travelingfriends

Some photos to make you laugh

2012-01-30T10:41:00.001-08:00

The first is John the drunk sailor (sober impression)

The second is the faces that we made and documented when we got our leatherman wave stolen.

3rd this is how much these people love their Mate drink. (roundabout art)

4th this is a picture of Elvis. He was on the bus with us a month or so ago.

Hope this goes in order!

The El Calafate Debate

2012-01-30T06:59:00.005-08:00

When we completed the craziest hike to date, we popped out on a road about 10km from town. Perfect place to hitchhike. So.... After an hour a lovely man packed us in the back of his mail truck and we were able to get a nice 2 hour nap in surrounded by packages and big boxes! We arrived to our biggest town yet, 3000 people in El Calafate. But no peanut butter. seriously. None. We haven't seen peanut butter since Coihaique 3 1/2 weeks ago! Makes for a rough sandwich, but we have found a drastically less suitable option which is a marmalade-y lump made out of sweet potato. When accompanied by dulce leche (like Carmel sauce) you can excuse the sadly forgotten delicacy called peanut butter....

Well, anyways.... We are here in a little tourist town making decisions or lack of where to go next. Torres del Paine is on fire, the buses continue to be shockingly expensive, and we want to head north slightly to hit some trails we missed along the way ... Either way, north or south we will continue on!

9 days hiking Fitz Roy 19-28

2012-01-30T06:59:00.003-08:00

We completed the tourist circuit at Fitz Roy. Stunning views perfect weather and a phenomenal/ ridiculous amount of tourists! I can see why, it's amazing but it's a big change from anywhere else we've been besides Cusco, Peru. We then head to a trail that is marked "guide only" a five day circuit that walks on a glacier, views for a full day of a huge section of the continental ice sheet, covers two very windy and dangerous passes and two scary river crossing. Once again, the craziest trail I've ever been on, but the most stunning by far!

El Chaltin, Argentina Jan 16- 19

2012-01-30T06:59:00.001-08:00

We arrived to the Argentina border after following a road which has no car access (funny but sad).... to a sign that said welcome to Argentina... to a view of Fitz Roy... down another 6km trail only wide enough for one person... to Lago Desierto where we find a border patrol station. These guards obviously only get little action out here because when we arrived they were on the couch in flip-flops and sweats! They stamped our passports, not a single question! Very different than what we have been through north of here! We pick out a nice bush to camp by, find Serina (Johnathan departed us in Villa O'higgins due to a rushed schedule) and jump in a very very cold lake! John borrows a fishing pole and tries his luck, which was not good and ended up taking another swim in the lake to free a very dramatically large lure which looked expensive. (I personally don't think there was a fish that big in the lake that dare attack that lure!)

The next day we hike up to Glacier Chico and stay in a Refugio Diablo with a woman from Boise and her partner from Canada. It so funny, every time John and I hike a trail, I'm convinced it is the craziest, hardest, and most beautiful place I've been. That was this trail! We got lost for a couple of hours and eventually found the peak where you can overlook Glacier Chico. This was my first view of a massive Glacier and a small glimpse of the southern continental ice sheet. Very impressive! Nearby we were able to get out of the wind in the very rough Refugio. After talking to the Boise-ite and Canadian we learn that they started hiking this trail yesterday and got lost for 9 hours! Lucky for them they had their tent with them and stay in the bush the night before and eventually found it the next afternoon!

We head back to Lago Desierto, walked the lake instead of taking another boat and hitch hike to town about 40km away. Well, really we skipped the boat and bus because back on the crazy Glacier Chico trail I promised John steak and eggs in a restaurant if he carried me across a water crossing, (I hate taking off my shoes to then get in ice cold water !!) So, it was a tricky budget approach which worked well.

We were in such shock when we arrived to El Chaltin! This place had grown over ten times in size and the road was now paved since John had been there six years ago. We sat on the side of the road for about 10 minutes and took it all in, 100s of backpackers, lots of cars, and more hustle and bustle than we had seen since 2 weeks ago. We got a campsite, didn't quite make it to the steak and eggs because we fell down at an all you can eat pizza bar. Beer and pizza..... Ahh! We called the water-crossing - steak turned pizza deal even!

Pictures of Cerro Castillo Trek

2012-01-15T12:12:00.001-08:00

Where to begin....

2012-01-13T06:27:00.001-08:00

Well, where to begin. After an Amazing start to the new year we took a boat down to Puerto Chacabuco and started our journey south on the Carretera Austral ( a gravel road only built 10 years ago). We wanted to go this way, as it is hardly traveled at all and follows the glaciers and mountains south. We caught a bus to the only big town (with a real grocery store) Coihaique, did some serious shopping for food because prices double in the next towns…. Hmmm reminds us of cycling in Australia. We also made a very well thought out decision to start an adventure in hitchhiking. The buses are crazy expensive here, because it is so rarely traveled by tourists, random and unpredictable schedules, and monopolized by one company…. so off we went. 3 rides later, we arrived in the middle of nowhere (okay 100 km away from where we started) with an insane wind where we had to set up camp for the night because no more cars passed us. Pretty funny being stuck in the middle of nowhere, waiting… The morning was successful and we arrived to our hiking destination called Cerrra Castillo. We hiked 60km in this beautiful park, seeing lagunas, waterfalls, glaciers, and towering turrets. Here we met our new buddy, Jonathan from Holland, a 21year old on vacation from studing in Santiago. After 4 days, we tore ourselves away from the beautiful park and we started to hitch once again. Then after another 3 rides, meeting some geoligists from Missoula Mt, walking in the rain for 3 hours down the road, running into Jonathan in the middle of nowhere, also walking in the rain…. we eventually got a ride to Puerto Tranquillo which was 120km away. Very entertaining, and great exercise! We got our tent up in the rain and had the most amazing meal of hotdogs in noodles and alfredo sauce. So yummy! The following day we had a very ugly interaction with some other hitchhikers from Israel, who were apparently downhearted and very grumpy from not getting a hitch (8 of them were sitting together and had been there for 5 hours) We walked past them and talked to the first truck we saw and got a ride all the way to our next destination. Very lucky, but they did not think it was funny at all. I think I learned some new swear words…. The couple was from Santiago on vacation and took us on a very lovely adventure, stopping at all the interesting sights such as the two rivers coming together, one white and one blue, the marble caves (you take a boat out to these amazing little islands all marble) and eventually to a park where we would hike for a couple of days. They were so lovely and kind, we are so fortunate and lucky! At our campsite, of course we see Jonathan, again! We share our stories about the days hitchhike and laugh until late in the night….

A couple of days later we leave again, with plans to see a small remote village called Caleta Torel. It is on a protected marsh area, so the whole town has to park in one area and them hike along the boardwalks to their houses which are on stilts. It is a bit off the path, but we figure we are in no rush. 3 more rides (it seems to be our lucky number) and convincing the driver to pick up Jonathan and his new hitching partner Seraina when we see them we arrived at our destination! Oh the rain! So much rain here! The clouds fly by and all ofthe sudden it is a downpour! We arrange a great deal and share a little house with our two new friends. It has a little wood stove to cook on and we wash and dry all our gear. Seraina cooks us all dinner and we again…. laugh and play cards well into the night.

