Josh and Shona's Excellent Adventure

Halloween Horrors

josh_shona — Mon, 9 Nov 2009 03:57:00 GMT

I've been tested before. I've run with the bulls in Pamplona, conquered New Zealand's biggest bungee jump and killed a couple of spiders at Shona's request. But after “Fright Nite” at the Pacific National Exhibition I've unequivocally maintained my “reasonably masculine” rating. If the last time you've been through a haunted house was at some local festival or back in the 90's then you need to see what level haunted houses have been taken to. I could try to explain some of the scenarios but basically Shona screamed a lot and both me and my mate Daniel squealed like school girls at the occasional scary surprise. But highly skilled actors, elaborate buildings and state of the art robotics created some very daunting situations with Freddy and Jason, Hannibal Lecter and other screaming, startling characters bursting out of dark corners.

Halloween. Its so trashy. Its like Santa Clause and The Easter Bunny rolled into one. Why is it celebrated? I don't know, I don't care either. People just dress up and do funny stuff all for no real reason. And how I do love fancy dress.

But costumes aside, the single greatest experience of the fall season so far has been making Jack O Lanterns. Oh what fun they are. Encouragingly easy and very rewarding we turned the simple task of carving a pumpkin into a exercise of wine drinking and socialising with the inaugural “Pumpkin Carving Party”. I could go on, but I don't think I need to explain the occasion any further do I?

With said carved pumpkins sitting outside our front door and armed with a large bag of individually wrapped ghoul shaped marshmallows we failed to receive any trick or treaters. But then again I wouldn't take my kid down our street anyway, so we weren't too disappointed. Besides I was far too busy applying fake blood and flesh wounds to myself for my zombie costume. Shona meanwhile was far more sensible, as usual, dressing up as Annie Wilks, the psychotic lead character from the movie Misery.

There were many great costumes on display that night. Superheroes and super villians, cartoon characters and undead creatures, but the funniest costume all night was a guy in a chicken suit. Not because of the chicken suit, but because he had a beer in hand, was drunk, angry and fell over the gutter as he walked past me. Very amusing. Costumes were typically far more creative than just vampires or zombies, some real creative processes went into outfits we saw.

But now there are less than 6 weeks till Christmas. Snow is falling at lower and lower altitudes on the mountains, days are shorter and there's even talk of snowfall in Vancouver next weekend. For me its as exciting watching the leaves change colour – (which was exciting for me.)

And finally, the beauty of living in a different country is learning a new perspective of an idea or topic. I can happily say that I know have a greater appreciation for The Simpson's Tree House of Horror series. It just makes more sense now.

The world's most indirect travellors Josh and Shona.

September and October : A fall story.

josh_shona — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:03:00 GMT

I too have noticed the time that's elapsed since our last story. Several have commented, even criticised our lack of updates.

No its not that nothing has happened since August. Quite the contrary. A lot of fun has been had and I just couldn't be arsed telling all the folks back home what we've been doing.

So chronologically I'll break down the situation. Firstly summer had to end. One of the hottest, driest and greatest summers in the history of British Columbia stubbornly defied the calender and September saw more sunshine and elevated temperatures. Consequently our white water rafting trip was sublimely timed. A drive through the Fraser valley en route with plummeting gorges and salmon run folklore set the scene. Then came the city of Kamloops. The Rockhampton of Canada. Kamloops is to British Columbia what Rockhampton is to Queensland. One great big shithole. This amused me slightly.

Its disgusting urban sprawl destroyed the otherwise impressive natural scenery. Fortunately the water rafting was much better than the accommodating city. They did however have Tim Tams at the local pharmacy.

Our drive back, through some rather unsettling back water townships made me more than a little anxious. But the dull, surprisingly dry farmlands, transformed seamlessly into more glorious conifer covered mountains with countless lakes and stunning views.

That same month we also went to the Canadian Sunshine Coast. Whilst not the white sandy beaches namesake I'm familiar with, Canada's Sunshine Coast was a striking equal. Its an area, whilst still on the mainland, only accessible by ferry. Loafing around is a popular pastime, because the crystal clear ocean, ever so gently lapping against the forested mountains causes a real slow down in pace. Postcard stuff and our accommodation was superb. We drank red wine in front of the fire place whilst playing board games after our evening stroll along the beach in the crisp night air.

