STOP, DROP, AND ROCK MELON

Stop, Drop, and Rock Melon: You can do these in any particular order.  We started with the rock melons, then stopped, followed quickly by dropping.  We both agree it was the hardest day of manual labour and mental strength of our lives so far.  I’m sure many of our co-workers, would have agreed but we didn’t get a chance to talk to them, as they decided not to even finish the day.  The idea sounded simple when we started.  “All ya have to do is follow the tractor, twist every melon to see if its ripe, and if it is it will break off, then simply pick it up and put it on the belt.”  They were right.  It wasn’t hard.  Well the first 500 were ok, then the next 500 were little tricky to hold on to, but the last 500 seemed to weigh 100 pounds.  That must have been the wet part of the field.  We were all glad to see the tractor sink into the mud 45 min early to end the day.  Everyone on the bus back to the caravan park decided to try picking onions the next day instead.

The following day rained. So did the day after.  It was at this point we decided to socialize, and trade movies with people to give us all something to entertain ourselves with while we wait on the sunshine.  Speaking to some we find out they had been waiting on weather for over a week so far.  We had a look at the weather forecast.  It called for another 4-5 days of rain and the farmers assured us it would take another 2-4 days of dry weather before they could convince the tractor to take a run through the fields.  With our dwindling bank accounts and increased free time, we turned the wheel to the coast and pushed the right pedal down in search of indoor jobs.

Brisbane was the next major city, and that’s where we began our search.  It reminds me a lot of Calgary.  It is spread out with only a few high rises in the center.  It has a river running through the middle, and all the major roads in or out are under construction!  We treated ourselves to a cabin.  This gave us a great chance to dry out and recover from the melon picking.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to stretch before and after any strenuous activity.  After sitting in the car for two days, following our one full day of picking, we were both walking as if we fell from a two story building.  We made up resumes and scoured the internet for work, in between refilling the hot water bottle and taking in the next episode of “24” which we became addicted to(like the fellows who gave em to us promised).  With both walking, and clutch work low on the priority list we enjoyed our recovery time and hit the airports and temp agencies hard later in the week.  Amanda found work right away temping as a dental assistant which left me with interviews out at the general aviation airport just west of the city.  To my pleasant surprise they have a Canadian on their staff already which they had sponsored from an apprentice and were the local Cirrus service centre.  They were pleased to see I had experience with them as it is uncommon to see in many Australia applicants.  The bad news however was that they would be slow until the new year and would have to check back after the holidays.  That didn’t fit into our financial plans.  The plans being: “we need money A.S.A.P.” Amanda continued to temp and I decided to look into alternative employment.  Through complete fluke I stumbled on a single leaflet left behind at the book trade in, when I was dropping off magazines I borrowed from the last one, and just so happened to be for a segway tour just north of Brisbane.  I decided to give it a ring and tell them about my segway experiences in Canada.

The timing couldn’t have been better.  The tours were expanding and the holiday season has left them all flat out and need someone to take up the slack.  Next thing you know I am doing training for a rainforest/resort tour on a fleet of 15, X2 off road.  I am actually writing this blog from inside a sea can (which we use as an office/storage).  The tours have been great.  They have been mostly family’s and couples.  This is a welcome change from the regular students I have, which include the fresh from the beer gardens, “I’ve seen mall cop I know how to ride it” kinda crews.

Amongst all the new work for the two of us we squeezed in some more play.  We took a weekend trip down to the Gold Coast as well as Byron Bay.  We got up at 5am and were the first in Australia to see the sun rise from its most easterly point.  We watched some kite boarders tearing up the waves in a redbull world event.  Your visit to OZ is never complete without a trip down the narrow switchbacks to Nimbin.  This is a village stuck in the “free love” era and boasts: “home of the hemp Olympics” (complete with bong toss) and also the worlds largest (recorded) joint.  Their claim to fame however is their VW bus museum.  I won’t go into details an spoil the surprise, besides is better you see it for yourself.  Two hours after arriving we feel we have seen it all and head to the information desks favourite hidden gem; Mynion Falls.  The rain comes down in sheets as we dodge the washouts on the single track road up to the falls.  We tough out the rain with the help of the last few episodes of “24”.  The silence is broken in the morning by the sound of a ute and two amped men going on about jumping off the falls.  Thinking it was a dream I considered falling back to sleep, but with all the posters of skydivers, and base jumpers running through my head I decided to toss on a pair of shoes and follow em to the lookout.

