A Powder Paradise Christmas

I know today is Christmas, but here at Powder Paradise we celebrated last Tuesday - due to work schedules.  What a Christmas it was!!!

The first thing I did was hop in the shower as I wanted to be fresh and pretty for the days festivities.   As I was lathering away I heard a squeal in my room and the door shut.  I started giggling to myself.  Jocelyn - one of my housemates - was planning on waking everybody up by jumping on them; she was extremely excited that it was (Poweder Paradise) Christmas.   She had run into wake me up but I was already up and in the shower so she squealed with excitement.  

I finished up my shower and got ready...or I tried to get ready...all I could here from downstairs was banging and Jocelyn shouting "hurry up Emmieeeeeeeeeeee...it's Christmas!!!"  I put my makeup on hold and head downstairs  to  be welcomed by "Happy Christmas" and a mimosa.   We then went to the living room to look at our stockings.   We each had one over the fireplace with our initial on it - so Santa would know who's is who's - and each one was full.  SANTA CAME!!!




Him and his Reindeer even left us a note!!!

 

We then sat down to a pancakes, pineapple and maple syrup - which I didn't eat because I am not a big breakfast eater especially when I first get up and I am not big on pancakes either, but I did help myself to another mimosa to replace the pancakes.

 

After breakfast - and a glass of wine for me - we walked to the shuttle and went to the village to pick up mail and grab mulled wine and mimosa's at Black Diamond (where I work).  Everyone was in such a great mood as our next stop was tree cutting.  Yup we were planning on cutting down our tree!   The chef at Black Diamond printed off a (free) tree cutting licence for us and we all hopped in my boss'(Theresa) pick up - some in the cab some in the back - and off we went to find the perfect tree.

 

 There was a lot too choose from and a lot of snow to get through as well, it didn't stop us though. We were like kids in a candy store...we were all so excited to cut down our very own tree. We hiked through snow heaps of snow, some of it up to our crotches.   Jocelyn sunk right down in one spot screamed and yelled "The snow is vagina deep!!! I have snow in my vagina!!!"  Yup, very non-censored for a Christmas excursion, but that is Joce and we love her dearly,  she is the entertainer of the group.  

 

To make the atmosphere I played my Christmas Radio on my phone so we had music the whole time, well at least I did :)

 

The boys kept going further into the woods but the trees were getting bigger and bigger and I was looking at the trunks thinking we have to chop it down and they are getting thicker and thicker and taller and taller, how are we gonna do this?  We turned around and hiked back through the vagina deep snow to the truck and stood back to take a look.   Pete (Peaches) - Jocelyn's Fiance - was scoping out a tree for quite awhile and said "the only thing is the back of this tree is flat; there are no branches."   Perfect, we are putting it against a wall anyways we don't need a back to it.   So one by one, we took the axe and began chopping away.   And yes, I actually hit the tree in the right spot!  Well not the first time I missed and Will said "Emmie, hit the tree we are cutting down not the other one!"  We must've been a funny sight to watch, there are all the boys in all their winter apparel, snowpants, hats, coats gloves; then there are us girls, make up hair done, dressed up in our celebration clothes cutting down a tree...Jocelyn was in a dress and tights...we are a great bunch that is for sure.

 

 After many chops and everyone taking part in the tree chopping the tree started to bend ever so slightly then it fell and I yelled TIMBER!!!   Yay!!! We actually cut down our own tree!!!  It was great.   To be honest I wasn't expecting it to be that much fun, usually I have these high expectations and then it just doesn't seem as good as I wanted it to be, this however exceeded what I was expecting!!! It was soooooo much fun.

 

The boys picked up the tree and carried to the road, stood it up and proudly posed around it so us girls could take photos of them.  It was like when somebody stand there with their big fish catch, and they hold it up proudly, they were proud of their tree and so were we!  They put the tree in the back of the pick up (with me) Tom, Tommy and Peaches hopped in the back as well and we were off, singing away to the Christmas carols playing on my Christmas radio, proud and excited about our catch.  The boys carried the tree into the chalet, up the stairs and out to the porch and began working on the bottom and branches so it could fit in the corner properly.  While the boys worked at the tree and setting it up for about an hour while us girls stood in the kitchen drinking wine, nibbling on food and preparing food.    After an hour of hard work the boys had our tree placed in a recycling bin jammed with fire kindling to keep it in place...it looked awesome!!! It was now time to decorate the tree!   We had the fire going, wine poured, lights tinsel and decorations, Lauren even made an angel out of tinfoil for the top of the tree!!! Honestly....it's the prettiest Christmas tree in the world, backless and all, it's perfect!!!   We put all the presents under it and then had to wait for Collin and Isam to get home as they both had to work.

 

Dinner was amazing,  we had turkey, stuffing, ham, sweet potato, gravy, carrots...I could go on.  There was so much food...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.  We had table crackers as well and we all got little toys and crowns in them.   Our friend Shannen (from the hostel) joined us for dinner as well which was really nice....she loved every minute of it.   I loved every minute of it I was having a blast - I started drinking at 10am -  the day was going perfect.   

 

After dinner was presents!   We did a secret Santa and I was excited to hand out all the gifts as I wasn't getting one.   What happened was we pulled names when Isam was at his staff party.   I pulled one for him.   When he got home that night he was pretty drunk but I didn't want to forget to give him his name.  "Whats this?"  "It's for your secret Santa."   "I don't understand."  " Well you have to buy a gift for under $10 for the person you have."  "Oh,  well it only says your name on here baby."   Yup, my boyfriend LOL...gee thanks baby....your not supposed to tell me.   Haha.   So I told him not to worry about getting me anything as we were planning on doing a nice night out.   So as much as I was giftless to me there is nothing better about giving gifts and handing them out.    The whiskey was brought out and the Baileys and that's pretty much where I got really drunk.   A few friends from work stopped by to say hi and I just got more happy and more drunk.

 

It was the perfect day and the most epic Christmas...I couldn't have asked for a better day.   Though, I could've asked for a better day after as I was super cross eyed and had to work at 8am till 4pm as the only server all day...haha...I did warn my boss' that I was gong to be cross eyed so they weren't surprised.

 

Now today for Christmas it is work....it's ok I don't mind.   The owners are serving us a "family dinner" tonight at work with wine and beer...I'm so excited!!!

 

Anyways...I know you all need to be off celebrating with your loved ones. I send my love to you all and a big WARM hug to my loved ones who have been without heat.  I know it's cold but just remember you have each other and there are still many things to be grateful for, such as knowing someone like me :o) haha

 

                                     MERRY CHRSTMAS FROM POWDER PARADISE

 

 

                                                                          - MY BEAUTIFUL LIFE-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Powder Paradise

 

A month's worth of groceries, our bags, and 2 of us, packed up in someones truck (no no, we didn't have someones truck, someone gave us a lift) and we were off to Big White.  I was a little excited as the shock of not going to Asia was wearing off, but my excitement didn't last long.   We were suppossed to stay with with a friend from the hostel till mid-december; however, Isam had called him on our way up and he was told that our bed was no longer available?!?!  WTF?!?  He is telling us this now!?!  What are we suppossed to do?  He still told us to come and we would figure everything out once we got there; which we did.   One of the guys living there was heading to Kelowna for the night so we got his bed, but then he moved out the next day so we got to keep his bed.

