Sept 30 - Zoo, Koalas and Kangaroos!

Today we had to get up early to catch a shuttle to the bus to the Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter; Steve Irwin (now run by his family). It was an hour and a bit on the bus and then the best day ever. This zoo is what a zoo is meant to be. The whole thing is developed to look like each animal's natural habitat, with the architecture to give the vibe of the country where the animals reside and a wild array of animals of all sorts. Among the animals showcased were: wombats, alligators, crocodiles, cassowaries, emus, tigers, elephants, exotic birds, birds of prey, tasmanian devils (which we couldn't see in the enclosure), kangaroos, koalas, snakes, turtles, and komodo dragons, among others.

After touring through about half the park, we went and saw a really weird performance by Bindi (Steve's daughter) in the Crocoseum (big stadium with a stage and a croc pit) where she sang and danced with her "jungle girls" about animals and conservation. Like Raffi meets Hannah Montana. Anyways, after that there was a show by Steve's wife, daughter, and son, along with other zoo staff. They got dozens of bright and large birds to swoop around the stands. That was super cool, and was followed by a feeding of Monty the huge saltwater crocodile. Croc jumping for chunks of raw meat = awesome. Ironically, after the show with a strong conservation message, we filtered out of the stadium with the rest of the crowd for some burgers and pizza from the food court that made Sask place food stands look tiny.

We spent lots of time after lunch around koalas and kangaroos. I had seen lots of pictures of koalas around; they love them here, but they always look evil in the photos - those beady little eyes look like they're up to no good. But in real life they are hands down the most interesting, cute, odd little creatures ever. Got to pat a couple and get up close to them in little trees and take photos. Just when it couldn't get any cooler, we came to the big kangaroo area. We had passed through the small area earlier, which was sweet, but this was huge and had loads of roos. We bought a bag of feed from a vending machine (which dumped the unsealed bag all over the inside of the machine, and we then had to scoop up and put back in the bag) and then went and hand fed kangaroos. Quite possibly the happiest moment of my life. They are so cool up close. Usually they're on all fours like a dog and it's only when they want to go a ways that they hop. Finally getting to see some hop was also fantastic. Their fur is super soft, like velvet and these ones were so docile. It was great to feed them in the morning, but by the afternoon, they had been fed by so many people that they didn't take the food anymore and just sat around. Another zoo highlight was seeing the deadliest snakes in the world based on venom toxicity (behind thick glass) in the snake cave. It's amazing that the most mediocre looking little snakes can pack such a mean punch and some huge ones (also shown there, like the python) are virtually harmless. After a long while more hanging out with the kangaroos and koalas, we took the bus back to Noosa.

When we got back we figured it was time to book the trips to Fraser Island and the Whitsundays, so we went to Peterpan's Travel (where we had gotten a quote yesterday that was the best in town) and booked the trip. The French girl working there was so stunning she probably could have sold me anything, but we got the trip we wanted, with 3 days/2 nights on Fraser Island, 3 nights on Rainbow beach (2 before Fraser and 1 after) and 2 days/2 nights sailing the Whitsunday Islands. Meals and everything (except booze) included. So we leave for Rainbow Beach on Sunday, get a safety training lesson on Monday, then go Tues-Thurs on Fraser on a guided 4WD tour. Super excited. Can't wait. Tomorrow I'll get to skimboard at the main beach in Noosa. Life is good.

Sept 29 - Noosa and Hikes

After a terrible sleep last night due to one snoring backpacker and some very drunk Germans stumbling into the room at 5 AM and an old guy yelling "WILL YOU SHUT THE F**K UP!" at them at about 5:30, followed by more loud snoring, we got up at 9 and checked out. Then we hustled to the Greyhound station and got a ticket for the ride to Noosa Heads. It was a couple hour ride, enriched by the wonderful Paul Walker Disney movie Eight Below (sarcasm). I hadn't heard much praise for Noosa, mainly that it was a launching point for the Fraser Island trip. But this was totally wrong! I love this place and could easily spend a month here. It reminds me a lot of Waskesiu, and the ocean beach is a huge bay that looks like a lake, with barely any waves lapping at the shore and the same sort of Northern Sask lake vibe.

After a tasty 7 dollar lunch, we ventured on a walk on the Coastal trail. There are about 5 different trails walks marked out around here, all of which take anywhere from 1-4 hours. We saw a koala way up in a tree, and a bunch of secluded and very beautiful beaches framed by huge rocks. We turned back when it was getting close to sunset, but before we could make it all the way back it started to rain,. We hid out under a gift shop awning with a bunch of other people and then it POURED for about 30 minutes. It started to let up and we booked it back to town and back to the hostel.

We utilized our free meal ticket at the hostel which turned out to be a very odd rice/pineapple/curry/chicken (one tiny piece) meal. Good thing we had eaten earlier and picked up a weird chocolate bar on the way back to the hostel. Met and chatted with our 3 roommates after (2 Germans and a pro snowboarder American girl). Rocked out a few laps in the pool followed by a hot shower and that was it for the day.

Sept 28 - XXXX and Beer

After an early night last night, I slept until noon today, then lazed around for a couple hours in the room. It was pissing rain out anyhow, so I wasn't missing much for scenery. I had an all-fruit lunch of banana, cantaloupe (or rockmelon as they call it), honeydew melon, strawberries, kiwi, and mango yogurt. Delicious and rare to be eating that much for fruits, as they are wicked expensive and a hassle to prepare in the busy kitchens here. Seeing as we had already covered every art gallery and museum in the area yesterday, I was flipping through brochures to find a good indoor activity. And then jackpot, a tour of the XXXX beer factory that is a few blocks from the hostel. Got a couple other lads from the room to join and we booked on for the tour at 4.

I've never toured a beer factory, or factory of any sort for that matter, even though Great Western has tours in Saskatoon all the time. It was well worth the $22 admission. We watched some video clips about the formation of the company and the brewing process, and viewed a little story about the progression of the first XXXX beer to today with talking mannequins, etc. It was super cheesy, but kind of funny. Then we got to go through each section of the factory, view the raw products used to make the beer (hops looks like hamster feed pellets), see the bottling/labelling lines and finish off with 4 XXXX beers. I had a stout, a Gold, and two Summer lagers that were easily the tastiest beers I had consumed in a long while.

Cooked up some pasta and fried sausage with a three cheese sauce again for supper tonight (just as delicious as last night) and had an early night again.

Sept 27 - Brizzy and Many Museums

Since the internet randomly shut off at the hostel last night, we had to scramble this morning and check out then take a shuttle over to the Greyhound station. The bus to Brisbane left at 9:20 and we ran up to the desk at about 9:15. Made it just in time and napped a bit for the hour trip up to Brisbane (or Brizzy as the trendy peeps call it here). When we got outside the station we got stopped by some Greenpeace activists who tried unsuccessfully to recruit us to their cause. I had nothing to do though, so I chatted and argued with their points and purpose for a while to entertain myself then we departed in search of accomodation. We had no hostel booked (also due to the internet cutoff last night) so we wandered around until we found a place we had read about in B's Lonely Planet guidebook called Chill backpackers. The place is really nice, so we lucked out that it was the first hostel we came across. We're in a 10-share dorm with a Brit, a Texan, a Scot, two German dudes and two Austrian gals, so it should be a fairly lively place.

