made a joke about how women should be good at it. Well laugh all you want, this game is freaking hard!<br />
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We joined the McArthur Island Curling Club's Learn to Curl program. It's an 8 week course where they teach you the basics of curling, and give you the the opportunity to join a league once you're done. We've been doing it for 5 weeks now, and I think to some extent we've improved. Those first few weeks I was in a whole lot of pain every Wednesday.<br />
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Let me set the scene, you have a shoe with a teflon coating on the bottom... and you have to slide on it on the ice. It's been going about as well as you would expect! The ice is actually covered with tiny little ice bumps that they apply with something that looks like a spot sprayer. The bumps help the stone move to the end of the ice, fast ice is "keen" ice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teflon and strategy</td></tr>
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The basics are there are 4 people on a team, and everyone throws 2 rocks in a row (one team at a time). The captain "skip" throws last, and if you win the toss you get the choice to have the last throw "the hammer". Scoring is done the same as lawn bowls. You push out from the "hack" and the rock is thrown from something like a lunge position (hard), and you have to try and balance and slide on your teflon coated shoe with your back foot out behind you toes facing down. The slide is how the rock gets it's momentum, you're not supposed to push out the rock at all (but that is hard too).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Focus face, and they're "hurrying hard!"</td></tr>
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The rock is thrown with a slight spin, either moving your hand from "10 O'Clock" to "12" or from "2" to "12". The Skip at the other end of the ice tells you where the want the rock, and which way they want you to curl it. For 3 weeks I think I needed bumpers, as I had huge issues getting the rock to stay inside our sheet of ice. The sweepers have to work out how fast the rock is going, and whether they need to sweep (to make it go further) or leave it in order for it to land where the skip is requesting. This is also really hard to gauge, and the majority of the rocks I'm sweeping for either run out the back or don't make it into play. The struggle is real!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uwcl5ZrsufHUh4vO-tqIU36Dy-XhyyM3fb-Y0skYrrVOoZkANauLSin_lr77QACn4wxFy-rOqtl4ESasnFVXWf5JXvAVw0beRpPev9lO7TeItEkZmpZnz0cQv4hAqHvgdFRog1DDuf0P/s1600/curling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uwcl5ZrsufHUh4vO-tqIU36Dy-XhyyM3fb-Y0skYrrVOoZkANauLSin_lr77QACn4wxFy-rOqtl4ESasnFVXWf5JXvAVw0beRpPev9lO7TeItEkZmpZnz0cQv4hAqHvgdFRog1DDuf0P/s640/curling.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're cool!</td></tr>
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I'm also not someone you want on your team. Not just because I'm a hazard, but I also get too much enjoyment from other people falling over. Twice I've actually said "YES". Out loud. Sorry team!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-36913610891093884092013-11-03T14:38:00.002-08:002013-11-03T14:38:54.148-08:00Halloween. Festive Season 2 of 3Once October hits, it seems like there is festive season after festive season. Thanksgiving, Halloween, then Christmas. There are decorations and everything that goes with each of these events. It's full on! In Canada, the gap between Halloween and Christmas is the biggest. Conveniently this is the biggest change over, as many houses go all out for both events.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjTJ8sdeJAC1emNIjlhRFMkUK7BGNpIltk0VA8VdS4bfZ2qsFzu4fOSJ0QwmsPKvXaJ720arRaw_ofsa5yhJ8SMswIvtHILbhf8bcM6TaR-NSdwYT_d7UXqsqXC5vWJWCCI8UDxynCYNe/s1600/halloween13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjTJ8sdeJAC1emNIjlhRFMkUK7BGNpIltk0VA8VdS4bfZ2qsFzu4fOSJ0QwmsPKvXaJ720arRaw_ofsa5yhJ8SMswIvtHILbhf8bcM6TaR-NSdwYT_d7UXqsqXC5vWJWCCI8UDxynCYNe/s640/halloween13.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a giant evil cat watching some ladies! Me trying to be Kate Moss. Failing.</td></tr>
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The weekend before Halloween, we went to a house party that has the sweetest Halloween set up you've ever seen. Interior and exterior was wild! I can't really do it justice trying to explain it, you'll have to take my work for it that it was impressive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAm_n_UdeOnCOWS-h5OSFdMHnNE_LH7AL7Yu1qCsnQ-BcwU66dudy1MyTKi48yPGkhEbChnOSW_MK5Jg1wPPiOqIo0AVNhPX222IFaOu87tx7pmxVixiXdEBUFgHnkC2FmtbzpUFxYDbS/s1600/halloween13-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAm_n_UdeOnCOWS-h5OSFdMHnNE_LH7AL7Yu1qCsnQ-BcwU66dudy1MyTKi48yPGkhEbChnOSW_MK5Jg1wPPiOqIo0AVNhPX222IFaOu87tx7pmxVixiXdEBUFgHnkC2FmtbzpUFxYDbS/s640/halloween13-1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><1% of the decorations!</td></tr>