We are now a little family and we set off the next morning… but no cars! Anywhere! So we walk and walk…22km later we are back to the main dirt road and so tired! So what next? Yep, more rain! We find shelt with some goats (seriously, where did the goats come from?) and we all decided to give up for the night and set up camp becuase there was no cars! Alas! 1 car! He charged us a small price and we were set to go all the way to Villa Ohiggins. Yay! So here we are a town of 500 people (or less) and we have some hiking to do here, then we take a boat across this beautiful lake to a old dirt track where you walk for 20-30 km where a bus will pick you up sometime… hopefully… This is an amazing adventure. 10 days of crazy traveling and hitchhiking has been pretty tiring but what a memory we will have of this place!

We´ve officially bought all the superglue in every little town we´´vwe passed, because my soles are coming off on my boots and noone seems to be able to fix them. Ugh, it is a hassle for John (the gear fixer) to glue them repeatadly, but super glue is superizingly cheap… even in the middle of nowhere…

Until El Chaiten or El Calafate……..

Chiloe National Park on Chiloe Island

2012-01-04T13:30:00.003-08:00

Feliz Nuevo Ano!!!! After begging John to take me out dancing and fine dining for New Years, we settled on the more adventurous and sobering ( and far less caloric/ but slightly more abusive on the body). We spent our New Year on this happy little beach where no roads exist. This place called Cole-Cole was about a 5 hour hike from a random little town on the Island of Chiloe, just north of Patagonia. Yesterday we left our pretty little beach and took another 5 hour excursion (also known as crazy bush whacking) in the Valdivia Rainforest. The trail had been over grown by bamboo, and bamboo is not soft and cuddly. It is sharp and hard and makes many scratches and bruises! After following this trail that we heard wasn't closed, just "not maintained" it eventually came to another secluded beach, but not more than 30 seconds after seeing this river and ocean combo the mega giant flies found us. Now we are pretty tough, but Santa gave me a pair of amazing secondhand really thin athletic shorts (you know, the kind with those breathable holes and super quick drying). These shorts are not mega giant biting fly proof and I started to feel them digging in. I felt insane. I felt like I was being attacked for all angles. I ran back into the forest, not even seeing the beach that we had been searching for. When we returned to our beautiful beach only 5-10 flies were waiting for us. We welcomed the small party with open arms! Well, I'm not completely convinced a New Years hangover would have been less painful, but I know I'll remember this New Year for sure! I've already learned a valuable lesson this year.

1. If your beach is beautiful don't go looking for something better.

Hiking around Volcano Obsoro

2012-01-04T13:30:00.001-08:00

Here are some photo of our last hike, more to come. The flies on my hat, as big as your thumb!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T08:13:00.001-08:00

Wwoofing photos

2011-12-26T07:53:00.001-08:00

Huequehue hiking photos

2011-12-23T11:43:00.003-08:00

Lonquimay trek

2011-12-23T11:43:00.001-08:00

Pucon friends and crazy foods

2011-12-23T11:41:00.001-08:00

Stawberries with wine, scorpions waiting outside your tent and good German friends to celebrate Christmas with!

Trekking Huerquehue

2011-12-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Just outside of Pucon, Chile we decided to go on a three day trek around the National Park Huerquehue. This national park has beautiful flora and fauna, being a temperate rain forest. We trekked through many trees and the native species of bamboo. The main attractions are the ten lakes within this park. We hiked to Lago Verde, Tinquilco lakes and El Toro lagoon. We started out on a beautiful sunny day then the storm clouds blew in, if we only knew what was coming we would have turned back. After the first day the rain hit,with the combination of the overgrown trail we were soaked, then it got colder. We decided to set up the tent and wait out the storm, we played cards, had tea, leah knit and I read to her. Sometime in the middle of the night the rain stopped, and the morning turned to snow, a white christmas surprise in the start of summer. We hiked back the next day, cold and tired of the four seasons of Pucon.

The Art of Bus Travel

2011-12-17T09:42:00.001-08:00

Local buses go to different stations,which are never near other stations. Some buses have there own stations with no other companies, again not near the main station. A bus stop could be a shack, a pole with a sign, a conner ,or anywhere you want it to stop. Meaning when we stand at the Conner of the PanAm Sur on ramp we can catch a bus.

WOOFing in Molina

2011-12-12T08:13:00.000-08:00

We completed our first volunteering experience in Chile! We arrived at a Gladiola flower farm (yes, very beautiful). Our mission was to assist in building a rock wall type building for an outdoor kitchen. Our housing was out back in our tent, and every morning after the cuppa, we set out to create this wall. This is funny to us, because we spent so much time in New Zealand building that giant rock wall for the Boatshed Café. Now we are so far away from things that are familiar, but we know rock walls! So we spent a week helping this family… along the way we were able to experience how easily little kids adapt to a language barrier (so cute, mostly involved animal noises!) What freshly killed (by local dogs) sheep tastes like. What a freshly killed horse tasted like (something about a rope and a tree…) and to see a meal that consisted of rice, potatoes, and noodles. Seriously, that was it. Starch heaven….I guess. We shared this experience with a German woman, who taught me (Leah) to knit a sock. Very important, and gained the important skills of carting wool. All in all this was an entertaining, and valuable experience. The last night we all went to the neighbors house for a concert with the locals. He had a hobby farm of almonds, flowers, and grapes. Very neat man and his party was for his son who had returned for a vist (now living in London with Kiwi girlfiend) very refreshing to speak in English and joke around. I ate the best sausage of my entire life, drank way to much of this rosemary wine stuff (not recomemded) and had a blast!

What? Free museum day on Sundays? Score!

2011-12-05T04:11:00.001-08:00

Santiago Christmas parade

2011-12-05T04:06:00.001-08:00

Last night we were surprised by a very busy parade! Take a look!

Puno Peru

2011-11-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

Puno- November 22nd
We knew we wanted to see Puno and go out to the Urus and Tranquill Island but our interest ended there. We also had heard of quiet a few theft incidencesin this little tourist trap so we knew we wanted to get in and out. So wearrived at 5am, grabbed a day tour out and back to the islands and then we jetted out on another night bus to Arequipa to do some hiking. The Urus were very unique and interesting. there is lots of controversy around creating a tourist catch for a population that was forced to live on these floating reed islands when the Spanish invaded. Now, these people have no need to live on these islands, but do so because someone will pay to look at them. It's definitely a dilemma because it brings in a lot of money to these populations, which otherwise they would not have any income.Overall, it was a great day, a huge history lesson and admiration for this group of people.

Cusco to Puno, Peru

2011-11-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

Well, we feel like we haven´t written in a while. We have traveled a huge distance since leaving Cusco on the 20th. We have also been adjusting very well to the overnight buses and even though we recently suffered a bit of a scam we are healthy, bright in spirits and ready to see some more mountains! John is constantly telling me cheaper is not always better... specially when it comes to buses... I believe him, but these cheap buses continue to be some ofthe best (and cheapest) entertainment we´ve come across thus far. About 4 buses ago (Cusco to Puno) the bust took 7 hours for $5US. We had front row seats on the top level, only you couldn´t touch the windshield in fear that it would crumble (okay I pushed a little because I was curious.... the WHOLE windshield moved) Pretty scary,but the funny part came when I reluctantly accepted a bet from John. He bet me that the bus would stop and pick up more passangers to make more money. Well, about 5 minutes into our 7 hour jounrey the bus stopped and started yelling into the streets offering people rides for cheap! At one point I turned around to look at the back of the bus and it was packed in the isles with only standing room. About 3 hours later John had to convince 3 people to move from their sleeping position in the isle and move past another 7 people of the stairs. Okay, score 1 for John- Leah still 0. The bus must have stopped a 100 times, but the guy that sold me a ticket swore it was direct to Puno....well..... I took a picture of the bus station sign because I though it would help fool proof my bet to John. Appearantly not.