September was also the month we embarked on our ice skating lessons. Let me make a clear statement right now, ice skating is not easy. Oh contrarier, its difficult. To look anything more than a buffoon wobbling helplessly on a pair of thin blades on top of unforgiving ice is a noteworthy skill, something that our 7 week course may not necessarily achieve.

September ended and October bursted onto the scene with sensational colours and a noticeable change in the air. And the hockey season. If you combined the Super 14, NRL and Aussie Rules into one, that would be the National Hockey League.

Shona thinks I'm cute when I say it for the 700th time, but I just can't get over the stunning transformation that is concisely and unambiguously defined as "Fall". I'm from Queensland. There are no seasons. Just hot - all the time - so when millions of leaves throughout the city turn a variety of wonderful colours and drop to the ground all in the space of a few days I get excited.

Another totally awesome fact about October was I got stocked up on vegemite. I've got kilos of the stuff now. And not a jar too many!!

October started with a sharp drop in the temperature. The rain clouds rolled in and the notorious pacific north west coast wet weather commenced. But thankfully for just a few days. The skies cleared revealing the peaks of the mountains surrounding Vancouver dusted in the first snowfall of the season. Like icing on a cake it was the beez neez. The stubborn warm, dry weather returned and it was awesome.

October is harvest season. The last straggling of summer fruit disappeared. Pumpkins start piling up. Literally tones in every retailer. The leaves on the ground, shortening days and cold evenings create an undeniable atmosphere. Time to eat turkey.

Thanksgiving is celebrated in October in Canada, as opposed to November in USA. Our housemate, a chef, generously helped out in the kitchen by preparing the turkeys. Oh yes, not singular, 3 of them. To be fair they were only turkey breasts but they were huge. And candied yams. Take a pile of sweet potatoes, add a cup of brown sugar, a block of butter and bake. Then smother with a packet of marshmallows and hey presto Candied Yams. Down at least two bottles of wine before hand, and one afterwards and THAT my friends is how Thanksgiving is done.

We got our hands a little dirty getting into the spirit of the Harvest by heading to a couple of farms and hand picking some pumpkins and apples. And getting lost in the hilariously titled Maize Maze. Shona grinned for the entire day.

But possibly the greatest joy I've had so far in North America has been carving pumpkins. That story and Halloween I will leave for next time.

Josh and Shona, the world's most indirect travellers.

Camping in Tofino.

josh_shona — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:25:00 GMT

Fortune favours the brave. Going by our good fortune on our last adventure we must be the boldest pair on the planet. Tofino, a small fishing village on Vancouver Island lies on the edge of the world. Quintessentially Canadian it consistently rates as one the best places to visit in the country and after our weekend there we understand why. Occasionally, if you're lucky you get one of those “moments”, situations that make you stop and go wow, I'm so glad I'm here right now. We had not just one but many.

We camped in this modest campground that represented something more like high density living with a disturbingly high ratio of cars to tents. But although we were novices we had an ace up our sleeve. And that ace was a girl called Amber.

For those of you that don't know her, our friend Amber, a Canadian native happens to know every third person in British Columbia. Consequently we bumped into a friend of hers who happened to have a boat and was more than happy to take us out and share his supplies. Nice.

But before I get way out of control trying to describe every single precious moment we had there I'll go into overview mode. Tofino is set to the stunning backdrop of heavily forested mountains plunging into the ocean, with numerous small islands dotting the area and occasional floatplanes coming and going. Whales abound in this paradise with one coming within 2km of town. We went on a whale watching tour which was exciting for the boat ride alone, not to mention a few 30 ton Humpbacks leaping out of the water for us.

But catching a Spring Salmon was special for me. Its something a lot of Canadians haven't done and I do treasure it. What makes it even more sensational is pulling up on a deserted beach, starting a fire and eating it that evening. This was the stuff of fairytales and certainly not lost on us.

Between catching and eating we headed to some hot springs. Remotely located and a 30 minute walk from the jetty, these springs cascade into the ocean where you sit depending on how hot or cold you like the water. Needless to say I kept well away from the cold ocean and stayed in the hotter parts. Escorting us the walk there was a wild half bred wolf, that just seemed to be cool with people, was a friendly and social dog, yet had unmistakable wolf features. If there was ever a spirit guide of the native people this surely was it.

