Cowboys, Canadians & Crazy American Children

Farewell ISTC

zoe_wilson2 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:30:00 GMT

I can't believe I haven't written for one whole month... But then again i have been so amazingly busy that I honestly haven't had a spare moment. It's also really hard to describe to anyone that hasn't ever been here what this place is like.

I have had a great last month though. I've dressed up as the edge of NT/SA and WA, posh spice, an indian and a ninja turtle (again). I've climbed the iceberg and the climbing wall, slid down the zip line, been caught out of a splits at the trapeze and had some amazing days off!

Last night we had our end of year staff party which was awesome. Great food, music and company and it finally sunk in that camp has actually ended. Very sad!!!

Im off to NYC today for a few days, then DC, then back to NYC for teh US Open (wohoo!!!). After taht the plan is to invade Chicago then drive to the West coast - we are all very excited!!!

I still haven't actually changed my flight yet but I am hoping to be home on the 21st of Sept and can't wait to see everyone. I've missed you all muchly!

Hope all is well wherever you are, see you back in Sydney town soon!

Extreme Kids and Quarantine!

zoe_wilson2 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:30:00 GMT

Hi all,

So I've had an awesome couple of weeks since I last wrote. I was lucky enough to get to coach the Extreme kids last week and this week. They're the oldest campers and they get to do fun things like dune bugging, laser tag and tubing. It does present a challenge though because the group in double the size (40 kids and 2 coaches!).

I had 2 sessions with this weeks group and then found myself in quarantine because I have a cold. The camp next to us is thought to have swine flu so they're being super careful with us. There are about 15 of us that are being kept down at the director's house which was fun for a while because we have wifi and real TV. Novelty is wearing off now and we've missed banana boating, dodgeball and coaching for over 24hrs now and no sign of leaving just yet! Full House, visits from Gordo at meal times, friendship bracelets and making cards for people are saving our sanity at the moment!

Hope all is well out there in the real world... I hope to be out there soon!

Big love,

Gallery: CAMP!

zoe_wilson2 — Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:06:00 GMT

7 weeks to go!

zoe_wilson2 — Sat, 4 Jul 2009 23:47:00 GMT

Hi All,

I know that it's been a while since my last installment but life here is SOOOOO busy and it's really hard to try to put camp into words. We're just at the end of week 2 of campers so 7 weeks to go. Time is flying by I think mainly cos it's so much fun!

I have had two groups of kids so far. The first week was 9-10 year old boys and girls who were a great bunch but this week we've had 12-14 year old girls who were amazing! We basically take them for 3 sessions a day (6.5hrs in total) of all sorts of different sports - dream job! I've learnt a lot of new things like mountain biking, trapezing, rock climbing and even american football and am trying to teach them a few things too like netty and touch... There are also themes each week and as today is the 4th of July, we've had a stars and stripes theme and last week was a circus theme - basically means that we get to paint our faces and dress up in silly clothes all day every day to try to make it more fun for the kids

I'm living in a cabin with 15 other girls which has been suprisingly easy so far... We all get along so well and it really doesn't feel like we've only known each other for only a month.

I'll attach a few photos that the camp photographer has taken as Im still trying to sort out my camera etc so that I can put up some of my own...

Hope everyone is well... Will write again soon!

Camp!

zoe_wilson2 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:46:00 GMT

Hello!

So i have no entered the world that is summer camp in the US of A... It is AWESOME!

So far it has just been the staff as we have 12 days of orientation before the kids get here. The days have been long but literally just playing games and running around all day - I think I'm going to love being a coach when the kids get here.

Im in Stroudsburg, PA at a camp with 100acres of lake and despite some unseasonably cold and rainy weather it is magnificently beautiful and very very peaceful (at the moment anyway...) which is just what I needed after the last couple of months.

I'm really enjoying having a routine again and one of the highlights so far was unpacking my things in DRAWERS!!! I'm sharing with an amazing girl called Helen and we get along like a house on fire which is great. We have a 2 bed room in a cabin of 16 girls who are mainly also all coaches. We have spent 24/7 together since we got here so we all feel like we know eachother really well already.

The kids arrive on Sunday - I'm quite nervous as I think it will be a challenge to coach them for 3 sessions a day and keep them occupied. Overall though, I really can't wait for the craziness to begin!