After we settled in and said some hellos, going through the where are you from questions, etc. we set out to see some of the city. Conveniently, a short walk from our hostel is the arts district, with a modern art museum, a regular museum, a couple art galleries and a science centre. We perused all these places had to offer over the course of a couple hours. The modern art gallery had a bunch of pieces that made me shake my head, because I suppose in a sense, you could argue that it's art, but in my opinion it's crap and poor efforts. For example, a whole wall of like 500 4x6 black and white photos that look like they were taken by a guy who was drunk and taking pictures of everything he saw as he stumbled around for 3 hours. Or the room full of garbage, old tools, and broken toys scattered over tables. Not art. Just junk. Or a bottle of cooking oil, hung on the wall. That's not art, it's something you bought at the supermarket and because the artist was so high, he thought it was some brilliant statement. There was one very cool display by a photographer (whose name escapes me presently) that took loads of photos of celebrities, had a set of the making of the Thriller video, a bunch of Marilyn Munroe candids, etc.

The weather is even hotter than Surfers Paradise (it was 28 today) and to compound the issue, the ozone is thin in Australia, which makes the UV rays a lot more powerful (or so I've been told by some locals). I suppose the red back I had from a short while on the beach in Surfers is a testament to the heat. There is a really cool pedestrian-only bridge that we walked across to get back to the hostel and it's lit up at night in different colours. The plan for the rest of the night is to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the movie room and catch up on sleep with an early bedtime.

Sept 26 - Beach and Building of a Tall Variety

Got to get my tan on at the beach today with sunny skies and warm water. I skimboarded until my legs were tired, took a nap on the towel, then jumped some waves but one rolled me over a sandbar and I knicked my knee on a rock. So I figured it was time to vacate the ocean with a bleeding limb, and walked back to the hostel.

Met up with a new buddy from Vancouver that we had chilled with last night and we all headed over to the Q1 building to check out the 360 degree panoramic view over the city and ocean. The Q1 building is new, modern looking and the highest in the area. The observation deck is on the 77th floor (out of 78) and the elevator rocketed us up in like 25 seconds. The views were stunning and it was cool to see how the city was set up and the river that went through it and the loads of beautiful buildings. We hung around chatting up there for awhile then went back down (just as quickly) and went in search of a good place for some dinner and beers.

After a lengthy walk, we settled on the clock tower building and went through a few pitchers (or jugs as they call them) and had a tasty $10 steak and mashed potato meal with a side order of salad (proud of me, mom?). They had some rugby playing on the tv, which seems like football we played in elementary; full tackle on anyone at anytime, no whistles, kicking and throwing the ball, etc. Just a gong show. Near the end of our dinner these babes in bikinis came in to collect donations. They are called meter maids and they go around Surfers and get new parking stubs for cars if they're running out of time and before they get ticketed by the city. Not surprisingly, they aren't funded by the city and hence the asking for money. Unfortunately for them, we are embracing the plastic future and had no cash.

After dinner we wanted to get some cool night photos, so we walked over to this mini amusement park and took a bunch. Watched some people ride the slightly sketchy rides, of which there were only like 4. From there, we went over to the brilliantly lit up ferris wheel for some more pictures, then back to the hostel to swap stories and photos from our journeys. Tomorrow we venture to the sunny location of Brisbane.

Sept 25 - Shopping and Flying Foxes

Cooked up some egg, ham and cheese bunwiches for breakfast today on the flat grill they have here. Brought me back to cooking at the Patio Cafe, and it was an excellent way to start a day. It's cloudy today, so me and B walked over to the mega-sized mall here and wandered around for a couple hours and I picked up a new pair of shorts from the Ripcurl shop.

On the way to shopping, we went through a forest trail and heard a bunch of weird bird noises (which is fairly common for Australia) but this was more screechy, very odd indeed. Looked up and saw why, there were hundreds of huge flying foxes perched in the trees here. Flying foxes are huge bats. Creeped me right out. There were some flying around, with most curled up hanging upside down from branches. Read some info signs and apparently this is a Flying Fox sanctuary and at night thousands can be seen flying in that area of the forest next to the river.

After shopping we walked over to the casino to check it out. Got ID'd by a very dickish security guard at the doors, then tried to find a roulette table to blow some money at. They didn't have any real ones going tho, so I had to settle for a video one with little terminals around it. I tossed in a 20 and won a couple rounds, but my bets were only a couple bucks each time. Then B said to pick a number instead of just a colour, so I threw a bunch on red 7. But I looked at the screen and saw it had come up about 10 rounds before, so I cancelled it and just went red. And what comes up, but red 7. Then came a string of red when I was going with black and there went the rest of my money. It was a decent way to spend a few minutes for entertainment.

Tonight we purchased a pub crawl pass that includes 2 beer and a bbq at the hostel, then entry and one drink at 4 clubs tonight. For $30 it seems like a bargain. Went to 4 stereotypical nightclubs and got a free drink at each, so that was alright. Heard the same songs at each one, and if I hear LMFAO - Shots or Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling much more, I'm going to lose my mind. Lots of dudes at every place, like a 3 to 1 dude to girl ratio. Highlight of the night was probably the lamb kabob at the end and the warm walk back to the hostel.

Oz Observations

Here's a list of things I've noticed that are weird here or different than in Canada, or notable in some way. Listed in the order I noticed them. I'll add more as they come along. Enjoy.

1. It's hard to get used to the cars driving on the left side of the road. I keep looking left before crossing then almost getting hit by cars from the right

2. Aussies aren't very chatty in shops, very efficient, like what's your order? Money please. Move along. Next please

3. Our dollar is worth basically the same as an Aus dollar, but everything costs more here compared to Canada. Booze and food are really pricey. Six packs go for like $20 and it's really tough to find a meal (fast food or regular) for under ten bucks

4. Taxis and Police drive Ford Falcons instead of Crown Vics

5. Besides the Falcons, the most common vehicle type on the roads are new versions of the El Camino. Chevy, Ford and Holden all make a version

6. Most backpackers seem to be from England, but there are quite a few Canadians and Germans also

7. There are 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins, and 1 and 2 dollar coins. But the 20 cent coins are bigger and thicker than toonies and the 2 dollar coins are smaller but thicker than dimes. So if you get a few 20 cent pieces, or some 50 cent ones, which are bigger than the 20s, then your wallet gets really heavy

8. The 5 dollar bills are purple, the 10 dollar bills are blue and the 20 dollar bills are red. I keep getting them mixed up because those colours have different values in Canada

9. ATMs give out 20s and 50s (which are yellow). I took out $100 and it gave me 2 50s. I was like wtf I don't want two 50s!

10. French fries are called chips everywhere and don't ever come with ketchup

11. Similar to driving, people walk on the left side of the sidewalk instead of the right. This is really hard to get used to

12. Standard greeting is "How you going?" Rather than g'day or how's it going/how are you doing?

13. Roads and sidewalks are in perfect condition

14. Cities are very up and down. In Sydney it's not uncommon to walk up or downhill for like 10 blocks

15. Light switches have to go down to turn on lights

16. All electrical outlets have on/off switches

17. All toilets have low/high flush options

18. Only a couple cereal brands I recognize, and 99% of cereals are healthy here

19. Almost everyone wears athletic shoes/runners instead of dress shoes or skate shoes or whatever. In business areas, most businesspeople wear slip on loafer style shoes, instead of ones with laces.

