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

Celebrating Roz's 25th

Roz and Jono met us at the airport. We didn’t see each other at first so after waiting about 10 minutes Laura decided to go check out this Mickey Mouse balloon to see who was holding it. We were both very happy to see that it was Rozzy and Jono so that our adventure could continue.

We headed to Jono’s to drop the luggage off and have a well needed shower and then it was off to celebrate Rozzy’s 25^th. The day began with skating. That’s right we flew all the way over to Oz from Canada and went skating. It was a hoot! There were people skating in shorts! You don’t see that in Canada. It was a blast to hang out with Roz, Jono, Mikey, Matt, Izzy, Rachel, Joel, and Elise. They had a limbo comp at one point so all of us got into the action. Here’s a video of Laura and I attempting it.

After skating we got some lunch and then headed to Lunar Park for some good times! Laura’s favourite ride was the roller coaster. It was great fun to ride the rides and laugh our heads off. We realized that all of maybe getting too old for rides as we all felt sick from all the spinning we were doing. Dave, Mark, and Lee met us there and we said good bye to Matt, Elise, Izzy, Mikey, and Joel.

From Lunar Park it was across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to get us some more food from a great place called Pancakes on the Rocks. They specialize in all sorts of pancakes, pizzas, and crepes. Laura had the Devil’s Delight (chocolate pancakes with chocolate ice cream, cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce). She said that it was amazing. It was a fantastic way to end a fantastic day.

Roz and Jono picking us up

Joel ready to skate

On the train to Lunar Landing

Everyone ready for a grand time!

Joel and John

Joel and Roz goofing

Mike, Laura, and Rachel

Roz, Lee, and I reliving the Hillsong Day

Roz and Jono in the mirror maze

Limbo Time

 

Canadaman's Turn

Airport Adventures

Well we arrived at the Ottawa Airport WAY to early as the ticket counter wasn't even open. While waiting in line we met a nice lady from Ottawa who had a daughter who went to Lakehead like Laura. What a small world we live in.
After getting all our boarding passes we headed off to customs. The "random" selector said that we had to head over to the long line for extra checking. I guess that Laura looked sketchy.
With customs behind us we waited till we were called for flight #1 - Ottawa to Chicago

Our first flight we sat beside a lovely lady who was very positive and loved to talk. This made the flight from Ottawa to Chicago go quickly.

Once we landed it was off to our next gate (though we had 1.5 hours to till the next flight it was just enough time to find somewhere to eat and get to our gate. We really liked the Chicago Airport. There seemed to be something for everyone – shops, any type of food you want (I didn’t have time to stop at the caramel apple store but for sure I’ll be heading there on my way home), toilets that produced their own seat covers (check out the video below) and you could even get your flu shot if you had forgotten.

The flight to LA was more eventful than the last flight. We sat beside a man who was from Whales but lived in LA. They had some TVs on this airplane so we watched The Sorcerers’ Apprentice. The only problem was that it was FREEZING on the flight! That’s right the flight seemed to have no heat at all. We were sitting in the exit seat so that was more leg room for Laura but less heat for me.

Waiting in the LA airport wasn’t as interesting as Chicago. We were really tired so we got some food (Maccers) and just hung out. When the plane got there (15 minutes late) we all got on for some fun.

We were lucky to get the last seat in the aisle on the side of the plane. This made it possible for Laura to get up and walk around in the big space behind us. As the flight went on we watched 3 movies, got some sleep and chatted with the girl beside us.

Us on our flight to Chicago

Toilet in Chicago Airport

Taking some time to check Laura's email

Our dinner in Chicago

Listening to The Sorcerer's Apprentice on the way to LA

Eating MacDonalds in LA

After our LA to Sydney flight

The Adventure Begins

Hi Everyone I'm Canadaman

I'm really excited that in just one more sleep I will be heading off with my friend Laura on a great adventure. We are going to be heading to the land of Oz in hopes of reconnecting with friends, making new friends, searching for the best kebab around, and trying new things.
Our adventure begins tomorrow morning as we catch the 12pm flight out of Ottawa. With 2 layovers in Chicago and and LA the trip is going to be one to remember.
I hope that you will enjoy these little updates as to how the adventure is going.
I'd also love to hear from you if you have any ideas as to where we can go and what we can do.
Happy Trails :)

Here we are all packed and ready to head out