Adelaide - Sun to Mon

Well our time in Dubbo was a lot of rain but there were many moments of sunshine and smiles to make the trip amazing. As we headed to our little plane we waved goodbye Roz and got ready for our next adventure: ADELAIDE!

We had decided that we would save money so we booked a room in Maze Backpackers for $50 plus the shuttle to and from the airport the whole thing cost us $70 (This was over $110 savings). When we got there we were too early for our room so we dropped the bags and headed off to find somewhere to eat. Where else would you go when you want to feel welcomed and part of a group but Cheers. After a great lunch and a wander around it was back to the hostel to check in. We grabbed our key and headed up the 2 flights of stairs to room 28 Yellow. There was a reason that the price was what it was as you can see from the pictures below. I got settled in and then headed to the tv room to see what was going on. There were a few people there watching cricket. Why, I don’t know as it’s not that interesting to watch. They didn’t really speak English but changed the channel to How I met your Mother so it almost felt like I was back in Canada.

Since I had to be up for 4:30am to catch my next flight I decided that it would be an early dinner and then to bed. I had forgotten though that hostels aren’t made for the non-partiers and so there was not much sleeping going on around me. I think that I will take the advice from Mertyle and say that “I’m too old for this stuff”.

Our flight to Adelaide was great and we met Nik and Heidi right when we arrived so that was good. It was off to the park for the avo to play/through around some Frisbee and then watch a bit of Heidi’s training before it was off for a great nap back at their place. That night we wandered the Parade (the suburb that they live in) which was pretty cool.

On Monday it was time for Laura to test out her true Aussie self and attempt surfing. They headed to Middleton to rent a board and wet suit (I guess they think that the water is cold or something). Laura was so proud of herself cause after a bit she was actually able to stand up and ride a wave for a bit. It was so exciting. Adelaide beaches – 1, Sydney beaches – 0.

We went to get some lunch and of all the places to go they took Laura to a fish and chips stand. It made all of us laugh cause just the night before she had told them that she didn’t eat fish. A true Aussie lunch of hot chips was had.

That night Heidi and Laura went to pick up Nik from work and they drove the great roads of the Hills. It’s really pretty and full of little quaint towns.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week’s adventures!

Maze Backpackers - What $50 gets ya

The view from our hostel window

Laura so happy afte she stood up on the board

Barely anyone was on the beach with us

Dubbo - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

The big 3-0 was celebrated here in Dubbo on Wednesday. That's right a new decade has begun for Laura. The day was celebrated with Rozzy and Jono starting with pancakes, maple syrup and presents (yeah TimTams, Blow up Aussie Flip-Flop, and Sumo Thumb Wrestlers - Thanks Linds). Then it was off to try and do some mini-putting. The only thing was that the place was closed as it hadn't stopped raining for the past 3 days and so that course was just too wet.
We went for some thickshakes at Wendy's in the mall and enjoyed some lunch Canada style - Sponge Bob Square Pants grilled cheese, ketchup (not tomato sauce), and dill pickles. What a great lunch.
For dinner we went out to Hog's Back which is kinda like Montanas (no free refills though). It was a great time with the Kelly's.
Thursday was spent hanging out with Rozzy's sister-in-law Sarah and her three kids Charlet (4), Amelia (2), and Alex (2). We took them to swimming class in the morning and then Sarah and Laura tried out Zoomba. What a great way to exercise! It's easy to follow moves with a Latin rhythm. A lot of hip swiveling which I'm sure Laura looked like a fool doing as she can't rotate her hips.
After the gym we headed to Sarah's place to play with the kids and hang out. Roz picked us up to head to her place for a quick feed and then it was off to the Dubbo Christian School for a Thanksgiving Concert (singing, being thankful, and carols). We loved the pictures of the kids cause it made us think we were watching a movie filmed in Englad with them all in their little uniforms.
Friday was aqua-arobics (way more intense than Zoomba), packing for our Adelaide trip, staying out of the down pour (though Laura's clothes didn't), and then off to celebrate Emily's birthday by having take-out and watching the Voyage of the Dawn Tredder.
It was a great week in Dubbo. We're looking forward to our next adventure in Adelaide.

