Nightjade

Love it, love it, love it! Admittedly i did get good weather which, apparently, is relatively rare for Vancouver but I have thought my way around this for if I can move here....when it rains in the city it snows in the mountains - Perfect! I arrived to bump straight in to Pheobe - who i had met in Seattle - and opted to go out for a few wee beverages......there were some fab deals on at the bar beneath the hostel - so we made full use of the opportunity! Needless to say the next morning was a late one - but when we finally got our acts together it was still in need of a lovely leisurely day! (with the illustrious Jon from Fraser Island coming too!) Thus we opted for Gastown - ... read more

The transfer to the hostel was somewhat traumatic - as bus after bus drove straight past the waiting queue! But once there, all was well. The Green Tortoise hostel was comfortable and clean - all you need in a hostel really! I think in reality you could comfortably 'do' Seattle in 2 days. It is a very pleasant city - though more of a city to live in than to be a tourist in - although they do try! I walked the whole city and all of it's sights in the one day! The old town was quaint and quite sweet - based around the famous (again, apparently!) Pioneer Square, the spike was costly - nope I didn't pay to go up it! The parks were lovely - made all the better for the delightful ... read more

Now, for those of you that don't know.......and I didn't......Yosemite is a national park, based around an impressive glacial valley, and home to the world's 5th largest waterfall. The bus ride was relatively uneventful....ooohh except for some WEIRD coincidences. There were 4 of us on the trip and the 2 strangers were british guys. I got chatting to them and quickly discovered that they were from near Bristol (something Jen often said) Living in Wotton Under Edge Bristol is the safest bet for people actually recognising it! Further chat revealed that they too were from Wotton, and even more scarily from Charfield (Jen's little village!) And that they knew of her! That exclaimed over, chat continued.....only to discover there was more spookiness at work! One of the guys was just chatting generally and dropped in ... read more

Our departure from Tonga was welcomed!!!! Mainly as it would offer instant respite from the mozzies and bring better weather!!! The 12 hours on a plane was a slightly different story - although we did manage to get exit aisle seats which was a little more roomy - although not a great deal more comforatable!!!! I resigned myself to the fact that sleep was not an option and watched both movies........with mini snoozes in between. We arrived in LA at 2pm of Tuesday....having left Tonga at 7pm on Tuesday - i tell ya the date line crossing is weird - officially the longest Tuesday of my life! Upon landing it was all systems go as Jen was to leave within two days.....and we had some sights to see. So, although the beds looked undeniably comfortable...it ... read more

The last leg of our NZ trip was to be spent in comparative luxury to the Spaceship - with a bed of our own and a shower in the morning! Ace or what. So how did we get this lucky? Well, once again incorporating the family of a friend only this time the friend was there too! Mike from New Zealand who stayed in Milford (I know- he's a little bit odd) for about a year (even odder!) and his family kindly let us stay with them! After a night spent by the lake in Hamilton and some shopping in the morning - some of our clothes were now looking decidedly worse for wear. Mike came and met up with us to suggest a walk up another mountain (can you imagine our enthusiasm........) called Te ... read more