The city by the bay - San Francisco

I was sorry to be leaving Yosemite for San Francisco. I don't think it would have mattered much where we were headed I still would have felt that way. Although I really enjoyed SF last time we came the only reason we were headed there this time around was to spend time with my family as it was their first visit. The biggest things that stuck out in my mind were the cold, the wind and the fog. Well once again SF delivered. We arrived at night driving over the Bay Bridge toward the lit up city before us. It was cold. It was windy. It was foggy. Having just come from 30+ temperatures in Yosemite we all were feeling the chill of the city by the bay.

D&I woke the next morning with the rest of the group already on their tour to Alcatraz, which we did last visit. With nothing planned we decided to walk to Union Square for lunch and some shopping at the always fabulous Ross. We were staying in the SOMA district which I had already read on Tripadvisor had a lot of homeless - it was correct. It wasn't that I didn't feel safe walking the streets but it just felt dirty and hopeless there. I guess it's all part of the experience but in comparison to where we stayed last time, this was down right dodgy. That being said, The Americania hotel was really clean and decorated in a modern 50's theme. By the time we got back it was time to leave for our first MLB Game at AT&T stadium. Giants vs Diamondbacks. Unfortunately Giants lost and we paid like $20 each for a hotdog pretzel and beer but we all had a great time getting into the spirit and watching the neverending fog float past!



AT&T Park was just awesome, right on the water



Lets Go Giants!

C'mon Giants bring the heat we're FREEZING up here!!!

I woke up early the next morning and decided to check our email.... BINGO - there was D's approval into Canada in black and white. I shook him awake and told him the news - we lamely coolly high fived in the dark and giggled at how excited we were that our dreams were unfolding piece by piece before our eyes. Despite my happiness part of me was also sad, as it confirmed that I will not be returning home. Maybe some wine to drown my sorrows?

Ye-yah it was wine tour day! We were off to Sonoma and Napa Valleys. D and I had wanted to go there since watching the movie Bottleshock - yep most of our obsessions originated from movies & TV. We spent the beautiful sunny day driving through these lovely little towns sampling wine from 3 different wineries. Most of the wine was excellent, but I found myself reluctantly pouring a few of them out - I hate wasting free grog! At lunch I ate one of the best chicken sandwiches I think i've ever had from the deli in Yontville - it had grapes and nuts on it, the perfect accompaniment to all the wine I had been drinking.

One of the many wineries in beautiful Sonoma

Me & D - This is where the magic happens!

These grapes, despite not looking fit for human consumption sure made some great tasting wine!

K&N soaking up the atmosphere and the goon

After our tour we decided to go out for dinner and what better place than another movie inspired destination... Bubba Gump Shrimp! What a fun night that was, everything themed from the movie and even a mid dinner quiz on our knowledge - we got every question right - GO TEAM! Oh and the food was pretty damn good too! A great end to a short stop in San Francisco.

D as Forrest

Yosemite - there are never enough words

Our last visit to Yosemite changed our life. It's what inspired us to see the world. It opened our eyes, our minds and our hearts. I was so happy to be back. Yosemite National Park is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in western California and is most famous for its valley surrounded by towering granite cliffs and North America's tallest waterfalls. Unfortunately upon our arrival I was still feeling quite sick and was too tired and drained to expore that afternoon. I decided to have a nanna nap while D went for a short hike.

When dark consumed the valley floor we headed over to the bus shelter to wait for my family to arrive. As the bus pulled in I could just make out the shadows of my brother and his wife - A&C, my sister and her fiance - K&N and my dad - W. I grabbed my camera desperate not to miss a moment of their arrival in my favourite place. As each of them wearily made their way down the stairs I flashed the camera in their face. It was actually quite mean as they had been travelling from LA on a mix of trains and busses for the last 8 hours but we were making memories so it had to be done! We got shared our dinner space with the many Racoons out that night in Curry Village and headed to bed in our rustic but charming canvas tent (complete with bear bin to store all food and toiletries in). I couldn't wait for the sun to rise and reveal the beauty of Yosemite once again to us the next morning.



Curry Village is a great place to stay in Yosemite to experience the great outdoors with some confort



The canvas tents light up like lanterns in the night sky

Every day in Yosemite is a good day. We were constantly surrounded by nature and wildlife including mule deer, squirrels and birds. We decided to take a hike to Vernal Fall which although not strenuous or long was busy and on a steep incline on the way up. The bad thing about this was that I lost my puff fairly quickly but the good thing was seeing the scenery open up in front on me - the higher we went the more we saw... A few of our group decided to go to the top of Vernal Falls but I was happy enough to sit at the bottom and watch.





