first time for everything...

roadTRIPPIN

2009-07-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

hey all you crazy katz n kittenz! Guess who's back on u.s. soil??? Yup, your fave peeps...US:) We are back and back in action...still having fun and taking it easy for now! So when we got back, we figured we couldn't stop yet, so we stayed in Los Angeles for about 2weeks then abducted Austin's momma and set out to see her peeps in Memphis, Tennessee....you have to say that with a Memphis twang! While we were there, the family graciously showed us around and we had our own personal tour guide, the best of the best...THANKS GREG!!! Per Greg's advice, we saw the best sites...Elvis' phat pad, some of the most fab Antebellum homes, and a tour de Greg himself through all of Memphis...not to mention the crazy eateries Greg turned us on to...Thank you mister maker of the Rendezvous and Payne's! (See more about good eats details on our food blog!)

So after all the running around in Memphis...Austin and I skirted to Natchez, Mississippi to check out more southern charm! We stayed in a quaint hotel...nothing fancy, but right in the heart of everything...we dined at Biscuits and Blues, you guessed it....yummy biscuits and lovely musak, they even had a FAB GUMBO!!! The next day we drove around checking out some of the beautiful homes in Natches.

Say hello to my booze buddies....hahah! Guess where our next stop was? NEW ORLEANS! I always have so much fun in the NO thanks to my lovely hosts!!! But, Austin had some unfinished biznasty with NOLA...he hadn't quite checked out all the eateries so we made sure to get some suggestions from Greg, and boy that man does not disappoint. Word to the wise, when in New Orleans, do not miss the opp to stop in: Mr. B's, Johnnie's PoBoys, Central Grocery, and Galatoire's.....YUM IN MA TUM! Needless to say, we were in good company with full bellies for our entire stay here...thanks Kim, Ivan, & Greg.

NEXT STOP...the booming Metrop-olop-olis of EUNICE, LOUISIANA!!! You know, Its really great seeing your hometown thru the eyes of someone else....it looks so different, and not that bad:) Yeah, I said it all you E-towners...not that bad:) We had a fab time with my fam. Catching up, relaxing, site seeing, EATING, eating and more EATING! Thanks momma! While we were in Louisiana, we(mom, dad, austin, me) toured the likes of St. Francisville, daring to spend the night at the Haunted Mansion...The Myrtles.....we drove around aimlessly in search of Shadows of the Teche, we attempted to show Austin a boucherie, saw the Evangeline tree, a swamp tour with Boudreaux....and just had a blast(note...we saw no ghosts).

Here's where the fun starts...we kidnapped my two nephews, ages 8 and 12, and took them on the road trip of their lives:) We took them to cool off at the Schlitterbahn waterpark; the mysterious underground caves in Carlsbad, New Mexico; and the incredible-non edible Grand Canyon!! We had so much fun! Then they came to Los Angeles where we continued the fun with Malibu beaches, Hollywood hotspots, and a little Universal Studios. We just had a blast!

And now what??? I have no idea....I'm just going day by day....but Austin is currently on a hike, that maniac set off the day after my nephews left for an "ultralight" backpacking extravaganza in the high country of Wyoming. He's with friends though, so don't worry, there are 3 of them for the bears to choose from:)

hahahah...cheers everyone! look at the pics(link to the side)!

bout to leave the land...

2009-05-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

of oz! Hey guys! As many of you know...or may not know...we are leaving Australia...SOON...AS IN TODAY! And while many of you may be thrilled at the fact that we are coming HOME...we are mixed in our emotions:) But, just to make you guys wait a little longer...we are gonna have a snorkel of a good time at our fave dive spot, Alor, for a few days...or 12...before heading off for some R&R(cuz we need it)...then home:) SEE HOW WELL THAT WORKS OUT FOR ALL OF US...

just to recap...can you please never tell my mom that...

Austin makes me swim with Great Whites...he ties me up and throws me down walls to scale 150feet down...while he snaps pics at the bottom...HE makes me swim in freezing water without a wetsuit in pursuit of DRAGONS...Austin stuffs me into the smallest of places, just to see if I will fit. Please don't tell anyone that half the time I can't tell the difference between the water in the swimming pool and the water in the ocean...cuz they are just that clear...not to mention whether or not they'll be "freshies"(freshwater crocs) in them when in Australia.