Roz and I singing at the Thanksgiving Concert

Bridge flooded out in Dubbo

Getting my bum wet playing in the water

Having a blast in the flood

Our plane from Dubbo to Sydney

Birthday Breakfast - pancakes and maple syrup

Thanks Linds for the Sumo Thumbs

Thanks Roz and Jono for the presents

Canadaman's friend Joey

Mmmmm Pickles!!!

SpongeBob Square Pants Grilled Cheese

Roz "enjoying" her pickle and SpongeBob

Birthday Dinner at Hog's Breath

Mmmm Birthday Cake!!! Sooo good!!

Doing some llama reading on the plane

Our Time In Dubbo - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

What a great week. Even though it rained everyday we had a blast while we were here.
Our adventure started on Sunday. We began with some chilling with Roz and Jono at Roz's house playing some Scatagories and watching cricket. We then thought, "What should we do on a gloomy day?" BOWLING was the answer. We headed to the alley for two games of fun times. Jono rocked the first game with Roz clinching the second one.

After a bit we thought it would be fun to head down to the river to have some fun. Along the way we found what I thought was a geocache but it ended up being some illegal stuff hidden in a tree. Not so good.
As we were heading down the road Jono asked if we should drive down or not. We were like "go for it". That was not the right decision. As we started down the little hill we began slipping and then slipped right into the grass and mud. We were bogged! We tried for 1.5 hours to get ourselves out but it just didn't work. As you will see below we tried a lot of different things. The only way that we got out was by calling Roz's friends lajdflajdf to come and tow us out. It was a great time playing in the mud and chatting.
After getting out it was off to church with Roz. I got to see people that I had met last time I was here so that was pretty cool.
On Monday Roz was off to school so Jono and Laura hung out by living the life in Dubbo. This consists of driving the main street, walking the mall and eating in the food court, and then seeing all the sights (which took 10 minutes). At the end of the school day Roz joined them and they headed to the Dubbo Cultural Center to look at art and check out the museum. That night we headed over to Jono's friend Jez's house to enjoy some pizza and tv with Alo. It was good to catch up with him and see how he was doing.

Our first few attemps

Tuesday brought some excitement as Laura was interviewed on the radio by Alo to talk as if she was in Canada at the time listening to his radio show. It was a lot of fun. Since it was raining again not much went on during the day. At night we headed to bible study which was fun.
Sorry that the photos are out of order. I'm still learning how to work this whole blog thing.

Jono and Roz sussing out what to do

We tried everything

Our rescuers - Mark and Jacqi

Canadaman ready for glow bowl

Our rescue ute

Jono, Roz, and Laura

Game One

Roz and Canadaman

Dubbo here we come!!!!

 

The trip began at just after 4. The four of us were excited to get on the road and enjoy some good ol' roadtripping times.

Every roadtrip requires munching food so we stopped for some Krispy Kremes to enjoy along with our crazy amount of chocolate.

The driving was pretty uneventful so to break things up we stopped now and then to enjoy some fun times. When we saw this playstructure we knew we had to get out and take a few runs down the slides. We also travelled along the race track when we got to Bathurst and enjoyed our Noodle Box along the cement barriers. Also in Bathurst we enjoyed a little visit with a very tall Gold Panner.

It wouldn't be a tourist roadtrip without stopping to take a photo of some authentic Australian road kill. We were forced to stay in our car as the stench from this particular one was just too much for us to fully take in.

Another stop along the way was the Blue Mountains. The amazing view from up top was great. It was nice to get out of the car and just enjoy the scenery. Laura built a little inukshuk to remember their time there.

It was a great trip to Dubbo and we're looking forward to the adventures that we'll have while we're here.