Sacred Valley Tour

2011-11-20T08:20:00.001-08:00

More Buses = More Puking

2011-11-20T08:08:00.001-08:00

So yesterday we went and visited The Sacred Valley of the Incas. The tour includes a 10 hour day: visit to the market at Pisac, a stop for lunch in Urubamba, a visit to the beautiful Inca village and fortress of Ollantaytambo and a quick stop at the Quechua village of Chinchero on the way back to Cusco. (yes, I stole that sentence from the wide web) We took a ridiculously cheap tour for $9 a person and got a bilingual guide (our Spanish isn't THAT good) So we were 2nd on the bus and we got next to front row seats (very exciting) and next to us was a cute little Peruvian Girl and her mom and in front of us was her dad and brother. The bus was okay, no bathroom, but we were able to stop a lot so we went worried. The first 20 minutes into the bus ride, the little girl next to us puked ALL over! (yes, breakfast and everything) so gross and stinky! But fortunately this time, the bus stop was only about a minute away and we were able to browse the market while the tour guide cleaned it up. I felt really bad for the little girl, but seriously smelly! 2 out of 3 bus have had pukers!

Overall the ruins were amazing and we were able to hike all over 3 different ones! We enjoyed the Picas ruins immensely because of how large it was and we climbed to one of the best views of the Sacred Valley. It was great to have a local tour to learn the culture and history around each site. Some of the rockwork (okay, ALL of the rock work) was stunning especially the Temple of the Sun at Ollantaytambo. These rocks were located 8 km away on a different mountain drug to there site, split without iron tools and then fit exactly together, no mortar or filling! The weighed approx 40 tons each, made of granite because of the crystal content they were considered sacred. Overall a great day!

But... my (Leah) favorite part by far... was meeting the local Quechua woman and watching them explain how they make the llama and alpaca yarn. They walked through every step and one of the most unique things I learned was about their dye. There is a bug on the cactus that when squished it produces a bright red color (more so than just blood) mix with 18 different minerals found in the region it can produce around 30 different colors. Then I was able to buy some raw yarn that had been dyed with chamomile to produce a brown. I know, it sounds silly, but it really was exciting for me.

Johns favorite part was hiking up the Inca staircases and is looking forward to hiking more in Southern Chile.

Again, sorry about the spelling and whatnot... who knew that a Peruvian keyboard would prove to be so challenging! The letters are in the same place, but all the extras are not really... For example: to produce a @ symbol, you have to push ALT64.

Okay, we are undecided it we want to hike more today or move on... hope to update soon!

Spanish School...

2011-11-18T10:53:00.001-08:00

Luz, our teacher

The Spanish School (I´m in the corner yawning, because it´s early!)

Our little home away from our tent :)

The Peruvians wanted a photo with the tall Gringo.

Cusco Ruins and Small Rooms

2011-11-18T07:54:00.001-08:00

We are still in Cusco at the moment and John is feeling MUCH better! We have spent the last week looking around Cusco, eatting food from all the vendors, and practicing our spanish. We feel way more confident speaking to locals and I attempt to have a conversation with almost everyone I pass. Its pretty comical but suprisingly useful when trying to memorize all these verbs and conjucations. I talk to women selling things (well not the women selling massages...), little kids, bus drivers, and mostly random people. I feel much more comfortable here now that I understand more of what is being said to me. Yesterday we hiked to Ruins above Cusco: Tambomachey, Puka Pukara, Quenqo, and Saqsaywaman (yes, the pronunciation is similar to sexywoman). While I was walking behind a group of Peruvian women who were on a tour I hear one of them talking about me. Gringo....very tall... pretty. (ok I dont know if they called me pretty but Im almost positive..... :) ) anyways I started talking in some spanish and the look on their faces was so funny because they didnt think I spoke Spanish. After a mixed conversation they all wanted a photo with the tall Gringo. It was a funny situation and John was able to snap a few phots with the women as well. I must have took 10 photos for all the different women, so hilarious.

We will go on a tour tommorrow and then we start a 2-3 day hike to ruins called Huchuy Qosqo and Calca. Tommorrow night is especially exciting because we will be meeting up with one of John´s former crew members from trail crew. Kenna is studing in Cusco and we´ve conviced her to take us out on the town.

Some interesting things we have seen:
1. a farmer´s protest in front of the court house (very peaceful mom),

2. cuy for sale on the side of the street hot and ready for you! (guinea pig) ....no Leah hasn´t tried yet, mostly becasue John has a horror story from when he tried it 6 years ago.

3. random kids crawling down the street with no worrid parents (very odd)

4. a one way for cars in Cusco really doesn´t apply our taxi decided it was quicker to go up a one way to drop us off....

5. hotdogs on top of frenchfries all cut up. weird.

6. Vendors everywhere!!!! Everyone here depends on tourist. A million vendor selling the same things!!!! Very beautiful homemade items, but appears saturated.

7. everytime we walk past a group of kids the ALWAYS say Hello in English and Goodbye in English. It is really funny, because this is the only words they know.

8. McDonalds and KFC in the middle of the main plaza. Since John and I own shares of McDonalds (gross I know) we go in and ask for mayo packets once in a while because none of the mayo here is really refrigerated and the packets are shelf stable. Yes, I am a sissy who likes mayo.

9. Prices change ALL THE TIME. Depends how you are dressed, how familiar you appear to Cusco. But the same tour from the same company would cost anywhere from $5 to $70 US. No joke. Same with the taxis. If you are in a hurry and can´t wait to check the prices of other taxis, you are going to get ripped off by at least 200%.

10. It is really interesting to see the different dresses of the people. They dress very tradition if they live out in the country and come into town to sell their goods. very beautiful. These are my favorite people to talk to. They often speak slower (seriously, its not a bad thing) so it is easier to talk to them and once they discovered that we arn´t going to buy anything and we just want to talk, they are usually more friendly. Which is a weird contradiction.

Okay, thats all for now!

Cusco, Peru

2011-11-14T10:06:00.001-08:00

We are safe and sound in Cusco Peru afer a 20 hour bus ride with many puking kids and crying babies, but we found additional room in the VIP room and were able to sit down there for the last 5 hours which was bliss! John has had a rotten case of the traveler trot, and hes all wiped out! He has improved today and seems in better spirits. We are finding the Cusco is very easy to navigate and we are finding the people very lovely and welcoming! We have rented a place which is SO tiny, but we figured we would be out and about and would just want to sleep in it, so $5US a night for two seemed like a great deal. It is above a cutural center and there is tons of little niños running around and we have befriended the owner of the pizza shop underneath us. He speaks fairly good english which has been nice. Our brains are overloaded and we just finished our first Spanish Class today. We are feeling great, because we know more Spanish than we though! We may take only one week or maybe two. We are really wanting to get down to Southern Chile and get out of the cities and meet more people in the country side. It feels fairly safe here, but I know that we will feel a lot safer once we get out of the city.
There are tons of tourists here and the streets are packed with vendors pushing you to buy there food and souviners. The people here depend quite a bit on the income from tourists.

We miss you all and will be in contact again soon! And sorry this is not spell checked, but between the peruvian keyboard and launguge setting, it says Ive spelled everything wrong. Oh well! Adios!

Walk in Lima

2011-11-10T18:35:00.001-08:00

After a eight hours in flight and nap we walked along the shoreline taking in all that is the busy city of lima. We are so excited to start our exploration of South America.

The OC baby

2011-11-08T08:31:00.001-08:00

The 50-50 tour!