Originally we were able to stay with our mate until mid-december but since his other 2 mates moved out he said we were able to stay for the whole season, but we weren't sure what we wanted to do.  We liked the guys and the place was quite nice.   It was very cabin like - even though it was an apartment - it was all wooden like with wooden pillars, wooden staircase up to the loft - where we slept - bear skins on the wall - yes real ones - the shower was massive you could fit 5 people in it and it was also a steamer it was awesome - one of the guys left it on one morning and I didn't know how to turn it off.  I was sittin gon the toilet thinking "gee, it's really fucking hot in here" lol not really the greatest way to pee.   The place (not the shower) was really cozy, but as a couple we really wanted a bit of privacy and unfortunately we didn't have any there.  We were up in the loft but there were two other beds up there as well so we never had a space just for us.

We wanted to decide soon as we really were in limbo, we weren't unpacked and we couldn't settle as we didn't really know what was going on.   Our buddy really wanted an answer aswell, were we staying or were we going?  

With figuring out where we wanted to live, we had other things going on.  I still didn't have a job at the hill yet and Isam was starting his on the Monday (we moved up on Saturday).     I did have a job offer at a nice restaurant, however the guy that wanted to hire me doesn't have a very good reputation on the mountain and I had heard nothing but bad things about him so I really wanted to use him as a last resort.   We went for a walk after we moved our stuff in just to look around.    Isam really wanted me to stop into Black Diamond, one of the places I had dropped off my resume - and the other bar that wanted to hire Isam - but I didn't want to go in.   The owner didn't seem to like me when I dropped it off and then I sent a follow up email and didn't have a reply so I didn't think they were interested.   As we walked by the owner saw us and waved through the window and then came outside "Hi Emmie, did Theresa call you.  We would like you to come in for an interview.  Does tomorrow at 11:30am work?"    He knew me by name!   I guess I left a better impression then I thought.

The interview went really well.  They quizzed me on a couple things like how I would approach a table and introduce myself...basic stuff.   She even told me she loved the fact that I sent a follow up email, it showed I was really motivated and wanted to work there.  I was in there for half an hour talking and laughing.  I didn't even realize that Don (the owner/husband) had told Isam to come in - he had been outside smoking and waiting for me.    I got the job!!! I was so excited!!! Plus one of our friends from the hostel got a job there as well. 

Black Diamond is a casual fine dining restaurant.  We do breakfast and lunch and then at dinner all the candles come out and the lights get dimmed and there is a fire place in the middle of the dining room...it's so pretty.   The owners are fantastic...they are amazing people to work for and treat us all like family.  The staff is fantastic we all get a long great and have drinks together after work and go riding together.  The food is to die for...I'm drueling just thinking about it and the cocktail menu is to die for as well.  We have had beer and wine training which was awesome and not because we got to drink...learning the products really made me excited to serve and sell the products we have in, plus the wine rep gave us a lot of selling tactics that I never really thought of before and explained how to word our description of the wine...he made me look forward to serving and selling wine.     

It feels so good to be serving again.    I really do love it, though that could because we are not busy yet and I am not ripping my hair out questioning myself on my carerr choice which usually happens when I have had a horrible day on the floor lol.      

It's still quite slow up here.  The hills opened 2 weekends ago, just a few lifts and only for the weekend.  It's the earliest Big White has opened in 50 years.    There is so much snow up here and it's all powder, you can't even make snowballs with the snow up here.  It's amazing, there is soo much snow they don't need to blow fake snow and it's some of the best snow around,  it gets grey and foggy but it barely rains here.  The average temperature is about -5 to -10 which is so warm compared to winters back home though this week the temperature is dropping quite a bit.  Isam is not used to the cold or this much snow.  There are heaps of people up here includ him that have never experienced snow like this or have never seen snow at all and they are so excited.   I wish I had that excitement, seeing snow is no biggie for me lol, I admire the childhood excitement in their eyes and wonder what it's like to see snow for the first time...I'm kind of jealous.

There is one thing I am experiencing for the first time...snowboarding an actual mountain. OMG!!! It's amazing!!! I went out for my first time yesterday - I also hadn't been boarding in 4 years - and it was not only the best riding of my life but I think I even boarded the best I have ever boarded.   I was a little nervous at first, I was really praying and hoping it was like riding a bike - once you can do it you never forget - but my day wasn't starting out like that.  I was falling, I felt akward couldn't find my edges, couldn't carve "this is not like riding a bike" I said to my mate Sam (who I work with who by the way is in a cast already and hasn't been able to work. At least he has an awesome wrist guard now).  "It's alright Emmie you are doing fine."  We went down the bunny hill...not for me to meet up with our friend Luis (from work) who is just learning "perfect" I said "I really need to work on my edges."  "The carpet is going a little fast isn't it?" I said to the girl working the carpet.  She must've thought I was a piece of work.  It honestly looked like it was going fast but it wasn't - i just fall easy.   I didn't fall getting off any lifts which is amazing for me and after doing two runs down Hummingbird - a green run which is the length of the hills back home - we headed up to one of the longer green runs.

There are 118 runs here at Big White, the longest one being 7.2km!!!  Big White is also known for it's powdery snow and is some of the best in BC (from what I have heard).  It's literally a powder paradise and amazing to ride in. 

 Living here reminds me of when I lived on the Island - not weather wise of course.   All staff live here, we are isolated, going to Kelowna is like going to the mainland (Airlie beach).  Instead of views of beaches and islands it's snowy hills and mountains.   It really great, I'm loving it here.

Anyways back to riding.

It was so cold and windy on the chair lift.   Sam said something to me and I was like "what?!? I can't hear you!"  But as soon as we got off the lift it was perfect, everything was perfect.  I wish I could explain how I felt riding down this mountain with fresh powder lined with trees on both sides just completely covered in the beautiful fresh powder.   "Wow!" I thought "this is incredible.  This is what it's all about, I can't believe this is what I have been missing."  At the top of my lungs I shouted "I love BC!!!"   I felt like I was in heaven.  I was riding the best I ever had in a winter wonderland and I felt amazing...though I did have to sit down everyonce inwhile as the hills here are long.  It doesn't just take 5 minutes to get down it take like 20 mins or half an hour - with me maybe a bit longer.   I fell just at the bottom of the hill, I rolled but my legs got twisted behind me so I snowplowed the rest of the way down and called it a day.   I was sore, tired and hungry.   I was suppossed to go out again this morning but I was so achey and my knee was bothering me a bit - from my twisty fall - so when Sam texted me in the morning I replied with "ouch" and decided to stay in bed.

Where is my bed you are probably asking.  Isam and I found an awesome chalet in Snowpines which is about a 15-20 minute walk to the village (depending on weather and snow depth) so it usually takes about 10 -15 minutes to walk home, which means we are not central at all.  The walk can take the breath out of you considering the village is at a higher elevation then we are but it gets your cardio and is definitely keeping us fit.   We live with 8 others; all couples except for two guys in a shared room and one of the couples have an apartment in the basement.  It sounds like a lot of people but the place is huge and even when we are all in the living room it doesn't feel like there is that many of us.  The ceilings are huge and there are so many windows so the sun just pours through on really sunny days, we have a huge stone fireplace in the centre of the living space and a really nice sized kitchen  and a huge balcony out the front where we have a beautiful view of the Monashee Mountains.  Everyone (in our chalet) is 24 and over, clean and in bed by 11pm everynight.   Everyone works mornings except me and Isam so it is pretty chilled which is what we wanted. Plus, we all get along great.  A few nights ago we had a barbecue and sat around with drinks, played cards and strung the Christmas lights on the balcony.  We counted down from 10 at the top of our lungs and then turned the lights on at zero and cheersed eachother.   Next, we have a huge (early) Christmas day planned, heaps of food, wine, alcohol and snowboarding...it's gonna be so great.   To top of my mountain living...our chalet has the perfect name -   I don't know if you have ever noticed but chalets always have a name? Well ours is perfect, it completely fits in with this winter wonderland known for it's powder...Powder Paradise...how perfect.

