The Land "Up Over"

Wow, the last time I posted was February 21. I've been a lot of places since then. Let me tell you all about it. By the way, there are updated pictures of Canberra and Sydney in my last post.

I left off last in Sydney. I was there for a week and I had enough of the city. So I took the train to the Blue Mountains, which is a national park only two hours out of Sydney. I stayed in a hostel in the town of Katoomba that's been converted from an old Art Deco mansion. It was big and luxurious, but at the same time people kind of kept to themselves in that environment. I had two full days there, and I didn't really meet anyone. Otherwise I did what I came there to do, which was hike through the mountain trails. On my first day I hiked for five hours, and on the second day I hiked for six. I loved it. It was beautiful scenery. Cliff-peaked mountains with rainforest valleys. It was spectacular. I saw the famous Three Sisters, decended the Giant Staircase, and got lost on top of a recent mud/land slide along the way. I flew back to North America the next day on a fifteen hour flight, plesently exhausted from the days before.

I said goodbye to the Australian continent and arived in San Francisco last week. While I was there I stayed for four days to see the city. It is a great place to see. I met a guy from Sydney at the hostel (of all places) and walked around with him for 2 days. My highlights were seeing the sea lions who took up residence at Peer 39, eating fresh clam chouder from a seafood vendor, climbing the street hills (including Lombard Street, San Francisco's crookedest street) and going to Alcatraz. On my last day it was Chinese New Years, where I attended the festival in North America's biggest chinatown, and got caught in the parade where it took me 2 hours to walk around to get home.

I was happy to leave San Francisco because of one thing. No more hostels! I've been staying in dorm rooms for months with mostly strangers. But now I'll be staying with family from here on in! About a month ago I decided to extend my trip by about three weeks to a month. Instead of flying from from San Francisco, I would take the bus and train home and see friends and family along the way. It's cheaper, and I don't have any reason not to.

I took a quick bus to Santa Cruz and met my Mom's cusin Wendy and Robert, and stayed with them for a night. They were so nice, and showed me around their pretty town. It reminded me of some of the cities along the East coast of Australia, like Coffs Harbour or Byron Bay. One of the best things was my own room. I haven't stayed in my own room for four months, except for a day in Lima, Peru. The whole day was great.

I left Santa Cruz, and departed on a 31-hour bus to Vancouver. Wow it was long. But it was so nice to step into Canada again after being gone since early November. My passport has filled out nicely. Vancouver is nice, its cold, and raining, but it's Canada, and it's worth it. I'm staying with my Dad's cousin Ron and Patti. They're taking me in for three days. Once again I find myself being spoiled with food, free internet and my own room. They're so nice and excited to have me here.

I stay here for one more day and then take the train to Edmonton to stay with the Muscats, aunt, uncle and cousins. I'm very excited to see them all again. I'm also looking forward to the train through the Rockies although it's a 23-hour ride. If I can do a 31-hour bus, a 23-hour train should be easy.

All my pictures should be updated in my next post, so hang tight. And it wont be another two weeks until I post again, I promise.