“Excuse me guys. Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought you said you were going to jump off the falls??”…….”yep”

And after a few basic stretches they wasted no time climbing over the railing and hurling themselves toward the earth.  I picked em up at the trail head and gave em a lift back to their ute, as one was late for work.  “Beats coffee!” he said as he drove off.

We took the alternative rout to the falls later in the morning.  We scrambled some rocks and found ourselves a pool and hung out in the natural jakoozee made by the boulders.

The remainder of our time has been spent trying to stay dry (as it has rained virtually every day since St. George) and keep enough clothes clean as to keep the van’s FUNK-O-METER below 10.  We also got to test out or roadside repair kit as we blew our first tire.  Both of us are now confident that we could locate and operate anything we need in that case.  This will save us time in the future, because somehow putting the steering wheel on the other side required the manufacturer to hide the jack, wrench, and handle all in different places!

The calendar has been telling us that Christmas will soon be here.  There are even carollers’ on the beaches and Christmas tunes in the shopping centres.  I stumbled upon a small lonely carton of egg nog today at the corner store.  All this doesn’t seem to cover up the fact the there is no chance it will snow.  It’s a stretch but somehow we will be trading our cooked goose dinner for a couple yabby’s on the BBQ.  I suppose some of the beaches are white…..this year Santa rides a jet ski.

The Squizzy Capitol - Nov 16-Dec

After leaving our very kind friends in Lithgow we traveled to Bathurst where we visited the Bathurst airport. Shortly after we arrived we watched an Albatross jet fighter take off for a test flight. You could be in the hot seat at 5 G-force for a small price of $3200 for half an hour. I told Nick he should talk to the pilot, see if we could get a deal. He suggested working for them, but they weren’t looking. Though he did get some good tips on where he might be able to do maintenance. Maybe next time!
So its on to Orange, the unofficial wine capitol of NSW.

We spend the next three nights at the best free campsite we have stayed at yet. 60km outside the city is a well maintained, cut grass 30 acre land with walking trails, ponds and hardly anyone there. Each night when the sun went down, we sat under the trees, a cool breeze on our cheek, tea in hand “no-worries” we thought it cant get any better.

After some sight seeing, a few laps in the swimming pool at the Ex-Services club, and a afternoon skyping we decided to keep going onto Canberra, the capital, and try and get educated about the history of Australia and its parliament. After a tour of the second floor we watched as people were going through a metal detector, proceeded by a long corridor.  Asking the guard what this was all about she replied “The senates are in parliament, you can ask them questions and have a squizzy”. A squizzy? Nick and I looked at each other after she had left. A whaaat?? We laughed as we asked another guard at another station. He smiled, it means “a look around”.

From there we set off to the Australian Museum.  There we learned about the discovery of Australia and rich history of building the country and industry.  Nick admired a truck with a giant hook on the front used to catch buffalo. But the highlight of the day was learning our new slang Ozzy word, squizzy-and coming from such a important landmark. HA!

Also visited the Zoo in Canberra. We got to see the locals: Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, little penguins, snakes, chameleons, as well as visitors from Asia: Red Pandas, India, Africa; meer cats and giraffes. Nicks favourite was the curious otters.
The next day we visited a 1915 power house-run by coal.  In the past decade it has been turned into a glass blowing studio and gallery. We spent 4 hours in the afternoon watching a group of 3 create a large round vase sculpture for a hotel in Japan, just one of 50 that take 5 hours to make each. What an interesting process. Wouldn’t that be fun as your career?

After getting a good feel for Canberra, it was off to the coast again.  We have missed the ocean. We find ourselves at Shell Harbour not far from Sydney. This is where we found a lot of beaches have showers. J

2500km after leaving Sydney we find ourselves right back where we started.  We made it a loop so we could make it back to catch Stereo Sonic (a full day electronic music festival). Thousands of people danced the day away for the outdoor music show. There we tried a deep fried potato ring on a stick, which we thought should definitely be added to the “a-la-stick” menu at the Calgary Stampede.
One short stop in Blacksmiths along the coast and we have decide its time to start our fruit picking career in St. George…………..

