Cara came to the beach to help with a CIT training weekend... everything at camp is so different... it is good to know that some things never change... ha!

... the entrance to the south beach trail was completely blocked by driftwood... we didn't even attempt to brave the unstable wood... we just stood on the dune and looked out at the beautiful day!

the CIT's were so amazing- they learned a lot and we had a lot of fun... especially when they performed campfire for us!!! wah-hoo!!

aren't they cute?

carly is moving home!!

so i guess you could call me a "happy camper"... cause i am so lucky to have spent three weeks in australia with one of my best long time camp friends justin. AND now i just found out that my other best long time camp friends carly is moving back to the states. she has been living all over the world for what seems like forever... but now... she is moving back to the northwest. it is really fun to have her close by... YEA!!!!

I wasn't feeding them... i was petting them...
and you forgot to mention the blood and the hole i have in my leg as a result...

justin... you better watch your back... or your blog... ha!

Scary devils?

Well helloooooooooo!

I just thought that I would also share some great pictures from Anami's wonderful trip to Australia. There were some really fun and crazy times. We had a great time!

There was this great campsite where we were on Lake St. Clair and well Anami thought these animals (marsupials) were Tazmanian Devils....guess what they were just possums...ha! So here are a couple of funny pictures of Anami "not" feeding them...

love you nam...

justin and anami photo album

so... y'all asked for more Justin and Anami photos, so here you are... i don't want to disappoint the fans...

well... to the left is morning... the tent was like a sauna in the morning... i am surprised that we survived.

below... we are on the ferry to Manly... a sunny beautiful afternoon adventure...
















here we are on a trip to these beautiful falls... and a big tree... literally there was a sign that said "big tree" and the only way that we could get us and the big tree in the photo was to take it like this... all those photography classes paid off!

Tasmanian Adventure

So the second half of my trip to Australia involved a small adventure on a BIG boat to a little place called Tasmania. Justin and I packed a rental car full of camping gear, food, and wine... and headed off.

Tasmania has a little bit of everything... sometimes it is dry and bare, sometimes like a rain forest... but my favorite was the beautiful tropical beaches... which of course we swam in... in fact, if there was a body of water... we were in it.

After a straight uphill hike up and then straight down to the beach known as "wineglass bay"... we were so glad we brought a bottle of wine... ha!
Lake St. Clair was so beautiful... there wasn't a dock... but you know what i was thinking when i jumped in... wow it was cold- but not for long.
The waterfalls were amazing... and we had trouble staying on the given path...


Our campsites... were also really fun and we met some interesting people... after four days camping we were super excited to have a site with power... movie night for us!!











at the end of the nine days... we were both dying for a real bed, a warm shower with soap, and some massage therapy... so exhausted, sunburned, and pleased with ourselves for making it through... we headed back on the spirit of tasmania and headed back to melbourne.


local Tasmanian beer.... too much fun...

stay tuned for the "highlights" entry... :)

i'm back... and i brought some pictures!!

well hello everyone! so, i made it back from my adventure in australia... and i'm ready to share some stories and photos... there are lots so i may break it up (thanks justin for the tip)
So, I arrived in Melbourne on Thursday... and met lots of really cool people, but forgot my camera, so i don't have any pictures of them- but they were really nice and had super cool aussie accents. before i could even catch my breath justin and i were on a train to Sydney. we stayed in a inexpensive and slightly sketchy hotel... and headed out to meet some of justin's friends who happened to be in Sydney at the the same time.

Doesn't this look like a fun place to hang out?...


well we had a really great time!!
These are probably the best people i met in Melbourne... it is really nice to know that are people just like me in the world. Rory and Jess live just upstairs from Justin in Melbourne and Rory was in Sydney for work... well- Justin, Jess and I had some great adventures while he was in the office.

So, the next day we acted like tourists... wait, i am a tourist! okay, they acted like tourists and we took in the sites. First we had brunch by the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. apparently these places are a really big deal. i am a really bad tourist. they were beautiful!

The second day we took a ferry to a city called Manly and it was beautiful!! It was a surf town so of course i loved it... and i had to get in the ocean- so did justin... WHY DIDN'T WE PACK OUR SUITS!!



...and that was the trip to sydney... beautiful day, beautiful city... hmmmmmm i love being on vacation. Put on the sunnies, don't forget to use cream for the sunburn, stop by mac-ers for something chronic... eat some chips have a $10 beer, tell someone they are brilliant and say cheers instead of thank you!!! i love australia.
the only downfall is the unfortunate habit i have of picking up accents (all that theater)... and some words are coming out aussie. wouldn't be a problem except that i'm not in australia anymore and it sounds a bit weird...

so for now i will say... "have a brilliant day"... and here is a "cheers" from me and Justin. oh yeah... that is rory behind us :)


more to come... keep checking in... next is
Tasmania.... oooooooooooh yeah.....

xo

how are you going? (they really say that)

well folks, still no pictures... but when they come about there will be tons! Justin and I just returned from 8 days camping in Tasmania... Tazi as they say here... these australians shorten words more than i do! It was amazing. we saw plenty of Tasmanian wildlife (sometimes more than we wanted to!) and hiked almost everyday. It was warm and sunny and we had beautiful weather 95% of the time. Luckily Justin is a waterbaby just as much as i am and would make it his goal to jump in every freezing body of water before me... y'all can guess how that went over- GAME ON! we swam in lakes, waterfalls, oceans you name it. AMAZING!
I promise, we have great photos...
Most of you all know how important this vacation is to me and all i can say is that i couldn't ask for a more amazing place to travel or a more amazing friend to travel with. (did that make sense?)... anyway- we are making the most of the last two days here and then i'm jetsetting back to the states. Stay tuned for photos and more details in the the weeks to come as i will be back at MY computer at camp.
Thank you all for your love and support..... you are the best!!!
cheers mates (they really say that too!)