                                                                                      - My Beautiful Life -

                                                                                               
 

A Change of Plans

I completely prepared for Asia.   My backpack was packed and ready with the bottom part holding warmer clothes for Europe in March.   I stocked up on feminine products, pepto for upset stomach, I was already taking my vitamins.  My clothes for the plane were already to go with a change of clothes for when I landed in the boiling hot weather.   I put a monthly payment on my bills, transfered my money in to a travel account and had enough money in my main account so my bills could be paid for the following months.   I had all my flight info printed out and ready to go, all my electronics charged, a ride to the Greyhound and  dinner plans in Vancouver with friends before heading to the airport where I would be whisked away to the Philippines.  I was so stoked! Other than having to part with Isam  I was  excited.

I was getting some last little things together and getting some stuff on my computer ready when I saw I had a message on Skype from my school in Thailand -  I am taking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course in Thailand in January.   "Hi Emmie we are going to cancel the January course."  WTF?  No way?!? This can not be happening!!!  Apparantly the Thai MOE (Ministry of Education) changed the school year or something...anyway the course is being postboned till March 1st...the thing is I can't attend in March as I am meeting mum and dad in Italy and then I am going to Paris to meet up with Isam.   What does this mean for me?   I skipped my flight!!!

It was a hard decision...I was so excited to travel Asia before school...however I had planned and budgeted for school to begin in January, then Europe in March and then a job placement in April; but now I couldn't afford to do all that time in Asia, then Europe, then back out to Asia for school and then a job placement. So...I am doing a season up at Big White!!!  

I was really upset at first but I am pretty excited now.  Isam and I got a place and we move in on Saturday.  He got a job as a bartender...I'm still waiting for calls.   My cousin Sydney drove us up the other day so I could hand out resumes.  I had a few interviews that I feel went well.   The one place I would really like to work is the place Isam works at but she sent him an email saying she doesn't tend to hire couples...that didn't stop me though.   I walked in with my resume and said "I am going to be completely honest with you, I am Isam's girlfriend.   We got your email but it said you don't "tend" to hire couples but it didn't say that you "didn't" so I wanted to come in and meet you so that way I could have a fair chance at you meeting me and seeing my qualifications instead of you saying no because I am his girlfriend.   If you say no it's a fair no so please look at my as if I am just me and not attached to Isam."  So proud of myself!!!  After a 25 minute interview she told me I was amazing!  Though she said she really needs to think about the couple thing.  Isam went in after and she told him the same thing...that I was amazing!!! Good news but I am trying not to get my hopes up.  

 Another place said they would be happy to take me but with my experience in the hospitality industry it wouldn't be a fit for me so they took me up to the place where I was interviewed by both owners at the same time.  They told me they also had a fine dining restaurant up there and that with my maturity and experience they think I would be the perfect mix up there. They want to meet me on Monday to show me the place and introduce me to the chef...not sure if I got the job? but it does sound promising right?   Now it's just the waiting game.

It's been so hectic the past week with packing and preparing and now my plans changing in less then 24 hours.   I was so excited to not look for a winter job and be on a hot beach lol.   I have had to ask my mum to send out all my gear, I bought winter boots, I had to run to the bank as my money was being transfered to my travelers account in Australia...thats been fun.   They couldn't stop the transfer because it had already left the bank.   The only way they could is if the person on the other end requested a stop, but it's Dan's name on the account and not mine.  I said I had access to it only to be told thats illegal.  "Great" I thought "now I am going to get arressted for accessing an account illegally"  So I then had to get a hold of Dan and told him he might have to put a stop to it.  I had to go back to the bank the next day but they said they are not sure what is going on, it will either end up back in my account or make its way over to Australia, plus on top of me spending $30 to transfer the money I got charged $21 for a retrieval fee even though it may not be retrieved.  AHHHHHHH!!! Grocery shopping needed to be done as I had no food because I wasn't planning on staying, I had to buy winter boots - awesome ones from Walmart I might add - I had to buy clothes for interviews as I wasn't job prepared for here, plus I had a farwell lunch with my family out here...it's been crazy this past week.
 
It wasn't all hectic though...Halloween was fun.   Everyone at the hostel was really excited as most of them are Australian and Halloween is almost non existant there.   I helped decorate and I made a Halloween playlist and put on Halloween movies :)   Everyone was dressed up for the occasion which was awesome.   Almost everyone went trick-or-treating; "Emmie are you coming trick-or-treating with us?"  "LOL I dont think so. Besides, you really don't trick-or-treat past the age of 12, people don't really like older trick-or-treaters."  It didn't stop them though, they wanted the full Halloween experience.  Some people commented on their age but they just said they were Australian and this was their first Halloween...there is still candy floating around LOL.

Well thats it really, now it's just  packing to move on the weekend and also playing the waiting game - for jobs - which I hate.   Keep your fingers crossed for me.  Talk soon

                                                                                                      - My Beautiful Life -
 

KIH NEWS FLASH: Turkey and Grapes and Bears OH MY!!!

Before I begin I would like you to do two things; pour yourself a glass of wine.  Any wine is fine (I myself prefer Red), and next I would like you to get some vinigar pour it into a glass (not with your wine) and put it at hands reach.   I will give you a few minutes...........................................................................................
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...................................................................all right...have you poured it?  Are you sitting down comfortably?  Now; hold your glass up to the light and look at the colour, smell it, but don't  taste it, this post is interactive, you can't drink it until I say so, and no cheating. 

Now that you are settled with your wine and vinegar I will begin with a question.  Have you any idea what goes in to a bottle of wine or your glass for that matter.  The picking, the process...there is so much that goes into that one glass.  What goes into it you ask?  Well lets start with the picking of the grape itself.

We (me and a bunch of us from the hostel including Robbie and Isam) have been picking grapes for the past 4 weeks - not with the same people as in my last post (we didnt like working for them and it took them weeks to pay us the $30 we made so not worth it) - we actually worked with a with a few different people over the weeks.  

The first guy we worked with was Tony.  Tony was awesome.  He was fair, treated us well and I learned quite a bit from him.   If it was gonna be a short day and he just needed bins filled he paid us hourly,  if the grapes were smaller then he raised the price of the bins which is always a bonus.  We worked on two vineyards with him.  The first one we went to was incredible, the view was just breathtaking.  The vineyard itself was on a hill which looked out at a lake surrounded by beautiful rolling hills with sun shining through the clouds that sat at the tops of the hills.  We could see the other side of Kelowna and the other vineyard we worked at with Tony.  I would forget where I was sometimes and just pick away and then look up for a moment and have to stop and take a breath because the view always amazed me.   The other vineyard we worked in with Tony (the one we could see from across the way) was owned by this sweet Italian couple.  The woman made homemade pizza for all the grape pickers the day we were there along with a supply of canned drinks - coke, iced tea, gingerale - and desert...Robbie was over joyed as he slept in and didnt pack a lunch.   The pizza was so good....not only is pizza my favourite food group but it was homemade Italian pizza,  you could tell the dough/crust was homemade yum yum.  