Hope everything is ok with everyone at home,

Will write again soon and try to put up some photos,

Zoe

Around the world and back again...

zoe_wilson2 — Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:20:00 GMT

Thats what I feel like I've done since I last wrote... A brief update:

Post Vancouver saw me fly to Quebec City (thanks again for getting up super early to drop me Jackie!). Most amazing place - it really doesn't feel like you're still in Canada. I walked into the hostel about 2 mins after another Aussie (who turned out to have been on the same plane and doing roughly the same trip as me) and an instant friendship was born!

Karen and I spent 2 days exploring the city together. We walked all over the upper, walled and the lower part of the old city and saw the essential sights (Governers Walk, Chateau Frontenac, Grand Alle, Rue de St Jean, Le Citadel and Hotel de Parliament), ate at amazing Pattisseries and Boulangeries (my favourite French words) and attempted to learn some French...

The hostel we were staying in was super friendly and I met lots of awesome people. Allison and I spent a day together visiting the chocolate museum and biking out to the local falls (Chute de Momerency) which is 1.5 time the height of Niagra! We even saw a swimming moose!

After 4 nights in Quebec City I ventured with Allison and Gav, driven by the man in the van, to Montrea. Karen had left 2 days earlier but we spent the next day together again wearing out our footsies... Jackie had given me a list so we went dutifully about ticking things off! We walked to the top of Mont Royal Park, ate St Viatries bagels and smoked meat sandwiches from Swartz's (as good as they say!), wandered through historic down town, through the St Laurent festival and to city hall. After deciding that we needed to meet some locals we headed to the Latin Quarter and did just that! Rene and Francois took us out to a place on St Laurent where we danced the night away (to a very bad DJ...)!

Karen left me the next day so I wandered throught the Museum of Fine Arts, through the rest of old down town and discovered the underground city which was perfect for the rainy day that I had. Montreal has a series of underground shopping centres etc attached to the subway - amazing! The next day was a Saturday and I walked through Outerad to find the opposing bagel company and sample their wares (better I thinkg...) Outerad is the Jewish neighbourhood and I was amazed to see very traditionally dressed Jewish people out and about...

That evening I found myself in Toronto and within 10 minutes of checking into the hostel, talking to an Aussie guy Dylan who works there. He was an awesome host and with the help of his amazingly drawn map I spent the next day wandering through markets, parks, Uni grounds and main strips. I saw the CN Tower and fought my way through the thousands attending the Blue Jays game (wrong time to walk around the stadium!). The next day I jumped on a tour out to Niagra falls - specatular! We got very wet on the Maid of the Mist Tour, very scared by the crass fun park attractions in the town, dutifully took photos of the big whirlpool (not that exciting) and tried ourselves some icewine! The highlight of that day though was watching Dylan get picked on at an improv comedy night (the guy with the big hair and accent!).

Sadly my time in Canada was over - way too soon! I made my way back to Jim and Twinks for a recovery day or two before I headed into NYC to meet Deke and Jane and see Brooklyn town... I learnt how to make a beer chicken (fascinating!) and Jane and I drank Sake as we cheered on DJ Deke later that night.

The next day (after a quick trip to the local bakery for goodies...) I jumped on a bus to Boston to meet up with Liz again (the one I stayed with in DC) for the weekend. Boston was awesome - we finally had some great weather and Liz and co. showed me all around the Harvard campus, historic Boston, Canolli at Mike in the Italian Quarter, 1/2 price burgers near Newberry St and, the next day, swimming in a beautiful local "pond" (lake...), and the best ice cream ever!!! Kiddie cones hear we come! It was Liz's brother's graduation so we had a good old Martin family gathering that night with amazing food, home brewed beer and Dartmouth-style beer pong (paddles and all) before we all collapsed early from all the excitement!

That bring me to today and Im back at Jim and Twinks (they must be getting sick of me by now!) and off to camp tomorrow morning...

Sorry for the length of this one but I have been so ridiculously busy I haven't had any moment whatsoever to sit and collect my thoughts much less write a blog!

Bring on the Crazy American Children!

