Grand Teton National Park (an extremely outdated post)

Backtracking in blogging. We hiked on a nice sunny day but the grounds were still covered in snow and certain trails were closed because of it. Despite, the delay in what would have been a 45min hike whilst we took 2hours, we made it to the waterfall. YAY! And was able to take the boat back which only took 5mins. Lol, we should have done that at the start. But it was fun, treading on areas where there were no footprints, getting lost and every now and then, accidentally sinking your legs knee deep into the snow. the half of the group that made it to the top =]

so tranquil

snow 0_0 (yes that is a jacket from walgreens =P)

yay group pic!

Snippets from the trip thus far (or more like summary)_

Santa Barbara was still by far the best weather we had experienced and that was Day 1 lol. Everything kinda when cold from there, until recently when it changed dramatically to 35 degree days! Humid and hot hot HOT!

Loving the camping, waking up to the sunrise and the birds chirping away and pretty much just nature. Shall miss it.

Car rides have been listening to random music on people’s ipods (of which Party Rock Anthem seems to be a huge favourite), playing UNO, celebrity heads, riddles, sketching, reading…OH! We stopped by a gas station one time and at the door were New Testaments!! So I picked up my free copy. Finally,, been craving for God’s Word, and its just soo good.=P (accidently left my Bible in Ihouse if you were wondering =.=) It’s a ministry by Highway Melodies INC. and they address truckies directing to take the Romans road, highlighting key verses along the way, pointing to God’s grace and love shown by Jesus.

Been reading quite a bit in the car, and picked up a Daily Bread book at Wall Drug (the most randomist side road drug store stop that sells everything you can possibly imagine). It’s not really a drug store, but a bakery, restaurant, camping gear, clothing, cake, souvenir, toy, shoe, utility, jewelry store etc etc It’s also an arcade and playground ahaha.

Yellowstone & Yosemite pictures_

lol i have no idea when i can post these. transferring pics on my usb is taking forever, because macbook thinks that thing is full but isn't

oh dear.. I LOST MY FAVOURITE PAIR OF SHORTS

(belated post)

Y_______Y

and im 110% not ready to leave NewYork yet. gah gah gah GAH.

cousin & I, lewl. don't ask how the same colour shirt happened. pure coincidence =P

Only spent two days here, which is enough for the major tourist attractions but bumming around and exploring takes much longer.

So, in my one full day here visited_
Statue of Liberty (which was very far in the distance lol)
Staten Island via the free cruise haha (wasn't much there but construction)
Empire State Building
Top of the Rock(erfeller centre) to see the Empire State building hahaa =P

outside the Rockefeller centre
inside

MoMa!!! (too many pic to post! they were so good! so here is a snippet from the 6 levels of awesomeness)
napkin art! they had a whole wall of thisthis was quite a popular audio tour stop hahah

one of my fav pieces - ink of 60 pieces of paper with the most beautiful handwriting in the world, collected extracts compiled by Julie Ault, written by Phung Vo. The amazing thing is that Phung CANNOT READ ENGLISH!!! They just copied extracts from English and French literature and historical texts. The piece is titled "Death Sentence"close up. of the handwriting. incredible!
they had these all outside the walkway leading up to the museum. pretty neat.
Times Square! my fave.
Actually wanted to walk into here, but a crime scene. dun dun duuun

known as The Naked Cowgirl in Times Square. She wasn't naked so you just know. but
she haad ABS!! zomg 0_0 and you guy are right. abs on a female are kinda freaky.
but i still want them nevertheless =P
M&M store!! FOUR STOREYS OF THAT STUFF ..*jaw drop
lewl decided to put on stuff that was near me =P

M&M jewellery, clothing, games!, toys,

Hershey's chocolate store!!choc galore!

why America's are fat lol
Brooklyn - where i stayedfood here was THE CHEAP 0_0 and serving size like kingsway Asian food too
lol. yes i took a pic with the ice cream only to find it was a trashbin

random corner, forgot where

And the next day_
post office
laundry

caught up with family

walk the Brooklyn Bridge
could see the Manhattan bridge too

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art

Wandered into Victoria's secret. lewl. bombardment of bra barricaded shop front with crazy neon colors is a hit in the face.
Also visited the New York Public Library to print transcript signature form to post to Berkeley.
Shopping
Packed

sadly no Broadway or xmen first class OR THOSE SHORTS OF MINE!


Everywhere is really easy to get to with their public transport. There are lines everywhere, and they come fairly frequently. Also its 24 hours 0______0 wow. melbourne can learn that .

dear all

I HAVE ARRIVED IN NEW YORK BABY!!!!!

and its stinking awesome. (literally). the subways are super smelly, firstly of piss then of horse poo says my friends. >.>

shall update later about my trek thus far, provided internet is slightly faster

Ahhh.. trek america tour ended. people were crying. i wasn't too close with the guys but they are beautiful people and i can understand why they shed their tears. tis quite sad leaving a bunch of people you just spent three weeks camping with and cooking communal meals, sharing everything and mostly the experiences. *sob sob*

took the free airport shuttle then the air train to meet my cousin. a whooping total of $5. impressive eh??

Take care everywhere

catch you in australia soon/ every other country in the world.

update of trek

kay. so i cannot upload photos coz this computer doesn't have an SD card slot. but i guarantee you the pictures are AWESOME! =P (so images from google atm)

hmm.. lets see where have a i been worth mentioning.

national parks_

- badlands. reminded me of grand canyon. did two hikes. the notch hike was much more dangerous than the first. dang we get so close to cliff edges on this trek of mine.

