Sedona, Sante Fe, Colorado & Chicago

December 1 (Sedona) - When we got up and looked out our window, we realized how insanely beautiful Sedona is. It is filled with huge red rock formations everywhere that are indescribable. Since we could still barely walk, we toured for a bit (mainly from afar which consisted of little walking and no hills) then headed to Sante Fe.

December 2 (Sante Fe) - We toured Sante Fe for the morning then began our long drive to Denver, Colorado for days of amazing snowboarding. YAY!

December 3 - 9 (Colorado) We spent the first few days that we were in Colorado in Denver at my dad's friend Lucila's place. She has the cutest little dog and I have officially fallen in love with Chiwawas! Her name is also Maggie so Eric and her became instant best friends. Our first day of snowboarding took us to Loveland. It was a great hill... or so we thought until we went to Keystone & Vail! Lucilia has a friend with a condo up in the mountains so she got us the key and we spent 3 nights there! It was amazing. It was about a 5 minute drive to Keystone and 30 minues to Vail. So as I have already given away, the two other mountains we boarded were Keystone & Vail which were just breathtaking! We were blessed with perfectly sunny days and it was about 1-4 degrees every day we went. The day before our last day of boarding, they got 14 inches of snow so the conditions were just amazing!! Any boarder/Skiier NEEDS to go there if they get the chance. Unreal! When the 9th rolled around it was sadly time to leave Colorado :( We headed on the road and made it to Omaha where we slept at a sketchy Econolodge... well it wasn't that sketchy but Eric and I have been watching so much CSI cuz its the only DVDs we brought so I have crazy thought in my head which led me to watching the window from 3-6 am cuz I was convinced someone was breakign in. haha. Oh CSI... never again!!

December 10 (Chicago) - We continued our long drive to Chicago and checked into the Double Tree downtown (gorgeous hotel!) The concierge gave us 20% off at this bar called Timothy O'tooles so we headed over there for dinner and to watch a bit of sports (yup, Eric is turning me!)

December 11 (Chicago) - After waking up at our beautiful hotel we walked around downtown and checked out the sites. We then headed over to Ed's house (my dad's friends house where we would be spending the next few days). Eric of course couldn't miss the "BIG" UFC fight so we went to a near by bar to watch it -Buffalo Wild Wings. To anyone who lives near one - this place has the most AMAZING wings everrrr! We sat for a while as the place got pretty packed. 2 guys were walking past us looking for a place to sit but all the tables were full. We had 2 extra chairs so we offered them up. Well to make a long story short, we had a great night with them and they INSISTED on paying our $100.00 bill!! They would not let us pay it! WOO HOO! Great night!!! Note to all: if you see straglers looking for a place to sit. LET THEM SIT WITH YOU!

December 12 (Chicago) - We went to a pancake house for a delicious breakfast before heading to the outlet malls for a long day of Christmas/Chanukka shopping. It is insane how fast all food comes in America. All food is seriously fast food... no matter where you are. We have not waited more than 10 minutes (and that is considered waiting a while) for any food! I don't know if it's just the restaurants we chose but literally as soon as we take a sip of water, our food is infront of us. I have to wonder, how on earth do they cook it that fast?! Probably one of those questions better left unanswered.

December 13 (Chicago) - We went to downtown Chicago in the -15 craziness for a little tour of the city. We went up to the John Hancock observatory to check out the great views from the 96th floor. Obviously, we used our sneaky-ness and avoided paying. It was $18.00 to go to the observatory but free to go to the restaurant/bar if you got something. So we went to the restaurant "checked out the menu" ... "went to the bathroom" aka took lots of pics and left. We then went to the AMAZINGGGGG cheesecake factory for lunch and I brought Eric onto my obsession of that restaurant. We went back to Ed's place, he took us out for an amazing sushi dinner then we went to bed.

December 14 (Chicago --> Washington) - We started our LONG (16 hours to be exact) drive to Washington. Eric and I were playing a word game with two teams (team a = us... team b = us as well... yes we were competing against each ourselves haha...) but we were very heated in our competition that we didn't think to look at the gas tank. Next thing we knew the light was on and the next gas station was 27 miles away. We were happy to learn (yet again) how trusty the reserve tank is... we made it :)

San Diego, Las Vegas & Grand Canyon

November 22 (San Diego) - When we woke up we decided that we just had to start our San Diego adventure at the world famous zoo! The zoo was so much fun. They have this gondolla called the skyfari that takes you to the top of the zoo - super exciting... and not just because it has the coolest name ever. After the zoo we went to TGIF (for my first time!) for some happy hour appetizers - they LOVE their happy hour in America... they have it EVERYWHERE! We ended our night by seeing the movie Due Date - wouldnt really recomend it. We then hit the hay for a busy day to come.

November 23 (San Diego) - We went out to see the military ships on the pier. San Diego has the largest amount of military ships on the Western coast. We decided it would be a good idea to try to enter the military base... boy were we wrong. The movie Due Date taught us nothing - there was a really funny scene where they accidentally crossed the Mexican boarder - I wont give it away but essentially, we felt like we were there. We tried to get in to see the boats and were questioned as if we were terrorists pretty much. They said they would have to call boarder control if we tried to get in. He said he would, "give us a break" and let us turn around. AH. So we quickly headed out and checked out the 1 military boat that is for tourists to check out. After that we drove through old town which is the original part of San Diego. It's a really cute area that I would recommend going on the weekend. Unfortunately we were there during the week so there wasn't too much going on. We ended our day by heading over to La Jolla (where we were staying - a stunning wealthy beach town) and walked around town. It is absolutely gorgeous out there!