2011-11-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been scolded by many for being blog slackers.... and we are sorry! We have had such an amazing time and it is so dreadful to sit at a computer and type. But, as we mentioned, we made a self-absorbed purchase of the itouch and we will attempt to post more often! No promises/

Well the 50-50 tour has started at the 50th parallel north and in about 6 days we will be at the 50th parallel south! Wish us luck!

We have spent the last 9 days with friends and family which has been SO lovely! We have received lots of pressures such as "what are you doing with your lives? How long are you going to keep up with this? When are you going to settle down?" but it has been a great challenge for us to stop and think....well, what are we doing with our lives? So, as I'm sure many of our generation our doing, we think, we dream and we make plans for the future and live in the moment. We'll let you know how that goes for us!

We will be going to S. America to WWOOF and learn more about sustainable living and farming techniques. Our dreams are to take this knowledge and experience back to our 'home' and start farming...sustainably...eventually

This is also a honeymoon trip of sorts, thank you to everyone who gave us money to travel!

We are very excited and hope to continue to stay in touch with everyone via social media!

Sad Goodbyes, Parties, Kayaking, Mushroom Hunting and more!

2011-10-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Heather's Birthday! Yay for 37!

Sanctuary at Hollyhock

Hunting for Chantalle Mushrooms (we found 3)

Frisbee Golf Club House (awesome!)

Bicycle delivery service by John Schuldheisz

More goodbye parties....

Kayaking adventures to Smelt Bay with our new hats from the free store. yes, I said free store!

Young bald eagle

Hollyhock from a distance

Twin Island and the amazing mountains in the background

Sweet overgrown house on the kayaking trip

Little angel on the kayaking trip......

Hollyhock, what a treat!

2011-09-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Daily Schedule: Wake 6:15 ride bike to yoga (about 30 secs) 7am Yoga or meditation 8:30 breakfast- eggs, muffins, granola 9:15-12:15 odd jobs, clean beds, pick berries, dishes, 12:30 lunch,- salads 1-6:30 swimming, hot tub, hike, meditation, naps... 6:30 dinner (always amazing!!) Evening- watch a presentation- such as kayaking ,Buddhas brain, wilderness schools.... play games with roommates, Kirtan- meditative singing, hot tubs, ocean swimming, journal reflection, play/listen to music instruments Everyday has been beautiful weather and views. I am reminded so many times during the day how lucky I am to be able to be here. After much thought and debate, we've decided to delay South America and continue our journey here at Hollyhock for another month. The good part is that it puts us in Spokane for Halloween! John has been cooking everyday and I am a host usually during the day or cleaning rooms and buildings. The garden is very well maintained and requires little assistance from the volunteers which is sad because I was really looking forward to getting in the dirt. We are here with 7 other volunteers, a Irish Woman, a woman from Revelstoke, a 62year old man from Georgia, a Japanese woman, and German girl. Very fun group and they are a bit older (I'm the youngest!) which is nice to have a mature group. The hardest part of blogging and emailing our friends in that you have to go down to the 'dungeon'. No social media or electronics are allowed outside of this little dark room. This is a great idea because it forces people to interact and share with each other the joy of nature! We really enjoy connecting with family and friends, but it is very sad and depressing to go downstairs! We will be more diligent! Also, thanks Cait so much for your posts! We sure love you (and everyone)!!!

Some late pictures of our travels

2011-09-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Photos finally!

2011-09-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, they are out of order and random, but living in this awesome place makes it such a dread to get on the computer and stare at a screen. We are composing a post and will update you all soon!

This was everything that we packed on the bikes. Alan and Sandy, two very beautiful people from Duncan,BC who hosted us one night Norm LeDuc, family friend and tour guide in Comox BC A sun star! So magnificent! Getting ready for our 6:45am morning row. The weather has been so amazing! Me, working hard for the kitchen dessert. I picked berries for about 3 hours. This is a regular job for the volunteers! I only wish the were thornLESS. On our morning row with 7 others. This is a delayed photo for the fair that we worked. John hard at it in the kitchen with the main cook. I was off doing my own volunteering..... This is Miyo and her house in Yellow Point.

How do you save $40 in Courtenay, B.C?

2011-08-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today we left Norm and Cindy's house and headed north to the Courtenay Fair (only a few miles away). We were prepared to pay the fee for the day and John promised a yummy (fried) lunch to go along with the fair experience. Upon arriving I noticed a volunteer corner and asked if we could be of use in exchange for the day passes. They were so excited to see us and stated that they were about 20 volunteers short for the day! So we go into new shirts and John headed to the kitchen (his food handler's permit from Tamarack Center has been useful!) and I headed out to the front gate and proceeded to be a greeter. Very fitting roles for both of us! I (Leah) got to know one very kind volunteer named John while at the fair and he insisted that we join him for the evening back at his place. We gladly accepted and helped him pick about 4 gallons of purple and yellow green beans and prepare them for the freezer. He was very funny and even escorted us to his house in a 71MG (car). We plan to see them again on our way down.

Comox, B.C.

2011-08-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

After a couple of sketchy nights sleeping in the bushes, we met up with Norm and Cindy Leduc. Norm instantly became our tour guide and spent the next two days showing us the sights; Farm Markets, the best corn of my life, Mt. Washington, Comox glacier, and yet another black bear. Thankfully this one was from the car. We ate the best meal ever; fresh Salmon and Halibut, new potatoes, fresh corn, and a huge green salad. Very Yummy and a huge delight compared to the dehydrated meals.

Continuing North: Giant checker board anyone?

2011-08-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

We've left Miyo's yesterday morning with plans to return on the way back down after Hollyhock. We are feeling very good about our upcoming time there and have met many people who have attended. We hope to arrive in Comox in a couple of days and meet up with family friends and do some much needed laundry (10 days now... phew) We stayed at this funny campground last night that had put-put golf and this funny spinning chair that made me laugh some hard and loud! We also played this giant game of checkers which Leah lost very badly to! Cruising the road, had a odd man creep us out, but the good side we have had blackberries at our fingertips every single day! We eat almost a pint each a day! Amazing! Hope to upload photos in a few days!

On Vancouver Island!

2011-08-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Sidney in one piece, both carrying 4 panniers and 1/ a kayak in a Bob trailer. So heavy!!!! We put a lot of dreaming into this adventure, not so much practicing though. The kayak was too heavy after combining it with 8 days of dehydrated meals it was too much! The weight bent our new skewer and made it easy to make an impulsive decision to leave it with a dear couple fro warmshowers.com in Duncan. We've had the most amazing experiences with warmshowers the past couple of days. Great people focused on a minimalistic lifestyle while creating a low impact on the earth. We took a bath outside at Miyo's house and then drained the water onto her bushes around the area. She really focuses on using all her water at least twice. So... we were able to run around the garden naked watering it! Gordon: you would love this! We've also had great conversations on community and learned a great deal from Alan in Duncan on his history on growing up in B.C.

Pre adventures

2011-08-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

We finished 4 days kayaking on Ross lake and headed straigh to two of our favorite people down in Seattle. After visiting the famous Melissa and Rudi Romennett and happy Ruggy of course, we headed to Bellingham. We were able to connect with my dear cousins that I had not seen in such a long time! After a tasty beer and blue cheese burger at Bobs, we woke the next morning to and set out for Sidney BC via the Washington State Ferry.

Castlegar BC, Pasayten Wilderness, and Ross Lake coming up!