Just a few images of fun to throw your way...but its almost over:( See you all soon and if you're lucky, we may just keep this whole blog thing up...but then again...maybe that means lucky for me...cuz that also means MORE TRAVELS!!!!!

hike-a-doodle dandi...

2009-04-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

hey guys, just throwing up a post to keep you up to our whereabouts...soon the where will be back in the ole USA. We aren't really sure how to sort out our feelings about that, but, YES...we do miss all of you, but, NO...we aren't looking forward to jobs, traffic, and the rest of the real world:) haha...enough downers.

so, AP and I just took a lovely overnight hike that had us cocooned up in all of the warmest clothes we could find, double socks, scarfs, socks on our hands, sleep sak, sleeping bag, and not to mention the ultimate tool, the EMERGENCY BLANKET! If you guessed, it was cold:) hahah...the emergency blankets work like a charm though, so we were perfectly cozy! We took a little hike on one of Australia's many tracks and left the next day, sleeping near a beautiful lake, and just catching a few drops of rain on the way out. But, we treated ourselves to a nice self-contained cottage with a wood fire to reward our strength!! (side note: nothing compares to the monstrous 15mile hike-a-doodle this noodle popped out in one day...oh yeah!)

anywho...like champs, we will continue to reward ourselves by visiting a Cidery today and tasting up some scrumdiddly apples that turned to booze:) In the next coupla days, we'll be heading to Margaret River to sample some fab wines....if you don't know, Australia has some GREAT wines, check em out!!! Some faves: Turkey Flats, Cambels(yummy muscats), Kangarilla Road(try the primitivo...and I know I've seen the name around)...anywho, I'll keep this updated...don't you fret my pet:)

have a look...

2009-03-19T19:12:00.003-07:00

AT THIS! Leafy Sea Dragon in the South Australian Ocean!!Found in Wool Bay.Woweewow! Austin actually found it first, then I jumped in the FREEZING water! He took the pics too...he's quite the underwater pro these days!

road trippin...

2009-02-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

in OZ!! Hey guys!

We had a GREAT drive down from Sydney to Melbourne! It was so much fun! We rented a car and took off behind the wheel for the first time in almost 11months!!!! Lemme tell you, its super fun driving on the right side of the car...and SUPER SCARY for about ohhhh....several dayz! Its really hard to adjust, but eventually, we did it! Well that was after a bit of off-roading...and I don't mean for fun:)

Anywhoziers...so yeah, we rented a fantastic Toyota Corolla Hatchback...oh yeah...the hatch is Back!!! We drove from town to town, sleeping in quaint little hotel/motels...one of which Charles Darwin stayed! We did some great hiking in the Blue Mountains(world heritage listed)...sampled lovely foods(I'm in LOVE with pies!!!)...saw tons of kangaroos right on the side of the road!! and beautiful parrots...we sampled more delish food...went to the world's smallest rodeo(livestock contests, dog jumping, pimped out tractor racing...some with fire out the back, some bull riding, largest zucchini contests) THE WORKS! We even took an overnight hiking trip to our own private beach! That was super fun...we even had a wombat chomping on grass right outside our tent!!! It woke me up in the middle of the night...I thought it was Austin getting into the food rations...heeeheee! You should have seen how gorgeous the beach was, and because you have to hike out...not a single soul was around...but no skinny dippin for us, the water was FREEZING! haha! Oh, and don't tell my mom that we almost lost the trail:)

We had so much fun just hopping from small town to small town...all with funny names of course:) But all good things must come to an end...and by "good things", I just mean dropping off the conveniently tiny hatchback and exchanging it for a monster, 4wheel drive, manual shift, Champa Campa!!

bet you thought...