Gallery: Best of the rest of the US of A

zoe_wilson2 — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:08:00 GMT

All over

Gallery: Canada so far

zoe_wilson2 — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Vancouver, Whistler and Vancouver Island

Canandiadia continued...

zoe_wilson2 — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:38:00 GMT

Hi all, So I'm back in Vancouver but I feel like I've been all over the place in the week since I last blogged. I was in Victoria the last time I wrote - such a great city! I ended up staying 3 nights in Victoria. The hostel was much fun with open mic nights, other live music and lots of people around to talk to (although I don't think I really got any sleep!). Thursday saw me set of on the self-guided walks of the city. It was great to see so many different parts of the city including the oldest chinatown in Canada, Fishermans wharf (complete with float houses), the beautiful gardens of the Empress Hotel and the fun of downtown around the wharf. Whilst I was doing this wandering I found a little kayaking tour place so i booked myself in for the following morning. This was one of the best things I've done so far! Brad and I headed out through the harbour to the islands just outside of Victoria. We saw seals (within a metre of the boats), lots of other wildlife and ended up at the first lighthouse in Victoria. It was such a beautiful morning which I followed with fish and chips and and ice cream at Fishermans Wharf - heaven! The next day I headed off early on the bus to Tofino which is meant to be the surf capital of BC - you could not pay me enough to get in that water though - 7 degrees!!! They are all crazy up here I swear! I spent 2 nights in Tofino with an epic day of bike riding in between (the lady at the rental place said it was an easy ride - 60kms later I was one very tired little aussie kid!!!). Lots of beaches and rainforest which was awesome to see! Highlight from Tofino though had to be sitting in the pub on the wharf having dinner while watching two eagles try to steal fish from a sea lion right in front. The sea lion was doing a pretty good job though and I dont think the eagles (or the gigantic seagulls for that matter) managed to get anything! Absolutely exhausted but happy I headed back to Vancouver to be reunited with Katie's couch on Monday night. Since then I have just been trying to recuperate. Played beach volleyball on Tuesday with a group of people that I met at the bus stop in Tofino which was awesome fun (I don't think I contributed much talent though, sadly...). They were all super excited to introduce me to new Canadian food I hadn't tried yet and we managed to knock poutine, perogies, crab cakes, yam fries and wings off the list of must-trys... As we speak I'm making Banoffee Pie for Katie and her friends to try when we head out on a boat into the harbour this arvo to take advantage of the (finally) increasing temps (tough life, I know!) and then I only have one day left in Van. I'm heading over to Quebec City on Saturday, followed by Montreal and Toronto before I finally head back into the states on the 2nd. So you're all caught up now... Next installment coming soon!!! Big love, Z

Canadia

zoe_wilson2 — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:17:00 GMT

I actually had no idea that I hadn't written an entry since I was in DC - feels like SUCH a long time ago!

I am sitting in a hostel in Victoria, Vancouver Island, CANADA! But before I get to that I need to update you all on where I've been since DC...

I left Liz's place early on a Friday with the most horrible hangover thanks to her introduction of me to Hashing (google it - its not pot...) and caught the bus to NYC. I was super excited becuase I was finally going to meet Jim and Twink (Steve's parents) who were picking me up in the city. We managed to find eachother ok and did a whirlwind tour of Manhatten before stopping at a Kiwi pub for lunch. We then headed out to their place via Hillary and Bill's house. Such a pretty part of the world and I was super spoilt being taken out again for dinner to an amazing resteraunt on the river that night.

Next day up super early again to be at the airport by 6.30, I didnt mind though cos it meant that I was almost going to see Alice! They let me in though and I was met by Katie at the airport. The next 2 days were spent in Vancouver doing touristy things and attempting to recover from what had been a very big week... Katie and I then headed up to Whistler via the see to sky highway which was SPECTACULAR!

We finally caught up with Alice and her room-mate Em that night for drinks and nibbles which was awesome! It was a good beginning to a great week that included lots of good food (including VERY fudgy brownies, Cows ice cream, sushi and stolen cheese toasties), good company, not so good Canucks hockey watching and even some skiing (attempted anyway...)!

Monday saw Al and I heading back to Van to pick up Rupes. The next day was spent wandering through gas town (past the cambie Andy...) and then dinner and drinks that turned into a Wesley reunion - Cara, Alice, Rupes and I with another Aussie ring-in Brendon and the token Canadian Katie... We even stumbled accross an old blues player named Wes!

That brings me to yesterday when I caught the ferry over to Victoria to check out the Island for a few days. Today I wandered around the city all day which was awesome - such a pretty harbour... Tomorrow I am doing a Kayak tour in the morning then I think Ill head up to Nanaimo to see what that's about for a few days before heading back to Vancouver to re-inhabit Katies couch for a few more days...

I also had my 2 month travel anniversary the other day - I actually cant believe its been that long! Next up is the east coast of Canada (Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto) before I head back to the states for a week of NYC/Boston and then onto camp - wohoo!