Marleen feel, but over her own feet and got a horrible scratch XD

- mt rushmore ( a lot smaller than what we expected) people had fun posing next to the heads e.g. picking their nose, being the 5th head, putting sunglasses on them etc etc. Hmm..not that respectful but almost half the tourists were doing that.

I have no idea how talented Jefferson was 0__0 He was a jack of all trades, science, politics, arts etc etc.

atm its like this

should be like this ^

- crazy horse (was incredible!) i dont have time to explain it so here - http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/

but basically mt rushmore heads fit into its forehead. that's how freakin massive this potential mountain sculpture shall be.

visited Wall Drug the infamous tourist attraction which is basically one massive ass shop that sells everything and anything.

it has billboards advertising for it a State away lol. we did our kris kringle here. and everyone had to where their items or take them with them into the cinemas the following night when we watched Hangover 2. hahaa. we were carrying around pet hamsters, feathered hats, whips, and plastic guns and a walk-a-long duck. my gift was a keychain, so less ridiculous. thanks lilian!!! =]

but everyone in the shopping mall (yes i said mall!) looked at us funny.

Jackson Hole

COW BOY TOWN! and very touristy, reminded me of Banff in canada minus the australian's carryin around skis or snowboards.

summary - snuck a 19yr old into a bar, who got crazy drunk =.= what happens in jackson stays in jackson lewl.

and we witnessed a fail shot out. how disappointing. the flyer did a misprint, and printed the rehearsal date to being the actual event. boooo.

Elk stuff everywhere in this town!

Eatery_

I've chowed down cow/bull testicles >.>, elk burger, buffalo burger, and a combo of the two meats which tasted like kangaroo.

currently in Chicago!! and its it AWESOME. zomg the best city ive visited so far in my life. then again i cannot make this statement as i only spent three hours riding a bike through the city from 7pm day light to 10pm nighttime. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! minus the fact i almost crashed into the crash bin and fell into the Chicago river or something.

A pack or 20+ people riding bikes and taking up the ENTIRE LANE on the road lewl.

loved it. the sights we rode through were just jaw dropping and the buildings that light up at night were just woah.

on nuts ran out of time to blog.

im goina go on a private aircraft wooohooo. kick ass siteseeing. yay friends around the world lol

update..gahh quick.. using friend's laptop

okay so camping it is quite the draining experience and all day hikes are not my style lol. but its good practise for everest. im holding you up for that trip nick fun face =P we are going >:] well .. i am if you are.

ah lets see quick update:
people can get crazy drunk and do stupid things
i get my own tent because i'm the odd number out. i like it. lots of space
cooking over little stove with gas has been interesting
i think im eating much healthier than ihouse food
people can good nice food for 10 hungry campers
we take turns in groups of three cooking, cleaning and being in charge of weather.
lol the odd group for the day gets blamed for the weather if its bad or praised if its good - the rules of the trek leader
yosemite is amazing!!
looking forward to yellowstone
8hour car ride was =.=
i miss my bible incredibly
went to an indoor hotspring.. zargh. its sooo hoottt
camping in the rain!!!
IT WAS SNOWING in jackson, a cowboy town. people wear the hats and all
im picking up a british accent because 90% of the campers are from UK

ahh.. this is it for now.

no idea when i get internet next...

on the side_

my grades are out

history of film A+

anime A

musical/noir A

im happy =]

hopefully transcript wont be too much of a hassel ..gahh

TREK AMERICA TRIP started!!!

alrightly! so left ihouse with a tear in my eye. only to release i have a chance to return today. lol. the trek group stops two nights in SF!
and today was a free day.. woooooooot. caught up with some remaining people at ihouse that haven't left.

dang. everyone is on such glorious vacations around the US.

gah. this is a uber short post because i have to sleepppppppppppp

some snapshots of the trip thus far..!

lewl back again in hollywood/LA

the van that packs 11 people

view of downtown LA

yay! the trailer that keeps our stuff safe

group heading down santa barbara,
most of the folks are from the UK, 1 korean, 2 friendly dutch girls
i fear i will get a British accent on my way back

lunch!

our first campsite. pretty!!! but slightly chilly

there is one girl extra, well due to julie from denmark quitting the trek, as she grew homesick and never joined us from day one, so I GET A TENT TO MYSELF. quite nice ^^

big sur (second time round. different hike)

cooking dinner!

golden gate bridge. we walked across it, then sailed under it. awesome

our trek leader/driver Cole, who cannot pronounce his "r"s hehe.
he's awesome

THE GROUP

dennis giving a go at everthing. lewl

free day with tomas!!!!!!!!!!!! visited the SandraLee Gallery which gave us free passes to ...
AWESOME!!!
may 19-22. perfect timing.
" 5,000 significant works of art from 400 respected artists all presented by 60+ prominent galleries worldwide. Get inspired as you explore our 50,000 sq ft of world class art under one roof. We expect our range and quality of galleries to be among the most exciting and relevant showcased in any fair in America."

galleries from all over the place under the one roof. it was SPECTACULAR!!

in love with the resin or whatever it is they gloss over the finished image

intriguing

this was a massive piece made up of folded comic book pieces

and lastly. i crashed ihouse ^^

lucas promoted to RA (resident assistant)! awesome~!