November 24 (Las Vegas) - We woke up giddy with excitement because today we were heading to VEGAS BABY! WOO HOO! We got onto the strip and checked into our hotel - Planet Hollywood. We went to Margaritaville for dinner and got the most massive nachos I have EVER seen. Could literally feed a family of 10... and they would STILL probably have leftovers! We then saw the unbelievable Cirque Du Soleil (Mystere). It is insane to see the strength these people have. They do these tricks as if its nothing. I want to try to explain it to you but words just wont do it justice - pretty much you ALL need to go see it! We then headed over to a bar called Kahunaville (inside the Treasure Island). It is an oxygen bar. I have heard of these but hadent actually been to one until here. Its a really funny experience. They put a tube in your nose and hook you up to flavoured oxygen for 20 minutes. You control the dials to select the flavor you want. It feels so funny but REALLY wakes you up! We all had so much energy that night and I am officially an oxygen addict! We hung out at the bar for a while and met some people then decided to wander the strip and see what else it had to offer. We saw a bar called Rockbar that was selling 80 ounce guitars filled with your drink of choice. Done and done. we were walking around town with pina colota filled guitars around our neck. Too funny! After ending the night with Eric playing his " air guitar" for quite a while infront of the hotel, we went to bed.

November 25 (Las Vegas) - The 25th is a blur and between 3 people, we can't remember for the life of us what we did that day haha. But at night, we went to a peep show with Holly Maddison (High Hefner's ex fiance) which was sooo funny and very entertaining. We decided the night before was unbeatable so we grabbed our guitars, refilled them and hit up Rockbar again. We ended the night at the casino, and the rest is history.

November 26 (Las Vegas) - Today was black friday so of course we thought - Shopping!! Jenna and I walked around the mall for a while but we slept through all the good sales so we didn't buy too much. After our little shopping adventure, sadly, Jenna left :(. Eric and I decided to hit up the casino and this is when I learned that I should be a professional roulette player. I told Eric before we went that it was going to land on 10 so I put $2 on 10 and VOI LA - 10!! I won 70 bucks! I decided to cash out and try again later. Eric and I went to the conceirge to discuss our plans for that night. We found out our concierge was the best connected man EVER so he got us on guest list at Pure in Caesars Palace with no cover and no line (which is HUGE for Vegas). It was a lot of fun but we didn't stay for too long because we felt like we were in a pinball machine. There were people EVERYWHERE. We literally didn't have to even hold ourselves up. We could just lean back and the huge crowd kept us standing. So we went to the casino to test out my roulette talent. I predicted 8 and ... 8!!! I won another 70 bucks off of 2 bucks!!

November 27 (Las Vegas) - We relaxed during the day, went to the casino for a bit where I won another 70 bucks (ooo yeee) while Eric watched the Leafs game at the bar. We went to trusty Toby (concierge our hotel) to discuss our plans for the night. He got us on guestlist at all the clubs at the Palms again with no cover or line. We went to the Playboy club and the Moon which were both a lot of fun... and free :D

November 28 (Last Vegas --> The Grand Canyon) - We sadly checked out of our hotel that morning and I had to accept the fact that being a roulette player was not going to be the way I make a living for the rest of my life. How sad. But I did go to the casino one last time (i swear i'm not addicted) and won 35 bucks... but then ended up only winning 20 in the end cuz I got greedy... It was definitely time to head out. When we got close to the Grand Canyon, it started to SNOW! OY! -6 and snowing... what??! It was hilarious to see people trying to drive through the snow. They were literally going 5 miles. I'm sure it was the first time many of them have seen snow. We thought the hike would only be about 5 hours in total... turns out its 4-6 hours down the canyon and 6-10 up the canyon... and we had no accommodation at the bottom because they sell out 1 year in advance! ... what to do. They said if we go at 7 am the morning of, they might have a cancellation that we could get to stay in a dorm at the ranch at the bottom of the canyon.

November 29 (The Grand Canyon) - We got up and waited to find out about accommodation. YAY! People must have seen the snow and freaked out and cancelled. WOO HOO! We got 2 dorm beds! Yay for snow! It was a really good thing we got accommodation cuz our backup plan was to do the whole hike in 1 day but we then saw signs everywhere about how many people have had to be rescued trying to do it all in 1 day. There is even a book called, "Death in the Grand Canyon." We started hiking at about 9:30 and after about 30 minutes, there was no more snow, the sun came out and it was actually really beautiful out. The Grand Canyon is indescribable! My standards of beauty have been raised WAY too much after seeing it. Words seriously can't describe it. 4 hours and 300 pictures later, we got to the bottom. There is a huge mule pen at the bottom where the mules sleep for people who take a mule ride up and down. We went to play with the mules and were petting them but apparently we started some fights. They were so territorial. As soon as we would pet one, another one would start to bite it and one actually got on its 2 front legs and rammed its but into the others face to knock it. We decided we didn't want to be the cause of a mule death, so we left. We went to our dorms and my dorm came with a little friend. There was a little mouse running through the dorm. Ah.

November 30 (The Grand Canyon) - We woke up and could barly walk. My calves were in SOO much pain... oh perfect. I can barely walk and I have to hike up the canyon 6-10 hours. Well, as beautiful as the canyon is, we decided we couldn't stay forever so we powered through and headed up. After 6 hours and every muscle in our bodies burning, we made it up! YAY! We headed to Sedona which is where we are now... bed bound... because we literally cannot move. I am scared for us to wake up tomorrow because I fear how immobile we will be... wish us luck :)
P.S. Both Eric and I wanted to wish his Grandma a BIG happy birthday! xox

Santa Cruz > Monterey > Big Sur > Pismo Beach > LA

November 16 (continued - Santa Cruz) - After getting unpacked at our hotel, we walked around the seriously cute downtown for a while and contemplated what to do that night. We decided to hit up the bowling alley, which was apparently the hot spot in Santa Cruz. It was packed. We had a great game of bowling then headed to 711 for some trusty nachos and "self serve" (aka load it on) nacho cheese then wandered back to the hotel to park it in.