Jono, Roz, and Laura at the playstructure

The Blue Mountains

Laura on top of the world

Inukshuk we left at the Blue Mountains

Roz enjoying the view

Jono on a little outlook

The VERY smelly roadkill

Really - A Snow and Ice sign?!?!

Laura with the Gold Panner

A Week in Hornsby

This week was spent in Hornsby (a suburb of Sydney). After being burnt at Manly Beach we spent the next day just relaxing and recovering.
The next day Mike and Laura headed out on a morning adventure that brought them up 880 feet into the air as they took a walk on the Skywalk. This walk takes you up the Skytower in the middle of Sydney and allows you to look 360 degrees around the city. It was a great time enjoying the scenery and meeting our fellow adventurers.
A picnic with a friend at a national park followed by a night in the city at the theater seeing FAME was a great way to spend Friday.
Saturday we ended our time in Hornsby by meeting up with Lisa and Abbey at the Bees Knees cafe. It's a really cute little vintage cafe. The 4 of us at our breakfast there and then headed to Darling Harbour for some lunch and to explore Paddy's Market. We enjoyed our lunch in a place that was for the birds. You could sit in little chairs that looked like hanging cages as well as eating looking out on the harbour. It was a great food and convos.
Paddy's Market is a massive room that is in Chinatown filled with little stores that you can get deals on any and everything. I'm thinking that another visit here needs to be done to pick up some gifts for people back home.
After the market we said our goodbyes to Abbey and Lisa as we were dropped off just outside of the train station on our way to meet Jono and Rozzy for our 7 hour drive to Dubbo.

Mike and I after our Skywalk

Sydney skyline

Harbour Bridge

Darling Harbour

Me in my Skywalk jumpsuit

Mike and I after FAME

Abbey, Me, Lisa, and Canadaman in Bees Knees

Lady walking her cat down the street

Me at Blackbirds in the bird cage seats

Me, Lisa, and Abbey at Paddy's Market

Beach Adventures

What an adventure I just went on. After we celebrated Rozzy's birthday somehow I was fogotten in the Natalie's car and so had no idea where I was going or what would happen to me. I ended up in an amazing house and waited for Laura to come and find me.
While I was waiting Laura went to Cronulla Beach with Jono and Roz to try and surf. The waves weren't that great so instead she tried boogy boarding. With help from Jono both her and Roz caught a wave in. The weather was amazing but the water was FREEZING! It was like doing a polar dip at IAWAH in the spring.
After the beach Laura got dropped off at the train station to head to spend the week at Mike's house in Hornsby. That night she came and picked me up which made me very excited as I was a little nervous that I would never reconnect with her and my adventuring would be done.
The next day Laura and Mike headed out to Manly Beach. I was tired from all the excitement yesterday that I thought I would just stay at Mike's. After hearing what they did I was sad that I didn't go.
While they were taking the ferry to Manly the racers from The Amazing Race got on their ferry. They were standing next to one team while they were being filmed. Then the team turned to them to ask if they knew anything about the place they were going. Mike said yes and showed them on his iPhone what they could expect. They were both being filmed at this time so we're making sure to watch the next Amazing Race to see if they're on or not. Once the ferry stopped they watched the racers take off and then stocked them for a bit to get more pictures and one of the clue box.
After a bit they headed to the beach to enjoy the sun and sand. On the way Laura had her first kabob in the hunt for the best one in Oz. It was from Manly Seaside and got a 7 out of 10. Not enough flavour.
The day ended with exploring a rock cave and seeing people playing volleyball. Laura has mentioned that she's gonna head back there to play some beach volleyball later this week.
It was a great day that I wish I had gone on but I know that there will be more to come.

The Team we helped

Two teams getting their clue

The Cluebox

Surf school at Manly Beach

Rocks we climbed around

Thumbs up to a day at the beach

Exploring the cave

Harbour Bridge

Christmas tree made out of wheels