2009-02-10T19:06:00.000-08:00

I forgot about you guys!! Sorry long time no blog. I've been super busy with my travels:) But I'm going to sacrifice a little time from a beautiful day in Sydney...for you:) Because its worth it:)

So, if you haven't caught the "where-abouts"...we are in Sydney, Australia!!! So far not so good:( But only b/c AP has a nasty viral infection living in his tummy, so we've spent most of the time so far sitting in the emergency room consultation area. But feeling better today...must be the beautiful sunshine!!! We will start our sight seeing off tomorrow, so you'll have to wait for news from down under later. Right now, I'm going to tell you about a little fantasy land called Raja Ampat!!

After we left our friends, well...no no let me rephrase that, after our friends ABANDONED us....thanks guys:) hahah. Well anywho, after they left, AP and I thought that we were too close to Papua to not partake in the action...so off we went. It took a few days of middle of nowhere towns but finally we arrived at our little heaven...Kri Eco Resort owned by Papua Divers. Not to much surprise, I finally contracted a nasty bug myself and spent most of 2 days on my death bed...but by day 3 I was up and at it and squeezing my large western boootay back into some tiny little Asian wetsuit....as if those things aren't hard enough to get into already. For those of you who don't know...Asian sizes pretty much mean that there's no chance any westerner will fit in them:) Think children's sizes:)

Moving on...we jumped onto the boat and took to our first dive site. CAN ANYONE SPELL WOW???!!!! It was beyond fantastic...beyond amazing...I just can't find the words! Let's see...there were: Pigmy Sea Horses (not a very good link here, but look at AP's pics!!!), Manta Rays, Giant Clams that could swallow you with one gulp, Tasseled Wobbegong Sharks, Epaulette Sharks(walking sharks), tons of Nudibranchs, schools of HUGE Bumphead Parrot fish, and more fish than anywhere in the world...seriously, a scientist counted over 288 different species of fish on ONE DIVE!!! Now I'm no expert...but that's ALOT OF FISH. And the coral here...just beautiful!!! There wasn't a moment on any of the dives when I wasn't looking there and there, oh and look there...and look closely you see that thing....I was ninety-to-nothing down there...and just when you think it absolutely doesn't get any better, you hear your dive master go...tink tink tink against his oxygen tank to get your attention, he points, you turn...and right there not even 2 feet above your head...a Manta Ray(larger than 4 feet across in wing span) soaring above your head almost touching you...just because he wanted to say hi! WOW WEEE WOW...THIS IS WHY I WOKE UP AT 5AM FOR A SPECIAL "SUNRISE DIVE"!!!!

Every time we think about our diving experiences that we've had so far...Komodo National Park, the Gili Islands, Raja Ampat, Alor, Sipadan, Mabul, Cambodia, Thailand...we laugh because when we first started the trip, we weren't even sure if I was going to like diving:) ahhaha!!! Now you can't pull me out of the water, well that is if you give me oxygen first!

what it is...

2009-01-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

yo! Hey guys...just sitting here wondering what ya'll are all up to...but then I'm sure that ya'll are just thinking about me:) hahah! Modesty is my thang!

But for real, just figured its been long enough so I should give an update! So, up-to-date...

We are currently(well at the time I started to write this blog) floating around with oxygen tanks strapped to our backs with hoses in our mouths and gooogles on our eyes....yup, you guessed it...SCUBA JUNKIES...that's us! Except the difference is this time we've taken friends from Cali hostage:) Austin's friends have been traveling with us and enjoying our little adventures. Tasting what AP and I are calling roughing it:) ahhah! We've also spent a little time out of the sun and up in dat jungle yo! Interjection: no camping, no long hikes, no leeches(well no leeches actually getting blood out of us, but plenty around)! So I was just alright with this one:) We did spot some crazy kool monkeys, probiscous...not sure how to spell and the heat has drained out all energy to look it up, in fact, I'm barely able to type right now. Anyways...we saw tons of monkeys and hornbills. The diving was absolutely fantastic!!! Oh, by the way, please don't tell my mom that we were surrounded my tons of sharks on every dive:)

So now(currently as in about to post) that they have left and I have talked myself out of spending every single night crying myself to sleep...we are in yet another dive spot about to spend a week of diving fun:) We are in an area of Indonesia called Raja Ampat...not quite sure what is out here yet, but I'll tell ya soon:)

birthday fun...

