Ferries and such

Hi friends.
Well today is the day that Samoa will never know. Did you hear they jumped over the International Date Line and skipped today? That’s so fun, sort of like flying home from the US... only without flying, and the whole country not just a plane full of people. I think time is such a funny concept.
So anyway this post is in honour of the Samoan people who will never know Friday December 30^th 2011.

I am currently on a ferry about to leave Sidney, BC to go to Anacortes, WA (back into America). The customs woman was confused as to why I had an ‘expired’ departure card in my passport and proceeded to rip it out, but then read the small print and said “oh no, this is current until June” and had to staple it back in.
Sidney’s ferry depot is not as fancy as the one in Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay), instead there are 3 small demountable buildings – tickets, customs and waiting room. Also they wanted the fare in US dollars, even though we were still in Canada. Lucky I had some.

Vancouver Island has been fun. It was good to have some ‘down time’. I got my fix of TV & Jackee and I finished her Christmas puzzle in under 24 hours. It’s fun that relatives are relatives, even if you’ve never met them before! I felt like I was staying at my mum or Grandma’s house.

Oh, I just realised we are sailing. Haha. So I am no longer on a docked boat, but a moving one. Good times.
3 hours of water ahead. Apparently this ferry takes a scenic route through the islands, so if I see anything good, I will let you know. Also, I thought I had these ferries figured out... and sat up the ‘front’ nope turns out this boat turns around, unlike the one from Vancouver, so I am now on the sunny side at the back. Hmm I may need to move at some point.

Vancouver Island is pretty. Mountains, lots of trees, deer... what more could you want out of an island. It’s actually a fairly big island, not as big as Australia, but Jackee and Larry said it takes 3 days to get from end to end. The funny bit of Vancouver Island is that it is part of BC (the province on the mainland that has Vancouver and Whistler in it) and actually the capital of this province, Victoria, is on the island, even though most big businesses have their offices in Vancouver. Funny.

Oh I had 2 other funny things I wanted to tell you about my trip so far that I had forgotten about.
1. At Union Station, in Los Angeles, to catch the train to Anaheim we were told to wait at the Amtrak departure gate to find out which platform we would be assigned to. The random thing about this is that the gate was in the middle of the room. It didn’t lead anywhere, you could walk all the way around it. It was like a door frame erected in the middle of the room. Funny. Once ‘the gate opened’ we were told which platform we needed to go to and then just walked the same way passengers of other trains and other random people were till we got to our platform. Anyone could’ve walked onto the platform... the departure gate has no purpose and is just a humorous gate to nowhere. I wish I took a picture.

2. On my flight to Vancouver from LA (oooh cute island on the right!) the plane was a small one, I think it fit about 70 passengers or something. It was so small that we had to ‘check-in’ our cabin baggage at the gate so it could be put under the plane. The overhead compartments were so small I only just fit my folded up jacket in! There is no way my cabin bag could’ve fit up there. Why did they not just get us to check it in in the first place?

Oh I just thought of a 3^rd thing!

3. At the airport in LA I needed some breakfast, so I asked for a ‘small cheeseburger meal’ (pretty standard Kaye food). Nope, too hard.
“Do you mean the 2 cheeseburgers, fries and a coke?”
“Um no, 1 cheeseburger is plenty!”
“Well we can’t do that as a meal.”
“ok... “
“That’ll be $7.20”

If only I had been paying more attention I would’ve realised that the 2 cheeseburger meal was only $4.25 or something ridiculous! Ripped off! But also humorous. It costs more to eat less in LA. I think that could be their new motto.

Ok I am getting too hot on the sunny side of the boat. Time for some lunch (as you Australians begin waking up in tomorrow (along with Samoa!)). I’ll bring you new news about my Seattle adventures soon!

post-script: so I sat at the ‘back’ of the ferry (which I originally thought was the front) all the way to Friday Harbour (half way) then decided to move to the ‘front’ of the boat, mostly because the seats were comfier at that end, but also because I wanted to see where we were going. Well I think the boat knew my plan and the ‘front’ was no longer the front. It decided to go the other way. So even though I was at the front, I was at the back again. Pfft!
 

Hockey is better than cricket, and other things about Canada.

Hockey is my new favourite game. To watch. Not play. (just wanted to clarify). I think the only other sport I like watching as much is soccer.

The hockey I am talking about is ice hockey. Ice hockey is called hockey here and hockey is called field hockey. Ha crazy Canada!

Today I watched my first ever Canadian Hockey game. It moves so fast! There's no standing around and a million replays like in cricket, just action and violence and speed the whole time! So fun!