W,A,N &D on their way to Vernal Falls



K, me and C having a drink on our way up the trail

By fall most of the waterfalls in Yosemite are dry up due to no snow melt however there was still some water at Vernal

After our hike we relaxed around the Merced River for the afternoon (which was bloody cold) before grabbing some drinks and chilling at our canvas tents. I felt so relaxed and at ease that afternoon. Total bliss there is no where else in the world I would rather have been at that moment. What a great day!

D&A - The face of total relaxation in the Merced River.... Ahhhhh thats the stuff

D,A,N,K&C cheers to Yosemite!

The boys woke early the next morning to start the hike up the Glacier Point via the Four Mile Trail - a moderate hike of 7.7km with an elevation change of 1000m leading from the valley floor straight up. It was too much for me so I took the one way bus up to Glacier Point along with K,C&W to meet the boys and do the much easier hike down with them. The bus ride was very scenic and informative and the views from Glacier point were as beautiful as they were scary, as was the hike down to the floor which took about 3 hours. Steep steps, sheer cliffs and drop offs but oh my god I had never seen anything quite so beautiful. It was actually fairly hard walking downhill, K&N both fell on their arses which was pretty funny but freaked us out as there were so many sections where if you slipped you could easily have gone over. By the time we got back to Curry Village we were all buggered but felt as if we had achieved something very special that day. My legs were like jelly but my heart felt so strong. Needless to say we all slept well that night!

The trailhead at Glacier Point

Stunning Yosemite Valley surrounded my towering granite cliffs and Half Dome

Around every corner is something more spectacular than the last... D&I Reverse Tunnel View

Our final day in Yosemite was spent riding the free shuttle to different points on the valley floor exploring the museum as well as several gift shops while taking photos of the wildlife. The valley is only 1 or 2 percent of the park as a whole but boy is it stunning.

We all fell in love with these little guys. We named one that kept hanging around but the name escapes me now....

Isn't she beautiful

D& I were so happy to share the spirit of Yosemite with our family and so glad they enjoyed it as much as we did but mostly we just felt privledged to be in this amazing place again. I feel at peace whenever i'm there - like all my cares and worries just become less important, which is why I will continue to come back for the rest of my life.

Lets Go.... Tahoe!

Our flight into LAX was good but we left a gift purchased in Hawaii for our Californian friends, C&Y on the plane and by the time we realised it was too late. We have a tendency of doing things like that - the biggest thing we have left behind at an airport was a brand new Nikon DSLR camera enroute to New Zealand. You'd think being more experienced with travel we would have things like that all but sorted.... unfortunately not. Obviously the volcano plant from Hawaii wasn't quote as expensive as a new camera but still it was enough to piss us off, especially because we wanted to give it to C&Y as a house warming gift. Grrr...

We arrived in the early hours of the morning so got to see the sun rise over LAX while waiting for a much smaller plane to take us to Fresno. It was already really hot (getting up to mid thirties) by the time we left around 9am but the day was just awesome and clear. I had never been on a very small plane and was pretty nervous about it - the thing was tiny, with only double seats on each side. Despite its size and my nerves it was a really smooth and enjoyable flight. We could see mountains on one side and ocean on the other pretty much the whole way before our descent into Fresno - the duration was only about half an hour. On our arrival into Fresno I was pleasantly surprised that airport was actually one of the nicest I had ever been in - and i've seen quite a few. It was very fresh and clean and there is a great setup of sequoia tree replicas in the terminal, just so cool and for a small airport very unexpected.

C&Y welcomed us into their beautiful new home, which was just huge and amazing! They also indroduced us to their new Siberian Husky puppy who was adorable (though very naughty) and cooked us up a yummy Mexican style breakfast. Before long we were in the car again and - after a short trip to Walmart for some fishing rods - on our way to South Tahoe. The drive took about 5 hours and only really started to get scenic in the last hour or so as we left the highway behind us and wound up into the mountains. The high sierra lake finally came into view and it was breathtaking.



Our first view of Tahoe from the road, just beautiful!

South Tahoe was such a cute town, many log cabins and inns with pine trees galore lining this massive body of bright blue water. It had a small town feel but with all the facilities that we find important (ie McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and our new favourite store for bargain shopping, Ross). Our hotel was a small but quirky and clean motel with a hot tub and I absolutely fell in love with the whole style and feel of the place. I took heaps of photos and made mental notes for when we hopefully have our own place one day.



Y,C&D at Basecamp South Tahoe - checkin' in

Tahoe state of mind - just LOVE this!

The boys were so excited to see each other that they got drunk and walked to the Casino on Stateline, got separated and stumbled home individually before removing all their clothes (minus their undies) and attacking day old Subway while speaking jibberish to Y and I who were in bed trying to yell and act angry about their little escapade but finding it so hard due to the fact they were well and truly 2 very drunk, very stupid but very funny imbeciles. The thing I love about these C&Y is that it's just easy to be around them. We all share the same points of view and sense of humour so the friendship just flows without feeling awkward or forced - most of the time we are in stitches!