20. Helmets are mandatory for anyone riding a bike

21. Seatbelts are mandatory on Greyhound buses

22. There are tons of speed cams, even on isolated roads in the middle of the bush, 6 hours from a city

23. Gas is 126.9 per litre

24. A bottle of coke in a machine usually costs $3.50

25. There are no parking meters, instead you have to buy a ticket at a parking machine on the street and put it on your dash

26. Collision or accident repair for vehicles is called "smash" repair

27. All eggs are brown. Haven't seen a single white eggshell

28. In bars, they don't know what rye is. I ordered a rye and Coke and got a blank stare. You have to order Canadian Club or Johnny Walker with Coke

29. A flashlight is called a torch

Sept 24 - Skimming and Sin City in Surfers

After checking out of the Arts Factory, we rushed over to the Greyhound Australia station to try and get onto the 10 AM bus to Surfers Paradise. It was 9:40 when we got there, but they had room, so we snagged a ticket and hopped over to Subway for a quick bacon/egg sandwich brekkie. Then we loaded our bags in the storage compartment and slid into some seats near the front of the bus. This ride was much better than the Sydney to Byron Bay trip, mainly because it was only about an hour, instead of 12 hours, and it was during the day, so we could see the countryside. When we got to Surfers and off the bus we realized we hadn't written down what hostel we were booked at, so we had to find an e-cafe and check our email confirmation, then walk about 15 minutes to the hostel. Surfers Paradise Backpackers Resort is the new place to call home for 2 nights at least and it's wonderful. Me and B have a room to ourselves (lots of open beds in it that may fill up later though), free wifi, free washing machine, volleyball court, little pool, sauna, bar, big kitchen. It's like a backpacker's dream. The city is really nice too, with a feel and appearance like Cancun or Miami. Lots of big hotel/condo highrises, a long, beautiful beach, pleanty of shopping, etc.

After a hearty meal of McDonald's, I bought a skimboard for $15 and we walked to the beach. I forgot that I waxed my skimboard at home, so the first attempt here I slipped off and bailed, but a couple more tires and I got a feel for it; just need to step a little more gently than I'm used to. The conditions for skimming could not be more ideal, the waves break and a thin layer of water comes up onto the perfectly smooth sand for like 25-50 feet. After wearing myself out running and skimming, we headed back to the hostel, I changed into dry clothes, put in a load of laundry and then went shopping for groceries. Went with sausages for dinner and then ham and eggs for breakfast. No more noodles. Ever. The sausages were good, especially complemented by cheese and bbq sauce in fresh buns. We had wanted to buy hotdogs, but they don't seem to have traditional hot dogs here. Dessert consisted of cinnamon donuts and white chocolate Tim Tams. Tim Tams are probably the most delicious treat I have ever eaten. (they're rectangular cookies with chocolate in the middle and chocolate coating. Taste sort of like Twix but chewier and meant to accompany tea). After eating we took a bus over to a night club called Sin City with a bunch of other peeps from the new hostel here. Free bus, entry and one drink. Hooray! The club was dark and modern, with pumping music. Had a couple drinks to complement the bottle of wine that served as pre-drinks and hung out for a couple hours. Then walked the lengthy distance back to the hostel and so ended the night.

Sept 23 - Kayaks and Cheeky Monkeys

Today contained more excitement than previous days down under. We headed over to the main beach area shortly before 1 for sea kayaking. They gave us the option to have wetsuits or not, so we said ahhh we're Canadian, we can tough it out. Only one girl got a wetsuit, actually, so it was more peer pressure than toughness. Regardless, we donned faded life jackets and red helmets that look like mountain climber helmets and grabbed a paddle each. Our guide gave us some paddling and maneuvering tips and we jogged down to the beach and selected our kayak. They were 2-person kayaks made of heavy-duty plastic. We launched from shore and got to paddling, hammering into waves and fighting the current as we went out to sea. As a group, we paddled out a few KMs to a reef area to hopefully see marine life. Caught a glimpse of a dolphin jumping out of a wave. We hung around to see a pod of dolphins that were apparently around but after a while there wasn't any sightings, so we paddled over to a beach for tea and tim tams. After a delightful Aussie snack, we went back out to find dolphins again. The morning tour had seen a bunch of dolphins and a whale, but the wind had picked up and there were bigger waves for our session, so it wasn't ideal conditions. As we were heading back in, another kayak group spotted a whale, so we turned around and went over, saw a bit of it, then it left so we went back in to finish the kayaking, riding waves in along the way like surfers.

We de-geared and thanked the guides and then me and B headed back to the ocean as the rain started. Spent a couple hours jumping waves in the water until my legs were burning from working against the current and riptide then walked back to town. Grabbed a couple packs of ichiban noodles for supper, opting for the cheap option instead of quality. Mistakes help me learn.

The meal ended up not sitting well, but after dinner we headed over to the famous Cheeky Monkeys for the promise of a meal and a beer for $5. Took their free shuttle into the bar in town and entered their drinking establishment. Tonight featured a wet t-shirt contest, which is a standard of any fine establishment. Got in and ordered a chicken carbonara with a beer, and was informed that they had enough people inside so you don't get a drink with your meal now. FALSE ADVERTISING! I said, but the chick didn't hear and/or care. Oh well. Grabbed a pint of Toohey's beer at happy hour price of $5 (Wow, what a deal!). Turns out regular price is significantly more. Happy hour price for a Corona was $9.50. Decent margins, I would say. Had a couple pints while chatting with our British roomie Andy, and a Dutch gal Christianne that we met earlier at the hostel. The wet t-shirt contest happened, but we were at a table at the back and everyone crowded the semi closed-off room with the stage, so we heard the contest, but weren't privy to any of it's sights. After we had a couple pints, we went for another and despite it being well before the midnight hapy hour special cut-off, prices had jumped up arbitrarily. It's like Mexico in that bar, just promise anything and don't deliver and say too bad if you ask why it's not as promised. Overall, still a good night though.

Sept 22 - Lighthouse and Gourmet Meal

I was still so tired from the terrible sleep on the bus to Byron Bay that I slept til noon today. It's nice to catch up on sleep from time to time. Not like I really have any sort of timetable to adhere to either I suppose. Had some fantastic toast with peanut butter for brunch then headed to town. Walked to the beach and peeped some surfers and locals soaking the first bit of sun we've seen since arriving in Byron. Snapped some photos then began the trek to the lighthouse, which is on the peak of the mountain at the edge of town. So we hiked up a couple KMs to the lighthouse and little lookout area around it, which had some wicked views of the main beach and the empty beach on the other side of the peninsula. Saw a paraglider duo take off, which was cool to see and saw a bunch of kayakers who got a visit from whales. Walked the long hill back into town and picked up a nice spread of food for dinner. Zipped back to the hostel and put the groceries away then had a couple happy hour $2.50 pints at the Buddha Bar while watching open mic performers. Then came the best meal of the trip thus far. Sautéed chicken breast pieces, boiled some noodles and fried some frozen veggies with stir-fry sauce. Whipped it all together and enjoyed a tasty meal that looked like it came from a 5 star restaurant. Presentatin is really half the battle. Then some convo with a new Dutch friend and thus ends the 22nd of September in Byron Bay. Going to sea kayak tomorrow hopefully and I want to high-five a whale or dolphin. No sharks though, they are not welcome.