I have to make mention of the nightly campfires set on the beach, with crashing waves in the distance, a healthy smattering of stars above and the smell of fresh cedar burning. Electricity, mobile phone reception and private showers are things I'll happily sacrifice for more of this. On our drive there, a small town called Cooms, famous for its "Goats on Roof" feature became a focal point for the entire trip. I now have a "Goats on Roof" t-shirt and bumper sticker.

The world's most indirect travellers, Shona and Joshua.

Penticton, Okanagan

josh_shona — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:38:00 GMT

So after having a week of temps around 34 in vancouver. (which coming from brisbane) was not that bad, but our room which faces the afternoon sun with its two big windows but only two little ones that open. All in all our room was a glass house.

So we had a long weekend to do something so decided to go to Penticton. 400km east of Vancouver. Only booked the accommodation on the thursday night, so was luckly to get into the local Hostel.

go up early on the sat morning to avoid to crowded roads and headed off. We took the scienic route. took about 5 hours. couldnt check into the hostel till 5pm. so we parked by the lake and had a picnic lunch then went swimming. Penticton has two lakes one at the north and one at the south. between them is a cannal.

So we hired some tubes and with Vodka and lemondae in hand we set off down the cannal. It was slow and relaxing, until i look over and Josh had gone all australian and had pretty much drunk all the vodka - because it was going to get hot!

was a fun couple of hours and then a bus ride back to the village. had another swim then went and checked in. Just went out for dinner at one of the resturants that night. was tired after all the swimming.

the next day we hired bikes and went for a bike ride up around the lake. It is huge wine country so we stoped at about 6 wineiers before biking down to a spot beside the lake having lunch and a swim before biking back to town. Was a perfect day and had so much fun, the wineries were all really nice. we drove back later in the day and purchased a couple of bottles from a winery called red rooster.

On the monday we drove up to Kelowna and had a look round, we didnt like it as much as penticton but was nice to have a look round.

Lots of bush fires in the area and on the drive home it was very smokey though so didnt get to see the mountian scienicary.

all in all was a great weekend away.

The Art of Cheese Rolling.

josh_shona — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:46:00 GMT

I spent over an hour writing this story. But then my login timed out and the story was lost.

So this is the not so detailed version.

I ran. I was going good. I got hit from behind. I fell over. It hurt. Using your face to break your fall is not good. I didn't win the cheese.

The end.

The reason why I love doing this.

josh_shona — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:09:00 GMT

Here's a story that can only seem to unfold when you are a far out of your comfort zone and have your priorities a little muddled.

After a 3am viewing of the State of Origin, I managed to pull of a quiet day at work without feeling any fatigue and generally working quietly.

That evening we went to a brewery in the middle of the city, which for reasons we didn't question, gave everyone free beer. Now free beer is one thing, but quality, free beer is extra special and after managing to down eight, I was corralled oh so difficultly into a nearby bar.

At the table beside us was a small birthday party, which generously offered us some left over cake. Our gratitude was shown when we belted out Happy Birthday to some poor woman. Unbelievably the rendition was so appreciated a fellow birthday party invitee picked up our tab.

That took me to a total of 10 free beers. And I headed home. Not before trying to convince my new best friend to get the waitress' number... you can imagine just how coherant the conversation went.

Reluctantly I went into work, again just trying to stay under the radar. My croaky voice and red, red eyes were not conducive for this. And that's where the story ends right. No.

That day was the company's 40th birthday and a bbq was held. A hot greasy burger was just what I needed, and sitting outside casually chatting, with live music (yes there was a open mic) creating a mood much more comfortable for a hangover.

Until, the president of the company asks me to blow out the candles to the bloody cake infront of 200+ other staff and immortalised in photographs my hungover thumbs up will be a classic for sure. No-one commented for the rest of the day, and I'm now recognised as the guy who blew out the candles.

The world's most indirect travellers, Josh and Shona.