Suit, Tie, and Pea Topped Pie: Oct 26th-November 16th

Nick:  Well, well, well, “Hello Blog; my old friend.  I think its time we pour a cider and catch up.  Whatcha say?”

Just outside of Sydney 

Perhaps I should start by saying “all work and no play makes for a dull blog.”  The fact that I’m back at the keyboard shows you that I either am sneaking time from work or I have quit my job.  Well I’m here to say it is in fact the ladder.  I did it.  I quit, and I did it all for you!  Well, a generous portion did it for you, the majority did it for myself and Amanda.  We all knew that it wasn’t permanent, and with a bit of coin in our pockets it time to move on.  Since the last entry we have been staying at various hostels around Bondi Beach as well as sleeping on side streets in the van.  I know what your thinking: “what about a shower?” well we have been getting up rather early and going back to places we have paid to be at previously and walking in like we belong to be there and going about our morning routine and then back to the van.  It has allowed us to save that money which would otherwise go to the hostel tab and put it into renovating the van.  In this three week work span it is worth mentioning that I was sent away on a work trip for a week.  My time was spent in Parks and Forbs (Proud home of the “dish” from the movie…you guessed it “The Dish”).  I was lucky to have the company of a mixed team of individuals that couldn’t have been more pleasant and enthusiastic if it rained skittles every day.  There should be a whole other entry about them but I will leave you with the idea of the shanagans that could come about from a team as such: Mark the surfer from Melbourne, Alex the Musician from Scotland, Ollie the air-drummer from Suffick, England and his always smiling girlfriend (Charley) who danced at doorsteps.

Both Amanda and I put in our hours and put away our money and hit the road.  New additions to the van included GPS, overall checkup, oil change, muffler, and 125 mm custom cut foam bedding.

Back door kitchen

            The first day on the road already had the GPS paid for.  It got us out of Sydney, found us a pit-stop called Canada Bay, got us to Wentworth Falls, and even searched for caravan parks near us and got us their details.  The first night was spent on a side hill in a caravan park.  We hung our laundry on a gum tree at our site. Showers and bathrooms were 
a treat in the morning unlike some of our mornings from the bus trip.  We found ourselves winding down a single lane cliff road that afternoon.

View from look out-Wentworth Falls

Wentworth Falls 

It took us down into the Jenolan Caves and through their infamous Grand Arch.  We were greeted with wildlife of all kinds, including a wedding party climbing into one of the grand chambers for a reception.  With our tickets came coupons for a free self guided tour which we thought we might take in the next day
.

Kanangra Walls

 We backtracked up the winding hill to a rest area we passed earlier and hunkered down.  We are getting the morning routine down pat and it shows as we get back to the caves before nine.  With (Sully-pronounced ‘Su-lie‘ after a friend of the French couple who we bought t
he van from) the van revving high in second we pass the caves and make it up an even steeper switchback.  This road of doom takes us out to Kanangra Walls.  There are many trails and views to take in and we start with one that leads down a stone staircase to a waterfall.

Kanangra Falls up the mountain

from the Jenolan Caves

 The sun is fierce and we decide the pool at the base of the falls needs a bit of stirring.  We hop in to the shockingly cold water and keep the swim brief.  Refreshed we make our way back up the stairs and along the walls.  It doesn’t take long before we are craving another dip.  Without a schedule we decided its perfectly o.k. to backtrack and take another swim.

The Temple of Baal, Jenolan
Caves

 The Jenolan Caves were known to the local Aboriginal population for many thousands of years as Binoomea, "Dark places". European involvement in the area began in 1838 with the first recorded discovery by a local pastoralist James Whalan. According to legend however, Whalan was not the first European to set eyes on the caves, with that honour going to James McKeown, an ex-convict and possibly an outlaw, reputed to have been using the caves as a hideout.gend however, Whalan was not the first European to set eyes on the caves, with that honour going to James McKeown, an ex-convict and possibly an outlaw, reputed to have been using the caves as a hideout. The caves are thought to be 34 million years old.