Sept 21 - Byron Bay and Hippies

Arrived at Byron Bay at about 10:30 AM today, very tired and ironically with most of my body parts asleep (worst, longest bus ride ever). Had to sit around for a couple hours until the room was ready, so scouted out the new hostel, the Arts Factory. It's a lot like a hippie commune, with plenty of free-spirited individuals, eco-friendly atmosphere and teepees and dorms spread out around the area. Once we checked in, there wasn't much to do, as it was misting out, so we hiked down the road to the town of Byron Bay (the hostel is just outside town) for some Subway and groceries. We stopped by the beach and peeped the local surfers for a bit, then finished our errands. Bought pasta and corn to cook for dinner later and some peanut butter and bread to make toast in the morning. Had a couple cheap pints (only 2.50 each!) at the local brewery that's right next to the Arts Factory then cooked supper. Had a delightful legitimate meal for the first time in a while then got to chatting with some other guests for a couple hours, including helping two Germans improve their English. It has rained essentially since we arrived in Byron Bay, so it's tough to do much in a beach community like this when it's waterlogged. The next 2 days have a similar forecast as well, so it could be a quiet stay in Byron Bay before taking the Greyhound up to the glam and glitz of Surfers Paradise and then Brisbane.

Sept 20 - Errands and Failing at Surfing

Checked out of the mega industrial-sized Base hostel this morning then had things to do! Got a debit Visa card from NAB, tried (unsuccessfully) to get a tax file number (need an address and job first) and got a 6 month hop-on/hop-off Greyhound pass from Sydney to Cairns. Yay, the bus! I haven't had to ride those dreadful things much since University but now I get to cover the whole east coast on one. Nice. After the errands (which took forever because we had to walk everywhere with our wicked heavy backpacks) we took the train to Bondi Junction and walked to the beach. Rented a surfboard and wetsuit from "Let's Go Surfing!" for 2 hours and headed into the ocean. Surfing looks relatively easy on tv and such and I figured since I have done essentially every other board sport that I could pick this up easy enough. Wrong. I had an 8 foot foam board and surf conditions were not ideal. Lots and lots of 6 and 7 foot waves and even more swimming and trudging through the water. It seemed wherever I was, the waves were not. I went out to where the better surfers were and the waves started breaking nicely closer to the beach. So I went in and they started breaking back out further again. Rode a couple waves while lying on the board, but couldn't time them well enough to stand up while there was enough power in the wave to carry me. This was mainly due to being in the wrong place for the majority of the time. Got tossed under by a couple waves, which wasn't fun, but you seem to be able to pop up again within a few seconds. I'll give it another try somewhere else. Perhaps Byron Bay. We're taking the 10 PM til 10:15 AM Greyhound tonight to Byron Bay, so perhaps the waves will look better there.

Sept 19 - Train and Base

Today was one of those days that amounts to nothing but felt really busy. Got up and had breakfast this morning, then checked out of Flying Fox, said our goodbyes and headed to the train station. Bought our tickets and took the train back into Sydney which is a couple hour ride. Unfortunately, we didn't use our noggins and book a hostel ahead of time, so after ariving in Sydney, we had to wander around trying to find hostels with room that were decently priced. We tried three that were all in the 35-40 a night each range, which is outrageous for a hostel we'd be at for less than a day. So wandered around until we found a McDonald's and hopped on their wifi to look for affordable hostels in the downtown area. Came across the Base hostel for 22 a night so walked over there. Their prices were actually 29 dollars, but at this point we didn't care much anymore so booked in for the night. Base is a really large hostel, and it too has the same impersonal feel that Brado's did during our first 3 nights in Sydney. It is a lot more modern and trendy than either of the first 2 hostels, with an attached bar, computer lounge, tv room, massive industrial kitchen, etc. But although it excels in flashiness, it lacks in closeness of guests, friendliness and feel. Alas, it's only one night here, so whatever.

After checking in, dropping the backpack in the room and scouting out the facilities, we headed to the harbour to get some night pictures. It turns out the part of the Harbour we are near is far from the Opera House and Harbour bridge, so it ended up being a lengthy walk, but it was worth it for the photos that resulted. Stopped for a sub on the way back and found it odd that they refer to their veggies as salad. As in, would you like salad for the sub? To which I said, um, no, just the sub please. It ended up being about two minutes of confusion until I figured out salad meant the vegetable selection. Sub was good, but definitely tasted different than the Subway back home.

Back at the hostel, we popped over to the attached Scary Canary bar for a pint then called it a night, planning to get up early and go surfing at Bondi beach before taking the Greyhound bus up to Byron Bay.

Sept 18 - Caves and Pubs

Rolled out of bed at about 9 today and had the usual cereal and tea breakfast. I've come down with a bit of a cold, so tea is always a good choice to help the sinuses and throat. Had a wonderful, very hot shower and then bit the 86 dollar bullet to go to the Jenolan caves. We took a bus from next to the train station to Scenic World to transfer to a second bus. Scenic World has a gondola that goes over the valley to the cliffs on the other side, a restaurant and other misc stuff. However, a couple of the staff stay at our hostel and consider Scenic World an amusement park with rides. The gondola equates to a ride in this little town apparently. Anyhow, we transfer here to a 2nd bus which drives us an hour and a bit to the caves.

The ride was cool, going through Katoomba, then the little mountain villages east of it, then through open fields with rolling hills and cattle grazing, then through narrow, winding roads cut through cliffs. The last part reminded me of Golden, BC, but the road often got down to one lane through the mountain pass, which is dodgy as hell when passing other vehicles whilst in a bus. Regardless, we eventually got to the tourist trap town that was built by the cave system. Had a Banff type feel. B and I bought passes for the Orient cave, while the rest of the bus passengers were going on the cheaper Lucas cave tour. The Orient cave is rated one of the top ten prettiest crystal caves in the world, so I was eager to see inside. We had about an hour to kill before the tour embarked, so we explored the free cave area and hiked through the valley trail awhile. I don't think a lot of trails here are loops like the ones in Canada, they just sort of go on forever, then you have to turn back and cover all the same ground. There are also rarely signs with maps of the trail or "you are here" type of info in relation to the hike. So after doubling back to the start, we met up with our guide for the caves and the other people taking the Orient tour. We had to hike up a bunch of steps and sort of around the side of the mountain to the main entrance, then go through a series of big steel doors. Apparently the doors preserve the integrity of the environment inside. After a long tunnel and several doors, it opened into a little chamber with some crystals and limestone. The guide gave us probably a 20 minute speal about rocks, geology, the caves, the people who discovered them, etc. Then we got to proceed to the first main chamber, named Persia because the crystal formations look like Persian rugs. The chamber is pitch black, but the guide hit a switch and tons of lights came on and lit up the cave nicely. Great photo ops and more information from the guide, then on to the next chamber, India. This name had something to do with the formations also but I can't remember what it was exactly. There were such a variety of crystal formations, some white, lots tinged brown from iron in the rock, some just budding and look like frost in a freezer, others look like massive icicles, with stalactites and stalagmites galore. Then came lower India which was like upper but further down in the cave, with a pool of water in the base that had seeped through all the chambers and collected. Then we headed back out the way we came in, got back on the bus and back to Katoomba. It was worth the money in my opinion, and a very cool world I'd never experienced before.