A reflection of what just happened.

josh_shona — Tue, 2 Jun 2009 17:42:00 GMT

Here's a compressed, all-killa-no-filla, highlights package from Brisbane to Vancouver

Pulling in at Warpole, West Aus, cause it was getting late and dark, we came across a lodge run by Bill Lawry's cousin, a mad keen former player herself who insisted I have a beer and watch a replay of the cricket game played the day before.
The white, white, white sand of Esperance. No other beaches anywhere I've been has had sand as white.
Getting seriously messed up with jet-lag both in Auckland and in LA. Not really a highlight, but memorable.
Tijuana, Mexico. For the fact tequila is served like tap water and somehow I was tipsy by 1pm.
The National Parks of America. Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Death Valley and Joshua Tree. All magnificent.
Coming across a racist native american. Although he self proclaimed he was an american indian. He didn't like the mexicans. Very funny.
Talking to a REAL native american. You know, someone without white skin. He didn't think much of the anti-mexican indian we'd met earlier.
Losing the following items:

Electrical adapter, pair of trousers, laptop case, sunglasses, shampoo and conditioner, 2 flash drives, the lid only off a bottle of cleanser and body wash.

Having a conversation about The Minutemen (a vigilante group) with two guys, one all for and one against. Classic example of America's divided political opinion.
San Francisco. And the segway. Enough said.
Walking out of Vegas with more money than I came with.
Putting money on black like EVERYONE said. It came up red.
By dumb luck booking a private tour of Monument Valley with the afore mentioned native american (not the pseudo racist one)
Shona getting scared by a squirrel, coyote and various birds.
and finally, Vancouver. It is one stunning setting for a city.

Arrival to Canada

josh_shona — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:26:00 GMT

We got into canada aye ok, just had a very slow man doing the paper work, but we have work permits in our passports and that is all that matters.

we have now been in Canada for a week. we had a busy first couple of days with the getting of a tax number, bank account, phone number. all done in half a day. the next day we managed to find a place to live. so thought we were doing rather well on that front, now is just the job search.

We haven't really done much in vancouver just yet, on the weekend we went wondering to the beach, granville island and round downtown, It is a lovely city with the real spring/summer feel in the air.

We stayed in a hostel downtown for the first 6nights, it was alright spent alot of the evenings downstairs drinking in the bar. we are now living in a three bed unit and an area about 3 train stops from downtown. it is one of the best places to live in vancouver so we were luckly to find it. we are living with two other canadian guys. the house needs a good clean but does have a fantastic roof top deck with views of the city and all the surrounding mountians.

we are currently just job searching and finding our way round our new neighbourhood.

shona and joshua

Portland and seattle

josh_shona — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:36:00 GMT

PORTLAND

We arrived in portland of an overnight train from san fran. the train trip was fantastic and we both really enjoyed it. but we arrived to rain and what was suspose to be rain for the next 3 days.

luckly when we woke up the next morning the sun was shining and all was good. we spent that day around the city and parks just having a general look around. was a lovely city with a nice atomosphere. (joshua was sick so not much beer drinking at all the micro brewerys)

the next day we hired a car and went on a day trip to the columbia river gorge. we drove along the historic highway which was beaufitful and stopped of at some waterfalls along the way. then drove further up the river, had a picnic lunch, crossed the river onto the washington state side and drove back to portland.

the next morning we had a bus ride to seattle. we filled up the car before returning it, to which we found out the in oregon state it is illegal to fill your own car with petrol. Why we dont know, stupid and strange yes.

SEATTLE

we arrived in seattle for some great weather, and yes it did rain, but only once. diffently one of my favourite citys. we walked round pike street market, caught a ferry across to one of the island's, went up the sky needle, on the mono rail, did an underground tour, (seattle had a huge fire early last centry and just built overtop of it all, so we walked around the sidewalks 1 story below.)had a lot of beer at the pub that nervana played at.

all in all a great end to our usa part of our trip.

San Francisco

josh_shona — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:02:00 GMT

Some say that San Francisco is a place where idealist concepts are embraced and free thinking liberalism is personified, that it’s a place of freedom and democracy, but for me the left winged, free spirited city of San Francisco left an impression of normalism on me. A city that has style. A city with an identity. A city of beauty.