2011-08-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

We concluded our time in Spokane Washington on July 28th, 2011! We are now starting a year of adventure (well budgeted, of course). We plan to take our bikes to Vancouver Island and tow our folding kayak behind us in two trailers. We then start a volunteering position that is 30 days long on August 29th at Hollyhock Retreat Center on a small Island called Cortez Island. After that on October 1st we will work our way back to Fruitland to set off to South America for 6 months. We hope to be back in Fruitland again in March/April where we will prepare to start hiking the PCT in April. This is a very rough and exciting plan and it is sure to change, but everyone asks what we are doing, so this is it! Below is a few photos from our recent adventures! Again we would love emails, posts, or FB anytime! If you will be in Vancouver Island as well, lets meet up!

Pig Roast in Castlegar BC at Trevor and Terri's house! Very fun! Yes, we did go to another country just for a BBQ. How exotic.

On Top of Remmel Mountain. 8685ft. I complained about 8500 feet of it. It was so steep and up and up and up..... but the view was stellar. We were able to see Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Rainer.

This is our buddy Gordonian. He is hiker extraordinaire as well. He is also captain whiskey drinker as well. Hiking with Gordon definitely made this a trip to remember.

Yes, 8 days later, we made it out alive. Our packs weighed about 35-38lbs and we were focused on drinking 6 liters a day each. We actually only met that goal 2 days. We were able to hike with 7 other people and two that were over 60 (I think Uncle Bob is 60 right? maybe 59...)! It was pretty amazing to see that everyone was able to hike the 45-50 mile trip and come out in mostly one piece. The best part of the trip was swimming in all the different lakes, Cornwall, Four Point, Tungsten, and Upper Cathedral. We also saw two mountain goats and a baby black bear. Really cute but really scary because we were so close and we did not know where Mom was...

Here is a map, not sure how it will upload for everyone.

Our next stop is Ross Lake for 4 days and then to Bellingham where I will convince John to take me to Pikes Place Market for Crumpets. We have our bikes loaded on our truck, trailers and kayak is all loaded in back and we have enough dehydrated food to make it to Cortez Island by the 29th. This is a very exciting trip and we wish that we were able to spread it out enough to visit friends in Portland and Eugene, but for now we stay north and get ready to pedal.

The dehydrating process has started!

2011-06-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to momma Schuldheisz we have all the pre-sugared fruit we could ask for! We have begun slicing and drying it, which after being canned...creates an amazing explosion in your mouth. Okay, slightly dramatic, but it's really really good! We have dries the following items,

saurkraut

every type of legume

corn

peas

watermellon

cantelope

stawberries

every form of potato

cranberries

apples

carrots

bananas (heaps)

bread

celery

onion

fruit leather

peppers

chicken

-------------

here is what we still need to dehydrate

beef

breakfast sausage

more saurkraut

any ideas?

Well, travel is on! like donkey kong! maps and photos of plans coming. brace yourself!

also a shoutout to our favorite apron maker! thanks!

To travel or Not to travel

2011-05-08T11:55:00.001-07:00

As our first year of marriage is coming around, we are dreaming of traveling once again. Our thought drift to the Pacific Crest Trail, Vancouver Island, Argentina, Chile... to name a few. Our questions are: how do we travel on $10,000 for a year, what mode(s) of transportation do we use, what is our goal? Personally, my (Leah) goal is to travel by kayak and bike as well as get deep into the S. American culture. I would love to WWOOF again, spending time with locals while helping them out as well. Some cites that we are finding very helpful are hospitalityclub, warmshowers, couchsurfing, and folldingkayaks. We have secured one mode of transportation yesterday. We purchased a lovely folding kayak weighing 62lbs, and holds 600lbs. With John's brilliant mind we should be able to find a way to tow this contraption behind the bikes around our first stretch of trip which is Vancouver Island... Anyways, this is the plan, rough but on paper finally.

We are engaged!!!!

2009-07-24T19:17:00.002-07:00

Hello friends! Big news! We got engaged last Tuesday the 21st! So exciting! We hope to set a date for this time next year in Fruitland. We went hiking up on Mt. Hood, up to McNeil Point 6200ft up, and John proposed. Real sweet like. So…. Keep July open!

After a spur of the moment excited decision to drive 9 hours to Fruitland to break the news to my parents in person, we are driving to Eugene (10hours away) to start another 5 week session with the crew at 8am. We are both working for NYC Northwest Youth Corp, building and repairing trails in the PNW. Some great places that we have been to in the last 5 weeks: Fort Stevens, La Push in Olympic National Forest, Mt. Rainer, Stubb Stewart, Seaside, Waldo Lake Wilderness Area. John was building equestrian bridges, chopping scot’s broom, and removed giant rocks and stump. I was breaking new equestrian trail on the dunes, pulling ivy on a island, chopping scot’s broom, building check steps, and doing some extreme log-out on the charleton burn area with cross cuts. I’ve learned to chainsaw and clean ‘her’ and give her lots of love. John’s inner-leader is finally coming out and he has turned into papa-john. It’s been really challenging and amazing each working with 10 youth (16-19year olds) and seeing each other once a week. My last trip was two weeks long and we worked and hiked over 90 miles! Starting tomorrow, we both get two new crews (who we pick) and start the process all over again.

After some amazing financial aid, we have both decided to move to Spokane for the year and settle into school for some time. We will be there in Mid-September, right after the Kuhlmann get together! Can’t wait to see everyone!

Working at NYC

2009-07-24T19:17:00.001-07:00

Eugene, OREGON

2009-05-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We've arrived safely back in the US finally. One year travel complete! 2,500 miles on bike, and some work and kayaking was fit in the itenerary as well! Thank you to all the wonderful people we met along the way, as well as everyone who sent us goodies, emails, and kept us in their thoughts as we were traveling. It has been an awesome time and we can't believe a year is over! It feels like just last week we were stuck staying in that moldy old horse stall at our first job last June! Now that's out of our system.... we are thinking South America.... anyone? Just kidding, we don't plan on leaving till John's college is over. We found work at Northwest Youth Corp, leading 16-20yrs old kids in the back country, doing trail maintenance and teaching them about nature for 10 weeks. (5 weeks on, 4days off,then 5 weeks on again) It should be pretty home-y getting back into our tent again. Unfortunately, we only get to see each other once a week, as we'll be on separate crews during the week. Hope everyone is planning a great summer, and will keep us updated on all things exciting. We don't plan on using the blog much anymore, nor will we have a phone until September, so please!!!!!! send us emails, we love hearing from everyone.

Pre- Easter (Thanks mom benson)

2009-04-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

here is a little something that my mom had to send us from the states..... along with 2lbs of jelly bellys. i know, amazing! Never leave home without your bunny staws people. very important!

Abel Tasmin kayaking-

2009-04-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

We are here in Nelson (top of South Island) and we just spent 5 days kayaking around the Abel Tasman National Park. We also were able to connect with my cousin KT's friend here in Nelson for some beers and a yummy dinner! Hopefully we will be able to get a photo on here of our visit. Now we are trying to burn a little time before we have to catch the ferry to the n.island and then a train to catch Jen's wedding!! We are so ready to come home though. We talk about it so much these days. Wanting to meet up with our friends and just hang out. We want to hug family and connect again in person. I think traveling for 11months has been amazing and we can't wait to do it again, but we are definitely ready for a wee bit of down time. And maybe a few bills.... and a couch! Love you all and we can't wait to see you.

A little bungy.... a little heli... and of course the penguins!