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For actual Halloween we took it pretty easy and had a dinner at our house for fellow friends that didn't want to deal with trick or treaters. Living in a Condo and down a long driveway is beneficial if you don't want to hand out chocolates. Once again we bough a giant box of chocolates "just in case", but have since eaten the majority of them ourselves. Win, win! We didn't carve our pumpkins until Halloween night this year. This prevented the soggy faces that we experienced on October the 31st last year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guess which is mine, and which is O'Hara's. You can tell we don't have stencils!</td></tr>
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That weekend Kamloops had its first snowfall! Finally. I think the best way to describe my (un-ladylike) excitement for the snowboardings season is "frothing"? I'll have to check with the baby brother if I've used that word correctly in a sentence. I can't wait. 3 weeks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLq2djrXGSO-EmTqSoTxXK9I-c9oJjhecv5tr4kU0AjKCdEME306mmYLvu5xnP-4yDciAPN_U6Bl5yffAlEI7Wmxo8kNogrHxStLk1YAbiQAmMyuUDvidF7tD5KvTTEX3cqyblymXvGjt/s1600/firstsnow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLq2djrXGSO-EmTqSoTxXK9I-c9oJjhecv5tr4kU0AjKCdEME306mmYLvu5xnP-4yDciAPN_U6Bl5yffAlEI7Wmxo8kNogrHxStLk1YAbiQAmMyuUDvidF7tD5KvTTEX3cqyblymXvGjt/s640/firstsnow.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take selfie with snow in hair. Check</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-82487780194630383432013-10-20T19:21:00.000-07:002013-10-20T19:21:07.489-07:00Autumn WeekendsI am not Autumn's biggest fan. I've always struggled to get into that season, because in Australia there is nothing good about it (aside from my birthday... obviously). We don't have the holiday season coming up, no Thanksgiving, Halloween or Christmas, no beautiful trees or colours and often it only cools down a few weeks before winter. It's just the doom and gloom before Winter hits. Given, in places like Cobar that's when the weather is actually at it's best. I still don't like it.<br />
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The majority of North Americans are obsessed with "Fall". Ask them, you know it to be true. They love the holidays, the beauty, crafting, cooking, decorating, eating, family. They love the fashion "you can look cute with boots and layers without needing full Winter clothes", and everyone loves the harvest. I've found a few that side with me, "it's cold but there isn't anything fun to do" but they're definitely few and far between. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poser(s)</td></tr>
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Confession. This year I've become a bit of a sucker. I don't know if it's because the weather is better, or if I've started to notice the beauty and have a better wardrobe... but I've kind of fallen for Fall. I love Thanksgiving, and layering and root vegetables, and pumpkin pie, and the way the sun comes through the coloured leaves. Sucker. It reminds me of the first time O'Hara and I travelled to Europe in September/November. We were walking to the top of a hill in Switzerland somewhere and we finally understood why people liked Autumn. It's freaking beautiful!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay for wearing gumboots! O'Hara loved playing photographer...</td></tr>
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This weekend I travelled to Vernon for the Pumpkin Harvest Fest at Davidson Orchards. They had everything you could possibly want (harvest wise). Mulled apple cider, pies, cakes, pumpkins. It was worth the drive. Sunday we attempted for the second year to see the Salmon Run. We've been in "off" years since we've been here, and this year was an improvement on last year (zero) but we're still waiting for the big kahuna. Still, I got to see some fish, splash around in my new gumboots and marvel at the beauty of the leaves.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The giant dead fish are particularly beautiful!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-43365042479766737712013-10-15T19:24:00.000-07:002013-10-15T19:25:09.687-07:00Canadian Thanksgiving. Round 2Despite what How I Met Your Mother says, Canadians have quite a lot to be thankful for. I think everyone who is lucky enough to get paid for working, have the opportunity for an education and lives in a free country has PLENTY to be thankful for. This is our second Thanksgiving in Canada, <a href="http://skippyorbullwinkle.blogspot.ca/2012/10/today-i-am-thankful.html">last Thanksgiving</a> we learnt all about some Canadian specialties. No Wheat Salad this year. Yet.<br />
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This year we were invited to KD McG's (AKA Korah) mum's house for a Thanksgiving feast. I don't use the term feast lightly, but that is what it was. I thought I would burst from eating, then had three pieces of dessert. I'm sorry but you haven't lived until you've had pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese icing.<br />