Getting Back to the car we quickly discover that though we haven’t traveled far, we have done most of it in second gear and used all but a ¼ tank.  That means that unless we take an alternate route we will probably run out of gas.  The alternate route seems like an easy fix, but proved difficult from a dead end road.  We try our hand and asking the 4x4 crews back at the caves but none have any extra gas on board.  To make matters more interesting our brakes were smoking by the time reached the bottom of the first hill, and climbing the second we find that our right ball joint is starting to loosen up.  With lots of tension and a little luck we make it to a small town by the name of Lithgow.  It is Saturday night at this point.  Sully and the crew hobble into the nearest Caravan park.  With a whole Sunday to kill we decide to take in a bit of church.  It turns out that Aussie church goers like their services a bit earlier than one would think, with most starting at 9am.  Needless to say we missed those ones, but found a Salvation Army starting their service for eleven.

Brian, our new friend in Lithgow NSW

We were greeted with tea and smiling faces.  Come the end of the service we asked about a repair shop and if there were any chance of them being open on a Sunday.  As we assumed nobody would look at it until Monday, however a nice couple by the names of Brian and Carol offered us a place to stay in the mean time.  We parked in their drive overnight and enjoyed the first home cooked meal since mom’s early thanksgiving.  Brian showed me to his local auto shop.  They had a look and fit me right in.  Through the day Brian and Carol showed us around Lithgow, taking us to a (known mostly to locals) lookout over the valley.  They also took us to a suburb where local roos like to dine.  We must have caught a crew of 30 or so, some with joeys riding along.  The van needed parts sent away for and took an extra day in the shop.  In the mean time Brian showed us a sample of his British comedy library-Fawlty Towers, Brittas Empire, Darling Buds of May and others. Brian made us copies of the Wayfarers, Australian folk music. We ate our first Vegemite which you eat with butter on crackers with cheese. Carol taught us a bit about local Aussie Flowers, showing Amanda around her beautiful garden. We all enjoyed you-tubing the afternoon away.  That seems to be a great pass time no matter where in the world you are.

This is where I must leave you for now Blog.  Our stay in Lithgow is over and we best make up time on our loop back to the city, we are headed there for a concert on the 27th.

 We want to give a shout out to Brian and Carol if your reading and say thanks again for the hospitality. Its not everyday that people welcome you into their home and treat you like you are one of the family. We really appreciate the kindness you showed us. We will never forget it.

  Also to everyone else considering driving through Lithgow, consider a stopover, there is more there than the info centers know.  You may have to ask a few locals about some hidden gems but so far its been the highlight of the Blue Mountains for the both of us Canadians.      

Blue Mountains

Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, Katoomba

Macquire Woods camping site, Orange NSW

Week two:  

Nick: I wish I could write about all the new adventures in the outback we had this week, but I’m sure you can do most of them at home.  This week consisted mostly of adventures in overseas banking and job hunting.  There was a lot of tension in the air as both Amanda and I pushed out sleep deprived minds to the brink of insanity.  No need to worry, after the dust settles I’m sure we will be no crazier than when you last saw us.

For this entry I will focus on all the positives.  I will start with the fact that we have found a fully equip campervan to tour the coast with.  It is even in our budget, that is to say it would be if we could access any of our money.  That’s where the majority of our stress has come from.(Amanda writes.... Dealing with TD Canada Trust was not easy. Advice: if you want to be able to transfer money from your Canadian accounts to your new overseas account, before you travel find out if it is something that can be done fairly easily. In my case transferring money took 2-4 business days and cannot be done on internet banking, I had to fax all the information to a branch, after I spoke to someone. And when you are a day ahead it can be a little hard. Also dont get a bank draft from TD mine looked like a photo copy, so they held it for 2 weeks.
  We were lucky in that we have found a nice French couple that is willing to hold it for us until it goes through.  When we met them we sat for hours at a nearby coffee shop discussing their trip for the past year and the one we hope to do.  The second big thing to happen is that Amanda has found work in her field of dental assisting here in the city and has started right away.  It is through a temp agency, and her location of employment will change day to day but there seems to already be plenty of work for her to do.  I myself was getting anxious to do something that will bring money in rather than the follow the trend of passing it out.  I handed out many online resumes and got a hit from a marketing company not far from where we are.  I was hesitant to even take the interview as I have no formal attire and very little experience in that sort of thing.  I decided to take a shot as it was the only bite I got so far.  I went it and gave it my best shot.  Lucky for me the mate doin’ the interview was a fellow Canadian and we hit it off.  I was invited back later in the day for a second interview with three others.  Another Canadian, and Gal from Norway and myself met over coffee with the same fellow from before.  We chatted about what the company does and a lot about what he misses about Canada (his number one was Wendy’s).  This brought us into the mid afternoon and were brought in one by one for the final verdict.  I was second in line but I can tell from the way he spoke that everyone from the second meeting got a position, including myself.  So on the way home today I stopped off for some business attire and a haircut for my new job that starts Monday.  Wish me luck for I have a new suit to pay off.