Apart from taking us to beautfiul vineyards with owners who fed us he also taught us (well me for sure)  keys to picking grapes.  It doesn't sound like much,  however you can't just go out there and snip away. there are grapes that are shrivelled and dry that are not bad they are actually just sundried and have a lot of flavour.  There are ones with rot, you can tell by looking at them and they will have mold inside the cluster, if the whole cluster isn't ruined you can just cut off the bad part - though Isam, because we were working per bin just through out the whole cluster because cutting off the bad part wasted time and just wanted to move as fast as possible...I did however cut it off, I like to be thorough.  Sometimes the moldy ones just look yuck and gross.  As I am picking away I here ''eww, what the fuck is that?!?"  "whats wrong"  I asked Isam.  "What is that?"  he said pointing into the vine "I just put my hand in it."  I saw what looked like - and I really can't put it into any better words - a pile of mud coloured squished poo hanging in the vines LOL I know gross right.  "I don't know, maybe some bad grapes?"  5 minutes later Tony came buy with a cluster of a poo like cluster saying "if you see this its mold" ...question answered.

We also worked for a French group which taught us about picking Pinot Noir.  We had picked it with Tony,  the vines are thick and your hands get scratched up really easily so we knew what we were picking except picking here was more picky,  if the colour is off - no lighter grapes, a few is fine but they all need to be dark and no flaws -  or if they smelled you just tossed them.  This is where your vinigar comes in, yup, thats right pick it up stick your nose in and take a big wiff - come on, don't feel silly  this post is an interactive post and it can't be interactive if you don't interact lol.  Smell that?  Thats a bad cluster of grapes, and the vinegar isn't even that bad, imagine vinegar with a musty smell or add a bit of a rancid smell.   If they smell like your vinegar or worse they are bad - do not throw it out you are not done with it yet.

I was so sore when we worked for them.  We had just done like 3 days of picking and my back was so sore and my arms were so achy from carrying and dumping my buckets into the bins (that is when Isam wasn't doing it for me).   However I was working and I was working good,  infact I felt that I was going faster then I usually did until the owners wife came up and said "you are working to slow, we can't have you working like this you need to speed up!"  Speed up? I thought...hell lady I'm moving like wild fire right now!  These people were not impressed with us at all and in French (everyone we worked with was French even from the hostel except me and Daisuke who is have Spanish and Japense - I like to call him my Japanish/Spanese friend) - said that we are not worth the money they are paying for us.  It was hourly pay which was good but the thing is they are hardcore professionals her husband has been picking for like 20 years and grape picking is there business so they have heaps of experience,  they are fast, really fast so I can understand us being slow compared to them.  However, if you are posting for grape pickers in a hostel I don't know exactly what they were expecting?   Whatever I got paid and on top of learning colour and smell of bad grapes she taught a stance for grape picking that stops your back from getting sore and that enables you to cover more ground and faster.  They did ask us back the next day and then decided against it because of our work speed, which we were happy about in the end because we were so tired and could barely move.

Tony got back to us for some more work that week so we went with him, but Isam went with the French group as they really liked him and wanted to help out with netting, picking, bins basically all the grunt work.  It was hourly pay so he went with them for 3 days and me and the others went to work with Tony for the next 3 days which only lasted for a day because he had less product then expected so there was no more work.

We had the next 5 days off before we started a gig the following week that we got through one of our mates who was already working there.   It was so nice to have the days off.  My body was so sore and the early hours in the morning and cold days were killer.

We decided to let lose on the Friday night.  Unfortunately I let lose a little too much.   We started drinking at 4pm, we were sitting around playing cards (shit head) so we were having beers.  Then Isam and I got into the wine,  then two Saxon and Simon brought out the shots of Rye.   10pm we end up at Sapphire (Nightclub)  where I apparantly was at the bar every five minutes - which I would like to add is because everytime i ran out for a smoke or to the toilet and I asked a friend to watch my drink I came back and my friend and drink were gone - and I did (which I don't remember) 3 shots of tequila and I remember shots of jager.   To top it off I got kicked out of the nightclub!!!  Apparantly the liqour inspector was there and that out of everyone in the club I was too drunk to be there.   I was an happy club goer that night.

News travel fast at our hostel home the next day not only did I feel like a Mac truck ran over me and then reversed it was the KIH (kelowna international hostel)  News Flash.  "Emmie I heard you got kicked out last night?"  "Morning Emmie, I heard you took on 3 bouncers last night?"  "So you got kicked out huh!"

"How do I feel so horrible?"  "It was all the shots we did." said Isam  "Ya I bought a couple of jagers."  "Ya babe but I bought you like 3 shots of tequila."  "There is no way I did 3 shots of tequila I dont' beleive you"  "I bought 6 shots, 3 for me and 3 for you."  "Did I drink them?" "Haha ya." "Ohhh, why would you give me tequila,  I take it and say 'see you tomorrow'  that stuff kills me and I black out.  Thats why i feel yucky and got kicked out of the club." "It has nothing to do with the fact you started drinking at 4?"  "NO.  It was the tequila!" Oh to kill ya, how I hate thee lol.   However, my short lived friendship with Tequila wasn't the reason I got kicked out.   Isam had lost his wallet and was looking all over the club for it.   I checked our table with everyones coats, I was checking all the pockets but I couldn't find it.   While this was going on I remember the bouncer saying to me "excuse me you are going to have to leave, the liquor inspector says you are too drunk to be in here."  I didn't even have a drink at this point.  "I"m sorry I'm just looking for my boyfriends wallet, he lost it so I am just checking our coats.  - Lets pause for a minute, I'm not gonna make a big thing about it but just so there are no questions. For those of my readers who don't know, Dan and I seperated.  There is no bad blood things just did not work out.   We are both with other people and I whish him nothing but the best as he is a great guy. - However what I do not remember is finding a random pile of coats -which were not ours or our friends - and started checking their pockets for Isam's wallet -which was in my purse the whole time.  So not only was I know stupidly drunk of Tequila and shots of rye -which i'm not suppossed to drink - I am now going randomly through strangers coats.   This was apparantly the final straw for the bouncers because three of them actually grabbed me and escorted me out.   Robbie - who told me this the next day - walked up and said there was no need to man handle me and that I was not refusing to leave and for them to take their hands off of me.   I was outside for I don't know how long with no coat and Isam inside who had no idea I had been kicked out.  I have no idea how long I was out there for even what I did, I don't even remember Robbie waiting for me but Isam finally came out for a cigarette and said "hey babe, what are you doing out here?"  "they kicked me out."     

LOL I should've kicked myself out earlier.   Man I felt horrible the next day...one of the worst hangovers I have had in awhile - not including the one in Vancouver.  I decided to swear off alcohol forever...I didn't want to look at it or smell it, I could barely eat.  Ughh it was awful.

The next day was thanksgiving and the hostel put on a Thanksgiving dinner for all the guests.  It was fantastic!   They cooked, turkey, ham, homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce, yams, potatoes. It was amazing...plus everyone had to contribute something - kind of like a pot luck.  I made a lovely pasta salad "A glass of wine from the girl who has sworn of alcohol forever!"  "Well," I said "I'm not really drinking, I'm cooking.  I'm having a glass while I cook, it's completely different." "uh huh, sure it is."