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Before dinner we went around the table and said what we were thankful for, for the past year. Korah had warned us that's what would happen so we had some time to think about it. Do you know what? Having to think about this, really made me realise I lead a very blessed life. I am thankful for a whole lot! This is what I had.<br />
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Firstly, I am thankful to have two loving and supporting families in Australia. Who (while barely) have forgiven us for living in Canada. I'm also thankful that my wonderful friends from home still love me.<br />
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I'm thankful that I was able to have the opportunity and job that lets me work in Canada and we were able to buy a home here. I'm thankful that I've been able to make new wonderful friends while living here.<br />
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I'm thankful for having Korah in my department for the last year, which has let me become friends with her and Mike and the opportunity to have Thanksgiving dinner with her family. I am so thankful that they invited us to their family dinner, and included us. They are wonderful people.<br />
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Finally, I am thankful for my husband. He makes every day a good one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm also pretty thankful for Stacey (Steve's GF)</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-5739458129767034772013-10-14T19:59:00.002-07:002013-10-14T19:59:30.929-07:00We bought a house..... in Canada!Wow! We didn't really see this one coming, but after about 15 months of renting our condo (townhouse equivalent I think to the Aussies) the unit next door came up for sale. O'Hara and I had talked about buying on and off. We'd think about buying, then something would happen that would make us think we'd be home sooner rather than later. Then that would sort itself out and we'd start thinking again. Being an expat is like being on a roller-coaster of emotions. I'm slowly getting used to it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJgW9091M_rdPzMziq3fGcxeR64PIjDlNmB-FUzEjdU5XIFTlbQyK8gM1epaBXEFNmseTQNUHWMsWeMkgSBth2kHGqa3FR0ijQhpM1gIr8jy3kaaQtsSS5uwnPzokRIzEFAZl83Wt6S2N/s1600/house2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJgW9091M_rdPzMziq3fGcxeR64PIjDlNmB-FUzEjdU5XIFTlbQyK8gM1epaBXEFNmseTQNUHWMsWeMkgSBth2kHGqa3FR0ijQhpM1gIr8jy3kaaQtsSS5uwnPzokRIzEFAZl83Wt6S2N/s640/house2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excuse the scrubbiness, but us drinking champas in our new house. I promptly smashed the bottom of the light.</td></tr>
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The housing market in Canada (in Kamloops at least) is cheaper than it is in Australia. Vancouver is ranked one of the most unaffordable cities in the world, but I think part of that is to do with wages and I'm sure Sydney is up there as well. There is also often talk here about a housing bubble bursting because the interest rates are so low, but that seems to be a risk here and at home. The deciding factor for us was when we worked out we were paying about $200 a month more in rent than what a mortgage + property taxes + strata fees would be for exactly the same place.<br />
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So we did it! The whole process was fairly simple. We don't have Permanent Residency (or the application submitted) so we had to have a 20% deposit. We were able to use our contributed NRSPs. These are kinda the equivalent to super except we don't get a tax break because they aren't "registered". We may end up getting registered "RRSPs" now, because we shouldn't need to draw on the cash before we leave (famous last words no doubt...).<br />
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With a 20% deposit it meant we didn't have to pay mortgage insurance BUT we did end up having to pay Property Transfer Tax. If we had PR we wouldn't have had to pay this as we are first time home buyers. That was a fun little surprise as O'Hara was signing the paperwork 2 days before possession. Please, we actually need another $3,600... Luckily we had a good lawyer that told us we needed to pay it (after everyone else told us we didn't), otherwise we would have been pinged come tax time. Thank you Fulton & Company.<br />
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We went with a variable interest rate which may have been a bit risky, but we're only paying 2.6% at the moment so there's no complaining here. Now we just need to get a couch so we don't have to sit on dining chairs when we're at home! Unfortunately we just booked a trip to the UK, and I bought the new iPhone so it may take a while. I clearly have the right priorities.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Qt7hmVhweHqgnCCrxBpEh4fDbvvjevlGX8sZaiZKn8sFruLcboMvbYxFJ3FWm7jWQruvi2qPYymXPioHuGWXkNAqo632rzfl88LYF5msa-UJABXLOS46KSBLDcKpvCaIfR3vV7X6JiQc/s1600/house1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Qt7hmVhweHqgnCCrxBpEh4fDbvvjevlGX8sZaiZKn8sFruLcboMvbYxFJ3FWm7jWQruvi2qPYymXPioHuGWXkNAqo632rzfl88LYF5msa-UJABXLOS46KSBLDcKpvCaIfR3vV7X6JiQc/s640/house1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best way to move! To an empty lounge room with a view (now full of sh*t)</td></tr>