We did get one afternoon off this week (seems like we haven’t had much time to be tourists yet) for which we spent at the beach.  The sun was hot and the water was clear and refreshing.  I rented a surf board for another try at it.  I got up only half dozen times or so, and only rode one wave full to the end,  but was lucky to see a school of dolphins chasing a boarder down the wave.  It was something out of a video and I am sure will be a highlight of my stay.

Though we have been working hard we did have some fun too.........

Australian Museum-they are clear
and really tiny-great 

$40 gets you unlimited bus/train/ferry
 for one week

As we were walking by.....

Great views from Sydney harbour

Wonderful lunch-Four Olives-Manly

I new there was a statue
somewhere
 in the world doing this

What we learned in Australia this week:
Cheers means thank you
A pension is called your Super account
Stand on the left side of the escalator if you want to ride, people on the right want to walk up
French couple taught us how to show waitresses you arnt pleased with your meal-using your utensils
Australian people think I am American
Gas tanks are not that easy to find on an older model
Really beautiful sea shells can kill you

Also dealing with TD Canada Trust for purchase of the van was not easy. Advice: if you want to be able to transfer money from your Canadian accounts to your new overseas account, before you travel find out if it is something that can be done fairly easily. In my case transferring money took 2-4 business days and cannot be done on internet banking, I had to fax all the information to a branch, after I spoke to someone. And when you are a day ahead it can be a little hard. Also dont get a bank draft from TD apparently mine looked like a photo copy, so they held it for 2 weeks. Everything has now worked out but only because Nick got pooped on by a bird, which here, means good luck!!!

Saturday Oct 2nd 6am:

Amanda writes…. Agnes (Nick‘s mum), Nick and I rise to get ready for a very important day. Australia bound. This is the first day of our 3 day journey, or is it only 2 days. Loosing or it is gaining times zones is a little confusing. So we are off, its now 7:30am and we head to Halifax, NS. We say our goodbyes to Agnes and we wish each other Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
We boarded Air Canada(all flights with Air Canada)  to Toronto at 4:20 pm. A smaller plane, it take takes us only an hour and a half. From Toronto after a 3 hour wait, some food and some hot sauce packets for the road we are off on our 2nd flight, to Vancouver. A huge plane with probably we calculated 160 people. Sections of 3 seats, 3 rows down the plane. They even had those new executive class seats where you can spread your legs out in front, like a bed, though your back is still upright. Though I don’t know looking at them that someone taller than 6 feet could lay their legs out. Needless to say we didn’t get to try.
So this plane we will stay on, there is no getting off till Sydney, so we thought……Fortunately 6 hours later when we arrive in Vancouver we are surprised to learn we have to get off the plane for about 45 minutes. Yes! We get to walk and stretch our legs. Nick and I felt like we could barely walk after sitting so long, your legs cramp so much.  What where we going to do for 15 hours. At this point we couldn’t really think about that, considering it was already around 4:30 am NB time, we where pretty tired.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Nick writes....  All in all if it wasn’t for having to sit in one place for 15 hours the ride wasn’t so bad.  You are fed every 4 hours or so and you don’t have to leave your seat.  You have almost an endless supply of new releases to entertain you.  With a few movies, and nap, a couple decent meals, broken up with the occasional  cocktail on the house I can honestly say it wasn’t half bad.  Our customs’ visit went better than we thought with them pushing us right through (it may have had something to do with the agents love for peanut butter).  With our minds in a fog, and little information on how to get to our hostel we pondered different strategies at the information board.  While standing there with no signs of brain activity a man approaches us with an offer to drive us there for 12 dollars.  In most cases this would send up a red flag to say this is too good to be true, but there are a few other backpackers waiting with him already and we roll the dice.  Turns out he is a hired shuttle for many hostels in the area and when we arrive he checks us in and find that we are there for 7 nights which entitles us to a free ride.  With a smile he waves and we are left to settle in.

