Favorite Photos So Far

Flying over the Mississippi.


Shania at her Hollywood star ceremony.


Hollywood hills.


Artsy shot of Anna.


Santa Monica. Beautiful!


Sunrise approaching Australia.


Back of the Sydney Opera House.


Sydney Opera House.


Bondi Beach.


On the ferry ride to Manly Beach.


Anna and I at Manly Beach.


Vivid Sydney!


Sydney Opera House during Vivid Sydney.


Near Darling Harbour.


Walking over the pedestrian bridge in Brisbane.


Field Notes!


In a huge tire with Anna!!

Los Angeles, I love you.

I apologize for not blogging sooner than now. The combination of jet lag and excitement has taken a toll on me! I'll begin by chatting about our stay in Los Angeles. I'll blog tomorrow about Sydney and Brisbane.

First off, let's just throw this out there... Los Angeles is AMAZING. It really is. It took all day to get to LA from SC, but once we were there and got our rental car and drove to Ryan's (Couchsurfingthere was so great!) the all-day journey was well worth it. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, in my opinion. I could even see myself living there.

Anna and I did some really fun things while being there! I'll hit some of the highlights.

We saw Shania Twain at her Hollywood star ceremony. Bo Derek was there as well. They are both so gorgeous! Here are 2 photos from that event.






I got Shania and Bo to sign my Field Notes book! :)

We went to a live taping of the Craig Ferguson show, which was so fun!! I lost my license. That was not so fun. We walked on Hollywood Boulevard and saw the Hollywood sign. It was so pretty! On Friday, we drove to Santa Monica and went to Venice Beach. We saw Muscle Beach. I stuck my toes in the Pacific Ocean, for the first time. We walked on the famous Santa Monica pier. Before heading to the airport to catch our flight, we went into Burbank. It was so cool! We saw studios for the WB,ABC, and Disney.

Our trip to Los Angeles was amazing, as you can tell. :)

Time to fly: waiting at GSP

Hey guys!

I just said goodbye to my family (which was tough) and am waiting to board the plane!

I am so excited to be taking this trip because this truly is an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime

Of course I will miss my family and friends but this was just something I could not pass up.

I'll make a couple blog posts over the next couple of days, while we are gallivanting around Los Angeles!

Field Notes!

               I received my package that Field Notes sent to me yesterday and let me tell you something... everything is absolutely beautiful! Check out what Field Notes sent to me...

I mean, how in the world could one not want these beautiful memo books?! These puppies are going to see the world! I'm looking forward to all of the memories that I will be writing down in them. Do yourself a favor and check them out!

CouchSurfing? Sure, I'll give it a go!

If there is one thing that is extremely important to a backpacker, it is their budget. So, with that said, Anna and I will be CouchSurfing while we are in Los Angeles for 4 days. CouchSurfing's mission statement is as follows : "At CouchSurfing International, we envision a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Building meaningful connections across cultures enables us to respond to diversity with curiosity, appreciation and respect. The appreciation of diversity spreads tolerance and creates a global community." Now, you try and tell me that this doesn't sound like the most awesome thing in the world. We perused the site for a while, looking at potential hosts, before we stumbled upon the most perfect host!

I encourage everyone to check out CouchSurfing, if you are backpacking or just traveling on a budget. Seriously. Do it.

I'll keep you all posted as we find out more details about our upcoming CouchSurfing experience.

Field Notes Brand... You're awesome.

Heard from Michele from Field Notes Brand and they are going to be sending me a package of some FN gear to take to Australia! Field Notes Brand is just an all around awesome company and I've had my eye on their stuff for a while now. It's great to know that there are still some great companies out there. Keep a look out for my post and pictures upon receiving my Field Notes gear! I might even put up a video :) 

 

Time is flying.

            Here we are, April 10th, and I have so much to get done before LA and Australia. But before I get to a short list of things I need and also a site for gift registry of said things (just kidding...kinda), I need to tell a little bit about what is in store for me within the next year. On June 1st, I will be leaving for LA with Anna for 4 days. We will be couchsurfing for the 4 days with a cool dude by the name of Ryan. It's going to be a great great time. Hopefully, this couchsurfing thing goes well because we would really love to do it while in Australia as well. Anyhow, we will be seeing your typical sites while in Los Angeles ( Grauman's Chinese Theater, Venice Beach, Hollywood) and hopefully some not too typical sites as well. From LA, we leave for Sydney, Australia at around 10pm on June 4th. Fast forward 15 hours and we will be in Sydney! We have a year long working holiday visa so we will be getting jobs and living the Australian lifestyle.

 Now, a short list of needed things: field note journals, backpack, travel belt, contacts, quick-dry towel, bathing suit, watch, sunglasses, delicates (haha!), small pillow, a good book (complimentary of Joseph Henderson, I hope)...That is just a beginner list.

Keep checking in.