November 17 (Santa Cruz > Monterey) - We woke up to a gorgeous day and decided that the perfect way to spend this beautiful day was at the beach. We lay down and got our tan on. We then went downtown and wandered around and checked out the cute stores before heading off to Monterey. We were informed that Monterey was the Seal lion capital so we went to the pier to check them out. Well, they were not lying. There were literally thousands just laying there on the rocks. SOOO CUTE! But there were equally as many jelly fish. It was NUTS! There were thousands and thousands of jelly fish all over. Some were as big as a foot! GROSS! We stayed at the trusty Best Western again that night. 20 bucks a person... Gotta love it!

November 18 (Monterey > Big Sur) - We began our drive to Big Sur. This was one of the nicest parts of the coastal drive. We were literally on the side of a cliff with the ocean just feet away from us! When we got to Big Sur, we checked into the "Esalen Institute." Which is a spiritual getaway kind of place (which by the way, is absolutely STUNNINGGGG). Most people go there to do workshops but we just did a "personal retreat." We had lunch there which was by far one of the best meals we have had. Sooo delish! We then went to a workshop called "Gestalt Constellations" which we thought had something to do with astrology. Boy were we wrong. Way too complicated to explain... look it up if your interested. But essentially, it was pure craziness. I couldn't look at Jenna or Eric for the whole 2 hours cuz I knew id break out into laughter and everyone around us seemed to be taking it so seriously. I guess we were missing something LOL. After this workshop, we decided to head to the hot springs, which were quite interesting. Lets just say there was minimal clothing worn by all the "spiritualists" there. Quite the experience.

November 19 (Big Sur) - We woke up and did a yoga class which was really relaxing. We then headed for our massages on the beach... mmmm. It was by far the most amazing, most relaxing massage I have ever had. It was 75 minutes of amazingness. We then headed into the hot springs one last time before induling in an incredible lunch at Esalen and then sadly, we had to leave. We drove to San Luis Obispo and looked around for a little. We then proceeded to Pismo Beach (only about a 20 min drive from San Luis Obisbo). We stayed at the Quality Inn which was shockingly nice and had a nice hot tub in their gorgeous tub. mmmm so relaxing... much needed before the day to follow...

November 20 (Pismo Beach) - We woke up and were sooo excited to go ATV'ing at the massive sand dunes in Pismo Beach. We each rented our own ATV and were driving around like crazy people. We drove down hills that literally just dropped off then drove back up really steep hills all around the dunes. Eric went up 1 hill that was sooo steep. He made it up so I thought, hey how hard can this be? Well, needless to say, I learned that I do not know how gears work on an ATV cuz I made it about half way up the hill before starting to roll back down. Given how steep it was, I was rolling pretty fast and I must have hit the break cuz I went flying off my ATV then my ATV flipped and fell ontop of me. IIKES. Thank god all I have to show for it is a bruised tail bone and a scratch on my knee. WOO HOO for helmets! Other than my "overstimulated ATV experience" in the wise words of Vince Vaughn, it was sooo much fun!! We picked up some ice packs for me and headed to LA. We got ready and headed out for the night. We started off at Skybar. When we got there the bouncer said we couldn't get in unless we either had a reservation or were staying at the hotel attached. I convinced him that we "could" be staying at the hotel and that it was all technicalities, so he let us in. Then we headed to the Whiskey a Go Go where many famous people have performed. It was heavy metal night so we didn't stay for too long. We ended the night with some good old sushi then packed it in for the night.

November 21 (LA > San Diego) - We drove around LA and checked out all the touristy sites before heading on our drive to San Diego.... you'll have to wait for the next post to find out all about that :)

San Francisco & Yosemite

November 10 (San Francisco) - We woke up to a stunning day of 21 degrees and a perfect sun with not one cloud in the sky. I decided to go for a run. Little did I know that San Francisco consists of hills and ONLY hills. Oy. After my run we met up with Erics brother and mom who just arrived. We hung out, went for a walk around the city then went for an amazing Italian dinner. We finished our night at the hotel bar and STAR SIGHTING - Wentworth Miller (from Prison Break). I got my picture with him. WOO HOO. I went to bed a happy lady.

November 11 (San Francisco) - Eric and I decided we wanted to go on the "hop on, hop off" bus to get a tour around town. The first one we looked at was $35 for the day. We hunted down the sketchiest looking bus, which only cost $20 for 2 days and took that one! We did a tour of the downtown which was just beautiful then another tour of the random, sketchy areas of San Fran. The second "tour guide" (and I use that term loosely) had no idea what he was talking about but atleast admitted it as we hopped on he said, "Well I don't know much about this tour so it's going to be more of a scenic tour." haha. After our tour, we attemped to go to a restaurant for dinner and ended up spending 3 hours walking through sketchville before realizing it was closed. We headed over to the first sandwhich place in San Fran. mmm good! On our walk home we went to the Cheesecake Factory which is on the top level of Macy's and has an absolutely stunning view of the city. I picked up a piece of chocolate moose cheese cake and we headed back to the hotel.

November 12 (San Francisco) - We walked to the wharf and hopped on a ferry boat to Alcatraz (it used to be a prison that housed some of the worst criminals in history. ie: Al Capone). It was so cool and very eary to see it. It has the most outstanding view of San Fran from the island. After we returned from the island, we walked the half hour (only uphill) walk back to the hotel to grab the car to drive the windiest street in the world. It is just a gaint zig zag back and forth for the entire street.