Thanks so much for all of your emails/comments etc, keep them coming - its always so good to hear news from home! And I will try to keep this updated as much as I can...

Big love to all,

Speak soon,

Zoe

From Virginia to DC

zoe_wilson2 — Sat, 2 May 2009 07:14:00 GMT

I almost managed to write another blog within a week - hope you are all proud!

I have had the most crazy and fun week since I last blogged. I continued my road trip into Charlottesville, VA (home of the University of Virginia) where I said farewell to my friend Neo (sniff...). This was the beginning of one of the largest weekends of my life!

Thursday afternoon had me waiting for Davar, Birney and Woody to drive in from DC. I managed to attract the most strange person to come and sit next to me in the bagel shop in possibly the whole of Virginia and after some very interesting conversations regarding Obama, the youth of today, Australia and a large range of conspiracy theories, my knight in shining armour (Woody) came a rescued me and swiftly took me off to the pub for a beer! The drinking did not stop there... Basically when we wern't at a pub drinking good beer, or a winery tasting good wine and eating amazing cheese or a restaurant eating delicious meals we were driving around in a convertible, swimming at big lakes or watching the horses race by - heaven!

On Sunday I caught a lift back to DC with Woody, Davar and Birney and went to stay with Liz who I lived with at Wesley for a semester. I spent 5 nights in DC and did all of the touristy things like the white house, national mall, lincoln memorial, capitol hill and georgetown water front. I also managed to get lost in a park in the middle of the city with Liz (Liz's flatmate) and Jack, find Pandas, otters and zebras at the zoo, get lost on the metro and end up in ghetto land and experience hashing (google it... basically lots of running and drinking of beer).

Now I am at Jim and Twinks in NY after a quick tour of the city this afternoon and am super super excited because I get to see Katie and Alice tomorrow in Canadia!

Will keep you posted on the next adventures in the land of the maple leaf...

The last 3 weeks

zoe_wilson2 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:53:00 GMT

The last three weeks have been a whirlwind!

I think the last time I wrote properly I was about to leave Montana. Since then I have been all over the place...

I went to visit the mormans in Salt Lake City on the way South. Jen and Steve put me in touch with friends of theirs who I stayed with for 2 nights and who showed me so much of SLC. It was amazing - I saw the Morman headquarters and temple (I took a tour that just happened to be with an Aussie missionary - bizzare), went up to the ski fields with McKay, walked the dogs in the mountains with Pamela and had family dinner at one of the rare places you can get a beer with your meal!

After a very early flight and long day of travelling I found myself in the one and only West Palm Beach Internation Airport... I asked the information lady for direction downtown as Rob and I had had a few communication issues and the only places she could tell me were all of the resorts and golf clubs - not really what I was looking for! Eventually I found Rob and Kate and settled in to the living room which was meant to be for a week, maybe ten days... Two and a half weeks later I finally left!

Florida was great fun - it was soooooooooo good to be warm! Rob, Kate and I did lots of beaching, pooling, eating and drinking amongst the highlights of a Del Potro v Murray tennis match in Key Bisquaine, Fairfield Tropical Gardens, Renegades (country club complete with line dancing!), a Florida Mrlins Baseball game (with peanuts, beer and hot dogs...), Hooters and an Easter Egg Hunt (very fast so they didnt melt in the FL heat).

I also managed to tag along with some Germans on their trip to Orlando which was pretty amazing - I have never seen so many theme parks in my life! We did Universal Studios and were going to do a water park the next day but after lots of singing at a piano bar the night before, decided that hanging out at the resort pool was a much better option!

Last friday I took myself down to Key West in Lafonda (Robs Chevrolet Malibu) which was incredible. The atmosphere down there was amazing and I saw the most Southern point in the states, saw mile 0, swam at the most southern beach, watched the sunset from the pier and of course, ate Key Lime Pie from the Key Lime Pie factory...

The trip to Key West was the end of my Florida chapter and the next day I rented my current noble steed Neo the Toyota Matrix. I have drive 950 miles so far up from Florida and find myself in North Carolina at the moment at Chapel Hill, the home of the University of North Carolina.

Along the way I stopped in St Augustine (the first town in the states) and stayed at the Pirate Haus Inn - very interesting staff! Went for a walk with Traveller (didnt ask his real name...) who proceeded to get stoned and then have a massive deep and meaningful conersation about the meaning of life, how you need to flow like water to get through the system (what system Im not exactly sure...) and how if there is a god, its the sun... I know! it was a pretty amazing town though with so much history that I wish I could have stayed longer... Traveller offered me a job as a pirate princess in the haus but Im not sure that Ill take him up on that!