And hills. My gosh does it have some hills. Calf straining, vertigo inducing hills. It also has Segways! Endless rows of gorgeous Victorian era houses each with their own huge bay window and dramatic colour design whistled by as Shona and I enjoyed the transportation of a Segway.

There was the mandatory bicycle ride across the Golden Gate bridge and a tour of Alcatraz, thrown in with a few delicious meals at the infinite number of quality restaurants throughout the city. But the biggest impression left from the city was its unique architecture and brilliant city vibe. Throw in a random street festival just to really indulge the loony costume wearing free spirits that inhabit the place and we’ve had an experience that has beautifully defined the city and shown us just how cool America can be, when it tries.

Currently we’re in Seattle, enjoying the notoriously wet North West Pacific area. The Canadian border is only a few hours away and the end of the American experience will soon be over for now. But not yet. A double mocha frappe grungeichinno and trip to the Space Needle awaits.

Joshua and Shona.

Too much fun.

josh_shona — Sat, 9 May 2009 06:19:00 GMT

Well there's been a bit happening lately so this will be one very brief entry.

Firstly, The Grand Canyon. A great big hole in the ground, stunning, unbelievable and done in style with a morning helicopter ride followed by a walk along part of the southern rim. Can't image a better way of seeing it. (On the way home we just stopped in at a tribute to The Flinstones - so tacky it had to be done)

Sedona. A small town in "Red Rock County". Incredibly coloured rocks with a town clinging desperately to the side of some stunning cliffs.

Monument Valley. Well we put on our best boots, saddled up the horses and headed the wagon east. Had a personal tour with a native american which was truly special. Got a first hand account of the local indian population living in the area and appreciated the mesmorising beauty of the land. Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon and Sedona were each wonderful and not to be forgotten. Good times.

What next. Oh yes. Popped back into California (via Route 66 of course) and hit another National Park. Joshua Tree National Park. Now to put this in perspective we've been to Yosemite National Park - a living breathing display of mother nature's grandure, we've been to Sequoia National Park - where we were swallowed whole and spat out again by natural beauty and Death Valley - an architectural natural wonder - but these are all second fiddle (for me) to Joshua Tree National Park.

Joshua Trees are inspiration in physical form. Muddled, twisted fantastical creations that can't be grapsed in words. They truly belong in Joshua Tree National Park for it is a landscape of impossibility.

This is when we left for the famous Californian Central Coast. A drive were you plunged through perfect fog, wound through forests and clinged desperately to road hovering above a relentless ocean. Scenes changed in a blink of an eye. Fog seemed to be placed meticulously by a great artist vanished around a mountain only to reappear without warning created an illusion that I had just reached everest's summit. The crystal blue sky could halt my driving just so I could stop to appreciate it all a little more. But watch out. That fog just rolled in and I can't see anything. (Apart from a whole heap of seals, huh, where did they come from?)

We're in San Francisco now. Best I write the next chapter.

viva las vegas

josh_shona — Tue, 5 May 2009 05:33:00 GMT

vegas baby vegas! well it was everything we imagined and everything we didnt. we had a great two nights and an interesting day.

our first night there we went walking down the strip. next thing we got dragged into a pharmacy by this guy going on about free dinner, not quite sure what was going on we went in. ended signing up to go to wait for it...

a time share presentation. so the next morning for giving up 3 hours of our time we got picked up from our hotel. transported to an office centre that was full of people and salesman. it was all very sureal.

so sal spent the next two and a half hours showing us the benifits and all that is good about time share. it took joshua and i about an hour and a half to actually fet what was going on, so i will not bore you with details. but with what we actually got out of it was...

dinner at one casino a show at another and 100 dollars to use on the slots at another casino. so worth it? we are not sure but was an experience to say the lest.

we both had fun and have left vegas with a feeling that we could go back, which i think is a good way to leave vegas. (when you havent had quite enough)

also josh was up a hundred and forty dollars when we left.

death valley national park

josh_shona — Fri, 1 May 2009 04:05:00 GMT

we drove from sequoia to bakersfield just for the night then off to death valley national park. we actually stay about an hour out of the park, something we didn't realise when we booked the place, but as it turned out was a great thing.