November 13 (San Francisco) - We woke up and headed down to the pier to meet Eric's mom and brother for an amazing lunch at the best seafood restaurant in San Fran. It was DELISH! Just outside of the restaurant there were sea lions in the San Francisco Bay. They were sooo cute! Right after lunch, JENNA ARRIVED!!!!! (my friend who is traveling with Eric and I for just under 2 weeks). Jenna and I took the tram where you hang off the sides (very cool) to Union Square while Eric and Mark went to the aquarium and walked around columbus street, china town and the tranamerica building. Jenna and I then headed to Height Ashbury which is the area that started the hippy movement. We came back to the hotel, got ready and headed out for the night to a bar called Green & Grand in the North Beach area.

November 14 (San Francisco --> Yosemite) - We woke up and headed over to the Fishermans Wharf for some deep fried fresh seafood. mmm mmm. After the nausea started to kick in from all the fried-ness, we decided it was time to head to Yosemite (but of course, we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge on our way).

November 15 (Yosemite) - We went for an absolutely stunning hike to Vernan Falls & Emerald Pool. After our hike, we decided we would find a camp site before it got dark. We headed over to the $5 camp site and figured Eric and I would take the tent, and Jenna would take the car. As we were about to get it all set up, we looked at the registration office and were frightened at the following sign: "There have been 487 bear incidents so far this year and over $100,000.00 worth of damage from those incidents." There were also multiple pictures of bears climbing into cars to try to get food. Although we contemplated still camping there, we decided that we didn't want to wake up to the site of Jenna cuddling with a bear in the car full of food. We dished out 15 bucks each for the "canvas tarp" (saved an extra 3 bucks each by not getting the heated tent... big regrets). We then headed over to the local sports bar to hang out before heading to bed.

November 16 (Yosemite --> Santa Cruz) We woke up in a pretty wet "tarp" in 1 degree weather. eeek. We went to check out and the guy at the front desk said, "Did you hear about the bear incident last night? A bear tore off a persons window frame and climbed into their car and tore it apart." Good thing we decided to stay in the tarp haha. We went to check out the Yosemite Falls & the tunnel view which were both crazy beautiful. We then headed on our drive to Santa Cruz. Within 3 hours it had made its way from 1 degree to 24 degrees. WOO HOO. Were home! Laying on the beach with the gorgeous sun beating on us. Now this is something I could get used to. We then went to the Best Western to see what their rates are. He said 76.00 plus tax... so I said what about 75 including tax? Done and Done. 25 bucks a person for a suite with a king size bed and a pull out couch... perfection!

Portland & Seattle

November 5 (Seattle) - We woke up in the lovely city of Seattle at Patt's beautiful house (a friend of my father). We checked out the newspaper for some free excitement. We then headed over to the area of Fremont Ave to a wine tasting and looked at the infamous sculptures of the artsy city of Seattle. It is just the prettiest place. We then headed back to Patt's for some dinner before taking off to the Paramount Theatre to see a comedy show. The show headlined Norm McDonald and had 3 other comedians. The first 3 were pretty funny but Norm came on and sounded like he was definitely on something because every word was slurred and half his jokes made no sense. But it was still funny to laugh at his craziness which made it a great night. Not to mention the delicious buttery popcorn I got. mmm mmm mmm. We then attempted to learn the bus system of Seattle and about an hour later (it should be a 15 minute drive), we were back at Patt's.

November 6 (Seattle) - We went to Pike Market which is the COOLEST place I have ever been. Its a huge market where the first Starbucks originated - which, by the way, they have not changed one bit since its opening. I knew I liked this place but it really hit me when I saw the "HAND MADE CHEESE STORE" OMG, what could be better? For those of you who know of my love for cheese, I was in heaven. We got the "worlds best" Mac & Cheese which really was the worlds best. We then walked past a bakery with the best smell and the biggest line I have ever seen. We waited for about 30 minutes for these delicious pasteries. This market had the coolest little vendors and it is where the famous video of those men throwing the fish around was created. Definitely giving this place a 10/10.

November 7 (Seattle) - We decided to "ride the duck." It is one of those tour buses that turns into a boat and takes you around the city. I actually learned so much about Seattle. I sadly think I know more about Seattle than Toronto. Did you know that the average Seattleite (yes that is what they call themselves) buys 3.5 cups of coffee a day AKA spends $3,000 a year on coffee? NUTS. Did you know that Seattle has 412 Starbucks. WOW. It was a really cool tour that taught me a lot of things about this awesome city that I would have never known. After the tour, Eric and I decided we were starved. We headed over to the port to get some fresh fish. We went to a restaurant called the Crab Pot. Everyone MUST eat here! Let me give you a visual. They cover your table with paper and give you a bib and a hammer. Your seafood comes in a bucket and they dumb it on your table with some corn and potatoes and a bowl is put on the floor for all the shells and you just go for it. We orded king crab legs and they were to die for!! We left at about 4:30 and the line to this place was out the door. Sooo amazing!! Id have to say it was probably the best restaurant I have ever been to.

November 8 (Portland) - We woke up and packed up our stuff to continue on our journey. Our first stop was Mount Saint Helens. It is a volcanoe that erupted in 1980 and left a HUGE crater in the mountain. We then drove on to Portland and ate our good ol' tuna sandwhiches we had packed ourselves then continued to Washington Park. It is a stunning park in Portland that has so many things in it. We went for a little walk and visited the holocaust memorial which was a really sad but amazing site. After the park we decided that in the pouring rain, we were over Portland so we headed over to the tax-free outlet malls for a little brousing then went to Newport, Oregon and set up camp in the parking lot of our good old friend Wal Mart for another great sleep in the car.

November 9 (Portland --> San Francisco) - We woke up at 7 am, went to Wal Mart to wash up then started the long drive to San Fran. We got lost a few times, took a few detours and drove through miniscule roads in the rain, dark and fog but after about 13 hours, we finally made it! Phew. We checked into our STUNNING hotel - The Fairmont. It is without a doubt the most stunning hotel I have ever seen. WOO HOO. Off to bed in our awesome king size luxury bed. Nighty night!