The next major stop was Savannah in Georgia - the most beautiful town I think I've ever seen! The people there are super friendly, the seafood is great and the architecture and layout of the town is stunning... This trend continued into South Carolina where I stopped in Beaufort and Charleston - again lots of history, good food and great people!

Last night I made the trip into North Carolina to visit Danielle who is at Duke Uni. It was the last day of class for the undergrads so everyone was having a massive party on the campus so after investigating that for a little while I headed over to Chapel Hill where I am now!

Wow - so sorry for the length of this, I know I know - I should write more often and then have to write less - thanks Dad!!

About to run out of internet time so I will sign off now. Im heading to Virginia tomorrow for a race day at UVA on Saturday with some boys from Bryanston which will be fun and then I'll let you know where I find myself after that!

Hope all is well with everyone back home - speak to you soon!

Slack Zoe...

zoe_wilson2 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:45:00 GMT

So I was going to get up and write a nice long story about the past weeks in Florida but I went to the beach to attempt to surf on an extremely short board instead and have now run out of time to write properly. (I think I swallowed most of the ocean - I'm surprised there is still some water left!)

Instead I will just say that Florida has been awesome! Lots of sun and sand and theme parks... I have hired a car (yet to have a name...) and am starting this afternoon up the East coast with Virginia as the aim by next weekend...

I am still safe, alive and so happy eating my Key Lime Pie that I never want to leave!

Will write a proper entry asap...

PS - I have an American number now so please feel free to shower me with phone calls! +1 561 537 1709

Heading South Again...

zoe_wilson2 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:53:00 GMT

My weekly update...

Tonight is my last night in Montana and I'm sad! It has been so great up here that Im not sure I want to leave yet. This past week has been full of sight-seeing (Yellowstone NP, Bozeman, Virginia City, Big Sky, Missoula), animal-sightings (moose, antelope, byson, grizzlys, wolves & gophers), partying and lots and lots of snow!

I drove myself over to Yellowstone on thursday last week through the snow (6 degrees F at one point...) and although the park was shut for the winter and I didn't get to see any yellow stones, I still saw some spectacular views including frozen lakes and snow-capped mountains galore.

From there I drove over to the uni town, Bozeman to stay with Jaime for the night. We had a great time - started at the uni bar and finished by drinking, dancing and singing karaoke at one of the bars in town. Lots of fun! I even drove a pick-up! We were a little slow the next day but Lindsey & I wandered around Bozeman before heading back to Sheridan.

Since then there has been a lot of snow... Sunday was a white out (my first blizzard) which made feeding the cows really really fun! Today we jumped on the horses in the snow (another first) but with the sun finally shining it was a beautiful ride...

So tomorrow I am jumping on a bus and making my way to Salt Lake City to explore until Thursday when Im jumping on a plane and heading South chasing some warmth...

Will try to keep up the weekly updates,

Gallery: Montana

zoe_wilson2 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:51:00 GMT

hanging with the cowboys

san francisco and montana so far

zoe_wilson2 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:06:00 GMT

So it's been only a week but I have seen and done so much since I wrote so I thought I really should update this and let you all know what I've been up to...

The last time I wrote I was in Santa Barbara and about to head up to San Francisco with cousin Hannah, Frannie and E.... We hired a car (a very sporty red thing) and I drove everyone on the wrong side of the road all the way up to San Fran. I only almost turned onto the left side once so I was pretty proud! We got in in the dark but that just made driving over the Golden Gate Bridge even more spectacular!

San Francisco was amazing! We stayed with Gerlinde's friend Ed in Sausalito in an apartment complete with city and Bay Bridge views which were beautiful. The next three days were a whirlwind as Hannah and Gerlinde made sure that we saw everything that we needed to from a local point of view. Here are a few highlights:

Friday: We headed downtown (once again the Aussie driving on the right side of the road) early in the morning and I drove down Lombard St, we wandered through China town, Castro (the gay quarter) and Haight (the hippy quarter) then after walking about 20 miles caught the ferry home across the bay driving past Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the Golden Gate. This was particularly exciting as it was E's first time on a boat!

Friday night saw us visiting Hannah's friend in at the Marina and then a trip to meet some other people at the State Uni where a group of us very quickly got into an extremely deep conversation about, among other things, how Australia is going to sink because there is no volcanic activity and we're on one plate (or something like that anyway...)!