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We have three things that were super exciting. 1) Our bed faces the other way so we have a much nicer view. 2) The condo was literally one across from our rental, so we just passed everything across the balcony. In Canada appliances come with the house even if you're buying, so Teresa we did not move the fridge this way! 3) The old Man Cave (they left the sign of rules - they're gone) is now a Sophisticave. It's the game room where we can hang out and drink scotch from the bar that's now there. Much better.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNeuUgLZesXNNRCMwJra9A2pPVhS5isFhdEAms_0u525fEgceOUUAmD2tNOouQssOD4HB5-sLFmr9p89AsJWKgOJMX3OD2yfmi1ru3oiyoCsvzFJH39VROU9n2FlEgczU_1hXEdDUQgd9/s1600/house3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNeuUgLZesXNNRCMwJra9A2pPVhS5isFhdEAms_0u525fEgceOUUAmD2tNOouQssOD4HB5-sLFmr9p89AsJWKgOJMX3OD2yfmi1ru3oiyoCsvzFJH39VROU9n2FlEgczU_1hXEdDUQgd9/s640/house3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not creepy guys!</td></tr>
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Visitors are welcome! You can stay in our shrine room for the non-existant child! You're welcome!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-78636420718689800442013-10-01T20:09:00.002-07:002013-10-01T20:12:31.947-07:00My Island HomeGuys, this was possibly the best trip we've had in the last 18 months. It was our trip home. This is my opportunity to rave about how much I love my home, don't take it as a dig at our host country!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sydney housemates reunite at the same restaurant 5 years later</td></tr>
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O'Hara was seriously lucky and was able to have nearly 3 weeks in the Motherland. I wasn't quite so fortunate, but I've since realised that 8 days in Australia is substantially better than none. When we arrived in Canada we'd been living in Cobar for the pervious 18 month. While I love Cobar it's hardly a good representation of the awesomeness that is Australia, so it was almost a shock as to how much fun my country is. It's only a few weeks into spring there and it was plenty warm enough to swim in the ocean - though I understand Australia is experiencing a crazy hot year. *Cough* climate change *cough*. Sun Peaks is also opening a week later this year. *Cough* PROOF *cough*.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauties</td></tr>
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We planned the trip so we could attend the wedding of our beautiful friends Hayley and Pat. The wedding was absolutely spectacular. I haven't laughed and cried so much at a wedding ever. I'm sure part of it was the emotional turmoil of seeing my friends for the first time in 18 months, but there was a lot of love during that day. Fitzy, my goodness do we miss you. Ever day. But especially on these days. We also got to relive the London days of playing cards (Black Bitch obvs), eating scones with jam and cream and drinking Strongbow and Leffe (damn I wish it was only 99p).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You wish you could be friends with this lot!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeky cards and beautiful trees - when did driving in Australia get so pretty there?</td></tr>
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While staying in Canberra we visited O'Hara's grandparents in Batemans Bay and spent an afternoon on the beach, got to hear about his parents amazing trip around Aus, tried to convince his siblings to visit us (some again), and have incredible lattes from a new coffee shop in Curtin. I also forgot what good coffee tasted like. North Americans, can you please get your shit together! Seriously. Please! A good latte shouldn't need syrups or sugar and it absolutely shouldn't scald your mouth - <i>note: Rachel took me to a coffee shop owned by New Zealanders in LA... that place is good times.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Hara's parents, aunty and grandma</td></tr>
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<i></i>We spent 2 nights in Sydney staying at Coogee. Ah, our old stomping ground. It's so weird spending time here sober. That didn't happen a lot. Sun, beers, good food, beers, more good food, beach, sun, beautiful beer gardens, more beers and many, many good friends. Heaven! Speaking of good food, we literally (not figuratively) had a suitcase full of food to bring back. Best! We also somehow rounded up 5 generations of Baxter kids at a pub one night. We would have had 6 if Simon had manned up and come out. GOSH Simon!<br />