 There was so much food and so much wine.   The tables were set up out on the back patio,  the sun gods shone down on us for the day which was awesome.   Everyone who works at the hostel is Aussie except for 1 Kiwi ...and they managed to get every traditional Canadian dish to make an authentic Thanksgiving and did a fantastic job,  it was probably the best Thanksgiving I have ever had (sorry mum).  Everyone was in good spirits, the music was going, it wasn't the everyday backpacker noodles or pasta for dinner, it was a real feast with people from all over the world...I really couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate.

( I know you are dying to drink your wine but just a bit longer I promise.  I hope you haven't cheated as I want you to get the full effect and appreciation for that nice glass that is calling your name right now. Haha.  A few more minutes I promise.)

On Tuesday we started our new job, which ended up being fantastic.   We worked for the winery Ancient Hill and it was such a great experience.  We picked heaps of grapes, the past 11 days.   There were cold mornings and afternoons.  Some days were so warm and sunny which put everyone in fantastic happy moods.  Sometimes on the cold mornings they would bring us out coffee to warm us up and sometimes after work they would bring out bottles of wine for us (nope not yet).   We are sitting there it was our 4th day in, enjoying some wine after a long day when Daisuke comes running over to Isam completely out of breath.  "Isam.....I saw....a bear!!!"  "What? Where?"  "Vineyard...I went to...my bag.   Fuck....so scary."   Isam, me and a few others grab out camera's and head toward where Daisuke said he saw the bear.  Daisuke came with us but he hung behind us about 10 feet completely freaked out.  

We rounded the path where Daisuke said he saw the bear but it was gone by the time we got there.  "Right there by that tree!" Daisuke said pointing "I forgot my bag so I came to get it,  I came around and saw it, about 10 meters from me.  I stared at it for 3 seconds, it stared at me."  "What did you do?" "I ran through the vineyard as fast as I could."  " I don't think you are suppossed to run when you see a bear.  Did you check behind you to make sure it wasn't following you."  "No I didn't want to look."   Haha poor guy was so freaked out.  The owner were laughing at him.  "What do we do if we see a bear?"  Someone asked Richard - the owner.  "Well waht you do is take out your phone and take a picture.  That way we can send it to your family and show them what you saw your last minutes."

We knew bears were around.   Not only do they eat and ruin the grapes but they like to evacuate their eaten grapes in the vineyard so avoiding big piles of bear poop becomes part of your everyday routine, along with picking, carrying buckets and sniping your fingers.  It's funny, its a monotonous job but it doesn't seem monotonous if that makes sense.   I mean as much as we are working,  we have our ipods, we can smoke, we talk we laugh, we have coffee breaks.  I never woke up saying I hate work,  I really actually enjoyed, even on really cold days with wet feet it still wasn't bad.

While the picking was going on every few days they would pick a few people to work the crusher.   This machine is huge.   First the grapes go into this vibrating part where rocks, grass and bad grapes are shaken out but you still have to pull out big stuff.  This is where our noses came into play.  We had to make sure everything bad was taken out as from this part the grapes went down into a conveyor belt which then dropped the grapes off into the magic machine.  The magic machine pulls the grapes clean off the stems. It spits the stems out and drops the grapes into the crusher where they are crushed (obviously)  and pushed into a long tube carrying the grapes into the tank where it sits and becomes wine.   I got really stressed out at first.  I thought "OMG  I am responsible for good wine right now.  If I let anything  bad through then this wine will be bad."  So much pressure lol.  It was such a nice break though from picking, but it was cold and Isam and I were getting sick but it was still enjoyable.   Some bins smelled (smell your vinegar) so bad as soon as they were dumped into the sorter.   We had to keep smelling (smell your vinegar) to make sure they could go through, they may look good but it's all in the smell (yup smell again).  It got to the point I had to get Isam to smell the grapes I was picking up because all I could smell with vinegar (smell again).  I couldn't tell if they were good or bad(smell again).  How is your nose?  Not so good huh.   Well lol thats what we went through, but man I willl tell you,  just sorting the grapes is a lot of work and I had absolutely no idea that that amount of work when it  to grape picking and sorting, it really makes you appreciate that glass of wine.  

NOW YOU MAY DRINK.  I know, torture but I really wanted you to appreciate it...plus too had the amount of times I cut my fingers and they bled and now I have had a cold for 3 days from being outside in the yucky weather.   It's not just the grapes its the pickers work as well lol.   The day we sorted I had to clean the machine,  I was drenched from the hose and - of course - as i am hosing it down the head decides to blow off and the hose just went full force into my face.

Our last day (Friday)  the owners bought us pizza and opened up quite a few bottles of wine.   It was such a great way to end off our 11 days.  Everyone was in high spirits - prolly from the wine.  They needed us back the next day to finish sorting.   We were sorting the pinot noir by hand as the crop was quite bad, there was more bad then good in the bins and it would've been too much for the machines so we had to sort it before it got sorted in the machine.   We were all super keen on the hours but i woke up so sick the next morning with a fever that Isam begged me to stay in and get some rest which I did only because we were going out to see our mates band.  I had a blast but I was even sicker yesterday and still feel like poo today :/  LOL oh well.   While I was dancing to our friends band ( My Kind of Karma <--- check them out they are awesome)  some big huge guy comes up to me wraps his arms around me and says "I want to eat you!"  "Cool" I said "you should talk to my boyfriend about that"  seriously who says that.  On what planet does that actually work on.  Oh well, whatever, we had fun,  I didn't get drunk, tipsy, but not drunk.  Isam did loose his wallet again but don't worry,  I didn't check strangers coats and take on three bouncers lol our friend in the band found it.

Well,  that is all my lovelies.  I hope you enjoyed this one and I hope you have a different look and appreciation for that yummy glass of wine you are drinking (you have possibly already poured another one), enjoy.

                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                          *My Beautiful Life*



 

Street Urchins, "Sushi", Is that a Bear? and some Grapes.

I've been gone a month yet and it feels like I have been gone months already. So much is happening in such a short period of time it's hard for me to keep up. I am not even sure where the last blog ended but I have a feeling I was heading to Vancouver for a few days and meeting up with my friend Robbie who I worked with in Darwin; so thats where I will continue from.

Robbie's plane was landing at 4pm but I arrived at the airport at 4:30pm hoping he wasn't waiting for me but his plane was delayed till 4:33pm so I wasn't late :). In the arrivals area there are televisions so you can see your arrival coming through the gates. I figured Robbie would be out at about 5:15 or 5:30 so I made myself as comfortable as possible on the airport bench and played a game on my phone. 5:30 comes, no Robbie; 6:00 comes, still no Robbie; 6:30 comes and goes along with 7:00. I was starting to get worried not really knowing what to think. Then my phone rings through Viber...it's Robbie. "Emmie, mate...I'm stuck at customs." "Why, what happened?" "Well they asked me if I purchased health before I came over here and I didn't." "Didn't you read your visa, explaining everything?" "No. So I have been stuck here for two hours. They won't let me go through. They told me I have to purchase insurance in order to get through." "So purchase some. but you are gonna have to purchase for a year...they are gonna want to see that you are covered for at least your first year." " I can't purchase any. Everything is online and I closed my Aussie account down before I left." "Mate why would you shut your account completely?" "I don't know, didn't think I would need it. I have so much in cash on me and the rest is in a cheque so I can't purchase anything online." Without even thinking about it I gave him my credit card information and within 10 minutes he was through customs.