Saturday: An early start again with Gerlinde this time as Hannah went off to EMT class for the day. We drove up to Coit Tower complete with Columbus, had a Noah's NY Blueberry Bagel then headed down to the water to walk around the bay to the bottom of the GG Bridge. This was then followed by a trip to the Farmers Market (which included LOTS of taste testing!) and a quick trip into town for the St Patty's Day Parade. I made a friend called Tequilla (A mounted shooting champion mount) - I thought of you Lillian!

Saturday night was an experience... hannah took us to an under 21 club that made me feel like I stepped into a scene on Honey. There were the battling dancers on the front stage, the drunk girls wearing next to no clothes and dancing on the poles and in the cages up above and the general dance floor showing off moves that I think should be almost X-rated!!! I think Hannah just laughed at me the whole time cos my mouth was open in constant shock and awe!

Sunday morning was recovery that was followed quickly by a wine tasting tour in the Napper Valley in the afternoon and my first mexican meal at Taco Joes before the other girls headed back to college on the overnight bus.

Monday was the beginning of the next chapter in my travels and although I was really sad to leave San Fran I was super excited because I was heading into Big Sky country in Montana to see my other cousins Bill and Jim. This is where I write this from now and I can safely say that this has been the best week so far!

Jim and Lindsey picked me up from Bozeman airport in the middle of a snow storm (very lucky to be able to land...)! I was really wondering why I thought I should come up here at this time of year... We headed back to Sheridan very slowly and made it safe and sound to Horse Creek Cattle and Hay Ranch.

Since I have been here I have mainly been on the ranch. Its been really wonderful just being back in the fresh air (as long as I have about 6 layers of clothes on...) and I am re-learning all of these things that I haven't done for ages and ages! It is the middle of calving so we have been checking, tagging and pairing out cattle everyday. Tuesday we had to move some heifers for branding on Wednesday so I was handed my trusty steed Stash and I clambered into a really big, hard Western saddle and after only an hour or two thought that I had done permanent damage to my seat bones! All went well though and we freeze-branded on wednesday. Thursday included a trip into Dillen with Steve where I was given a bright pink John Deer cap and a camp chair as lucky door prizes by the local ag supply stores - I have proudly been wearing my hat ever since...

Last night Jamie took me out on the town to the local bars - picture a saloon bar from a Western and you have a pretty close idea of the type of establishments I was in... Jamie lead me astray a little and introduced me to 7&7s (whiskey) and Southern Bitches - both of which made me feel a little worse for wear this morning... I did also manage to convince Jamie to have Vegemite toast before bed to help with the hangover but he really wasn't that impressed...

Today has been another day of firsts. Bill, Jim, Lindsey, Sam and I all climbed in the truck with a few horses and headed to a branding. This is basically where all of the neighbours help out with branding a ranches cattle. COWBOYS!!!! There was roping and drinking gallore!

So I hope that catches you all up - I know its a long one but it's been an eventful week!

Catch you next week!

Santa Barbara and getting here...

zoe_wilson2 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:46:00 GMT

Hi All,

First entry hmmm... Thanks to the Swedes I am trying this blog thing - forgive me for my lack of creative and technical writing skills (Lil, maybe you can fix it after Im done???)

The trip so far: one word - LONG!!!! 3 hours to Auckland then a good 6 hours at Auckland airport followed by a 12 hour flight to LA (complete with snoring man and screaming baby...). Next up, a bus to LA station with a 3 hour wait until the 2 1/2 hour train to Santa Barbara where I FINALLY met my cousin!

Highlights so far:

* Palm trees!

* Attempting to order coffee (have managed an iced mocha and a hot mocha with a shite load of cream)

* Bagels! Yes - the diet is over!

* Chatting to a man in LA about how is the 600m record holder for the US (he really didn't look like a runner.... and 600m???)

* Going to college with Han including a kickboxing class with her basketball coach - it really is like the movies!

At the moment Im sitting in my cousin Hannah's living room with her million roommates (more than Mallett St!). We're heading out tonight but cos all of these guys are under 21 we have to go to an over 18s clubs - I do not miss being under age AT ALL. Hannah is trying to find me some friends that are 21 so I can actually drink with someone!

I have taken some photos but not worked out how to put them on here yet but I will in good time...

Missing you all - keep in touch ok! Will keep updating you all on where Im at and what Im up to...

Big love,