Last recap before traveling begins!!!

Alright Alright, I am actually terrible at this whole blogging thing.  But it's not my fault...really.  I've just been so busy doing crazy awesome fun things (and working) to have time to sit down and write something it.  It's just because it takes me so long to figure everything out that I want to say.  So this blog, since I am writing it at a really ridiculous hour of night only because I promised dad I would write one today, will hopefully cover everything I've been doing in a short amount of time.

Since Kiley and I went to the zoo things were pretty calm until Australia Day.  January 26th.  The day Aussies actually have an excuse to get ridiculously intoxicated instead of all the other days when they don't have an excuse, they just do it anyways.  What started as a few friends over at our place before moving onto the local surf club turned in a "forget the surf club, lets just party here' with about 30 people in our small apartment.  Things got out of control.  People got tattoos (fake ones dad) and clothing started coming off (no not mine).  These aussies are crazy.  They really know how to love their country.  It was more of an excuse for me to dress up and pretend I actually belong in this country.  Pictures to follow.

Aussie Aussie Aussie!!! Oi Oi Oi!!!

After that it was quite calm.  Still just working about 40 hours a week.  My store manager had gone on holiday for 5 weeks so me and the assistant manager were basically running the shop together.  Trying to keep it from falling in on us basically. haha.

Mid February there was a pro surf comp in Burleigh which is just about 20 minutes south of where I live.  I headed down there on my day off to check out the surfing.  It was amazing!! So much fun.  Obviously I had never been to a pro comp before, but I had such a great time.  The area where the surfing was taking place has a point that goes out into the water that is a hill with grass on it.  So you can post up on the hill and watch the surfing right in front of you.  So cool.  Lucky for me I thought they were starting at 8 so I got there early, turns out they were starting that day at 9.  It was lame just sitting there by myself for an hour, but at least I got great seats...and in the shade!!!  It was awesome to see all the pro surfers.  People like Mick Fanning and Josh Kerr were there riding.  Along with my personal favorite Julian Wilson (google him and you will see why he is my favorite lol ).  After the semi final heat (which he won) I saw that he was coming out of the water near where I was seating. Luckily for me I just 'happen' to be needing the toilet at that time.  I caught him as he was running by and got a photo!!! I was one happy lady.  He later went on to win the comp!!! Yes...we will be together one day.  Afterwards I got photos with 3 of the 4 finalists.  Mick Fanning ran away before I could get one.

My husband...i mean...Julian Wilson.  After winning the semis

First place!

Josh Kerr!! Such a nice guy!

Bede Durbidge. Also really nice

Another photo with Julian

I also won first place that day

A while later on the 17th some friends of mine invited me to go to Byron with them for the day.  It my really good friends Graci and Tais and their friend Julia.  We just headed down early in the morning and spend the day there before coming back to work at 5.  Byron is by far one of my favorite places in the world (so far).  You just breath a sigh of relief when you arrive.  Everything is so peaceful and relaxing.  I love hippy towns like that.  We just hung out on the beach for a while, walked around the shops and then went to the lighthouse.  It's the most eastern point in Australia.  So that was really cool to head up there.  It was something I didn't get to do on my first trip to Byron so I'm glad I was able to do it.  It was an amazing day with amazing friends and lots of laughs.  Those are two girls that I am really going to miss when I leave here.

Us girls in front of the main beach

Another one..we had such a great time.  Best day ever

The beach just south of Byron.  There was no one there and the water was so blue!

Us girls again.  On our way up to the lighthouse

The lighthouse

The view of Byron from the lighthouse.

A few days after Byron on the 21st of Feb a bunch of pro Rip Curl surfers were coming to the Pacific Fair (a local mall) Rip Curl shop to do autographs and everything.  I was really lucky and didn't have to work until 5 that day so I was able to head down to meet the big guys!!! Owen Wright was there along with Taylor Knox, Tyler Wright, Gabe Medina and Matt Wilkinson.  I was really excited to meet Owen though.  Everyone was really nice and I got a bunch of photos and autographs.  Owen has signature sunnies through Dragon that I am DYING to have, but I can't order them because everyone is sold out.  I was talking to him as I was going down the line meeting  people and he almost gave me his pair!!! Oh my gosh I would have died!!! Anyways it was so much fun to meet them and stuff.  Everyone was super nice which is good to know that pro's still care about fans and stuff.  The only other thing was I had a hat for everyone to sign and I was so nervous meeting Owen and everyone that I was just talking and talking and talking (you know so unlike me) and I totally forgot to have them sign the hat!!!  So yes...I did...I went through the line again and had them sign the hat.  I'm sure they thought I was totally nuts.  Oh well!!!