Happy Birthday Joy!

Happy Birthday Joy. We hope you have an absolutely amazing day because you deserve it :)

Lots of love,
Eric and me!

British Columbia (Continued... again)

Nov 1 (Vancouver) - We had our last day of volunteering which was surprisingly kind of sad. They really appreciated our help and it felt like we really made a difference there. A bunch of customers came up to us and were telling us how much they appreciate us being there... it was really nice. It's awesome to see that just by donating a few hours, you're able to make such a difference.

Nov 2 (Victoria) - We took the ferry over to Victoria which is a STUNNING ride. Something everyone has to do for sure! Eric and I were insistent on eating fish out there cuz how could we not be literally on the water and not eat fish? So we hunted for the cheapest fish and chips we could find and VOI LA (however that saying is spelled), we found it! Every bite was a treat to our mouths. mmm mmm mmm. DELISH! We then went to maket square which is a really cute area with a bunch of shops. We walked around for a while and checked out all the cool stores. We checked into our hotel and yet again, things went our way and we somehow got an upgrade at the Quality Inn. We had a king size bed, full kitchen, and a jacuzzi. Ammmazing! We then (of course) went to watch the leafs game. They sadly lost yet again. We decided we were SO not over the greatness of the fish out here so we went to the grocery store to buy salmon and cooked it up. At the store I kept saying that I needed samples of different kinds of (precooked) fish. About 7 samples later and a promise not to tell my friends to come around and do this, my taste buds were in heaven. We hung out for a bit then hit up a pizza place later to grab a slice. For those of you who know about my LOVE for dipping sauce, I had really died and gone to heaven! They had a sauce called "garlic, peppercorn, ranch"... what could be better? NOTHING!

Nov 3 (Victoria) - We woke up and headed to Beacon Hill Park which is a massive, stunning park. We walked around for a bit before heading over to Buchart Gardens. Its a massive gardens with many beautiful sites. The japanese gardens were both of our favorites. We then headed back to Vancouver to meet my cousine Beth and her boyfriend for a delish dinner of fresh fish. We definitely got our fair share of fish over these past few days.

Nov 4 (Vancouver) - We woke up so SADLY our last day in Vancouver. We decided to do the "grind" its a hike up a Grouse Mountain aka "Canada's stair master" as they call it. I literally thought I was going to die. It made me realize that I am in the worst shape ever. oy. Needa start workin those quads! After a huge sense of relief of making it to the top without having a heart attack and a much needed shower, we headed on our journey to Americaaaaaa (Seattle, Washington).

BYE BYE CANADA!

British Columbia (Continued)

Oct 26 (Vancouver) - We woke up bright and early at 6:30 am to get ready for our first day of volunteering. We volunteered at QUEST Food Exchange. It is a food bank (essentially) that has an agreement with grocery stores and restaurants to donate food that they no longer want. They then sell it to the community for very cheap (ie: a loaf of bread is about 20 cents). People can only shop there if they have a referral card from social services but their moto is that they do not reject anyone because they never know the state that people are in. It was definitely a rewarding experience to help out at an organization that stands for such a great cause. We finished up at noon and went to a restaurant called the Warehouse in downtown Vancouver where the WHOLE menue is under $4.99... pretty awesome! After that, we headed to a bar to watch the Leafs game and after a few drinks decided we wanted some sushi. Well, when on a budget it leads you to eat some VERY sketchy things. So we went to the cheapest sushi resturant we could find and it tasted pretty yummy... but no one should ever enter the back of that place. I didn't check out the bathrooms but Eric made the mistake of venturing off in that place... never again! I am happy to say that nether of us got sick. Woo Hoo!

Oct 27 (Vancouver) - We woke up and went to the aquarium. We asked the lady at the front what time the dolphin show was at and she said, "go look at that blue sign up there." So we walked in and looked at the sign. A minute later we looked over at each other and realized that we had managed to get in without paying. Woo hoo. 40 bucks saved! We watched the baluga whale show, the otter show and the shark show (where a woman was dressed up as a pirate and went into the shark tank haha). We then walked around Stanley Park which is really beautiful! After all this activity, we decided we needed to head back to the warehouse for 15 cent wings! That's right! 15 cents a wing!! we got 40 wings for 6 bucks. CRAZINESS! (I don't want to know where that chicken is from but I'm trying not to think about it).

Oct 28 (Vancouver) - We had our 2nd shift at Quest but we were at a different location. The first day we were at the location for mostly families and it was in a better part of town than the 2nd. The shift on this day was in a really rough part of town and it was mainly all homeless people. It was definitely a different vibe than the first. By 9:00, someone had gotten sent home for coming in drunk and most people showed up VERY late for work... not the type of atmosphere I was used to, to say the least. One lady asked Eric the price of the marshmallows. He told her they were 50 cents. Her response was (I'll bet you can't guess this...) "Oh great, I can make great salads with these" ... Salads + Marshmallows?? HUH?? Anywhoo, It was definitely rewarding to see the kinds of people we were helping by being there. AND they let us take home a loaf of bread. Yay for avoiding grocery shopping yet again! We headed to Boston Pizza after that to watch the Leafs game (I have definitely seen more hockey games this trip than I have in my entire life combined). Its funny to watch a game here cuz they start at 4:00 so its literally still bright out by the time they're over.

Oct 29 (Vancouver) - We woke up and went to Granville Island. It is sooo cute! They have the most amazing market that has every type of amazing yummy goodie you can imagine. The fresh fish looked amaaazing. But we were good and just ate a berry (it was the only thing we could convince them to give us for free). It was some kind of crazy sour yellow berry. Not too sure what its called. After the Island we took a nap and got ready to go out for Halloween! (My favorite holiday of the entire year... if you can call it a holiday). I was a loofah and Eric was Pauly D from Jersey Shore. It was quite the night!