2008-12-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

we had a blast for my birthday!!! We had dinner in bed!! Literally:) Austin stole me from my everyday duties(yeah right) to have a little fun...DINNER AND DANCING. Like I could say no:) Just wanted to show you guys where we went...Oh and yes, Champagne WAS involved:)

click here

just so you know...

2008-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

we are okay!! We are still in Bangkok but we are fine and dandy...travel plans have changed, but that is the worst of it:) So all you kats and kittens can rest easy(that is considering you were worried at all)!!! Big Hugs to you all!!!

oh! p.s. not coming home anytime soon:)

up to now...

2008-11-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

we are once again in Siem Reap. The gods have smiled down on us for the past several weeks and brought Mrs. Charlotte(Austin's mom) out here to grace us!!! THANK YOU!!! We have been enjoying her company very very much! While she's been here, we have tramped through beautiful Laos and the Temples of Angkor! We started in Luang Prabang, Laos. Luang Prabang is loved by everyone I talk to...and now I know why!! It is a sleepy French colonial city and now World Heritage Site. Monks float throughout the city, dressed in their beautiful saffron robes collecting alms or moving from temple to temple for chants and meditation sessions. Just a beautiful place to relax! We also swam in waterfalls and rode the cutest elephants:)

After L.P. we headed to Vang Vieng-backpacker heaven-known for its lazy river tubing and wild drink fests. You should have seen the fit Mrs. Charlotte pitched when we told her she couldn't do it...that it was too wild and crazy of a partay! ahhah!! Just kidding! We all decided to cut the tubing and kayak instead...and rock climb...and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. You know, perhaps if some of you guys would get your booties out here we could play in rivers and tubes....you know Austin and I can't do everything by ourselves:)

So after all that we went over to the capital...Vientienne, which can surely be skipped for anyone planning a future trip. But we were there for Laos' largest festival...the Full Moon fest. I must add, that I am a pure SUCKA for festivals...but these people have a totally different agenda....selling goods, clothes for a dollar, and companies forcing their employees to dance and sing for advertisement! Fun...oh yeah...and did I mention that they truck em in by the thousands from all over the country??? "That Luang Festival" is the name and it is a religious festival that starts and ends with monks from all over the country walking around a temple collecting alms(offerings). Don't know much else about it.

After all that jazz...we went down to the South of Laos and played around near the most beautiful waterfalls EVER!!! They were by far the best I have ever seen!!! HANDS DOWN! We also went down to what is known as the 4000 Islands which are islands in the Mekong River. Here, the river stretches out 9miles wide! Mrs. Charlotte and Austin took a small boat and searched for the Mekong River Dolphins....they are called Irrawadday Dolphins...I had the world's worst headache, so I stayed behind!!

So now we are just back in Siem Reap hanging out and viewing temples:) So kool!!!!!! Chat soon!

don't tell my mom...

2008-11-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

that I've been run over by a car, lost at sea...twice, stung by malaria filled mosquitos, been victim of an attempted break in...that I'm stuck in Bangkok admist protests...that I steer Elephants by my lonesome while holding onto sugarcane(their fave)...and so much more! Some of you have asked for the good stuff...the stuff we don't tell our moms...so I figured what the heck, we've survived...so I'll just say it:) Because, these are the things that make our trip flavorful:) So the story goes....since we've last been up to date with the blogs...we've gone back to Indonesia. We went to Pulau Weh to do some diving for about 9days. Little did we know in those 9days we would be lost at sea TWICE:) woops! We laugh about it now, but we were slightly pissed when this went down. Austin and I were way down deep having a dive with an experienced dive master and some guy from Singapore, who sucked at diving..but no judgement here, just that later we would find out it was all his dang fault.....anywho! Another group underwater is making the sign for shark...usually I like to go the opposite way when that happens, but as we are in super warm waters, the sharks aren't scary, but often very interesting....so we turn to follow the other group. But the little guy has gone, so our group turn yet again and proceed on our merry lil way. The currents begin to pick up and our dive master motions for Austin and I(who are teamed up as "buddies") to follow him to the sandy bottom where the currents are more manageable. So we do...then ZIPPIDY DOO DA...we turn our heads and just like that, our dive master has disappeared....what in tarnations!!! So Austin and I do what experts like us(haha) were taught...look for one minute, if you can't find them, do a 3minute stop in 5meters of water, then surface. So, to interrupt here...we don't have watches and Frank surely doesn't know where 5meters is:) woops! So we attach ourself to the corral, trying not to hold on to that ole Scorpion fish whose poison will put our arms out of commission for life, and we wait in what our gauge says is 9meters and for what our watches that we don't have tell us is about 3minutes. LOVELY:) The current is beating us up too:) So we surface! The boat is close by, so no worries moms and dads:)