Yay!!!

Wilko left and Owen right.

So stoked

Making people laugh..as usual

Almost giving me his sunnies!!! So close

Gabe Medina, from Brazil.  He wont a comp in San Fran a bit ago.  Won best up and coming surfer this year

Tyler Wright...only girl there.  She rocked it in the Quiksilver Pro the next week

Taylor Knox...the legend

Alright...I think I'm making good time...

Last but not least, my friend Sam from camp who is living in Melbourne at the moment came up for a week to visit.  It's really cool to think that so many of us from camp are all in Australia at the same time.  I really started a movement here.  Another friend is coming to visit for 2 weeks at the end of March, but I won't be around.  Anyways, Sam was here for week which was awesome.  It was nice to have another person around.  The first few days were TERRIBLE.  The weather was just miserable and it was just raining the entire time.  We did things like the CSI Experience (where you get to be a csi agent and solve crimes) and Draculas (which is a dinner and cabaret show which is AMAZING) along with a few trips to the bars just because it was raining so much.  She arrived on Wednesday the 22nd and by Sunday the weather had started to turn around.  We laid on the beach in the arvo (afternoon) until it started to rain again in the evening.  Go figure.  Monday Sam and I hired out a car and went to the Australia Zoo.  Again.  The weather was awesome, it was overcast, but not too hot so the animals were actually out and about doing stuff.  So awesome. We even got to see koalas eating!! They are only awake 2 hours a day! Lucky us.  Sam adopted a Tasmanian devil at the zoo named Troy.  We asked someone if they could tell us a little bit of information about him and the keeper was amazing.  She talked with us for a good 30 minutes and even let Sam hold him!!! People pay 80 dollars to do that!! So cool.  We had some more good experiences with the elephants and kangaroos as well.  Plus during the wildlife show we won the award for the best impersonation of monkeys.  Score!! 

First crime scene

No Hugh No!!!!

Poor Hugh Jackman

We are official because we have lab coats...obviously

Such a fun show!!

YEAH BEST FRIEND!!!

Just chilling...oh look..didn't notice those kangaroos there

Random Camel

Yeah winning a Bindi magazine...

He was posing for us..

Troy!!! So cute

It was awesome Sam got to hold him!

A koala eating!!! Rare site to see!!

After the zoo we drove south back to Byron.  We stayed the night and went out to Cheeky Monkeys were you get to dance on the table.  Probably one of the most fun bars ever.  Then on Tuesday we just relaxed for most the day and hung out and came back home Tuesday arvo and then Sam left Wednesday.  It was a really fun week.  It was difficult since I wasn't really working plus I was spending money, but I had such a great time it was totally worth it.  No pictures from this adventure.  My camera died at the zoo.  Not only that, but I'm pretty sure my camera case went missing.  Lame.  Better that than my camera though!

I'm pretty sure that is everyone that has been going on.  I know I usually go into more detail and have funny stories and one liners, but a) I'm just way too tired and b) I have a million other things on my mind since we are leaving early in the morning.

Kiley and I plus a friend of Kileys, Jess, are picking up our campervan in the morning and heading out on our adventure towards Cairns.  We will have 19 days to see everything we can see (for as cheaply as possible) before we get up there.  These things will include Noosa, Fraser Island, Whitsunday Islands, Townsville, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.  Hopefully we are successful in fitting everything in that we want, and also not killing each other along the way.  It's a small campervan for 3 girls, but we will make it work. 

After Cairns it's off to New Zealand for 5 weeks!! I'll be meeting up with Greg for some of it and then continuing on to the south island.  I'm pretty sure that NZ will be my favorite place ever, but we'll see. 

I'm really excited about all the adventures that are to come, but I'm really sad to leave Surfers as well.  Maybe not the city itself, because it is really touristy and stuff.  It's more that I will miss my friends here and also my job.  I really loved working at Rip Curl and I'm so thankful that I was able to find a job that I actually enjoyed with people I enjoyed being around (most the time lol). 

Hopefully I will be better about blogging about what we are doing since I have a feeling I will have plenty of time in the car to be writing.  Let's hope anyways, because now is when the good stuff starts happening.  No more blogs about me working all the time. 

Let the good times roll.