Our first impressions are anything but excitement.  We enter a room with a sink on one wall and a double bunk bed on the other.  The floor is littered with cigarette butts and it has a funk about it.  Every color is dulled with a grime.  We are told to settle in while they clean it.  Unhopeful we set our things down and attempt to take in our “free breakfast”.  I guess there was a bit of a misassumption with the definition of breakfast, because we were welcomed to a bag of white bread and a bucket of jam, as well as a box of cornflakes and a jug of milk.  It technically is close to what I would normally have to eat but I guess I had my heart set on the Best Western style buffet…

After the room is cleaned we enter to find the grime, and fewer cigarettes.  We tidy up a bit ourselves and settle in to our new home for the next week.   We made it our goal to stay up until it gets dark.  It wasn’t hard once we started our tour of the city.  “Can’t fall asleep with your feet moving” we decided.  The weather was great all day.  We left wearing sweaters and pants and could walk around town in a t-shirt and shorts without worry.  The first thing we noticed was the wildlife in the city.  There were tropical birds of all kinds making  noises neither of us had heard before.  The trees were interesting and some even cartoon like in the park.  The trail we were on took us right to the Sydney Opera House.  It is a must see.  I can say it makes a nice postcard but in the end its just that.  Moving on…We find that MacDonald’s is the hot spot for free wireless.  At the nearest location they have fashioned a long table just for that where people wander in and mooch all they want.  We make it to nightfall and greet the pillows with two hard wallops.

The next day is spent getting our bearing around the city and finding the essential stores and setting up banking and tax information.

Bondi Beach

We reward ourselves the next day with a trip to Bondi beach which is a short ride on the train.  The weather starts out with mist then the sun comes out with full force.  The ocean is cool and refreshing.  The surfers are wearing wetsuits but only to fend off the Bluebottles (jellyfish).  We have a Oceanside picnic and I hire a board and wetsuit to try my hand at catching a wave.  It turns out very few of the techniques from snowboarding are transferable.  I will have to learn this one from scratch.  Despite the SPF 30 we still find ourselves scorched when we return

The remaindered of the week seemed to blur together.  We wandered around the city a bit more taking in Paddy’s Market and China town, the Australian Museum, and a couple other neighbourhoods in our area.  It turns out there are more hostels in that area than we could count, and the backpackers on the str
eet outnumbered what seemed to be the locals.  We bummed around the hostel making résumés and searching for a campervan to buy.  We ran into a couple fellow Canadians.  Two from Winnipeg, one from Quebec, and another from London Ontario.  The rest consisted of a littler of French, German, English, Brazilian, and Hollandish.  There were even a couple local boys who were students and one that was just hiding out while his and his lady were on the mend.

Nearing the end of our stay we took down mobile numbers and played a few games of cards.  Today we are hopping on the train, and the city bus and are relocating to Noah’s Hostel at Bondi Beach. …

Day 7 Sept 8^th:

Amanda writes….

That morning we met Nicole (my cousin) at Bayview and Eglington.We spent the afternoon relaxing. While she was busy we had dinner at Lemon Grass, on Bayview, best Thai we have had. Dessert: Hollywood Gelato, also on Bayview-skor, caramel, lemon, pineapple and pistachio. MMMMM

….. stayed the night at her apartment.

Sept 9^th Day 8:

Amanda writes….

Amanda and I, we found this lonely gaint
sunflower taking Calliegh for a walk

11:00am we leave the big city to drive to Kingston. First stop is to see my best friend, Amanda.  Jamie, Amanda’s bf and Calliegh, the famous pitbull who not only is a champion long distance jumper but has managed to escape the harsh laws of pitbull ownership regs in Ontario, met us at their house. When Amanda knew we were at the house, she was soon there. Like every time we see each other it’s excitement, sigh of relief, sisters meeting after a long awaited reunion, and just like we had left off from the last day we were together. Best friends never loose the connection.

