Thought we should update our blog again, it’s been a few days and we have ventured to the Deep South. Gretchen flies out tomorrow back to Australia after 10 months away, 2 continents, numerous cultures, trekking, overnight buses, planes, snow, road trips, diving, and creating a home overseas! Memphis was first, home of the blues and Elvis. Entering Tennessee and massive stretches of water where paddocks should have been, the highway sandbagged. We crossed the flooded Mississippi into town. Wandering down to the Lorraine Motel, we saw the spot where Martin Luther King Jnr was gunned down, now the National Civil Rights Museum. Beale St is the centre of the party. The biggest groups of people were the huge numbers of police standing on the corners, as well as the enclosed cherry pickers they could watch ... read more

Five weeks since the last writings and alot has happened... Let's start from where we left off. In Gretchens determination to learn to snowboard, under lights night skiing at Mt Norquay, she had a sizable stack, the result a sore head and a busted radius. Almost 5 weeks later and she has been through 3 casts, a red, a purple and a blue, and two goes at a velcro splint. Slowly but surely its healing. Following the 'break' was Australia Day, or Australia Week in Banff, aussies managing to drag out the festivities. We had a staff party at Norquay, using the tube park, then had triple jjj"s hottest 100 count, the annual cardboard sled derby at Norquay, then actual Australia Day. An epic several days with lots of Barnsy and dress ups. At the end ... read more

I'll start by saying Merry Christmas to everyone, may the festive season be a safe and happy one, with good food and even better company. We both have been very busy the last few weeks. Gretchen working hard behind the counter of the Ski School desk, taking bookings and making sure all the tourists, young and old learn to ski. I've had my first few proper days instructing people to snowboard, youngsters from Calgary, blokes from Brisbane and a family for the south, Georgia, USA. Last week I also passed my Level 1 Freestyle Instructors course, much tougher than my Level 1 instructors, this extra qualification helps me take more advanced boarders into the terrain park and also beginner jumps and tricks. The best part definitly being my own riding improving so much! I've also taken ... read more

The first blog from our new 'house' in Banff... We have been here a week now, settling in and doing odd jobs (getting social insurance numbers etc) and meeting our other house mates. We're in a house full of englishmen, 6 lads and 3 girls plus the g banger and me, and so this morning when i unwrapped my parcel from home, the Aussie flag is now proudly flying in the front window of the house for all to see!! I've been told the cross of St. George is on the way to hang next to it. Banff, really is as beautiful as it looks, surrounded by snow capped peaks, a quiet main street with deer and elk eating the grass around all the houses. Been out on the beers a few times, playing darts and ... read more

I'm writing this from my new laptop in a Vancouver Hostel, but more on that in the next edition! Just a little catch up on our last stop in Mexico. We arrived in Cancun to discover it really was different to Playa, just like everyone had told us!! My best analogy is Cancun is like the Gold Coast, and Playa del Carmen is Byron Bay. Checked into a nice hotel downtown, he gave us a better rate because we were there for 5 nights, which was a bonus. We still hadn't escaped the heat and humidity, and because we were staying downtown the concrete and bitumen made it feel even hotter. In Cancun it is a twenty minute bus ride to the beach and 'hotel zone' where all the big resort hotels are on the beach. ... read more