For supper, we finally fired up a decent meal of souvlaki, rice and cheese buns. Hit the spot. After dinner there were new guests in the common room from Woodstock Ontario, and we chatted with them for at least an hour. They were retired and travelling Oz for a bit before their daughter's wedding in the Gold Coast. The guy was a union rep and service employee for GM and dealt with all the restructuring, layoffs and salary/benefit renegotiations after the bankruptcy then retired. He talked a bunch about the company and how it worked and how they moved around employees to different plants so each would falsely appear efficient and thus earn the managers their bonuses. Learned a lot about the inner workings that only someone who had been through that all could shed light on.

After the chat, me, B and two young Brits who have been here since yesterday all headed to the pub for a couple pints and some chit chat. There were 2 live guitarists playing cover songs and we had a great time. Booze in bars is also pricey. Looking at 6 bucks minimum for a beer or drink and up from there. A Long Island Iced Tea was $14; I didn't order it, but it was on the menu for that. Then had a real nice long chat back in the common room with a lady from Dublin who is working in Sydney. It's now 1:27 AM, officially the latest I've been up since arriving in Australia, and thus also time for bed, since no one else is awake now.

Sept 17 - Biking Uphill. A Lot.

Started the day off with the breakfast of champions - tea, toast and cereal. Also tried the staple Aussie spread known as Vegemite. It tasted kinda like salt and healthiness. Not a fan. It looks like chocolate, so overall a very deceiving let down, but it's like eating Krispy Kreme in America; it made me a bit more Australian.

Following that tasty excursion, Brennan and I headed over to rent some bikes, or "hire" bikes as they say here. If I'm gonna hire a bike, I want to see it's references list first (groan). Got some very light (almost as light as trials) mountain bikes and a map of the trails. Even moreso than Sydney, Katoomba is hilly. As in there are no flat streets here, only downhill or uphill at 30 degrees or more. So the bike over to the trail area led to huffing and puffing and burning leg muscles. Went down a couple little trails to lookout points over the mountains then biked back into town, which included three very uphill climbs of a couple kilometers each. Alternating between riding in 1st gear/1st speed and walking the bikes worked until legs were nearly buckling. Finally got the rides back to the rental shop even though only 2/4 hours had been used from our half day rental. Whatever, did not care at that point as we stumbled in after cycling hard up several kilometers of hill. It seemed great flying at 70 km/hr down these long, sweeping hills at the start, without thinking of the terrible, terrible ride back up them. Alas, we had exceeded the daily excercise quotient and killed a couple hours.

The next couple hours consisted of doing laundry at the "Washing Well" (oh man, such a bad pun) and shopping for some groceries and booze. While the clothes were drying, we browsed the liquor store down the street. There are very few brands recognizable here that we have back home. Hard liquor and beer are more expensive than home, with a bottle smaller than a 26 going for 35-40 dollars, and a 6-pack of beer running in the 15-20 buck range. Anyhow, we snagged a 6er of Victoria Bitter, which came in bottles the same size as Red Stripe. A decent beer, but bitter like the name implies.

For supper we had been recommended a RSL place buffet; RSL being like the Legion back home. It was supposed to be 12 bucks but we got there and it was $25, so we opted for the $9.95 large pizza from Domino's Pizza. All the prices listed in any store here have to include tax, which is interesting and takes getting used to, because normally by habit, I'll factor in tax on top of the price, which makes prices here seem even worse. It's nice to know the exact amount you'll have to pay, especially if you're short on cash.

There were lots of newcomers to the hostel tonight, so we sat in the common room chatting for a couple hours then turned in for the evening. Tomorrow will hopefully be a trip to the Jenolan crystal caves.

Sept 16 - Train Ride and Blue Mountains

Today we checked out of Brado's (goodbye and good riddance) and boarded a train to the Blue Mountains. It was a couple hour ride, which was alright because it gave me time to cycle through some music I hadn't listened to yet on my iPod. Plus, the views were spectacular once the train ascended into the mountains. Hopped off at Katoomba; the last stop on the line and hurried over to our new hostel, The Flying Fox. I say hurried because the wind was bitter and we were dressed for the warmth of Sydney. Now this was a hostel! Way better vibe rolling in here than at Brado's in Sydney. The other guests were chatty, the proprietor explained the building and the area and the common room had a nice, cottage feel with a wood burning stove, lots of art on the walls and comfy furniture. We dumped our backpacks and walked down the hill to the street with shops/restaurants on it for some grub. Settld on a tasty chicken burger with chips (fries for anyone from Canada) and salad with a kettle of Earl Grey tea to warm the core. Just what the doctor ordered; with a full belly and some new energy we trekked over to the trails around the blue mountains. At the first lookout point, the Three Sisters mountains were in plain view, as well as the more distant Solitary Mountain. From here we headed down the trail to the Katoomba waterfall, and some lookout points across the valley from where we began. Very beautiful views and well-maintained trails through the forest, with interesting trees everywhere. What's neat here is that Parakeets and Cockatoos fly wild through the trees. It's odd to see sred and green or white and yellow birds zipping past you screeching like crazy. Headed back to the hostel at this point, which was a lengthy uphill walk. When we got back, there was a nice fire going with a hot wine concoction (sort of a cider with red wine instead of apple cider) on the stove to drink, which helped to warm the body up after the few hours in the chilly outdoor air. Played some poker with a German and Brit, then called it a night. I'm proud to say I stayed up past midnight for the first time since I arrived in Australia. Now I get to fend of the 2 degree temperature and get some sleep. Yes, 2 degrees, it's colder than Saskatoon, what the hell!? The jet lag finally wore off I suppose, though it doesn't help putting in a lot of miles walking everyday...

Sept 15 - Great Coastal Walk Bondi to Coogee

Started off early again and after breakfast went straight to the train station. Zipped over to Bondi Junction and walked to Bondi beach. Bondi is pretty cool looking and reminds me of what the Amalfi coast in Italy looks like (with the beach, waves and hillside houses crammed together). Watched people surfing for a while and now I think I will barely need a lesson to be surfing waves better than the chicks in Blue Crush. It was a nice day so we figured may as well do the Great Coastal Walk from Bondi to Coogee. It was about 7 km one way and we passed several other beaches including Tamarama, Bronte and Cloverly. Each had a different feel to it. After a winding up and down trail through cliffs and valleys and beaches, we finally got to Coogee and stopped for some lunch. Had a tasty Lamb gyros wrap with fries, which is spelled yeeros here (spelled phonetically I guess is the idea behind it) and they call their fries "chips." We didn't really want to walk the difficult trail all the way back to Bondi now, so instead we cut through the city streets, which somehow ended up being uphill about 95% of the way back to the train station. Got back 'home' and went to Woolworth's for some more food for dinner/brekkie (that's what they say instead of breakfast, even on menus). Ate supper, watched some TV and called it a night again. Made it til 10:30 tonight though, so maybe one day soon I'll crack the midnight mark! Oh, also booked 2 nights starting tomorrow in the Blue Mountains, which I think are about 120 KMs east of Sydney, and yet the train ticket there is still just $7.80, whereas the airport to the hostel (a few KMs) was over $15. Scams. Blue Mountains have a cold forecast for the next few days (around 10 Celcius), so might have to bundle up a bit if we are going to put in as many KMs as the first 3 days here.