But wait, it gets better....our dive master gets on the boat and asks US where WE went...ahhaha!!!

He would later lose Austin that same day. But that time was not his fault but simply mother nature! But don't worry...we found him:)

just call me miss raider...

2008-10-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

tomb raider that is!! Hey all! Its been way too long, I know, but we've hit dial-up ville again, so it was difficult to follow up on high-tech stuff:) haha...that, or we were just having too much fun playing Lara Croft amongst the temples of Angkor:) So, before you ask yourself...what is she talking about??, get to Blockbuster and rent Tomb Raider...the temples with the trees growing throughout it...that's it!! We had sooo much fun seeing all that we could in 3days.

here's some history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor

and, until we upload our own photos...check these out: www.molon.de/galleries/Cambodia/Angkor/

The photo at the top is from Angkor Wat...sorry but its another image from Getty Images!

Besides that...Austin went into the jungle for 9days in Northern Cambodia. Summation: he....trekked through a rainforest, found some grasslands, ate tons of rice and noodle, and the usual jungle fare...river fish, bats, snakes, and baby bamboo! He....slept practically every night in a hammock in the rain, found out where the locals get the wood to build their house...he was...ravaged by leeches...but made it back to me in one piece:) And guess what??? He loved every minute of it....a little hungry when he got back, but he said his trip was complete with smiles and charm and the local guides made his trip!

Where was I?? OHHH...you remember the blog about brick walls huh?? Well, I was at the beach, and just so you know...I was never successful with the whole friend making scheme:) haha...I was actually stood up one night!! I laugh it off though, because the backbackers in this beach town were a force to be reckoned with and wanted nothing to do with "outsiders"! So, I enjoyed a gorgeous view from my beach hut and very much enjoyed my quiet time by the ocean!

So now, we are in Bangkok, Thailand...knocking off the "To-Do's"...and then.....off to stuff our faces with some awesome Thai cuisine!

talking to brick walls...

2008-09-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

sooooo, here I am, alone for the first time of the trip...yup, 11days by-my-self! Scary huh? Well, not to you Corina, you don't count. So any of you who have even known me for a day probably don't think I'll have any problem, seeing as how I'm quite capable of entertaining my self with Mr. Brick over there! haha...well, yes, I am! But it is still weird and I just wanted to share it with you guys. Scene: getting a mani/pedi...asking some random, fellow mani/pedi "getter" where they are staying...."oh", I say, "you are staying near the beach, well how are the beach bars, and, well, I don't know you, but can I meet you and your friends later for drinks maybe??" Ha! Awkwardly, they say sure but add that "they are not quite sure where they will be, so I'm sure I'll run into them somewhere". OKAY, duly noted...mission aborted, tonight I drink alone:) I laugh at myself though, because while I am usually quite damn good at making friends, I managed to fail miserably this time. However, don't fret my pets, Frankie will strike again:)

Well, attempt to anyways!!!

border crossing...