Our husbands... how proud we must be

The next day the hangovers husbands woke up and went for an early morning fish while Y&I slept in. When the boys got back we all climbed in the family truckster and headed for the lake for a hike and a swim. The scenery was gorgeous but the water was FREEZING so we didn't spend too long there before heading back.



The always beautiful Y & I hiking Tahoe

After an awesome night including a possibly the best pizza dinner i've ever had we climbed in the car the next morning and were bound for Bishop. Y had family there who kindly offered for us to stay with them for the night and they certainly made us feel very welcome. Bishop is a lovely small town in California's high sierra, mostly famous due to its proximity to the winter wonderland of Mammoth Lakes. Unfortunately we didn't have time on our schedule to go there however we were treated to an authentic Mexican BBQ provided by Y's family who might I add spoke mostly Spanish. It was friggin GOOD! We went for a late walk through the town and drank Coronas and Tequila before hitting the hay.

The next day, after C's run in with a black widow spider crawling on his during his sleep, the boys went fishing before we packed up the car and drove home. D caught his first North American fish - a puny bluegill but he was happy. We chose the scenic and long route home which consisted of going through Yosemite National Park, which was exciting for D & I because it was our favourite place in the world.



D's first fish in North America - what a whopper!

The drive took us right into the night but it was worth it. We wound up through the Sierra passing mono lake and numerous other alpine lakes with stunning green and blue water and saw heaps of wildlife including mule deer. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular and the Giant Sequoias were amazing - these trees are the largest and oldest living things on earth. The biggest we saw was named the Grizzly Giant and was estimated at around 1800 years old.



Grizzly Giant in the background, it was massive

Group Shot at Tunnel View

The next few days were spend at C&Y's home just hanging out, watching TV & Movies and chillaxing. The boys managed a game of golf as well. I began to get sick towards the end of the week so spent a lot of time complaining and sleeping, what a pain I am! I have so many great memories of the week we spent with C&Y. The smell of pine needles in Tahoe, the potato chips popping in Yosemite's high sierra, the mexican feast in Bishop, their sock eating husky and my stomach muscles aching from so much laughter. Thanks to our wonderful friends for a great week!

Hawaii Five-0

First stop on our pre- Canada trip was Hawaii. Having just come back from a cruise to several South Pacific Islands, Hawaii wasn’t really on our must do list however after some investigation we found it was cheaper for us to fly one way there and then to the mainland than it was to go straight to LAX so that’s how the island of Oahu came into the plan. How do I describe Honolulu..... My first impression of course was of the international airport. To be honest, it was a very old and tired and I hoped that the city would look different – unfortunately it didn’t. Yes in my humble opinion Honolulu was a bit of a shit-hole. It’s busy, loud and ugly. Granted we weren’t staying in a 5 star hotel or the best part of town but everywhere just seemed full of homeless (who were rude and obnoxious!) and Asian's. I’m no racist but it just felt like there was more Japanese culture in the place than Hawaiian/Polynesian culture.

We spent our first day wandering around town looking for a supermarket and a McDonalds! I might mention here that I eat a lot of fast food, especially on holiday. I am a very picky eater and don’t like to chance spending a shit load of cash on something I may not like so I mostly stick to what I know, which is Maccas, KFC & Subway. Many would say that i’m not getting the full cultural experience by limiting my intake of local cuisine, but i’m just not brave with food and I hate paying ridiculous prices and tipping – I am a cheapskate sad but true. The food prices had gone up since our last visit to the States but were still SO much cheaper than home.



Honolulu doesn't look too bad... but listen and you will hear the soothing sounds of yelling, construction and police sirens

We woke up the next day and headed for Pearl Harbour. It took about an hour on the bus each way as we opted not to do a tour but it was an easy ride out of town. Pearl Harbour was lovely. If there is one thing the yanks do right it’s their National Parks and Monuments. We did an audio tour through the displays before heading over to the Arizona Memorial. It was so humbling to stand on the monument above the wreck where over 1000 men still lie entombed. The day we went was September 11^th so there was a huge crowd and they were raising an American flag for each victim of that tragedy. I found it so interesting that the ship still leaks oil after all of these years, they can’t try to stop this either as it would compromise the wreck. They say it’s the black tears of the victims floating to the top, so sad.




What a solemn place the Arizona Memorial was



American Pride - the yanks fly their flag proudly



The long list of those who died at the hands of the Japanese on December 7th 1941

The next day we were so happy to be getting out of Honolulu on a circle island tour. We first drove past Diamond Head before making brief stops at Hanauma Bay which was busy but beautiful, Pali which had fantastic views, the Dole Plantation which was an absolute waste of time; just a huge gift shop with a cafeteria but their pineapple soft serve was bloody amazing, then up to the North Shore where we were lucky to see sea turtles on the beach and the world famous pipeline. Our final stop was the Mormon run Polynesian Cultural centre which was lame at best. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone it’s just a theme park run by a bunch of university students mimicking cultural behaviours throughout the pacific islands. We also did a luau here which although was fun, wasn’t all that I expected.