Oct 30 (Vancouver) - Most of this day was a write off and spent in bed. But we then got all dressed up again for my most favorite holiday and went to a place called W2 for Halloween. It was sooo much fun and some of the costumes were SOOO funny! People definitely bring out their creative side this time of year (I put up a few pictures in the post below). At the end of the night we walked home. Mark (Eric's brother) kept telling us it was such a far walk. But the cab ride there was only 5 bucks so I was convinced it had to be close. After about 10 minutes of walking and approaching the hotel he admitted that he knew it wasn't far, he just didn't want to walk. I went to bed at about 3:00 am but I was woken up by Eric & Mark with McDonalds (this story is not my proudest moment) I woke up, ate my McDonalds and within about 10 minutes I was back asleep. Oy. I have to say, it was verrryyy yummy. It has been about 5 years since I'v had a McDonalds burger. mmmm.

Oct 31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! We went out for breakfast to a place with amazing food and their whole MO is that they have bad service. For example, there's a sign in there saying "we will bring you your first cup of coffee. If you want another, find a butler." AKA get it yourself. We then headed back to Mark's hotel and spent the day watching "football" AKA I had my headphones in and was watching the OC on my laptop. We are currently debating what to have for dinner sooooo ... until next time :)

British Columbia

Oct 22 (Kelowna) - We woke up in our insanely cold tent and began the awesome drive to Kelowna. We decided to take the longer, more scenic route which involved going through the same road (the Icefield Pkwy) we took from Banff. This road was unreal! We were literally driving ON a mountain. They had cut out a little road in the mountain and we drove all through it. I kept having to blink because I didn't bealieve my eyes!! We were overlooking glaciers and crazy lakes with blue/green waters. (WARNING: The story I am about to tell is quite sad for any animal lover). We were driving along and BOOM, Eric's car sadly hit a bird... but at least it wasn't a moose or a bear or I probably would not be here writing about this. The little thieving bird stole the Hyundai symbol off the front of Eric's car. But, it will forever live in Jasper which is pretty cool. I tried my first ice cream float from A&W which was sooo delish! In the wise words of Snookie and her thoughts towards deep fried pickles, it changed my life. As we got closer to Kelowna, it went from 0 degrees to +15 in the matter of about 2 hours. Gotta love Kelowna. We arrived at our hotel - the comfort inn "west side" which we were very skeptical about. We had booked it on hotwire where you pay before they tell you what hotel you're at but it turned out to be pretty awesome. 50 bucks a night and it included breakfast - which we of course turned into a grocery shop! Cheaper than a hostel... ooo ya!!

Oct 23 (Kelowna) - After our lovely free breakfast, we headed to the waterpark called h2o. It was by far the coolest water park I have ever been to (although, we still were the oldest kids there... by far). The water park had a contraption which I am going to try to describe to you. Picture a water slide about 20 feet wide but it had a current pushing up the slide. You took a buggie board down the slide then the current pushed you back up to the top. Eric & I both tried surfing it and wiped out pretty hard a few times but I definitely need one of those in my back yard! After the water park, I dragged Eric to the "apple fair." Turns out the apple fair was just a kiosk in the mall that had about 30 different types of apples to try. They were so yummy! They had some apples that I had never even heard of before. They sold apples for sooo cheap. It was 2 bucks for 10 apples or 5 bucks for 30! We then went to the Summer Hill winery for a tour and wine tasting. The vinyard is stunning and they had some really awesome wines!

Oct 24 (Kelowna) - I woke up this morning and realized that Kelowna is where I want to live. It is such an amazing city! Stunning, warm, friendly... just perfect! After this ponder, we headed out to another winery - Cedar Creek winery. They had some really delicious wines as well. We bought a bottle of white wine that was sooo good. It was a 22009 Gewürztraminer. I definitely recomend it! We then headed to Whistler. We decided to take the longer route that was apparently more beautiful (the 97C). It was 13 and sunny and within literally 5 minutes, it went to 1 degree. Every tree went from beautiful yellows, reds and oranges to dead and covered in snow. We knew that perfect Kelowna was behind us. The drive from this point on gets pretty interesting... About 5 minutes into our drive on the highway we saw a sign saying "Check your gas. 111 km until the next gas station. WHAT A STUPID SIGN - Okay thanks, I have checked my gas and realized I need some... NOW WHAT!? Of course, we had about 1/8 of a tank. oy vey. For about the first 15 minutes we saw hope in making it... then all hope was gone. BUT we then saw a sign saying the next gas station was in a town called "Hope." We thought maybe it was a sign that we would make it! I am happy to say that after using the reserve for 28 minutes, we made it! We continued on the highway and out of nowhere, the highway went down to 1 lane (for both directions) and was covered in rock. AH. I am thankful to say we made it through this too. Just when we thought nothing else could happen, a cop pulls us over for speeding. But we both flashed him big smiles and he let us off with a warning. Phew! At about 7 we got to our hotel - the Mountainside Lodge. It was INSANE! We had a full kitchen, a jacuzzi, a fireplace, a kitchen table with a stunning couch on one side of it. The bath products were made by Bath & Body Works. Awesome Hotel! Gotta love hotwire. We paid only 64 bucks for this one! After cooking a delicious stir fry (we of course had to take advantage of the full kitchen) we drank our bottle of wine we had bought that morning and hung out. We then ventured off to Fat Tony's for some pizza and then hit the hay.