2008-09-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

hey guys!! Just wanted to let everyone know that we are now in CAMBODIA...via a walking border crossing and a 2hour bumpy ride on the back of a motobike:) Yesterday, Austin and I set out to test the waters of the recently opened border crossing b/w Vietnam and Cambodia...hoping that since our Vietnam visas were currently expired that this border would offer Cambodian visas like we read about...GUESS WHAT?? Much against our usual luck, it did:) And off we set via our feet on a dirt road with little kiosk looking guard stands...no checking of luggage, no machines to pass them and ourselves through...no worry about customs...just an inflated fee and a few biting ants and WE'RE HERE!! Well almost...we did have to hire motobikes from Vietnam($7pax for over 2hours) to our destination. The scenery was breathtaking, stilt houses high above the rice fields, foreground for lush mountains behind...locals lounging about in the shade(it was lunch time), and cows meandering to find a resting place! If I hadn't feared a lunch of mud and bugs, my mouth would have stayed wide open with the hugest grin in awe of the beauty beyond.

we are currently cooped up at a wonderful guesthouse in a town that is only known for its seafood...and boy is it some kind of good!!! Brings me back to home(the real la kids!)!! The town we are in is Kep...a sleepy little town, but wonderfully relaxing!! Used to be a mecca for the French elite in 1908, but sadly, the Khmer Rouge destroyed it:( And now, all that remains of way back when are burned out villas...but use your imagination and you can surely see all their beauty. But now, its becoming more popular and the view from where I'm sitting is spectacular...even though it is a bit rainy at the moment:(

curious? www.keplodge.com
*pics here are a view from the room, and view from pool & restaurant

up to date...

2008-08-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

aside from the devastating events of photo eating viruses, we are having a BAAALAAAST....as you might have suspected:) We are in Vietnam right now! Yes, Goodmorning to you too! So far we have explored Hanoi, Halong Bay via Junk, a super rainy rainforest, Hue, the DMZ, Hoi An, the highlands...and now since none of those names mean much to you....a run down!

Hanoi: fantasmically refreshing after having enough of China:) We wandered through the Old Quarter, the French Quarter, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum(preserved body and all), found deliciously refreshing sugar cane drinks, and ate and ate and ate...

Halong Bay: we boarding our Junk(sailing boat) and set off into the unknown! We did a 3 day 2 night trip in the bay...kayaked around, sunbathed, Austin trekked. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_bay

Ninh Bihn: small town with beautiful sites to see around....including a boat ride along a river that is formed between the karsts...the ride goes through 3 caves, a skooter ride through the country side, a view from heaven...atop a limestone karst, and even a jungle trek that both of us went on...and we stayed with the locals 1 night

Hue: former capital. citadel and all...even a citadel within a citadel within a citadel. we liked it here, we rented skooters and just drove and drove and drove, until Frankie tried to hop onto a sidewalk to park and pressed the gas instead of the brake:) heeeheeee clumsy. but before f crashed, we drove out to the tombs of Tu Duc, which are set within a lush landscape and dilapitated stone temples...very beautiful! we also ate and ate and ate...even an imperial feast one night(wait till you see these pics) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue,_Vietnam

Hoi An: beautiful city by the river. with tons of tailors...if anyone wants a beautiful custom made $80 suit, silk lining and all, go here! f skipped a's trip to the beach inorder to indulge in a little girl time shopping:) Austin took a snorkeling trip and saw tons of squid...but nothing compares to Indo! We also did a cooking class here! Very intertaining, but we did it, made Vietnamese pancakes(very taco-like), rice paper, spring rolls...and everything turned out delicious!! So to tell you about our favorite dish so far...Bahn Xeo...a thin rice batter pancake filled with shrimp, sometimes beef/pork, and bean sprouts; served fresh veggies(lettuce, mint, vietnamese basil, cilantro) and rice paper....take the rice paper in hand, put the pancake open faced on the paper, fill it with veggies, roll it up and dip it!!! YUMMY! we also saw My Son....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Son and did a trip through the DMZ ...including the

we then went to a little town not really worth mentioning xcept for the food we ate and the bus ride described earlier

Dalat: now we are posted up in Dalat in the highlands of Vietnam! Tired of the hot weather and craving some rigorous adventure, we will set up shop here for a few days for Rapelling through waterfalls and bikeriding through jungles and farms:) Enjoying it so far...and guess what?? THERE'S TONS OF WINE HERE....Dalat wine is widely available all throughout Vietnam, and now...we are right smack dab in the center of all the gloriousness:)

okay...thats enough for now....we know all you really want are pics and don't really read these;)

tooter mcgrooder...