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I was not impressed when we had to leave on Saturday afternoon to get on a plane back to Canada. Especially as I kept cheekily checking the weather in Kamloops and it was not something to look forward too. My homesickness is worse now than ever, the only thing that keeps me a little sane is that I have a little kangaroo and emu on the front of my passport. This means if I really want to, I can always go home to the most amazing place on early.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FIVE generations of Baxter College kids!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach, beach, beachy, beach I LOVE you!</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-3012149235129993822013-09-29T18:33:00.002-07:002013-09-29T19:58:29.761-07:00Vancouver Colour RunI have been waiting to do this since I first got to Canada. There was one in Seattle shortly after we arrived but it sold out in seconds. I think the novelty has worn off a little since it started, as this one wasn't hard to get tickets for. YES!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We didn't make an Australia on purpose, but it's cool!</td></tr>
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The Gold and Green Machine was our team, and there was 12 of us that ran/walked on the team. The Colour Run was held at the PnE in Vancouver which isn't the best location. I think Colour Me Rad (just another version) is held at UBC which would be a bit nicer. We were following witches hats around a big concrete area for a lot of the run, which meant we just cut across. It was kinda silly.<br />
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The colour part through was awesome. Just running through doesn't really get you super colourful, but we worked out pretty quickly you can just pick up handfuls of the colour powder and use that to throw/smear at each other. There was a big group of us which meant a lot of people throwing colour at you... which meant we looked pretty amazing by the end. We had perfect weather for it, not raining and not so hot you were a sweaty brown slime by the end.<br />
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I think this run has got a fair bit of negative press recently, as it's clearly more of a money making scheme disguised as a charity run. This is obvious, but it doesn't make it any less fun! If you realise you're just paying $45 for a fun day and some awesome photos, it doesn't seem so bad.<br />
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Below are some videos we made, posted here for the parentals who don't have Instagram :) - side note: does anyone else hate it when people take blurry photos for you? You touch the screen to focus?! Not hard.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="498" scrolling="no" src="//instagram.com/p/eQBoWBzVIG/embed/" width="400"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-25008668528330756732013-09-29T18:25:00.002-07:002013-09-29T18:25:56.701-07:00Taco Twerk for the Labour Day Long Weekend<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhha08q29SSDffxmxhB16_Em1hSfMJIpxgdImeY56HxMTD91px0Qn2m6JbTnzuLdlLcXbVFan98_P4przzK2czIgvQhjylCUfhSPxjqQOmQy5j5YdkAG97Y4_-u-q00xj-6cgRXt3NMPA/s1600/IMG_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhha08q29SSDffxmxhB16_Em1hSfMJIpxgdImeY56HxMTD91px0Qn2m6JbTnzuLdlLcXbVFan98_P4przzK2czIgvQhjylCUfhSPxjqQOmQy5j5YdkAG97Y4_-u-q00xj-6cgRXt3NMPA/s320/IMG_0023.jpg" width="320" /></a>This weekend seems like ages ago, and really it's been a while. While O'Hara was busy training for another Mine Rescue competition, I decided to take a mini-break to LA for a long weekend. I only just discovered that I can fly directly from Kelowna (a 2hr drive away) for the same as it costs from Vancouver or even Seattle! Huge fail taking so long to work that out. It also means we can go during winter and not need to brave the Coq.<br />
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This was a last minute decision trip, as Rachel had just told me her family was having a Taco Party for Labour Day. It doesn't take much to convince me to take a trip to visit Rachel, so the promise of a beach weekend with a taco party meant I only needed to briefly check flights to work out it would be a good time.<br />
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LA put on some awesome weather for us while I was there, I tried once again to use a standup paddle board but failed even worse than in the lake. I can't quite work out my centre of balance, which should really be surprising considering the giant nature of my body. On the Sunday morning in preparation from the taco party, Rachel's dad hosted a cross fit class for the 10 people who were keen to work out. It ended up being a competition between 2 teams of 5, where each person had to get to 250 points by doing various exercises. I thrive under competition (shock!), so didn't really feel like I was working out super hard. That turned out to be a huge understatement as I struggled to walk, and lift things for the next 5 days. As they say, it's the gift that keeps on giving.<br />