He looked like a lost kid when he come walking out. His backpack was on one shoulder, he had his smaller carryon bag dragging along the floor and he was scanning the crowd for me with the look of a lost and scared puppy dog look. He looked like he was about to cry when he saw me. Poor guy.

As jetlagged as he was he wanted to drink - like most backpackers do when arriving in a new country. We went downstairs to the Hostel Bar and had some drinks there. The Hostel (The Cambie) Is located on a corner in Gastown which is a great part of Vancouver city...however the corner we were located on was not so great. Unfortunately, Robbie and I not knowing what it was like sat right beside the gate/fence of the patio. Every five minutes a street urchent would come up to us asking "can you spare some change?" "do you have an extra cigarette?" One guy even asked if he could draw Robbie who politely said no but the man kept on insisting and without Robbie's go ahead took out a sharpie and a piece of cardboard and started drawing at a fast pace talking away while Robbie and I continued our conversation. "Look," so we looked at what he had drawn - two charachatures (a guy and a girl) sitting side by side with a big heart around them??? OK. "Can I have some money for the picture?" "Mate I told you I didn't want my picture drawn and you went ahead and did it anyways, we are trying to have a nice night here." The man grumbled a few words took our cardboard charachatures and tossed it in the garbage. There was another guy who asked me for a cigarette and when I went to give him one he was like "is it menthol?" "beggars can't be choosers...but no it's not." It never stopped we were always being hassled by someone for money or cigarettes or drugs.

Speaking of drugs...the air in Vancouver smells like marijuana - I'm guessing thats because it is smoked so openly, the street corner, outside of the bars, in the park...everywhere. I usually don't mind the smell but it was just too much after a few days; it didn't help either that when you went inside the hostel there was a constant smell of urine, though I got used to it so maybe the smell of the hostel is the better choice.

The next day two of the guys (Issam and Eric) from the hostel in Kelowna were meeting up with us, but due to a failure in hitchiking they didn't arrive till midnight by Greyhound. So Robbie and I headed out to a bar where my friend Ben works - we met in LA at the hostel and haven't seen eachother in three years. We had a hard time finding it, not because of the location - even though a bouncer from one of the clubs sent us down a dark alleyway for some reason - it was just not marked well, but after 45 minutes we realized we had walked passed it three times. It definitely was classy and my backpacking styles did not fit in with the trendiness of the place but we had a blast and Ben was very very kind with what he "wasn't" charging us for drinks.

When the guys finally met up with us - they had a hard time finding it as well - we had a few more drinks and then went back to the hostel bar to buy some take-away beers. Unfortunately we got there too late and we couldn't buy any but the bartender gave Issam a number to order "after hours." Half an hour and $50 later we had a bottle of vodka and mix and continued our night in the common room of the hostel.

It got really annoying constantly having to go all the way downstairs and outside to have a smoke so Kevin (Issam's friend who works at the hostel) opened up the windows in the common room and said "just smoke out here." Yup on the window ledge...I know right...me and heights...however my vertigo was fine and I really enjoyed the view. After we climbed out the window of the laundry room and drank on the roof till the wee hours of the morning. Don't worry mom, it's more like a courtyard and is surrounded by the walls and rooms of the hostel, there were no ledges for us to fall off.

We woke up around 11am the next day and went for lunch at The Warehouse (everything on the menu is $4.95). The outside menu said they were serving Babes and Beer "I could go for that" said Robbie. When we sat down at our table the waitress came up and I asked her "I was just wondering. Your menu outside said there are babes and beer...which babes or on the menu for today?" I definitely was still drunk from the night before. I was so hungover I couldn't even eat...I felt like a big pile of poo...and the best way to cure that is to have a drink. Our waitress told us of this Iced Tea drink in a can...it tastes exactly like Iced Tea, you can't even taste the alcohol in it, they went down so good and we all started feeling good. Then our waitress brough us a round of free shots - pickle backs, a shot of pickle juice followed by a shot of whiskey, it's pretty good. We left about 2 hours after we got there, maybe more as I lost track of time and then we went back to the hostel bar and drank beer the rest of the day. By 6pm I was done. I was wasted and felt like shit and I still couldn't eat so I went to bed...it was an early night for everyone. None of us could really sleep so at midnight Robbie did a pizza run which was the smartest idea all day lol. And yes, I ate some and finally went to sleep.

The next day we didn't do much, we wanted to stay low key and avoid alcohol at all costs so thats what we did. The day after (which was Monday) was our last day in Vancouver and Issam and Eric had to head to Nanaimo (on the Island) for the day so Robbie and I went out and took some pictures of some amazing Grafitti.

There were of course street urchins in the alley, you really can't avoid them. One man was facing the wall close to the garbage bin cutting open plastic cases of what I don't know, but he was obviously going to (try) and sell them. Then there was an older guy in a door way "so pretty..." I hear. "I'm sorry I can't help it." I just minded my own business and continued to take pictures. "I can't help it...I'm transgendered with a disability..." I don't know what else he mumbled but he only seemed to say anything when we were around because before I came close to him he had been quiet.

Later that day, Robbie, Lauren (a girl we met at the hostel) and I headed down to the bar for a couple pitchers. --- At one point in the night we saw a skunk and Robbie had never seen one. "OMG! A skunk!!! I have to get a picture!" and he was off coming back five minutes later with a smile and a few pictures. "Look how close I was I could have reached out and touched it. "Robbie!" I said looking at him "never touch a skunk, do you understand me" I was laughing "you have no idea the smell of them and how long it can take to get out...please just stay away from the skunk" lol..gotta love the Aussies. --- Xavier and Romain (the Belgium boys from our room) joined us and the pitchers started flowing. They bought 2 then we bought one, then they bought one and we bought three, Issam and Eric joined us later on and that was another 3 pitchers, we drank till the bar shut. With it being our last night in Vancouver we decided that a phone call and $50 for some take away vodka was a good idea and we drank on the roof till like 5 in the morning.

On Tuesday Robbie, Issam and I were heading back to Kelowna. We had to wait till 4:30 for our bus so a few of us went to the park to sit in the sun. Of course...a street urchin put us in his radar and headed our way. He threw a book on the ground, got down on his knees, put his head down on the book and sprawled out. I figured he was just gonna take a nap and not bother us, but of course I thought too soon. He started talking away - about I don't know what - and coughing into his hand and I think he said "I'm Sushi." Then he looked at Issam, held his hand up and said "hi 5." So Issam high fived him. Then he looked at me and did the same thing so I high fived him. Then he asked me again, so again I high fived him, then again so I did again. The 4th time I was like "no mate thats enough" and he wouldn't stop. After realizing he was failing with me he turned to Lauren. "Sorry mate, you have been coughing into that hand and I am not overly keen on touching it." Shit, I didnt even think of that and my sanitizer wasn't on me. Lauren continued, "Mate you look a little fucked up if I might add. We are just trying to hang out so you can leave now." Not being able to get him to leave we decided we would move spots. Lauren started walking farther up the park and "Sushi" belined it right for her. Kevin went after them to make sure she was alright - which she was - and Issam went after "Sushi" had a long talk with him which eventually led to "Sushi" putting a sleeping man on a bench in his radar. Thank God. We spent about an hour in the park hanging out and talking, Robbie finally joined us after his walk around Gastown and we saw a friend from the hostel in Kelowna who joined us, and then "Sushi" decided he missed us and joined us again...we listened to him for about 15 minutes until we decided we'd had enough.