2009-03-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. We would like to officially rename our blog 'photos only blog' because we are so lazy in our typing. We get really excited about telling everyone all the amazing things we are doing and then when if comes to time to putting it all down at $3 for 20minutes it is just to hard. I have a bit of an update though. We have cycled 850 km to the most amazing sites, we got snowed on and we forced to take cover and then a bus (bummer :) ) We went around the caitlans, a bit like the oregon coast except for the whole penguin thing... At one campground we were surounded by cycle tourists. Their was nine of us in one spot. 7 were americans! So inspirational to have all sorts of hard-core to cushy cyclist in one spot. After that- oh, oops, I forgot about our hitchhiking... ha this is funny. We were a little lost on some gravel road after checking out a waterfall and so I waved down a truck and asked for directions. All seemed well and I asked him if we could have a ride to the main road 10km away. He was happy to give us a lift and after we got in the car he started guzzling down some mixed gin and sprit drink. 4 down and he had to ask us where we were from about 3 times. Everyone we passed stopped and knew the man and thought if was extremly funny that he had to cyclist in his car. Well, I sorta stopped thinking it was funny about 10 minutes before that and I had a death grip on the dashboard. An hour later he has given us a great ( a little swervy) scenic tour and delivered us 45km farther than we thought and set us at a campground. So funny, he knew the owners as well, so we got to get laughed at again for riding with the drunk. Ha, please don't drink and drive, and pick up nice tourists and scare them. Thanks everyone! We went to Invercargill after that and picked up John's sister for a two week 'adventure' with her. We went out to milford sound on a sweet tour and then went hiking on the most beautiful scenic place i have ever been. Kepler track. I was on this natrual high the whole time walking on these ridges and looking out at the clear mt tops. After that we thought Amy should try cycle touring... which we still arn't sure if she liked... pretty brutal and intense exercise for Amy! (and us) we got to Queenstown after 120km cycle and caught a oldschool steamer across. Queenstown is a shocking place. tourist-y! It was cool, bungy jumping 440 ft, skydiving was canceled for rain, shopping, beer, and coffee. We rented a car and drove up to NZ glaciers at Fox and Franz Joseph, took a heli ride ( a first for us) which, people, please save your money and don't heli around some snow, unless there is some chance you might get to ski it. which we didn't. Now we are in Westport. Amy leaves tommorrow and we start cycling up to Abel Tasmin for some sea kayaking for a week and then to the wedding up on the north island. John's friend (sideshowbob) or andrew as some call him... is contimplating paddling with us next week which would be really nice!! okay, this is all I got for now, hope to write more later!

Where are we?

2009-03-25T17:38:00.001-07:00

South East Coast, a couple more photos

2009-03-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Cycling Te Anau to Queenstown with Amy

2009-03-25T17:28:00.002-07:00

Kepler Track 60km up and over, Amazing

2009-03-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

Milfor Sound and the BBQ Bus

2009-03-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

Small Message to everyone,

2009-03-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

just follow the link... or copy and paste it in your browser... hugs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjvaACvhzYw

South Island Adventures

2009-03-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of the journey- The pretty lake is Tekepo- and in the background is Mt. Cook, NZ tallest. Another is the rare yellow eyed penguin. And yes, we got snowed on. Very very cold!

Invercargill, South NZ

2009-03-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hello! All is well here, this is our real route thus far, two weeks into it we've cycled almost 700km. In about 4 hours John's sister Amy Kimsey arrives in town and we will be joined in our travels for about two weeks. A few highlights have been yellow eyed penguins, Lake Tekepo, and bonding with 7 other cyclist, leapfrogging for about a week down in the catlins. It is a really motivator to see that so many other people are exploring NZ by bikes like us.

Our South Island Plan starting March 3rd!!!

2009-02-26T20:48:00.001-08:00

Wairoa River Rafting- Class 4 & 5!

2009-02-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

space travel to the heavens

2009-02-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

Valentines day was spent at a costume party, it was the obvious choice to show our love for one another. With a budget in our minds, and a party on the way, you can see our creativity was overwhelming.

N.Z. North Route- Also a little late

2009-02-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

Australia Route- A little late

2009-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Glowworms

2009-01-31T20:09:00.001-08:00

This is the trip I guide 4 nights a week. This photo doesn't do it justice though!

Aniwhenua River and Kaituna River

2009-01-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

More photos

2009-01-29T21:18:00.000-08:00

Some painting.... you know, in our spare time We've made a baby tomato!!!! It was tasty! The famous Luuka Jones... teaching me some skills.

Work...Work...Work

2009-01-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

2008-12-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy holidays from New Zealand! We had a great, but warm, Christmas here, with tons of amazing presents from everyone! We got some really silly presents from overseas, some Christmas lights, a car air freshener. So funny! We both went halves on a traveling guitar, which John has already mastered! John's work is good. He got a work key and code, so he has full time hours now and is opening by himself, he is pretty excited. Work for me is good, right now it is raining though, ugh. I've been staying really busy and we are attempting to get some staff training sessions after work every night, so last night we learned a little slalom kayaking from Luuka and tonight we get lessons from a pro on rock climbing. Really funny and it's a nice way to relax with the staff after work! We are really loving our home here as well, I made a new friend, her name is Luuka Jones (Check her out at LuukaJones.com), she went to the Olympics this year for kayak slalom racing (seriously bad-ass) she's really funny and super happy all the time. Which is cool, she's helping us with our guitar, and she taught me some slalom last night and she comes over for breaky and dinner sometimes. It's nice having a friend at work, who is just really healthy, motivated, and positive all the time you know? We are talking more about Africa. It would be really amazing but I'm a little nervous. I think this would be a good adventure, going where English....just isn't spoken. And being able to submerge ourselves in a different and unfamiliar culture. Amy (John's sister) is organizing to go to a school in Uganda hopefully as well as volunteering in a few orphanages. Everything is really rough planning, but the idea is growing!!! Roughly, June-ish, any other takers? We hope everyone is doing well and that you are all enjoying the snow! We are hoping to be home around May, stick some snow in the freezer for us!

2008-12-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

This is our view and our small garden at our flat here. It has a good view of the Wairo river, which we both white water kayak down farther up the river this last weekend. This coming weekend we are going to go kayaking for our one year anniversary. Just kayaking and camping break before we both have to work crazy hours before Christmas. Things have been great living here in New Zealand. Sending our love John and Leah

2008-11-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

Here a a couple of photos of us the past month. The one with our bikes was the last day touring in Australia at the Cairns International Airport. The Opera house was a exciting dash we made with 2 hours layover at the international Airport in Sydney (a first for John) The next two photos are of Gardner John, so handy! and a glimps of my job. Funny, John took that photo from our porch, so you can guess how close I am to work!!! All is great, we are having chicken on Friday to celebrate Good Ol Thanksgiving. Missing everyone and wondering if you would like a little Chrtistmas Warmth, we now have two beds and we will rent them out cheap! Love to everyone!

2008-11-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! sorry, we've lost all motivation and time for the blog! we finished Aus with flying colors and we are now employed in Tauranga NZ. John is a bicycle mechanic of the sorts at a store called Rocket Bike and I am kayak instructing/guiding/babysitting on the water (some kids groups...) and glowworm trips 3 times a week. All is well. We found housing for 90 a week and he paid up to fix it up as well! The weather is turning really nice and warm again, so it should be a great summer! Hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving and we will be sure to put some great photos up when we get a day off! All our love!

Orpheus Island

2008-09-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Orpheus Island hike First beer in two months?.... giant clams! giant clams spiting on me!

Photos!

2008-09-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

A friend we picked up... he is a goanna. used to be popular for aboriginal dinner i've heard... we just hung out with the friendly guy, quite big he was! I think about 3ft? This is a popular sight. Sugar cane anyone? A treasure we found on the beach. A new wet suit, John still hasn't taken it off!

