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 :)