I am getting up early tomorrow morning to watch another game!

Hopefully I will get to see a NHL game at some point! If not, I think I will be at a lot of under 8s games once I am a nanny! Oh I can't wait! So much cuteness ahead!

Other fun things about Canada:
- This morning I got to see some deer, they hang out across the road from where I am staying. So pretty!
- Their car seats have heaters in them so you can warm your butt!
- Cars driving on the right still confuses me. I am so nervous about driving on the wrong side! I think going straight will be easy enough, but turning corners and landing on the correct side and going backwards around roundabouts...eek!
- Nanaimo bars are so delicious
- French Canadian food is just like Australian food... tourtiere & poutine is just like meat pie and chips... only with gravy and cheese curds on the chips. Pretty yum.
- Salmon die once they do the crazy climb up the river and lay their eggs. I know this because I have seen the carcasses! SOOOO gross!
- Bald eagles are cool. I've seen 6 in the wild so far. And 6 deer. But no bears or moose or beavers or squirrels or raccoons.
- Seagulls here are bigger I think. They also sound different.
- You can see America from the bottom of Vancouver Island. So crazy! Imagine just looking out over the ocean and going "oh there's a whole other country!" hmm I guess that's pretty normal for most places in the world. But not Australia.
- I love that I get to wear proper winter clothes here! Like snow boots and mittens and scarves and beanies and hoods (I especially love hoods)! Winter clothes are heaps cuter than summer clothes.
- I think that's all for now. I hope things are going well for you wherever you are!

Christmas in Canada

My Christmas was not white. It was wet. But not white.
It was cold. I think maybe 4 degrees.... not that I was outside much.
It was fun though.
In the morning we saw deer. (I didn't have my camera with me though. So just imagine two grown up deer and a smaller one) They are so beautiful!
And just happen to live across the road from where I am staying.

In the afternoon we travelled south for Christmas dinner with the family. It was an amazing dinner of turkey, potatoes, mashed sweet potato with brown sugar crispy on the top, carrots, bread rolls and such.
It was a nice family dinner, sort of like what we have at home. 12 people crowded around 2 tables full of food! (there were, however, no bon bons or bon bon jokes! haha) There was a good family atmosphere, even though I met most of these people for the first time that afternoon.

Christmas baking seems to be a big thing, there were shortbread and nanaimo bars (oh these are so yum!) and... other cakes and slices and biscuits! So much deliciousness
For dessert there was apple pie and chocolate cupcakes.

We had presents, and santa even managed to find me over here! He spoilt me with hand knitted mittens, scarf and beanie and another pair of mittens and 2 cute Canadian Christmas Ornaments. Spoilt!
I made sure everyone got a clip-on koala and a little souvenier from Australia. It was fun watching people examine our money. "Why is your $2 smaller than your $1?" and "How come you don't have a quarter and a penny!?" Some things will never make sense. Over here $1 are called looneys. funny.

Six year old Sydney and I played the six songs that came with her mini piano so many times that I knew them off by heart. Oh fun times. She is a character.

It was a fun Christmas. We listened to Country Christmas Carols on the way home and went to bed very full!

Canada

Well. I am here. I have been since Tuesday... sorry for the delay in posting.

My very first impression of Canada was “wow, it’s very orange.”
As we landed in Vancouver it seemed that every light in the whole city was orange. Haha.
The first night was overwhelming.  I vaguely knew where I was going, but hadn’t yet got a grasp on the transport system, the money and for the first time since I left home I realised how alone I was...well it was really the first time I had been alone since I left home so makes sense I suppose.

I had to change trains in the city centre... this is trickier than you would think. I had to drag my luggage up and down several flights of stairs and through a shopping centre... yep very practical! Eventually a stranger offered to help drag one of my bags, she was actually going to the same station as I was and gave me a lift to the backpackers where I spend the first 3 nights. So grateful for the kindness of strangers!

I spent the next 2 days exploring the city. So much walking!!! I got my Social Insurance Number so I can now pay tax... I think... I’m still not entirely sure what this number does, but I think it’s a bit like a Tax File Number. I also got a new phone number. I pretty much have a handle on the money situation, I like that they have coins for $1 and $2 like we do. And the transport system makes so much more sense these days.   I almost belong here now.

Over the last 3 days I have managed to hang out in Vancouver Harbour

 

and Stanley Park

 and Science World (I want to take my class there! So many fun things!)
 









and the Library

 Van Dusen’s Garden's Festival of Lights

  and Capilano’s Suspension Bridge

  also a government building and some fun shops including the biggest bookshop I’ve ever seen. but i don't have photos of them.