Oct 25 (Whistler) - We went to Whistler Olympic Park and saw the sites where the Olympics took place. It was pretty neat to see such Canada pride. But the coolest thing we saw was A BLACK BEAR! It was about 5 feet from the car! We parked and watched it wonder for about 15 minues and got some awesome pics of it! After we saw the giant bear, we were on cloud nine and we headed on the beautiful ride to good old Vancouver!

... There are many more stories to tell but this post was getting a little long so stay tuned for more to come in a few days!!

Aberta (continued)

Oct 17th (Canmore) - We woke up at Sharise's house and decided that today was a perfect day to stay in bed and relax so we spent the day hanging out in Canmore. Eric had a great day of football while I watched mass amounts of the OC (I am way too hooked. Where was I in highschool when everyone other than me was on the OC train!?). After way too much relaxation, we had our family dinner at Sharise's then headed to bed.

Oct 18th (Banff) - We woke up and SADLY (and I emphasize SADLY) left Sharise's place. We headed to Banff and hiked Johnstons Canyon which was absolutely gorgeous! We then went to Lake Louise and saw the unbelievable blue/green lake! The colours are just to die for! We decided we would do a "little" hike up to Agnes Lake. Somehow after 3 hours, clothes that were way too sweaty and 2 people way too out of breathe, we made it back down. We didn't bring water or anything since we thought it was just a "little" hike. Either the sign LIES or I am just seriously out of shape - to make myself feel better I'm going to go with the first option. After our hike, we decided we should reward ourselves with the most amazing food my tongue has ever tasted. Its a vegitarian (Yes - vegitarian food was actually delicious) restaurant called Nourish. It is something everyone needs to experience! We then went to my friend Alyssa's house in Banff and crashed.

Oct 19th (Banff) - We decided to take it upon ourselves to hike the trail beside the Banff gondolla (Sulfur Mountain). The views were undescribable. Just stunning! I thought I read that it was 8.5 km (VERY steap up a mountain) so after 4.5 km and much contemplation, I decided that I was too tired and my legs were burning way too much so I would just call this mountain home and give up on life. Life was not worth the next 4 km of pain (Rachel will appreciate this). As soon as these thoughts were confirmed, a man came down and said "You're 2 minutes away!" ... So apparently I can't read. After the hike, we headed to Alyssa's and watched literally the most aweful movie I have ever seen. It's called Splice. It is something EVERYONE needs to see cuz it is just THAT bad! Just don't watch it alone cuz you need someone to turn to and be like, "is this really happening??"

Oct 20th (Jasper) - We headed to a gorgeous lake in Banff and walked around for a bit. This lake has a little town below water that you can only see when you go scuba diving. Apparently there are houses, roads and everything down there (no, people don't live there - I asked that question too so don't worry). After this, we went back to the vegitarian restaurant 1 more time for our last fix (side note: we spent about 15 minutes in the parking lot the night before contemplating if we should go there for dinner. We decided to save our $ and have a bite before we headed out the next day). We then headed on route to Jasper. We saw a crazy glacier in the distance so we walked for about half hour each way to get to it. It was so neat! It has eroded SOOO much over the years. damn global warming. Our next stop was Athabaska Falls. This falls has 12 species of fish at the bottom falls and only 1 at the top - they have no idea how it got there! The falls are soo gorgeous... pretty much that whole drive was unreal! We made it to Jasper and set up our tent at Wipiti (the camp site). We then built a fire and had baked beans and toast (we had to do it in order to call ourselves "true campers") We then cuddled up in -2 weather and headed to bed... with the freezing cold steam coming from our mouths with every breath we took. It's all part of the experience so "they" say.

Oct 21 - We woke up and decided that we should probably pay for the camp site for our next night (since the first night our laziness led us to not walk over to the "self registration"). It was a good thing we paid cuz the park ranger was roaming the site just as we paid. We had a bowl of our beloved shreddies (after spending 20 minutes in the car with the heater cranked in attempt to get warm) and headed on route down the Maligne Road. This drive was SOO gorgeous (although I really can't think of many drives we have done that haven't been). We got to Bald Hills and went for a hike up the mountain. We decided to take the "alternate" route and were following a mans footsteps in the snow. However, after about an hour the footsteps ended. Uh Oh. We figured we should just go up and eventually we'll make it back onto the trail - boy were we wrong. We kept seeing pink on the ground and thought it was blood... little did we realize it was way worse. BERRIES! The reason this is so bad is that its hibernating season for the bears. They pick 4 million berries a day and we were right in the middle of a berry field! We were ringing our bear bell like crazy and I'm happy to say, we did not get attacked. We eventually made it to the top of the mountain but still, no trail in site. The views were breathtaking! We started to head down and made some friends who were actually following OUR footsteps and the sound of our bear bell. haha. Once we made it back, we headed to Brew Pub to watch the leafs game and grab some grub. Delish! On our way back to the camp site we saw 2 massive moose! 1 of them had antlers that were bigger than the moose itself. It was NUTS! We were circling them back and forth for about 20 minutes but then took off after the moose was eyeing us down. We then headed back to our camp site for our 2nd night of being "true travelers." (side note: at this point, is has been 3 days since a shower... just thought id give you a better picture of how we were looking/smelling through these adventures).