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One of my favourite things about living in Canada, is being able to see American friends more than once every 3 years. I love that I can visit Rachel and her family for a weekend, you don't know what being hosted is like until you've spent time with this family! I now recognise US Customs workers at Vancouver airport, so I think that's a sign I am utilising my living arrangements perfectly (except that we STILL haven't been to GA!).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-84514234945350169182013-08-27T18:49:00.000-07:002013-08-27T18:49:09.834-07:00Shuswap Cabining WeekendWe made the most of the rapidly disappearing summer last weekend. Our lovely friends have just as lovely friends who have a cabin out at the Shuswap.<br />
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Cabining is an age old Canadian past time. The equivalent of going to the shack or beach house in Australia. It reminded me of the good old days, spending your summers on the boat, swimming and developing a great tan before going back to school. Remember the days when you actually got tanned over summer? I guess my skin health thanks me for not doing that anymore, but I miss the envious "you're sooo tanned" comments.<br />
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This wasn't just a weekend of meeting some friends of friends (love doing that!) and hanging by the lake. This was a weekend of firsts. Some had their first keg stand, some their first cliff jump into a lake, some their first view of the salmon run, some their first paddle board, some their first homemade cider keg stand (everyone?), some their first skinny dip in a lake, and some their first skinny dip full stop.<br />
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Unfortunately we're at that age and some have professional careers, so including photos of these events isn't really appropriate. We had a wonderful weekend friends! Here's hoping Autumn brings just as much fun.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455831319386341345.post-71661484714765729882013-08-18T20:28:00.000-07:002013-08-18T20:28:26.027-07:00Some Summer Weekends in KamloopsWe've been in Kamloops for the last three weekends which has been really nice. Last summer we were travelling a lot, so didn't get to enjoy the lovely summer heat in town very much. We now don't have a weekend at home until October so I guess it was good timing. Summer has been awesome in BC as well, as long as you like hot and no rain (who doesn't?). Kamloops is dry as a chip, so it's not pretty but it's hot.<br />
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The first weekend was the August long weekend. Our friends Greg and Lil came up to the 'loops because Greg was playing in a soccer tourney. We floated the river TWICE that weekend. The river was moving a fair bit slower than the Channel in Penticton but there aren't many better things to do than float down a river, in the sun, drinking beers with a good group of friends. My underwater camera has decided to die so I sadly didn't get any photos on either trip.<br />
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Next weekend was the much anticipated Kamloops Ribfest. We missed out on going last year, but had friends that loved it. They loved it so much the went all three days, and it sold out each day. We were in Vancouver for work during the week, but came back Saturday so we could attend. We were pretty excited! On Sunday we got the kayak out (finally) and paddled down the river to Ribfest (again). I think we would have tried 4 different types of ribs over the weekend. Not sad about that at all!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhgw2ycVJBm9t6uDDYTaOJeLR4L2_ZRZrUxO60cLgx_06SyYxLkZxqEmodGlWek4nOQJekriRhPPvBWEYFLxvAeyPAabjREzStbqhXrAkhkPNy2Kzpzg3zWB4wlB2x2AgK8RWcQx3ouP3/s1600/kayak.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhgw2ycVJBm9t6uDDYTaOJeLR4L2_ZRZrUxO60cLgx_06SyYxLkZxqEmodGlWek4nOQJekriRhPPvBWEYFLxvAeyPAabjREzStbqhXrAkhkPNy2Kzpzg3zWB4wlB2x2AgK8RWcQx3ouP3/s640/kayak.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granville Island Brooms and a blurry kayak shot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8UwGRoAUEstdX17MiDIE-6Bj8dTbnvDKsL71l6FQjBwebAu24hEX6b9FGU8qMW1qAh33URN6d7c-VPb5z0ySyXkGwvA_ikO5WBCLdsvO5H7atwkVG7chx2x52SzknRWzVCcDOZ_D4YSK/s1600/ribfest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8UwGRoAUEstdX17MiDIE-6Bj8dTbnvDKsL71l6FQjBwebAu24hEX6b9FGU8qMW1qAh33URN6d7c-VPb5z0ySyXkGwvA_ikO5WBCLdsvO5H7atwkVG7chx2x52SzknRWzVCcDOZ_D4YSK/s640/ribfest.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People will wait for these delicious bad boys!</td></tr>
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This last weekend we had a quick visit from an Australian uni friend and his wifey. They moved to Vancouver at the start of summer and were on a cheeky interior trip before their baby arrived. Looking forward to visiting them in Vancouver with their new bub soon! We also went out to Barriere for a chicken rotisserie BBQ. Homegrown chickens and everything! I don't think I've ever had chicken that tasted that good. There is no comparison!<br />
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I'm looking forward to the weekends of fun that are coming up. In particular a short trip to the Motherland in September!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652743206683442347noreply@blogger.com1