Sept 14 - Harbour Bridge and Many Museums

All rested up, the 14th proved to be a very productive day of sightseeing. After some breakfast, we walked to the Rocks area by the Harbour Bridge and checked out some museums. First up was the State Museum of NSW that had several rooms on two levels containing a mix of all sorts of styles of art from paintings to sculptures to modern art throughout the ages. In the basement gallery, we came across a Pablo Picasso painting. Was he a ruhtard? Seriously, it looks like a challenged five year old drew the painting... But it was cool to see a famous painter's work up close. There wasn't even a plastic case around it, what if someone sneezed on it? There were also 3 paintings by a William Turnbull. I got excited due to the name until I saw the weak-ass effort he put in; The one was just a canvas painted dark blue. Another was a white canvas with two diagonal lines, and the third was basically blank with a couple triangles. Not impressed, potential relative Mr. Turnbull. Not impressed at all.

From here we walked down the road a bit through the rain to the Museum of Contemporary Art. I was excited for this one, assuming it would have all sorts of mind-blowing conceptual pieces. Alas, I was incorrect and it was pretty boring overall; most of the gallery space devoted to lame environmental displays. From here we headed back towards the CBD and stumbled across the Museum of Australian Currency. Jackpot! It was raining, so we popped into this odd museum for a visit. Turned out to be very informational and educational. There were timelines of Aussie currency, money samples, the bill printing process explained and a funny little video explaining the switch in 1966 to the dollar decimal system (that reminded me of Schoolhouse Rock videos from TV as a kid).

After the museum trifecta, and despite the wind and rain, it seemed like a good time to walk across the Harbour Bridge. At one stone pillar we stopped and walked up the stairs in it to a little theatre that played a video about the building of the bridge. Then we continued back down and across the bridge. I got a couple weird looks along the way, which may have been due to wearing shorts and sandals in the blowing rain. On the other side of the bridge we went into Luna Park, but had to turn back because it was being closed due to the rainstorm. Because it was chilly and a long walk back, the train sounded like a good idea and we took that back to the hostel. Hit up Woolworth's for some burgs and fried them on the stove at the hostel for supper. As 9 pm rolled around, it was time again for sleep. Starting to feel like I'm retired with the 9 o'clock bedtimes here.

Sept 13 - Brado's and Opera House

The 12th sort of got skipped in transit, so we arrived on Monday Sept. 13th in Sydney. Took the train over to Kings Cross area where our hostel is located. Brado's Backpackers was where we get to call home for the next 3 nights. This is sort of what I had imagined hostels to be, kinda scuzzy, a bed, toilet, kitchen and the bare essentials. Regardless, checked in and headed out to explore. Walked to the central business district (CBD) and poked around, then over to the harbour and the Sydney Opera House. The Opera House is the symbol of Sydney, and Australia really, and has been shown so many times in the media, but up close it's really not as impressive as you'd expect. First off, it's not white; more of a beige, and made up of tiles that look like they belong in the bathroom of a shady restaurant. But we snapped the necessary 50 pictures and then strolled through the botanical gardens a bit, that appeared more like a park than a garden, but we might have missed some of it. Then had to set up the National Australia Bank account and pick up some groceries for supper and breakfast at Woolworth's. I like Woolworth's, it looks, feels and smells similar to Sobey's. Grocery items are more expensive here in Sydney than back home, along with meals, transportation, etc. Plus there are only a few recognizable North American brands here, mixed in with a bunch of weird looking Aussie products. Had some dinner and called it a night; being out all day tires you out. Plus the jet lag was a factor. The 13 hours of sleep that followed the day definitely helped.

Sept 11/12 - Six Flags and Longest Flight Ever

With this being the last day in LA, a choice had to be made on how to spend it; hit up the multitude of museums and other Hollywood attractions yet to be visited or go to Six Flags. Roller Coasters win every time. Packed up our stuff and checked out of the motel, then drove north up to Six Flags after printing off some discount tickets. It didn't seem too busy considering the size of the park and it being a weekend. Headed straight for X2, the x-men roller coaster and got in line. Zigged and zagged back and forth about 5 times then hit the straightaway finally, only to round a corner and see another set of zig/zig rails. Two and a half hours standing waiting for this ride to start off the day at the park. It was absolutely amazing, but only lasted maybe a minute and as fun as that minute was, it was not worth the wait. Oh well, on to the log jammer line-up. The line was shorter on this one; only took about 20 minutes, but was a much more kiddie type ride. Though the two drops hitting nearly freefall speed in a wide open log with no straps was enough to get the heart pumping. Finished that ride a little wetter than how I began and headed to Goliath, which looked to be the tallest coaster in the park (with the exception of the Superman coaster that was closed). Waited for about and hour and a half alongside a very chatty black man (who looked and sounded like Warren Sapp) and his girlfriend. This coaster was decent, with some corkscrew and invert action. At this point due to the empty stomach, 3 coasters, wicked heat and hours of waiting, it was time to head out. We went to the parking lot and forgot where we parked and had to wander rows and rows for nearly an hour until we found the Civic. Drove to a Carl's Jr. and chowed down on a philly cheesestake/burger combo that was delightful, albeit messy. Then dropped the car off at the rental place, walked to LAX and checked in at the very modern Virgin Australia kiosk.

At this point, I was again subjected to the watchful eye and caressing touch of US customs agents, though they didn't take as long checking through my bag this time, messing up my pack job. Once in the departures area, we tried unsuccesfully to attain wifi that worked, so decided to head over to the seafood restaurant for a drink and some grub and to use their wifi. Even though they were "famous for the chowder" I opted for a chicken caesar salad with cherry coke. The coke was odd though, with cherry syrup mixed into coke instead of actual cherry coke. But it was a good way to kill some time until boarding.

