Day 3
Jan 9, 2012

So my last day in California and it was a lazy day. Spent the day chillin around the house on the Internet and checking out the ranch.

My aunt and uncle have a beautiful ranch in the hills with tons of animals. I explored a bit and decided to meet the "locals". The animals were all very curious about me, who I was, and came up to greet me. There were some horses including some wild stallions, llamas, goats, chickens...you get the picture. I really took a liking to "Wildfire", a dark brown and black horse who was very friendly and curious. She came up so I could pet her. I found out later she was a wild horse who had a lot of training. Couldn't tell from her gentle personality.

I then met the llamas. There was one in particular who wanted to follow my ever moment and was very lovable. She gave me a little kiss on my hand as did the goats. Just loved the animals and their gentle personalities. You could tell that my aunt and uncle absolutely love them and give them tons of TLC.

Later that afternoon, my aunt and I headed for shopping at Ross. Let me tell you that I definitely found a lot of stuff I liked... Let the shopping begin!

Then after the shopping, comes the finale. The reality that my time in California is coming to an end and I must prepare for my next journey... to Australia! My aunt and uncle drove me to the airport and as I bid them farewell and walked into LAX I came to the realization, this is it. The next part of this journey I must do on my own and a feeling of loneliness came over me. LAX is such a big place and I'm a needle in a hay stack.

So now here I sit in a airport lounge with a glass of wine waiting for the next leg of my adventure to begin....am I ready? Let's find out...

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So the time has finally come to start the next leg of our journey. It's my last day in Sydney and in the evening will be Cairns bound.

During the day, we spent time packing up and took a tour of the Opera House.
Was really interesting hearing the history of such an iconic building and taking tons of pictures. I never realized that the Opera House design stemmed from a Design Competition and then later into an iconic structure.

If you are interested, I found this page that explains the history of the Opera house: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about/house_history_landing.aspx

I was fascinated with the architecture and how even the slightest details were considered. From the shape of the windows, to the tiles themselves (which reflect light in just a way that it doesnt get too hot).

 The rooms themselves are phenomenal and are considerate of the acoustics of the operas and performances that take place. I was very impressed with how all these details were considered to make the Opera House a world renowned architectural structure and sought after venue for performances.

We did the tour and if you are interested in seeing the inside of the Opera House and what its all about, I recommend you checking it out.


After a memory card full of photos and a couple hours, we were ready to head back to my friends house to get ready for our next journey to head to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef!

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The last day of my stretch in Sydney is quickly approaching. It's weird how it snuck up so fast. We decided to spend the day over in Manly and take the ferry across. You can grab the ferry from Circular Quay over to Manly and its not too expensive at all (it was under $8). The ferry runs pretty regularly, which was great because we were really looking forward to heading over. 

Down at the Sydney Harbour, there are tons of different places to see and visit. It really is a spectacular harbour. On the way to Manly, we got a beautiful view of the Harbour and went on a few stops along the way.

Once we got to Manly, I was definitely impressed. Was such a nice place and really had that laid back, beach feel. We checked out the shops, and there were tons of nice things to get I dont think we could get enough of it... and good deals too! I got a pair of shoes for $20 so I was happy. The beach is beautiful! Wasn't as packed as Bondi, which I really liked (although Bondi is beautiful as well), but just felt a bit more relaxed. After enjoying the beach, we headed to the beachfront restaurants and cafes for a drink and a bite to eat. There were so many nice places we just loved it, and the view was magnificant. Definitely one of the highlights of the week.

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Officially my first full day of vacation. We woke up early for a van cruise. My uncle is really onto cars and does a lot of customized work on vans and cars. They look absolutely fantastic . The cruise started around 730am where we met up with a few cars from Wheels of Confusion and drove through the Palos Verdes Peninsula on our way to Rotondo Beach.

We took the most beautiful scenic tour around the coast and by the time we got to the end of the road, we were at the most beautiful lookout overlooking the ocean. The vans all opened their back trunks and 70s rock could be heard from the stereos. I loved it!

There's even a video of it at: http://vimeo.com/35062065


After the cruise was done and the sun setting, we head back to the ranch for some down time. Was nice sitting down with my aunt and uncle having a glass of wine in my pjs. Made me feel at home.

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So here I sit at the airport waiting for my flight. Been an interesting start to the trip so far. My flights been delayed an hour so far so here I sit in the bar killing time with a Rickards red (actually not a bad way to kill time now that I think if it lol)

My boyfriend dropped me off at the airport and it's weird because I was fine until we got to the airport and I saw all the signs for the terminals and I realized wow this is really happening! As he dropped me off and we said our goodbyes, I started to get sentimental. I kissed him good bye and he reassured me that I was going to have an amazing time. We said I love you and as I walked away I couldn't help but keep looking back to see his car, which stayed for a bit before it drove away. It is at that point I realized this is really happening.

As I walk towards the Air Canada check-in I'm greeted by a lineup of hundreds of people all waiting to check luggage... A far cry from the somewhat romantic departure I just experienced. I waited in line behind the hundreds of people before me and then the weirdest thing happened. A guy from Air Canada comes up and says "where you going" I respond Los Angeles. He asked me if I had my boarding pass and I did, then he's like come with me... For a second I thought oh oh, I haven't even started this trip don't tell me I'm in trouble already. He takes me to another counter to the front of the line! Couldn't believe it.

So I'm all checked in, and now comes the fun part...customs..yay! (I'm being sarcastic by the way). So here I go ready to line up for another one and I line up behind this pretty girl my age who strikes up a conversation with me. We ended up chatting for about 45 mins needless to say the line up felt a lot shorter with someone to talk to. Then my turn comes up. Now is it just me or does customs ask very random questions? What do I do? Where am I going? When do I go back to work? Oh and my favorite "did you bring gifts for your family? When I answered no he looked at me like I was some kind of jerk and sent me along my way...

So here I sit still killing time with my iPad and a beer...not bad.

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Today I embark on a new adventure... I start my travels to Australia! This is just the first in several daily entries I will write on my travels.  I've never been to Australia before so i'm excited about facing the unknown and going on a bit of an adventure, writing about the experience along the way.

It's funny because before you go on a vacation, especially one for an extended period of time, there is so much preparation. It becomes a bit daunting and stressful at times, but as they say...keep your eyes on the prize. As I sit here, pretty much all packed waiting for my flight I think about how much I will miss the ones close to me... and my dog. However look forward to bringing back pictures and stories, and in the process finding myself. I think often you get so caught up in life, you need to take a break every once and awhile and figure out the things that are important. I'm hoping this trip will give me what I need to rejuvenate myself and my thinking.

Now, off to finishing my packing...first stop along the way? Los Angeles for a couple days.

Write to you soon!

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