We spent the rest of our time walking along the water and talking away and then headed to the grey hound station for our 5 hour bus ride to Kelowna. Robbie and I only spent two nights there and then hopped on a Greyhound up to Kamloops - I know I have been taking Greyhound so much here but it hasn't been bad but I still have some time here so we will see how it goes.

Robbie and I were going up to see Alex - my best girlfriend from Darwin, we worked in Karumba together and met up again for the months we lived in Darwin - for her birthday. I was super stoked to see her, I hadn't seen her since my last week in Australia. She is living and working about an hour out of Kamloops in Sunpeaks at the resort.

We had a blast. The first night we didn't last long I passed out after an hour at her place. The next day (Friday) we had plans to go golfing...yup me golfing...that's a laugh, I can barely hit the ball, however I am great at driving the carts, having a few beers and playing bumper carts. We couldn't go golfing right away because there was a conference golf game so we went to the bar where she works and had about 3 pitchers of beer and thats where it all started. 3 hours later we got two golf carts headed to the beer shack - $12 for 4 - and began the most unprofessional golf game ever. It was soo much fun and absolutely beautiful. It was surrounded by mountains and the sun was shining. I even tee'd off and when I hit my ball from where it landed I did a little dance when I actually hit it. We skipped a hole because Alex didn't like it and then we skipped 8 and 9 (we only played the front 9). Robbie and Alex were driving the cart infront of me, they kept looking behind them to make sure I was following them but my cart was begining to run out of battery "great" I thought to myself "I'm gonna get stuck out here with the bears and have to walk back." Of course not golfing I didn't know the pro-shop would know my battery died and come out with a new one, but I made it back to the pro shop safe and sound. We continued our day with drinks and a party at Simon's (Al's boyfriend.)

The next few days we really didn't do much as it was raining and backpacking involves a lot of drinking so we chilled out with Netflix and even got Robbie to watch Hairspray. Alex was amazing, she cooked for us everyday and the meals were fantastic, she wouldn't even let us give her money for food "you guys are on a budget so it's my treat." Sunday was her Birthday so Robbie and I picked up the tab for her and Simon to say thank you for everything :). Then of course, what happens is what always happens especially when with Al we drank till the wee hours of the morning though I was never hung over that weekend. Al always cooked the most epic meals and in the morning when I woke up on Sophie - the couch in Simons living room - and Robbie woke up on Juan the Mexican guy - haha just kidding its the other couch - Simon made us a fresh fruit smoothie!!! How can you be hungover with all the wonderful stuff they showered us with.

We saw a bear! Well...there is a possibility it was a bear. They hang out on one of the hills, but so do cows, though the cows usually hang out in heards and this was just one big spot. "Is it moving?" asked Simon "Of course it's moving look at it! Is it a bear, I want to see one! I have only seen them in the zoo." "Well dirt moves, in the wind." I just looked at him. "Well," he said "we will say yes, it is a bear. That way you feel better." It was sad when we left on Monday. I really didn't want to say goodbye to Alex. It was so good to see her and I had missed her so much, but we are meeting up next week :)

Now, for the past week we have been back at the hostel in Kelowna. We went grape picking on Thursday. It was not bad all, it was not excruciating and not once did I ask myself the famous question "what the fuck did I get myself into?" It was actually kind of fun - even though my hands were purple at the end of the day - and I was keen on filling a bin. But once you start dumping the buckets in the bin and they don't seem to fill much...1 becomes your goal for the day and by the end of the day, even though we finished our row our bin still wasn't full. You make $80 a bin when they are full and we worked in pairs...so we made, MAYBE, $35 each. Definitely not worth it...but it was nice to get out for a day. We are hoping to do some work this week - smaller bins and more money - it's been raining, or the grapes haven't been ready so the days we work are not really guaranteed...so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Well...I know this was a long one and there are still a few more things to tell but I will save it for the next one...I am gonna try and get another one out at the end of weekend before heading back to Vancouver :) Hope you all are well, talk soon.

                                                                                                                        MyBeautifulLife

 

I Can't Believe This is Canada!!!

Wow!!! A week has passed since my last blog and so much has happened…I feel like I left a month ago. I have been meaning to write sooner but I just haven’t been able to find the time as I have constantly been on the go, sightseeing or meeting up with people. I am going to do my best to update you on everything so I hope this won’t get boring.

Alright so the last blog ended with Sara and I on our way to Calgary for the night. We actually stayed for two nights. Sara was exhausted…we somehow ended up off of the TransCan and way far North so we had to come back down and then over to Calgary…it ended up being a 15 hour day. So Sara wanted a day to relax before driving our last little bit to Kelowna. Plus…we had drank quite a bit before at her mate Richard’s house…we got to bed super late and woke up about noon so an early head start was not an option.

Sara slept quite late but her mate Richard took me out and about so I could see a bit of Calgary. It’s a really nice city, very modern and clean, lots of bars and shops, live music in the park and just a really nice vibe all together…plus, the sun was out. Richard took me to his favourite bar for a pint and then we headed back to his place where he looked at me and said “fancy another beer” and popped open a Corona. It was all downhill from there. Sara woke up and Richard started handing out more beers. We decided that it was getting late and we would rather have a fun night so we decided to head out and buy some beer for the rest of the night.

Now there is something I have to tell you, and I really hope it comes across as somewhat funny because in real life I pissed myself laughing. Richard is a comedian - I don’t mean that literally, like he doesn’t have a stand-up show or anything. He is just so random and does the funniest things. When we got to the liquor store there was a booth with a tall young man wearing a bowtie was handing out samples of a new beer. “Would you like to try a sample?” he asked Richard. “Actually, I would like to discuss your bowtie!” When the guy handed him a sample Richard said“you short poured me.” “yes I pour less when I free pour.” “well, remind me when you are working at the bar never to get a drink from you.” The guy was not impressed but a woman in the store was asking “who does he belong to he’s so funny.”

When I walked out of the store Sara pulls me aside and says wait. I had no idea what was going on until I looked over at Richard who was seated on his case of beer and his hat out in his hand asking for money. “I wanted to see if I should quit my day job but I didn’t even make 25 cents in the two minutes I sat there so I’m gonna keep my job.” Then at the convenient store, he walked in put his case of beer up on the counter and said “I’ll just take this 6 pack!” The women were a little confused.

The rest of our day we spent outside on the sidewalk drinking beer and playing hackie sack. Richard kept saying “Cmon Cheryl!” and when I kicked high he would say “I saw Cheryl’s clam” then we would continue to call me the one trick pony as I only have one way of getting the hackie sack on my shoe. So in return I called him Dick for the rest of our visit. Everytime someone walked by we would yell “new player” and toss the hackie sack to them and they would join in for a minute or two.

At 9 I was done, day drunk is not the way it used to be when I was younger and we were leaving the next day…so we were in bed by midnight and up the next morning to head to Kelowna with an afternoon stop in Banff.

I was so excited for Banff! That’s where Lake Louise is and one of the things on my bucket list that I have been dying to see. I was like a kid in a candy store while we drove through the Rockies, “look over there! OMG!!! Look there. WOW!!! This is so incredible, I can’t believe we are in Canada. Oh, look over there!” Sara was laughing at me. I swear, I didn’t feel like I was in Canada, lol actually I still don’t. The views are just breathtaking. I have traveled around the world looking at beauty when it’s been here in Canada the whole time. I wish somebody would’ve told me how awesome Canada is a little sooner…oh well better late than never.