Beautiful Pali lookout, things are so green in this area



The ONLY good thing about the Dole Plantation - BOMB PINEAPPLE ICECREAM!



Sea Turtle taking some sun on the North Shore beach

I'm having a good time... Not. "Enjoying" the Polynesian Cultural Centre

Having come all this way and not yet seeing the famous Waikiki Beach the next day we decided maybe we should check out what everyone was raving about. You could hardly call it a beach. There was hardly any sand and the stuff that was there had a greyish colour and felt squishy beneath your toes like years worth of sunscreen and tanning lotion had sank into it (apparently they bring in the sand from other countries as Waikiki doesn’t have it’s own!). There were hardly any waves and it was near impossible to find a spot on the sand or in the water. We only stayed for about half an hour before deciding the pool at our hotel was a better way to spend the day. We just didn’t see what all the fuss was about - what a shame. I guess when you come from Australia which has some of the world’s most beautiful beaches (and i’m NOT talking about Bondi) it’s hard to be impressed by they’re offering in Waikiki.



Waikiki "Beach" wasn't anything compared to the beaches at home

I’m guessing Honolulu is the main tourist hub of all the Hawaiian islands which is probably why it is aimed at catering for their biggest market, but it was cheap, and when you're on an extended holiday with no knowledge of when or how it will end unfortunately money talks. Needless to say we are glad to get on the plane and fly out to the mainland.

I'm a peacock you gotta let me fly

I've lived in the same small town most of my life. I met my husband, D, in high school at just 13, remained friends with mostly the same people and never really defected from my safe little bubble. I've never really known what I want to do with my life and I guess I would describe most of my early twenties just floating about without much direction. For a lot of people this kind of lifestyle works a treat, but I always seemed to find myself wanting more, expecting more from my life - I knew that I wasn't truly happy.

Luckily for me, D although VERY different to me in so many ways was shared my feelings of discontent and we knew there was something more out there for us. I believe that although a lot of things in life come from chance or luck, you can't sit back and expect things to happen for you. So we both decided to take action... major action. We decided while we were still young and relatively free (ie no mortgage, no kids) we wanted to experience a life that was nothing like what we'd been living. Somewhere far away. Somewhere exciting. Somewhere with a heartbeat!

D had a goal to finish his apprenticeship in Boilermaking before we did anything, and that was nearly 2 years away, so we knew we were in for a long wait. It wasn't easy. We moved home to save money and counted the days until we could be free. During this time we also managed to visit Japan, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji - these short breaks kept us sane while we worked towards our ultimate goal.

Finally after nearly a 2 year wait, sacrifice and endurance D's apprenticeship was finished and it was time. We quit our jobs, sold our cars and a bunch of other stuff (thank god for Ebay!) and said our goodbyes. I packed my life into a single suitcase, grabbed my carry on (the usual - passport, laptop, camera, husband) and was the way to my future... CANADA. I left behind everything I had ever known - my family, my friends, my job, most of my belongings and my son (10 year old Mini Fox Terrier).

As I stood in line to board the plane, one way ticket in hand, I realised what a giant leap of faith this really was. Not only was I leaving everything I knew and cared about behind, but we weren't even sure if we would actually reach our destination. No, I wasn't thinking about the possibility of the plane going down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - although I know there is always the chance of that happening due to my obsession with the TV show "Aircrash Investigation". What I mean is that we were leaving Australia before my D's Working Holiday Visa approval into Canada had come through.

D was initially considered 'inadmissable' to Canada due to a traffic infringement on his driving record that occured in his youth. Just our luck that on this particular type of infringement they are extremely strict. I remember the day we found that out was heartbreaking. I felt like my dreams were over. I was crushed (as was he). After some enquiry we found that he was able to apply for what is called 'Criminal Rehabilitation' which was another avenue for him to gain entry to Canada. It was a drawn out and costly process with a lot of paperwork and stress on our part, but we wanted it so much that nothing was going to stop us from at least trying.

The timing of our departure was as good as it was bad. One of my favourite cousins was getting married in the States and it was an event I was not willing to miss. Due to the related costs of 2 trips across the pacific we opted to 'chance' it and leave prematurely knowing that if the Visa was wither not yet processed or declined we would have to return home and start again. It's a risk we were willing to take for the adventure and opportunity of a lifetime.

Luckily for us we had a window of about 5 weeks before we were hoping to enter Canada which in turn gave us the opportunity to have an extended holiday with our family in the States, during which time we had hoped to have our entry approved.  So we boarded the plane, held our breath (and each other's hands) and hoped that for once the universe was on our side.....



Goodbye past, hello future