... wow I keep leaving these blogs off on truly lovely (cough cough - how else can I show sarcasm through writing... hmmm) notes.
but on that stinky note, I am off :)

Saskatchewan > Alberta

Oct 14 - We woke up from the luxury of a hotel in Regina at 6 am to get on the road to head to Calgary. We were pleasantly surprised to find out the hotel included breakfast so of course our first thought was free grocery shop? Yes! We managed to gather enough breakfast food for... well we still have yet to finish it.
We started our drive to Calgary and let me tell you, the prairies are just insane! They say you can see your dog run away for weeks (so in response to Jordan's comment in my last post, you're just a blink away from seeing Mexico). We stopped in a field of cows and frolicked with them. Eric and I made a vow to stop eating beef - full vegetarianism seems a bit too difficult but we are definitely taking a step in the right direction. We started reading a book called 'Eating Animals' during our long car rides and are learning lots of disturbing facts about the meat industry that has led us to not be able to eat beef... no COW (cuz that really is what we are eating - no more sugar coating it).
Anywhoo, after a few hours we made it to Calgary and it was 22 degrees!! I was walking around in a tank top - it felt like summer! We both loved Calgary. It's like a less intense Toronto. We walked around for a bit then headed to my friend Sharise's house in Canmore (just outside of Banff). Her house is UNREAL! Words cannot describe this house. It seriously belongs on an episode of cribbs. That night we roasted marshmellows on their ROOF TOP FIRE PLACE ... oooo ya!

Oct 15 - We woke up to about 3 inches of snow! Crazy how yesterday was 22 and the day after was SNOWING! We decided to go for a hike and we climbed up Grassi Lake Trail. We hiked to the top of the mountain (which took about 2 hours) and there was a serious blizzard up there. Such heavy snowfall but it was one of the most breath taking sights I have ever seen! There was a gorgeous waterfall at the top of the mountain and a crazy body of water that was bright turquioise and blue. Just stunning! After we got home we hit up Sobeys for a little grocery shop. Turns out in Canmore they have $1 days at Sobeys. We bought SO much for just 1 dollar. Who knew grocery shopping on a budget could be so fun!? After that we hit up a bar to watch the Leafs game (there was NO way Eric was missing the game). The Leafs won! Yippie!

Oct 16 - We woke up in our 5 star accomodation (aka Sharise's house) with our a drop of snow on the ground. It melted completely over night! We walked around town and they had a bird showing with owls and a MASSIVE eagle! We got to pet the birds and learn all about them which was really cool! We then went to a free wine tasting in the city. We got back home, took a nap then headed into Banff for a night of partying... the rest is history.

PS. Everyone needs to realize that real life is SO over rated. Enjoy the beauty that nature has to offer cuz let me tell you... you wont be sorry!

Ontario > Manitoba > Saskatchewan (Oct 11 - Oct 13)

(NOTE: to anyone who wants to get my blog to their email - click the "subscribe" button above this post and follow instructions).

Oct 11 - The trip began just 3 days ago and we have already seen some pretty unbelievable things! We left Muskoka at about 5 am the morning of Oct 11th (side note: We saw a massive Moose on the highway about an hour outside of Muskoka - SO cool). Our first stop was the giant nickle in Sudbury which was pretty neat! Nothing like a HUGE nickle at 7 am. Just past Massey we stopped at a beautiful waterfall and frolicked in an insanely coloured forest. The reds, oranges and yellows of the trees were just breath taking. We met a girl from Italy in a hippy van who was doing the same drive as us from Montreal to BC. What are the odds of meeting a girl doing the exact same trip as us at the side of the highway. We then stopped at Chippewa Falls and saw yet another amazing waterafall. Who knew Ontario was so beautiful!? That night we slept in the car in a Wal Mart parking lot - shockingly comfortable and rediculously busy! I had to pee but couldnt go anywhere because every time i stepped out of the car there were mass amounts of people everywhere. Wal Mart is apparently the hot spot to be at midnight.

Oct 12 - The next morning we drove around Thunder Bay and saw the Terry Fox memorial. I didn't realize he had run over 1 marathon every day for 143 days! WOW! We then went to Kakabeka Falls just outside of Thunder Bay. Again, another breathtakingly beautiful waterfall. Our plan was to carry on to Kenora and sleep there at Wal Mart. We got there and realized we had entered the sketchiest town ever. Pretty cute but we were definitely not sleeping there. We went to Wal Mart to buy a block of cheese and marshmellows (to make grilled cheese and marshmellow (not together) for dinner) and carried on. We drove to a really cute camp site called Falcon Lake and made a fire. We grilled our grilled cheese and roasted marshmellows then continued on to Brandon, Manitoba. During that drive we saw deer EVERYWHERE! A little freaky cuz we were scared one would run out in front of the car - we had all eyes peeled... except mine cuz I fell asleep about 20 minutes into that drive. oops. We arrived in Brandon, Manitoba and had another amazing sleep in the back seat of the SUV. With mass amounts of blankets, pillows and sleeping bags, the car has yet to fail us.

Oct 13 - Today we drove from Brandon to Regina, Saskatchewan. It took just over 3 hours and now were at a hotel with Eric's brother Mark. I Just had a glorious shower after having went 3 days without one... yuk.

On that note...
Speak soon!

(PS the internet sucks here but as soon as I get to a better one Ill upload more pics!)

Muskoka

Our adventures have officially begun.
We are currently in Muskoka for the next 2 days and taking off to Thunder Bay bright and early Monday morning for some gorgeousness of Fall and without a doubt some singing and dancing to entertain ourselves on the long drive... Cant wait :)

Our Trip

(See photo for our route around North America)

October 9 - December 23: North America:

Toronto > Muskoka > Thunder Bay > Kenora > Winnipeg > Regina > Calgary > Canmore > Banff > Jasper > Kelowna > Whistler > Vancouver > Seattle > Portland > San Francisco > LA > San Deigo > Las Vegas > Grand Canyon (Arizona) > Sedona > Santa Fe > Denver > Chicago > Washington, DC > New York > Boston

January 10 - July: Europe:

Israel > Greece > Ireland > Scottland > England > Holland > Germany > France > Spain > Italy (Rough itinerary - to be updated)

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Part 1 of our adventures is about to begin in just 1 WEEK! YAY!

We are going all over Canada/America with some volunteering along the way.
Keep checking the blog to see trip updates and learn about all our adventures to come :)