we arrived at our hostel that was in this one school no shop town in the middle of the desert. as we pulled up i said, please dont let us get shot! well the polor opposite happened. we were greeted by collen, who booked us in then told us what to do for the next 24 hours and it was all fantastic.

we settled into our hostel which was actually a renovated tralior, it was the cutest thing ever. we then went for a drive round the area, to china ranch where they had a date farm, had a date shake which was nicer than what it sounds.

the next morning we got up early and drove into death valley. we saw alot of great sites and did a lot of driving. the rocks and mountians combined with the salt lake and the history of the area was amazing. my favourite part was driving around twenty mule canyon road, this was the road that they use to use to get out of the area, and use up to twenty mules to pull out wagons of borax which they use to mine.

the senery was fantastic but did get tired of it by mid afternoon, as josh will tell you when i threw my toys coz i didnt want to walk up some hill to see the same view agian.

but was still well worth it and would recommoned anyone to visit as was something i had never seen.

sequoia national park

josh_shona — Fri, 1 May 2009 03:12:00 GMT

From Yosemite National Park we headed south to Sequoia Naional Park, we were staying at a little town out of the park called three rivers. we had my birthday tea there at a french restarant that was on the river with a great view. was a shame the food was less than great.

the next day we headed off to the park. the park ranged from foot hills to full on mountians, so was great driving up in the car. we made a few stops along the way to the top, including hospitial rock, tunnel rock and view point.

are first big stop was at the vistor centre and sequoia museum where we learnt all about the trees and how large they get. there was a great tree outside the museum.

went for a walk out to bettle rock which overlooked the valley, then drove up to general sherman tree. it is the largest tree in the world by volume. by the time we got there, there was snow still on the ground and about 2 degrees. walked the mile to the tree but both of us were dissapointed in the tree as there were grander trees around. (and that we were frezzing)

we drove up to the village and to the information/general store. where we stumbled onto the backpackers wet dream. Free food give away! we got bars, water, chocolate, chips and even cake. got our snacks for the next few days. as we left saw a fox like creature not sure exactly what animal it was.

on the way back down the mountian we stop at moro rock to climb. this was by far the highlight of the day. climbing this rock and getting to the top and looking out across the valley, some spots were diffently a little scary coming down.

we also stoped at a dead tree that you use to be able to drive your car on to take a photo. but even thou we couldn't drive on it we still climbed all over and had lots of fun.

Sequoia National Park was a great day and not so developed as yosemite so really felt like you were in the middle of no where.

san fran to yosemite national park

josh_shona — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:36:00 GMT

so we were sitting in san diego having problems decideing where to go and how to get there. Buses were good but not great and it was all getting to hard as we wanted to hire a car one way and that is expensive. so i looked up virgin america and we could get to san fran rather cheaply.

so a new plan was formed we would fly to san fran hire a car for two weeks and do a loop.

wednesday morning we packed up and flew off, hiring a car from a small time rental company with a rather laid back american steve we were soon on our way to yosemite national park.

our accommadation for the next two night was yosemite bug hostel and lodge where we were sleeping in a tent cabin. being 1500m above sea level it was cold!

thursday we sit off for the park about an hour away to hetch hetchy dam and park. we went off on a 5 mile hike around to the dam to waipoma falls. it was a great hike and had great fun walking under the falls and getting soaked. was the highlight of yosemite for us both.

well the next bit not sure if we are laughing about it yet. we started driving heading to the village where we went left instead of right. josh was driving and seemed to know what he was doing so i left him to it and fell asleep. woke up 20mins later thinking this does not look like the way we came. pulled out the gps, and yes we had been going the wrong way for the last 30mins. a turn around and change of drivers we were back on our way again.

yosemite village was full of people, cars, roadworks and not much else. we made it back to our cabin for dinner and bed.

Friday: my birthday we headed back to the park for a walk to yosemite falls, these falls were huge and dry out by the middle of summer so was quite amazing to see.

we then headed out of the south entrance of the park over a beautiful pass stopping for lunch by a river along the way. as we were off to sequioa national park.

overall yosemite is a beauiftul site to see as you are in this valley surrounded by such dramatic cliffs all around you. was a wonderful first national park to see.

shona and josh

First Impressions

josh_shona — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:34:00 GMT

America. Home of the brave they say. Home of the weirdos says me.