Townsville, AU 1,600km

2008-09-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I think it is now the 20th of September, and we are up to 1600km. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing km, but miles might sound pathetic to you, 994 miles... See km sounds better, huh? Well, lets see, things aren't to exciting down here, we're just peddling....still... we are a month ahead of schedule because of the train so we are considering taking a train elsewhere, away from the crocs, not that we've seen any yet! We did pass 5 snakes on the side of the road a few days ago! Another huge python that had been squished partly by a vehicle. Another was a tipian (very poisonous) We have been traveling quite far these day, mostly because the roads are so flat. We peddled 87km the other day, a record for us! (okay, 54miles) We are having a wonderful time in townsville, only 365km away from cairns! (226 miles) more great beaches and very nice people! We are sorry that we don't post as much as we should, as you can see... its a lot of the same. We are having a amazing time, but it feels like we write the same thing each week. Picture express better i think.

Kayaking Whitsunday Photos

2008-09-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

This is some 'break time' from cycling. We celebrated 1,000km by getting in a kayak! One of the beautiful camping spots we had while kayaking for 7 days. A hike around.... and up... very isolated and wonderful! John is looking for his speedo... they are very strict about wearing those here I guess.... :)

1,000km down! (or up?)

2008-08-31T16:03:00.001-07:00

That's right, we reached 1,000km while traveling to our current location Bundaberg, AU. We have been held up (not literally) in Bundy for 2 1/2 days waiting on a parcel from NZ. Luckily though because we have done some great things while we were here. On arriving on Saturday in the AM we were able to see off 1,500 bicyclers who were on a 9 day trip to Brisbane (some sort of charity event). That made John really excited seeing all the different bicycle contraptions people had built or bought for the journey. We saw a man on a recumbent tricycle with a child seat in the back as well as towing a child carrier. Pretty impressive! After seeing them off, we wandered to a bulk store (we've decided these are a bicyclist heaven) and stocked up on muffin mixes, and pizza crusts, and goodies. The next day, Sunday, were were able to go to the 7am market and get a weeks worth of veggies for $5.00 (no joke!!) John was excited about the deal, but not so excited about carrying them! The John found a Lutheran Church and we attended the school service, which was pretty fun because of all the silly kid songs. Then to the multi-cultural festival that was on down the street. It was so nice to see different singing and dancing at 6 different stages all day long..... plus a few snow cones..... made for a great end to 1,000km! Now, we are headed north 200km before we step onto a train for a cruizy 500km. We decided the road was too bad, with little options of back roads and we could use a bit of a boost! Overall, the heat hasn't been to bad on the bike, we've met some not-so-nice people and some amazing people full of kindness! While staying at a free park, a women brought us curry from her motor home and told us that we made her think of her son and if he was traveling she would want someone to give him dinner too. Sweet. Another man, invited us inside when we stopped and needed water, he feed us cookies and coffee then drove us 10km into town to a 'secret' free campsite with showers! Another couple loaned us their camp chairs for the evening and brought us potato salad and water bottles. Then, meeting us for coffee the next day, 25km down the road. One of our favorite couples were Donna and Leslie,they found us in a park getting ready to pitch a tent back in the bushes and they told us it wasn't a safe park and took us home with them! After a stir fry, a beer, and a bed they saw us off the next morning. It's a hard dry country, with it's ups and downs but it's he wonderful people we meet that keeps us going i think. With meeting almost all of these people traveling in their motor homes, it makes me think of my grandma and grandpa Benson and their travels in a motor home and I know that they would do the same for anyone that came across their path, whether they needed it or not!

Stradebroke Island, Brsibane AU

2008-08-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Brsibane Australia

2008-08-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

We reached Brisbane AU, on Monday (the 18th) and were picked up from my dear friend Julie Logan who I met while living in Perth back in 2004. It was so nice having a house to put our bikes together at and regroup in the big city. We stayed in Brisbane till Friday morning taking a bike trip to a nearby island called Stradbroke- staying overnight and another day seeing the city sites. This city is one of the cleanest and nicest cities I have ever seen, very beautiful! After visiting and eating many delicious currys (they are really good cooks!) we headed off north! Now after riding almost 200km on Aussie soil we are getting back into traveling pace. With the weather in the high 80's already and scorcing sun we plan to get up around 4-5 and bike till 10 or so and then do some R&R till evening to bike a few more km. We've decided it's sucide bicycling in the sun up here! The Road north, The Bruce HWY, is said to be really narrow and full of pushy trucks, so our plan is to stay on the back roads as much as possible. Everything else is great! We are much happier with the price of food here compared to NZ. We are alos planning on spending a morth working half way up. We've hear there is a lot of fruit picking this time of year. It will be worth the stop in a month or so. Hope everyone is safe and well! It's so nice having met eachother's family and taking a few pictures before we left. It makes it more comforting when we are away for so long. Reminising is always better with 2 people, people stare when there is only one......

2008-08-10T19:19:00.003-07:00

This is our bikes fully packed. I'm making a odd face, but this was the best pictures of our bikes.

More pictures...

2008-08-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is Betty and Sam, the couple who picked us up along our journey. This is a late photo- the spa with our friend Jen. This was the last campsite we had before coming to the end of the East Cape. It was so beautiful both days that we were there. The clear skies and warm weather was brilliant to dry/air out our sleeping bags and stinky stuff.

Biking the East Cape

2008-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

here is some proof... you can't see the sweat, but trust me it is there!

Bike Travels begin!

2008-08-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

We've headed off by bike! Yes, that's right finally! For our first trek we've decided to take a mini adventure to test everything out. Leaving about 15 pounds of unnecessary stuff at Jen's we headed off! Now we've biked 400km, taken an 80km bus ride (I was having a really bad day) and hitchhiked 40km (again....bad day, if you only saw the hills!) We met a wonderful 85+ couple named Betty and Sam in Whakatane (pronounced fuck-a-tawny) who invited us back to their place for the night and shared stories and old photos of their own bike journeys. Really sweet and so comfy! I've fallen, not crashed, but fallen off my bike 3 times (i get stuck in the pedals) but only one fall ended in sobbing tears because I was so tired and it really does hurt! I have 20+ bruises and cuts on my legs from doing that. John though, he is a biking pro! His legs just love the steep uphills and he's so patient and supportive waiting for me. John has has a ba-jillion flat tires and I've had none, but our tires are a bit crap and they have so many slits in them everywhere. The road is a lot more polluted than we thought it would be i guess. We only have 100 km left until we are around the East Cape in the North Island and then we will travel to Taupo Lake before heading up and flying out in 14 days to Brisbane Australia where we will bike up to Cairns. Weather here has been pretty on and off. We survived a huge storm (the day we took the bus) as it took out so many roads here and mud slides galore, with lots of flooded houses as well..... oh and the mini tornado (the day we met betty and sam) and all kinds of good stuff. We are mostly bush camping, only to roll into a holiday park to stay and have showers sometimes. John's stomach is not really loving the oatmeal for the past month... but we are honestly having such a great time! The weather now is sunny and hot, we have another huge hill before we set up camp and I think John is getting his way tonight and we are having potatoes and chicken. Offer is still open for anyone to join this crazy adventure!