2008-08-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

ever taken a mini van with 25 other people, capacity for only 14...driver honking all of the 11 hours you are on the bus, bags falling on your head, smokers puffing away, passengers silently getting carsick?? No?? Well maybe you've been on a bus with a maniac driver who takes blind curves at unbelievable speeds on a one lane road in a country that doesn't have or doesn't abide by traffic laws...except for one: I'm big, you are small...MOVE. No?? Surely you've been jammed next to someone you don't know nodding off to sleep on your shoulder while crabs attempt to feast on your little toesies?? hahha...guess not, except for maybe you, Corina:) This is the image that should pop into your heads when we say "bus ride"! Aaaaah...what a journey...literally:)

this is what its all about!!!

it finally happened...

2008-08-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

yes sir! that's right....every traveler's worstest NIGHTMARE ever....dah duh duh...LOSING PHOTOS! So a Vietnamese PC(of course) decided to dump a virus on our flash drive and our memory card:) hahahah...yeah I can laugh about it now, because **it happens right?? and what can I honestly do about it now??? NADDA! So, folks, won't be any pics for a little while...sorry! But don't worry, we have a new card and I'll be snapping away soon, I mean, you really won't even know you are missing anything! Right??

P.S...the pics you'll see with these posts are yanked off gettyimages b/c of the camera issue at the moment, so no, they aren't our own...for now.

like I said...

2008-08-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

so what I said was....there are first times for everything! first time blogging, first time for a worker(about 70+ yrs old) in a temple in Vietnam to "get friendly" with me, first time speaking Spanish with a local in Vietnam, first time for long nails...now gone, first time in a long time finding fresh bread, first time diving, first time drinking palm wine, first time caught in a traffic jam and being the only one on foot....first time getting laid out by the blow of a suv's bumper...and the list continues!

this is what its all about...and this is our experience:) ENJOY THE MOMENT!

china dolls and rickshaws

2008-07-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

So right now we are in China!! I am sitting at our Youth Hostel in Pingyao, China...Shanxi Province. This is a great city with tons of beauty and history....a real live ancient walled city! At night the city is ablaze with red lanterns strewn everywhere! Tons of food stalls lining the streets(Austin and I are eating everything in sight), bikes(the ones you have to use your feet for) everywhere...ready to run you over at any given moment, and just full of life! Yesterday, we spent the whole day riding around on our own miniature-wheeled bikes, exploring the city....here's a link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pingyao

Before we arrived here, via about a 10hour bus ride, we were frolicking through Inner Mongolia!! We took a Grassland tour on horseback, slept in a yurt...

http://www.akairways.com/pix/chamber/yurts.jpg

...ate alot, and the next day, we went into the Gobi Dessert and rode special Camels with TWO humps on their backs...oh yeah...that's us...camel riding fools! You can see a pic of us fools on our page.

Before we got down and dirty in the grit and grime...we spent a nice time in Datong, China. There we visited the Hanging Monestary...
http://www.greatwalltour.com/greatwall_pages/provinces/shanxi/datong/hanging.htm

...one of the only places where 3 religions...Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are combined to one temple. I'm not going to lie...it was pretty scary being up there with a million other pushy tourists, several feet in the air, trying to make way thru the most narrow ways...all while trusting that this HANGING thing isn't going to let go!!! It was all really really amazing though! That same day we ventured far off to the Yungang Caves...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yungang_Grottoes.

Here there are millions of carvings of Buddha...all carved into the mountain! Some of these are soooo incredibly massive, I just don't know how they were able to carve with such perfection and detail! Of course...we didn't skip our Chinese Lunch:)

Drum role paleaaase.........WE SCALED THE GREATEST WALL EVER!!! While in Beijing, we were able to access some really great sites! That including a wonderfully difficult:) 6 hour hike on the Great Wall!! It was Absolutely the most wowing thing ever! We opted for a less touristy piece, and a stretch that wasn't fully restored, which meant in some places we were walking on original stone! Just wait for the photos! You'll be blown away!!! We also did the usual...Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Olympic Village, Peking Yuck...I mean Duck, tons of wandering thru streets...by wandering I mean eating, Lama Temple, Acrobat Show...fun fun fun, and tons more! We had a balast in Beijing!!! And just because I know you are curious....YES! The smog is as bad as they show on TV! One out of the 6 days we were there was a pretty day!!!!