What a fucked up country. I've never encountered such an eclectic, mismatched, disturbing assortment of people. I've only actually come across 3 distinct types. Tourists, Weirdos and Marines. All of which should be avoided at whatever cost. These people seem to talk whenever they feel like it, regardless of whether anyone is listening. And yet, when you ask them something, they can't give you an answer.

I said before I left that I wanted to see something offensive. By which I meant, an example of sloth, or gluttony etc that only America could do. I saw it. And it was disgusting. American indulgence / obesity/ extravagence / ignorance / stupidity abounds in bucketloads.

But there have been some defiant highlights. Leaving for example. We spent a lazy day in Mexico. A very, VERY casual border crossing (through a turns aisle on foot) and we entered Mexico. We wandered around just crossing things off the "Things to do in Mexico" list. I experienced chimichangas, enchiladas, tequila, margaritas, coronas and nachos. But I passed up all (and there were many) offers of prescription (and non prescription) drugs, silver, blankets, wallets, jewellery and a whole host of other crap. Tijuana seems to be the place where you've downed a tequila shot and margarita and have a corona in your hand before lunch.

But San Diego (which is where we are at the moment) has been pretty good too. The zoo was commendable, but I guess seeing a majestic animal locked in a small enclosure just doesn't do it for me. It apparently, was the hottest day EVER yesterday. I disputed that April would be the month when this happened but apparently it was.

Los Angeles was just plain shit. Don't go there. Ever. We spent only 2 nights there and I couldn't wait to leave. We indulged at Magic Mountain whilst there, so I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of time.

We should have some far more fantastic tales of adventure very soon. Tomorrow we fly out to San Francisco and are renting a car for 2 weeks. (This decision was only made yesterday) and plan to see the country's best national parks and big drawcards like the Grand Canyon, Red Rocks and Yosemite.

Until then you'll have to stay tuned for the next installment from Josh and Shona - the worlds most indirect travellers.

(PS Yosemite National Park has Wireless Internet)

I really want to be in LA

josh_shona — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:44:00 GMT

The Eagles of Death Metal have a song called "Wannabe in LA".

It is the theme song of my life at the moment. Not detracting anything from Auckland, but I really want to be in LA!

But I have now been in the largest Tower in the southern hemisphere - woohoo - AND had dessert in a revolving restaurant - pretty funky.

And here's something to ponder over - its 3pm on Thursday and I'm sitting on my bum in Auckland - however at 1pm on Thursday I'll be in Los Angeles... yes I'll arrive in LA two hours ago. Its kinda like the movie Donnie Darko, but just not as cool.

Anyways look at my photos of wave rock and stuff.

The world's most indirect travellers, Joshua and Shona

the wedding

josh_shona — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:02:00 GMT

had a great day on saturday for caroline and luke's wedding. as i was bridesmaid i spent the morning getting all pretty with caroline. Josh not so sure what he spent the morning doing.

we were a fashionably 20mins late. the ceremony was beautiful and very moving under the gum trees at caroline and lukes section. i had to read a poem so that was a first in front of a hundred people but went well as caroline and luke were standing right in front of me and i couldn't see anyone else. including josh making faces!

we went and had our photos taking at a couple of beautiful spots while everyone else stayed back and made sure the achohol was not posion.

once we got back the party started with all the normal aspects of a reception except maybe for the fact that i ended up serving up the dinner as the servers dissapeared! but that was still good fun as di just went into job mode - bossing me around.

was an excellant night with some great dancing action from me and di but no dips as di had hurt her neck!

Getting to Esperance.

josh_shona — Thu, 9 Apr 2009 08:01:00 GMT

Got to Perth safely. Only the one mechanical breakdown before take off, and just the one request for a doctor mid air. Qantas is just so awesome.

Perth is great. Infact the whole state is. Its beautiful. Its got some real diversity, stunning forests, beautiful beaches, and up until the last 400km to Esperance, some great drives.

We saw some Emus, which made Shona happy. Got the hire car to 155kph which made me happy.

I will finish by telling you how positive an experience I've had in WA so far, and encourage everyone to consider a holiday here.

The world's most indirect travellers - Shona and Joshua.