It’s pretty cold here, but not actually as bad as I imagined. I am getting really good at de-jacket, glove and beanie-ing every time I enter a building and re-jacket, glove and beanie-ing every time I go outside. Layers are important.
It hasn’t snowed yet, but the ground has that icy crispiness & the ponds have a thin layer of ice on them... oooh! So wintery!

Staying at a dodgy backpackers meant I had to share a room. The girl I ended up sharing with was actually an English teacher from Russia, who is now retraining in hospitality here in Vancouver. We had some interesting conversations! It was cool to hear about a country I know nothing about, and hear about Russia’s view of the world. It was also fun to share classroom stories with another teacher. Some things are the same no matter where or who you teach. Oh I am going to miss teaching!

Right now I’m on a really big ferry to Vancouver Island to spend some time with some distant relatives.
I think I am going to like Canada!

The Wonderful World of Disney!

We spent Sunday at Disneyland!
I went to Disneyland when I was 15 (and also Tokyo Disney when I was 1) so I knew how good it was going to be. But, the thing that struck me most as a grown-up is the incredible detail they go to in everything! I thought the magic would be a little lost a 29 year old, but instead I had new respect for the lengths gone to, to make such a creative and fun experience.
Disneyland was also decorated for Christmas... and they do Christmas really well!

The highlights of my day were Space Mountain (super fast rollercoaster through the stars), the Toy Story ride (where I got to play against Tracey to shoot lasers at Zurg), the train ride... I forget it's real name, but it was a train that wemt around a mountain (and there was even a goat), Indiana Jones (because I got to be the 'driver' mwahahaha) and the night show that we saw completely  by accident, with really good seats!! They used fireworks and snow and characters and water! It was amazing what they did with water! At some points they sprayed it up to make a kind of screen and projected scenes from Disney movies on to it. I think I might trade my tv for water jets. So much cooler!

Probably the things that weren't as fun were the lines and the walking. We were both exhausted by the end of the day from the walking that had to be done to get from ride to ride. And if you didn't have a fastpass for a particular ride sometimes the lines could take over an hour.

On Monday the magic continued (for me anyway). Tracey decided she needed a rest day so the days of self-portrait photography began at California Adventure Park. I accidentally discovered at the first ride of the day that there was a 'Single Rider Line' at some of the rides. This meant that I could go in a fast lane and whenever there was a spare single seat on a ride (like if there was a group of odd people...um... or an odd number of people) then I could slot right in! Easy! I saved myself over 45 minutes of waiting a whole bunch of times.

California Adventure Park is nowhere near as big as Disneyland, but the rides were still fun! My favourite two were California Screamin' - a huge rollercoaster, and Toy Mania - another Toy Story ride where you get to shoot things, only this time wearing 3D glasses and shooting digital ammo that changes from eggs, to darts, to cream pies and such. so fun! (though the line for this was at least an hour long and had no single rider lane). I also saw a few cool 4D shows - Muppets and Bugs. The scariest ride was the Hollywood Tower Hotel. It was impossible to know if the next move was going to be up or a sudden drop. eeek! Once was enough on this ride!

The only down side of Monday was losing my phone. But it was funny trying to explain to the Lost and Found guy that I leave the country in the morning and that I have no permanent address until January 20th...and now that my phone is missing I am only contactable by email. (since then my phone has turned up, so don't panic everyone, and is in the hands of my sister. Hopefully it will find me soon!)

The night show was brilliant again! It mostly used water and colour and movie-projectioning, with a few fireballs and bubbles thrown in for extra effects! The creativity and skill amazed me!

Disney once again lived up to it's magical name!

Stars and Strangers

 On Saturday we slept in and almost missed our free breakfast.
We caught a train into Hollywood, but even before we got there we’d met 2 ‘interesting’ people. Christopher helped us find where we had to go (it was a bit confusing) & explained the ticket machine to us (it wasn’t as confusing) but in return scabbed money off us for his ‘train home’.
We quickly learnt that the train could come to either side of the platform, not just the side with the sign... Luckily we only had to miss one train to work this out. Once we were on the train a woman hopped on and asked us if this was a red line train, when we answered her she decided we were all best friends and she was going to come to Hollywood with us for the day. Apparently no-one else had answered her all morning.  We found out she was in search of a guy she used to know who may or may not be famous now... the only info she knew about him was the bar he hangs out at in Redondo.  She ended up deciding to try out Santa Monica incase he happened to be there. So Tracey and I were on our own for the day (phew)
Hollywood was busy. I think the thing we said most often was “No, thanks!” as we were offered tours, cds and such. Some of those people were sure pushy! We decided to check out the Guiness World Records and Hollywood Wax Museum because they had a deal. We had heaps of fun taking fun photos through both of these. Tracey is such a good poser!
After a yummy In-N-Out buger we decided we’d had enough of the hype of Hollywood Bvd & headed back to town.