Polynesian Spas

2008-08-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

For Jen's birthday we went to these amazing spas! They are placed in a stinky town called Rotarua where there is tons of natural geo-thermic activity going on. This was our first 'touristy' thing we have done in NZ. The pools have all been commercialised but set-up really well to look and feel pretty natural. Pretty sweet because you can just move from pool to pool depending on your mood... 36C, 38C, 40C, and 42C. It was also a pretty quiet day we roamed around forever. So, who's Jen? Jen is the sweetest most wonderful person we've met here in NZ. She's befriended us and let us stay at her house constantly and cook in her kitchen when we needed a break from the boatshed. John says that she reminds him of his own sister Jenny, but I think she's just like my Aunt Patty. Either way she is so generous and we are hoping to spend our Christmas with her when we get back from Australia. We'll try and post a picture.... someday.

1st Time for Everything

2008-07-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

BY john and Leah: While at the Boatshed we have discovered many great things, some new, some old, and some involve a lot of work. Here are a few 1st's for us....

1st time spending $130.00 on one meal (ouch, we know!)
1st crash on a bike (Leah...ouch again)
1st Polynesians Spa...will write more later...
1st meal at the Fat Dog (good name, huh?)
1st Rock wall we built together
1st time John dry rolled a kayak (he was on a boat trailer, in a boat, no water actually. The bosses were gone and we were in charge)
1st kayak sledding (Again, bosses were gone)
1st time we fought for three days over the word Tamp. (okay, it really is a word)
1st time we had the neighbors try and bribe us to switch places of employment.
1st time we've been asked if we were electricians. (we arrived at a store in our yellow neon vests and bike shoes... I guess that screams electrician here?)
1st time bicycling in Gum Boots.

Boatshed Gang

2008-07-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of some of the boatshed gang. The guy in the middle with the headlamp on is our boss, and the guy with the huge beard is john's idol, Malcom. The couple next to John and I are the neighbor's that bribe us to come work for them... offering better pay, more wine, and a view (pretty funny)

LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS!!!

2008-07-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all! We love getting your comments, honestly we check twice a day sometimes... (I'm always on the computer) Sometimes we would like to respond back to your comments so next time you stpo in... leave a comment with your email address on it, or email us at travelingfriends@hotmail.com! Thanks!

2008-06-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

happy 4th of july everyone- pictures are a bugger to load- this is all we can do for now- love to all!

Field Days- Farming 101

2008-06-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Field Days- What is it? Well, it's the biggest agricultural gathering in the southern hemisphere. (2ND biggest next to France for the world)! We were offered a ride from the neighbor, Adriane, our new friend. Upon arriving he promptly dropped us off a km from the gate and gave us a curfew of 4pm. Once we got in, we found ourselves surrounded by Kiwi's and gumboots. Very fashionable on this island! We saw and tasted pretty much all of New Zealand's fine foods and a few that aren't recommended anyone else try. First, New Zealand corndogs are a rip-off. Any kind of sausage here is pretty gross. Another thing, the hamburgers. Really, who puts shredded carrots, onions and kumbra (sorta sweet potato) in a burger. Not too taste. But on the other hand, tractor-pull racing was addicting and comical. With a halftime parade of antique tractors, some older than the dirt they rode in on. From there we saw everything from a chainsaw sculpting competition to motor cross jumping. And you can't forget every power tool and tractor ever made. Also, ever apparatus made for squeezing milk out of a cow. You can't forget motor-mow (lawnmower) racing. This place was a farmers heaven. We did find a few good things to buy there. Some soap, socks, gloves for Leah, incenses, and a huge amount of mushrooms (not magical) but a bargain non-the-less. So, field days? You won't miss out if you never make it to Hamilton, NZ but tractor pulling should be highly considered to view if you ever get the chance.

10 reasons it's great traveling with a friend!

2008-06-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

10. They get up and pee with you when you're too scared to go by yourself.
9. Cleaning an oven is much easier with two people
8. You can share clothes.
7. They say its okay if you miss your mom at age 23 still.
6. They remind you the next day what exactly you were doing after a few bottles of wine.
5. They encourage tractor pulling (which was kinda almost cool).
4. They hug you.
3. You always have someone to talk about the day with you, even though they were right there.
2. They let you know that you always drive to fast (Leah) or drive to slow (John).
1. They kindly let you know if there is food in your teeth, boogers in your nose, or if you just plain smell.

Multisport race!

2008-06-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

by John- It seems like every time I sit down to write a draft for the blog, I end up either falling asleep or getting asked to work! We've enjoyed a quite a few bike rides in the evenings, most of them to get chips (french fries) or a candy. We've been learning about round abouts with give way sighs and the joy of fixing flats in the rain together, as well as trouble shooting each others mystery noises. Last night we headed out for a kayak trip to the waterfalls nearby. Tucked back in an inlet was two beautiful waterfalls, and supposedly in the dark you can see the beauty of the glowworms. Next time we'll stick around! Work has been diverse, from wall building to weeding from dish washing to kayak repair. But, everyday we've enjoyed amazing coffees and delicious foods. We also just finished a huge kayaking / multi sport event. 200 people and 6 hours of grueling pain of their bodies. us? We were 'crowd management' and we got to wear the title 'marshalls'. It was tons of people, tons of work, but for Leah, it was a good learning opportunity for her internship. Now, we are off work and it's time to enjoy the sun and read a bit. Take care everyone!

No horsing around...

2008-05-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

We've arrived safely to the boatshed Cafe and Kayaks in Cambridge New Zealand, our new home for the next 10 weeks. We've been treated pretty well since arriving in NZ. John's traveling friend from S. America, Blobby, lives in Auckland and he came and picked us up in his Subaru at 6am from the airport. Then drove us to all the sites, in city and in country, very beautiful! He took us to his mom's house for a good ol' roast dinner the Kiwi way. Very delicious! And he finished with his good deeds by driving us 2 hours south to the boatshed! Mindy Boes' Mom, Corinne (thanks again!) took us out and wined and dined us in downtown. It's been great! The weather is perfect, around 60 continuously, except for the cold nights! So here we are at the boatshed. The view is very pretty, the people are nice, and the food is wonderful! We've spent the past few days cleaning their overgrown native nursery out to prep for new plants, hedge trimming, and tractor running. Yep, grounds keepers so far! All the while, we stop 2-3 times a day for a 'coffee' and a lovely snack from the cafe. I start my kayaking classes Sat and then a roll class on sunday. Is a different paddle and stroke and roll... so I may be in trouble. Anyone heard of a winged paddle? Our little hut is quite cute. Well, it's actually a horse stall turned into a semi-livable room equipt with shower, sink, microwave, and sleep space. The downside? The bathroom requires you to go outside and into the next 'horse stall'... a little chilly at 2am. We've been riding our bikes a bit, planning our exit on 2 wheels. In a few days we hope to take a biking adventure overnight. About 25km away there is the 'hobbit' houses from lord of the rings. It's a huge tourist trap, we might ride by and giggle. Or Zorbing, which is really close as well. So, NZ compared to US? well, we get about 1.20 to their dollar... gas, is roughly $8.00 a gallon. yep, crazy! a beer is 7.50, and our lunch, if we had to buy it everyday, costs $36.00 a day at this cafe. Makes work in trade for food, and bike in trade for car the way to go! Thanks for everyones posts! We really enjoy hearing from you and we will try to keep you up to date as possible! love to all, john and leah

Departure Jitters

2008-05-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

by Leah Waking up this morning led to nervousness and the fact that we had forgot to start our blog. Well, one thing is finished but these butterflies in my stomach have yet to stop! We are departing in a few hours for L.A. to meet up with my brother Kris and Uncle Brad before we leave the states! Hope everyone is finding this blog okay, we are thankful for all the support from you and we'll keep you updated!