And here we are...where we left off....INDONESIA YO! We left off chasing Orangutans and taking the jungle by storm!! We were in Aceh(pronounced A-chay) in Sumatra. There, Austin convinced me to slide down slippery slopes....fall 4 feet onto boulders...and slam my foot into boiling hot springs!!! hahaha! We did a four day/three night trek in the Gurah Rainforest! We managed to be lucky enough to spot 3 Orangutans in the wild....they were soooo cool. Not so cool with us being in their territory tho! They launched everything except their first born babies at us!!! One barely missing me:) We lounged around in our tents during the rain or in our own hot bath in the hot springs...having all our meals prepped for us...and just enjoying where we were! Definitely "ENJOYING THE MOMENT"!!!!

Now ya'll are up to date and can sleep tight knowing that we are having a baaaalast! That and the fact that I am long winded and will keep these shorter from now on:) Luv Ya...Mean it:)

Don't forget....if any of you adventure seeker, fun-loving peeps want to meet us out here...get your booties in gear and pack up...lightly:)

trips n dips

2008-04-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

So, Austin and I are now on the island of Flores, Indonesia. We arrived here via sea sickness and a boat called Perama. Along the way, we stopped and smiled at the Komodos, or wait, did they smile at us:) haha...those pics will come within a few weeks!! We slept on the boat for 2 nights...well, at least we tried. But now we are in a one horse town with lots of trash on the roads....it is a fishing town called Labuan Bajo....basically ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do here but leave:) haha....it is just a town for departure and arrival to and from Komodo Island and diving around here...etc. Austin and I spent 4 lovely nights on an island around here called Seraya Island. Pretty much deserted except for one resort....well, small shacks along the beach with outside bathrooms....BUT ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL!!!! I have never enjoyed remoteness quite like this before. The sun would rise through our window every morning at 5.30 am...and we would hop up to start a full day of lounging, eating, and snorkeling...really, that's about it! But all well worth it....saw beautiful Lion fish, tons of star fish, clams, reef fish, angel fish, and yes....A SHARK(about a 4 foot Black Tip Reef Shark that is no bigger than me)....but they don't want us....not enough meat(well that's what I keep trying to convince myself anyway...hahah)!!! But now we are back in Labuan Bajo and going to dive for the next 3 days...surely I'll see more sharks, pee my pants, and then get whisped away by the current:) Sounds like fun right:) hahha!!! We will also be touring Rinca(Rincha), which is an island right next to Komodo that also has dragons on it, and maybe more visible wildlife....we'll see....those wild things tend to be finicky....little poopers:) We only get to see the lazy ones that are lounging around the kitchen waiting for the lasted chicken head to accidentally roll off the chopping block:)
So long story and because my hands are tiring:)

Here's what we have done up.to.date.......
Senggigi, Lombok --Indonesia **departure city and starting place...saw temples and not much else, city for successful pic uploads
Gili Trawangan, Lombok -- Indonesia **Island for certification for diving....3 sharks here
Kuta Beach, Lombok -- Indonesia **Surfing some waves dudes!!! AP and I caught some fab surf and whipped our longboards through em man:) well....we took lessons anyway:)
Perama Boat....2 nights, 3 days aboard a wooden boat that must be as old as Giligan's Island....and we know what happened there:)
Labuan Bajo, Flores -- Indonesia **diving, chilling, island hopping, mountain trekking(coming soon), crater (spell?) searching(coming soon), 10 hour public bus riding(coming soon)....and......
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES!!!!
To make you all feel better, I think about everyone all day everyday and have decided that NO ONE can make any memorable and great memories without me!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so that may be a little selfish, so you'll all just have to get your butts to Indonesia and visit me:) Bring McDonalds, Pizza, Peanut Butter Twix, Jalapeno bagels from NY Bagel in B.R., a soft pretzel with cheese, Pinkberry(i know...i gave in to the fad), FLAMING HOT CHEETOS, and Honey Bunches of Oats with ya too:) PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!