It is funny the things that are naturally ingrained in you from childhood. I don’t think we realised how natural it is to walk on the left in crowded situations. Here they walk on the right. Maybe Americans don’t even realise that they are doing it. But we have been caught out so many times by our natural homing to the left.

We eventually booked ourselves onto a train to Anaheim. These trains were a bit fancy. They are probably only as tall as our trains, but look so much taller because you enter from ground level not a raised platform.  We were too late to check in our suitcases, so had to take them carry-on (drag-on).  We soon learnt that the bottom level is set aside only for elderly and disabled passengers, and although there were only 3 of us in the 40 or so seats downstairs we all had to move upstairs...with our suitcases...which haven’t grown lighter since we checked into the airport last Tuesday. Hmm.
On the plus side there was wi-fi and also the train announcer sang a song, that reminded me of a song I would make up with my kids at school, about how it was a great Saturday Evening for a train ride.

Once we got to the hotel it was time for dinner. After watching a marching band march around our hotel  (as they do)we found a Taco Bell, which Tracey has been hanging out for all week. Then we walked “around the block” to the Cheesecake Factory. The block was about 3km around, but the cheesecake was soooo yum! And it was fun to pretend we’d been on Big Bang Theory (even though it looked nothing like Penny’s Cheesecake factory).

Coming up next: Disneyland...maybe...if I get around to writing about it.

Yosemite Vegemite

Today we went to Yosemite. I was having a grammatical argument in my head last night...but it is too complicated to explain in writing, since it's hard to describe pronunciations and such things.
Let me just say Yosemite... Vegemite. hmm.

Yosemite was so beautiful! I can't really describe the size and beauty of the things we saw...so pretty! AMAZING!!! (I mean...Look at the pictures!) And also VERY cold! Like the kind of cold where your pants feel like they are turning to ice and your fingers go a bit blue-ish...I think I may need to stock up on warmth immediately upon arriving in Canada or I may not survive the first evening.


Today I discovered the first thing I miss from Australia... Sausage McMuffins. It surprised me. I was sure there would be something else I would miss first. But nope sausage mcmuffins it is. This morning I had a 'Sausage Biscuit' (you have to click on the menu at the side) at Hungry Jacks (or was it Burger King? I can't remember which version it was... probably Burger King...back to my point). It still makes me feel nauseous when I think about it. the 'biscuit' was like a scone... sort of. hard to describe, but I don't recommend them (though, if you do happen to like them, we can still be friends, I will just eat the hash browns instead).

In other food related experiences of today... Tracey bought a packet of milk duds. They were nothing like I imagined. In my head I have always (right back to my Babysitters Club days) pictured these as white chocolate buds. Nope. They are caramel covered in chocolate. Sort of like a Fan-Tale but softer and rounder and smaller.

Also, this evening we bought Subway from downstairs. It was so cheap! It cost $7 total for two subs and two cookies. Food is cheap here.

Most of our whole day was spent on a bus... 10 hours in fact so I don't have much to tell you about the adventures of the day... so instead here are 5 facts you need to know about America from the point of view of us:

- Over here they drive on the wrong side of the road. We all know this already, but this also means cars come from the opposite direction you would expect (as experienced by Tracey on Tuesday) & you have to get on buses on the other side.
- There are sensors here... sensor flushing toilets (these still scare Tracey...but so does the static channel on the tv), sensor taps, sensor soap, sensor paper dispensers... you pretty much don't need to touch anything. (I am not sure what would happen if there was a blackout)
- Don't ever order a tall drink. They are huge! I couldn't even finish the small coke I got this morning...they are almost as big as a large in Australia
- Speed limits are funny here. Oh miles miles miles. It's weird seeing speed limits like 70 for freeways and such.
- America is fun. They have yellow school buses, fire hydrant shaped fire hydrants, black and white police cars, places called Pasadena & Fresno and other such things that you usually only see on movies and tv (unless you live in America... then you would probably see these things all the time... unless you have your eyes closed often)

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me!

PS an ad just came on for a 89c taco. What? How is that even a price?