Being that our tickets were for economy class, we got to board basically last, but since our seat was reserved beforehand it wasn't an issue. The 777 plane making the flight from LA to Sydney was a monster and it seemed like a really long walk to get back to our seats. The plane fired up after we watched a safety video (instead of the flight attendants acting it out) and then drove what seemed like several kilometers to the very, very end of the runway. It turned around and then began the longest takeoff ever. It didn't seem like it was going to get off the ground before the end of the runway even though it started waaaaay out. But finally the nose lifted and then the rest of the plane followed and away we went. I was concerned the flight was going to be brutal (15 hours!?) but it turned out to be the most enjoyable flight I've been on to date. First off, the flight was actually just over 14 hours, there were 2 meals, and the entertainment was top notch. We got a supper a couple hours into the flight consisting of salad, chicken (or beef), cooked veggies, and rice (or mashed potatoes). The meal was complemented nicely by some red wine, and then coffee cake and tea for dessert. Each seat got it's own 10" TV that had a big selection of tv shows, new and old movies, games, tv channels and flight info. I played some Bejeweled and Poker, watched She's Out of My League, The Losers, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall and some tv show snippets. After supper was served, the lights went out and most passengers caught some z's. I got maybe 4 or 5 hours on and off throughout the flight, but it's pretty tough to sleep in the middle seat. After a lot of cramped snoozing and movies viewed, breakfast was served. Scrambled eggs on an english muffin, fried potatoes, yogurt, juice and tea. I must say, the meals were quite wonderful. A couple hours later we were walking into the Sydney airport. It doesn't really feel any different than LAX or any other airport.

Sept 10 - IHOP and John Locke

Got to start the day off right with some IHOP across from Disneyland. Bacon, eggs and pancakes (of course) that were decent, but I've had better pancakes back in Saskatoon before. Took advantage of warm weather and drove to Venice beach. Threw on some sandals and got to walking. About 5 minutes from the car down by the water we were walking along and saw this guy by himself walking towards us. Glanced at him as we approached, then both Brennan and I paused and looked at each other. That guy looks familiar, I said to Brennan. Whoa, it's John Locke from Lost! he replied. I took another glance and indeed it was. He even shot that little creepy smile he so often used on Lost. Contemplated turning around and going for a picture but by the time we had agreed it was him, he was pretty far back and we didn't want to chase after him for a photo like a couple crazy people. Cool brush with Hollywood nonetheless. The next couple hours we walked all around the Venice area and over to the Santa Monica pier. I like the atmosphere of that area, it's a interesting place to hang out. Watched some skateboarders at the beachfront skatepark, browsed the wares of street vendors and watched a show from some street performers that made the Fringe street performers look like total amateurs. There are a lot of medical marijuana dispenseries on that boardwalk also, which seemed to mesh well with the odd individuals that were walking around and hocking their wares. Saw James' Beach Bar Grill just off the boardwalk - which the characters in the movie I Love You Man eat fish tacos at. But no fish tacos for me, I wanted to try another great American staple food: In-N-Out Burger. Drove a couple miles to one and I was surprised at the style of it. It's like a 50s restaurant with like 5 menu items (burger, cheeseburger, fries, shakes, drinks). The meal was pretty tasty, and reminded me of Wendy's. After the meal we checked out another mall and then headed back to the hotel, watched the Late Late Show (the 2nd taping from yesterday) then crashed.

Sept 9 - Donuts and Late Late Show

Thursday started off right with Krispy Kreme in Orange. Tim Horton's are mediocre in comparison. Cream filled Krispy Kreme chocolate donuts were a revelation in pastry. After the breakfast of champions, headed over to a fancy open-air mall to sniff around for some deals. Checked out the Vans store which had a big indoor skatepark attached. Well, enough with malls, time for Hollywood. Took the freeway to Hollywood then cruised around and checked out the sights. It's cool to see places that have been in TV and movies first hand; everywhere feels glamorous. Parked at the mall next to CBS studios and checked out the mall at The Grove, but a mall is a mall basically anywhere you go. There was a farmer's market attached though, which had a cool vibe to it and we had some lunch there. Slow roasted corn beef sliced by a chef onto fresh rye bread with tangy mustard with a lemonade to wash it down. Best sandwich I've had in years, hands down.

Next comes the moment I'd been waiting for since I booked the trip; two tapings of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Oh man, so excited! The mall is right next to CBS so we just walked over and lined up at the check-in outside the gates. Handed over the tickets, got ID'd then went to the 2nd waiting area just outside the building, where all audience members enjoyed a metal detector and security check. Then we sat and waited. and waited. and waited. Probably 45 mins. Then a guy gave us a rundown on how and when to cheer and laugh. Then the warm-up comedian gave us a pep talk and finally we were permitted to enter the hallowed halls of CBS television city. Then had to walk 3 flights of stairs, line up and wait again. AHHH LET US IN PLEASE!!! The CBS employees finally led us to the studio and into our seats. A typical studio audience for a talk show is 300 people. Craig's audience is only 105. So we "have to be extra loud" and "we want Craig to think whoa, is there 106 people tonight?" Good motivational talk warm up guy, let's get this show on the road. Chunky, the self-proclaimed mediocre warm-up comedian introduced himself and explained how the show was going to work, then introduced Sarah Maclachlan. Huh? She's not supposed to be on this show...weird. Good performance. Very acoustically tight for a live performace in this TV studio. Then she and her band packed up and left (They record musicians whenever they're in town and piece it together with whichever shows need a musical guest later on. This performance will be on an episode next week). It should be noted that the studio was absolutely freezing. Colder than any hockey rink I've ever been in. I had a long sleeved shirt and jeans on and was shivering and rubbing my numb hands together the whole time (guess they didn't want us falling asleep?). Anyways, then Chunky gave us about a 30 minute comedy routine, incorporating some audience members (including four of whom that were lesbians, which helped the routine greatly), comedy bits and cheesy jokes (What did one saggy boob say to the other? Hey we better get some support or people are gonna think we're nuts!). We were all laughing hard by the end of it and ready for Craig. First we were introduced to the "greatest sidekick in the late-night talk show industry, Geoffrey Peterson" the random phrase-sprouting robot. Then out came Craig in a very silly mood. He talked to us a bit then did an intro bit using a rabbit puppet cursing out CBS for giving him shit about too much cursing and dick jokes, which he of course ridiculed and proceeded to make even more of them. He welcomed his first guest Rashida Jones who wasn't originally booked on this taping, so what a great surprise for us! They did their interview which went longer than planned so after Rashida left Craig goes over to the producer and they decide to cut the emails section to make up the time. Dr. Oz was the next guest and he and Craig had an odd talk about colonscopies but Craig kept it awkwardly funny. It's different seeing the guests in person on the show as opposed to TV. Very different vibe about it, sort of like they're on a stage and acting out this litle chat for us. It didn't seem nearly as natural as it looks on TV. Hard to explain really, but like 2 people having a planned conversation in a basically empty room in front of other people. Craig wrapped up the show with the "what did we learn of the show tonight, Craig?" to wrap filming. In between segments and after the end, Craig talked to the audience, including going over to the row of lesbians (the staff seated the hottest girls they could find in the front row and the rest of us back from there) and chatting about their tattoos and his.