Arrived at my mums, that night after a good visit with Amanda and Jamie. It was great to see my mum and she was just as happy to see me. The next 9 days we visited with lots of friends and family: Lunch with Kell, my friend from high school, she is great, expecting her first baby, a girl,  with her boy friend Justin. That night is BMX racing, every Wednesday night at the one and only track in Kingston, founded by Jamie’s dad. Nick tried it and was very successful, unlike me, last year who could barely make it through the kiddie track. Later that night we visited Tab another friend from high school and her bf Billy. We chatted while her possibly pregnant chawawa, bounced back on forth from my lap to hers.

The rest of the week was spent catching up and talking about Nick and my future adventures in Australia. We visited my grandfather in Trenton.  Hearing about Nick’s Segway, he was excited when we said we would bring it back so he could try it.  He rode it around the lobby as others watched in interest. We even got the director of the retirement home to try it. He will be 97 this December and there is no stopping his capabilities just make sure to talk into his left ear, other than that he is a wild man on a Segway.

Sept  19^th.   An elegant MacDermaid family reunion at Lake of the Mountain- a unique spot in Prince Edward County marked the end of our time in Kingston. At the top of the hill on one side there is Adolphus reach, which connects to Lake Ontario, and on the other side is a lake which could probably take an hour to canoe. This lake has many theories how it was formed. Whatever hypothesis you chose to go with there was no doubting it was a neat spot.

 It was time. We said our good bye to my mum, a few tears, a couple pictures in front of famous bus and a long hug. Now it was off to Quebec City then onto NB for a visit with Nick’s mum and his family……

Sept 19th-21st Kingston to Woodstock:   

Taking a break in Upper Quebec

Nick:  At this point we are anxious to make time.  Fewer stops for sights and food until we get to old Quebec.  With packed lunches and a full tank of gas we put the pedal down and gunned it to 88.  We stay in the bus just outside of the city.  Well rested we head in.  The next park proved to be one of the hardest parts of the whole trip; finding a place to park a bus (which is too small for their “bus” parking and too big for regular parking lots). After two hours of driving round and round one way streets Amanda spots a metered place on an end and we are set.  Old Quebec is a must see to anyone who hasn’t.  Its buildings and horse drawn carriages place you back into a different time, if not a different country.  We explore many shops and take in a bite along side the harbour.  French onion soup seemed to be appropriate.  The waiter was most impressive with his greetings in all languages as the cruise ships passengers came and went.  We left the city as twilight started and were NB bound.

 Finding a place to sleep was getting harder as the hills increased and our No. 1 rule (no slants) was becoming harder to abide by.  We wound up pulling in with the truckers along the border where Andrew Taylor and I once spent a night in C2C 1.  We covered the windows and fell asleep next to the purring diesels.  This location worked in our favour as we awoke to bathrooms and showers and even breakfast.  The new NB highway took us with good time all the way to Heartland without a hitch.  There we walked the longest covered bridge in the world.  From there we went into Woodstock to get a Greco garlic finger which I had been craving for years.  Then off to Limestone (where I grew up) to start the unpacking process.

Sept 21st-Oct 2nd  Final chance to pack:

Nick:  I will not bore you all with details but I will toss in a couple highlights to our final week in Canada.  

Worlds Larget Axe, Nackawic NB

B.F.A.M.'s
 (brothers from another
mother)

Much like our time in Kingston, the majority of our time was spent in NB was visiting family and friends.  The largest gathering was hosted by my gracious mother over a turkey dinner.  I have got to say thanks to her as I will likely not see one at Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.  Amanda made it through the baking, and the “grilling”.  We hoped to have a chance to work the harvester for a day or two but the weather had a different plan.  Tea and pie seemed just as tasty none the less.  The segway had its rounds here as well.  The Fredericton boys maxed out the km on more than one occasion.

Falls on the Maliseet Trail 

 While waiting for the weather we toured the world’s largest Axe and hiked the Maliseet trail.  The majority of the rest of our stay consisted of cleaning out the bus, packing unneeded possessions away, and tossing the rest in go/no-go piles.  Then up at 6:00am and off to Halifax for the 2 day journey to Australia......