Our first stop in Banff was Moraine Lake. It was so beautiful…crystal clear water close to the shore
but as it stretched towards the snow peaked mountains it turned a beautiful aqua. There was a dock with canoe rentals, people sitting around the shoreline basking in the warm sunlight while watching in the distance the canoers that looked so miniscule next to their surroundings. We even got our feet in the water for a picture and they cramped within seconds the water was so cold.


I could’ve stayed all day, it was so peaceful and serene and the sun was perfect – a long with the view of course – but we had to head to Lake Louise and then drive to Kelowna. When we were coming off the road from Moraine Lake there was a huge traffic jam and the road was blocked. They weren’t letting people in because it was to packed (there was nowhere to park at Moraine lake, people were parking on the street). We were lucky we got there when we did.

We parked a bit away from Lake Louise as it was really busy, much busier than Moraine Lake.
As we got closer I got really excited as Lake Louis has been on my bucket list for years so I couldn’t wait to see it. I was quite disappointed when we first got there, there were so many people …well tourists I should say. There were probably a thousand people maybe more. It was so congested, it was 10 times worse than the Blue Mountain Village on a long weekend – it probably didn’t help that it was labour day weekend. I have always had this image that when I got to Lake Louise, it would just be me standing there, alone, no one around, just me standing there in the complete quiet taking in the beauty of Lake Louise. (Notice the blog background)

 

The water is a rich mint green colour with an incredible back drop of snow kissed mountains that reflect into an almost perfect replica of themselves in the water. It is breathtaking, probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We found a quieter spot down along the path on a brick wall and we just planted ourselves there for a little bit. Even with all the people there I was still quite happy – once we found the quieter spot. I was finally there and I was so happy J

We got to Kelowna around 8pm. Hung out with some people, had a beer and went to bed. We were up super early the next day, had breakfast (free pancakes every morning at the hostel – KIH) swapped pictures, or should I say Sara needed mine lol and then it was the end of our journey together and Sara left for Vancouver.

I spent the week in Kelowna and a few of those days I spent with my family that lives out there. It was so great!!! I hadn’t seen them in years and my cousin that I saw last time I was out there (which was when I was 10) was a year old and now has a 1 year old herself, who, I might add is the cutest thing in the world. She is always smiling and laughing and when you say “Ivy fist pump” she walks up to you and pumps your fist with hers lol its too funny. It was so amazing spending time with my family and getting to know my younger cousins and learning I have heaps in common with one of my older cousins. My uncle talked about our family history and our grandparents…it was so nice. 

 

 My last night I spent at the hostel as I wanted to hang out with some people I had met and then the next day my Aunt and Uncle picked me up and took me to the Greyhound. Yup that’s right the Greyhound, my most favourite bus company in the world – this is total sarcasm. We all know how much I despise the company and my day started off with the woman telling me its an extra $15 (per bag) to put more than one bag under the bus. ??? I have never been charged extra…but yet they are ok with you taking like 3 on the bus with you…makes no sense whatsoever. However, despite my hatred for the company the bus ride was great. It had plugs for your electronics so I was able to charge everything and it had free wifi…happy me.

I was heading into Vancouver to meet up with my mate Ian –we both stayed at the hostel in St. Kilda and hadn’t seen each other since. He picked me up at the bus station, we went food and beer shopping and then we headed to Squamish. The plan was to camp the night in his (covered) pickup and get up early for a hike.

We had a really good setup in the truck. We had our mattresses rolled out and our sleeping bags rolled out as well a case of beer and music it was actually really comfortable. We were up quite late catching up on what we have been doing and where we have been…I have course worried about bears and made Ian go for a walk every time I went to the outhouse lol but we survived.

The parking lot (that we camped in) was full the next morning, Ian had been smart for us to camp there over night, while everyone was packing their bags and looking for parking spots we were stretching and making up oatmeal and tea for breakfast.

I thought the hike was 3 hours there and back…oh how I was pleasantly surprised. Just at about our hour and a half mark we came to a sign that said 5km. “5km? I thought the hike was 9 km there and back?” I looked at Ian out of breath and wanting to die “Nope, it’s 9km there” “This better be worth it Ian” I shouldn’t have been complaining considering I wasn’t carrying anything. Everyone hiking up was doing what I like to call extreme camping. They hike up with full blown excursion backpacks equipped with tent, sleeping bags, food and they hike up to the lake and set up camp! It’s intense and awesome and I love it…however I need to get into shape lol.

The hike was worth it. A beautiful lake with miniature islands of trees surrounded by snow peaked mountains. Again I was in awe of the beauty that is Canada. Ian was laughing at me “I keep forgetting you are not used to this kind of scenery” I would like to know why no one told me the west coast was this amazing lol. We even witnessed 5 people swimming in the freezing water for charity

 

 After an hour we headed back down but stopped off at a look out point which was probably my favourite spot. We walked out onto the rock and sat in the hot sun and just stared out into an incredible view which again amazed me that it was Canada. Mountains kept appearing out of nowhere. Everytime the clouds moved there was a new mountain hiding behind it. All I could see for miles was mountains…there are no words to describe or pictures to show how incredible it was or how free I felt just looking out at this incredible country that is mine.

18km we hiked. I could not move by the time we got back to Ian’s car. I worked joints my body forgot it had lol but I did it and definitely want to do it again before I leave.
The drive back to Vancouver was amazing – of course. The view of the mountainess islands on the water actually reminded me of the incredible everyday view I had when living on the Island in the Whitsundays. Yet again, I am amazed by BC. I saw a falling rock sign and asked Ian if he knew the story and he quickly answered saying he read my blog and didn't need me to tell it to him lol...damn I love telling the story.

My next stop was to see Paige (you remember her, we met going to Fiji in flew to New Zealand together). We hadn’t seen each other since Queenstown. Over two years. I just spent the past 4 nights at her place. It is so great catching up with people that you met traveling as you have a different bond with them then you do with others in your life, there is a different level of connection that you just don’t have with anyone else. It really amazes me how well we actually got along for 4 days because in all honesty, we don’t know each other that well. The first night we had some drinks but I could barely stay awake as Ian and I did the hike that day, she finally let me head to bed just after midnight. The next day she wake me up at about 830am “if I don’t answer maybe she will go away” were my thoughts but I knew we had to be up because we were going into the city for the day.

Our first obstacle was parking the car. There were signs on the parking meters stating new temporary hours on parking times and they were a bit confusing but after reading and rereading we decided to leave the car…not to smart.

We went for lunch at the Warehouse, this awesome restaurant where everything is $4.95…I know right!! And the food is soo good and the portions are a good size. Then we went shopping which was a bad idea because she took me into Brandy Melville and I couldn’t resist. The clothes were calling my name so I had to purchase!!! We did more shopping and walking, went down to the sea wall and sat in the park, it was such an awesome day and we had so much fun. The next few days I just chilled as her and her boyfriend had to work so it was nice to just do nothing for a couple days.

And now, I am at a hostel in Vancouver. I got here super early this morning and checked in and went to sleep lol. I am now waiting to meet up with another friend I met on my travels. Robbie is flying in from Australia (yes he is Ozzie) and he has never been to Canada nor has he ever backpacked and I am super stoked to see him!!! I can not wait to spend the next few weeks traveling with him.

I am so loving life out here on the west end…I know I am not gonna want to leave….I can’t believe this is Canada!!!