We filtered out with the rest of the audience at this point but got to stay at the waiting point outside the studio because we had tickets for the next taping as well. We were led back in but got the very back row of seats this time. Chunky gave us a similar, but slightly altered routine and brought out Craig again. He started into the tweets and emails off the bat but a doorbell rang and the first guest Donald Glover came out. Now I had been under the impression that DANNY Glover was the guest but this guy was young so for half the interview I thought it was some bit that Craig and a staff member were doing acting as Danny Glover being interviewed. Apparently Donald Glover is a young comedian. The next guest was Katie Sagal who discussed Sons of Anarchy, which was cool since I'm a big fan of that show. During the intro monologue Craig had referenced the lesbians who sat front row in the first taping, which was funny because we had seen their interaction with him. Craig also jokingly mentioned an audience member not clapping very hard for the intro, and when he went to commercials he said to her "I sure fucking called you out on that one, haha!" Craig wrapped up the show with some harmonica, and we headed out of the studio back to the parkade. Very glad I got to see both shows, as they both had some very funny parts. Before going back to Anaheim, we took a drive down Hollywood Boulevard and checked out the scene. Very sketchy at night, with lots of tattoo shops and shady characters. Drove back to Anaheim and stopped at Del Taco for dinner, which meant ten 39 cent tacos to go with the Sam Adams beer from the night before. Delightful meal for under 5 bucks (God bless America). Chowed down, watched the Late Late Show on TV and went to sleep.

Sept 8 - Saskatoon to Los Angeles via Calgary

What a busy day. I was so excited for the trip that I got maybe 3 hours of sleep, which made the day drag further. Airport at 5 AM, security checking and all that jazz before the wait for boarding. Always makes me feel a little left out when I don't get the security pat down or "random extra screening" (perhaps due to my whiteness). B shows up much later than myself but turns out he had the right idea since I only got the pleasure of waiting longer after security. Flight to Calgary was quick, just the way I like my flights, and cramped for room as Westjet flights tend to be. Rolled into Calgary and had a little over 3 hours to kill, so what better activity than to chow down on some Harvey's? After all, Harvey's makes your hamburger a beautiful thing. Well that catchy jingle led me astray, because a burger at 8 am wasn't allowed according to the asian burger nazi employee. So a very pricy breakfast sandwich contraption with home fries it was. Filled the void but in the same sort of way as Vern's pizza; delicious and seems like a great idea at the time, but as soon as I finish it, it seems like not such a great idea as my stomach gurgles with the feeling of a lump of greasy food setting up base in my stomach. Surfed the web and people watched for a while after this, then hit up the always friendly US customs agents for a pat down and search through my stuff with a fine tooth comb. I had the option of the creepy 3D body scanner or a pat down and i didn't want to miss out again, so I told the dude he had to earn his wage and search me the old fashioned way.

The flight to LA was notably longer and although 3 hours isn't long if you're doing something fun, being cramped in a Westjet plane does not qualify under this title. But 3 hours later we were walking through LAX. Picked up the vehicle at a very seedy, very mexican car rental place and drove onwards to Anaheim in a new Honda Civic. After a surprisingly short trip to the burbs, we checked into our Motel 6. Now, maybe it's just Canada, but when I think Motel 6, a nice hotel isn't what comes to mind. Usually something more along the lines of hookers and drug addicts. But this was actually a decent place and the room was very contemporary and clean. Well worth the 53 dollars per night.

It was Wednesday and a ball game was happening in Angels stadium versus the Indians, so why not embrace this new country and go watch some baseball! Maybe some apple pie and Budweiser afterwards to fully become an honorary Yank. Asked the girl at the front desk how to get to the stadium walking and she couldn't believe we would walk. I Google mapped it before and it said 15 or 20 minutes walking, so that seemed reasonable, but I guess everyone in LA is so reliant on driving everywhere that walking for 15 minutes is unimaginable. So utilizing the very helpful "go that way" directions, we embarked on the 15 minute voyage. Angels stadium is pretty impressive looking and much better designed in terms of looks and marketing image than any rinks/stadiums I'd been to before.

We had come about tickets to the game from a guy standing by the Burger King a block from the stadium. He seemed legit, he had an Angels hat on...what else can you ask for from a scalper? The tickets worked fine and before getting seated we picked up a beer and a hot dog (Angels dog I think they called them...how clever...). But despite the cheesy name, it was absolutely delicious. Got pretty good seats from Joe scalper; down the third base line sort of halfway into left field. Unfortunately, the game wasn't as exciting as I had imagined and my 3 hours sleep the night before plus some jet lag caught up with me hard and I started to nod off. Time to go, we agreed on after the 8th inning and a whopping 3-2 score. Walked back to the hotel and had some Subway en route. Heard the next day that the Indians tied the game in the 9th inning and the Angels won in the 16th...shame to miss such a barn burner, but I probably would have been asleep in the 10th.

Figured we should pick up some food, booze, snacks, etc for the next day so hopped in the Civic and drove around until we found the most perfectly named store I've ever seen. Vons. There's pictures to prove it, of course. Vons is a Safeway affiliate and is set up in the same manner, except for the rows and rows of cheap booze. The beer section is where we spent a while, viewing all sorts of new brands of beer I hadn't heard of, and new types of beer from brands we have in Canada. For instance, there were tallboy Coors beer cans. Not Coors light, just Coors. There was Bud light wheat beer with extra hops. There were mini kegs of all sorts. But since we were in America, we went with an American beer; Sam Adams Boston Lager. Turned out to be not very good, but damn it sure tasted like America. Due to my boyish good looks, upon checkout I was ID'd. I asked the cashier "Can you pronounce the province?" She sounded it out half decently and asked me "What is it?" I replied "Saskatchewan, you said it basically right." She said "No, I mean what's a province?" I gave her a look like are you retarded? Then I remembered oh right, America. "Well it's like a state here" I told her. "Oh, really? huh." She certainly didn't help my impression of low American intelligence. Back to the motel, had a beer and hit the hay.

And so it begins...almost.

Four days left until departure from Saskatoon to Calgary, then Los Angeles for a few days, then finally off to Sydney, Australia. YXE to YYC to LAX to SYD. Although I have about 107 hours until I zip up into the chilly Saskatoon September sky, I feel like I'm ready to go right meow. I laid out everything that I'm taking then crammed it all into my backpack only to realize that it doesn't take much to fill a backpack. It will be interesting to see how well I can manage with only a backpack worth of stuff for a year. Time will tell. Here's a picture of what I started with:



From this seemingly wonderful selection of inventory, I had to drop one pair of swim trunks, a 2nd towel (smaller sized one), one pair of pants (beige), couple pairs of socks/underwear, water bottle, sweater, 2 hats.

This left a pretty slim list of things to last 365, but i suppose that's part of the fun of it.

So here's what made the cut:
-1 hat
-5 t-shirts
-1 zip-up track jacket
-1 pair of Adidas Vespa shoes
-1 pair Teva sandals
-1 pair waterproof flip-flops
-1 bandana
-3 pairs of sunglasses
-2 rope-cinch athletic day bags
-1 3.5 x 5 ft. quick drying towel
-1 pair swim trunks
-1 pair cargo shorts
-1 pair casual shorts
-1 pair of dark jeans
-1 pair of black khakis
-1 Patagonia rain jacket
-1 casual belt-1 formal belt (brown/black reversible)
-1 black collared dress shirt
-1 red silk tie
-1 silk bed liner
-5 pairs socks/underwear
-netbook
-iPod
-camera
-waterproof digital watch
-combination lock
-zipper locks
-mini business cards
-misc first aid items
-misc toiletries

Welcome to everything I will use for a whole year. Giddy-up.