7/17/12 Flying

Today was an extra long day. We left for the airport at approx. 7:00. We checked in, went through security, and bought a lot of candy at the Duty-Free store. Our first flight was to LA and it was 13hrs and 15mins long. It was really boring but I watched lots of TV.

We then had five hours in LA. I slept almost the entire way to Detroit. Then we had dinner in Detroit and flew to Duluth. Mom picked us up there.

So this is my last blog post and I just want to say thank you for reading my blog. It was an amazing trip. Good bye and see you next time!

7/16/12 Sydney

I woke up at 8:00. I tried to tell Dad and Jay that I wanted to take the 9:35 ferry to Taronga Zoo but they refused to get ready in time so we didn't get to Taronga Zoo until about 10:30. Then we had to wait in a long line to buy the tickets. Eventually, we walked through the first part of the zoo. We saw tree kangaroos, emus, wombats, and more.

Finally, we got to the Tasmanian Devils. We listened to the keeper talk. It was really interesting and we saw five different Devils. 

Then we walked towards the platypus exhibit. The platypus were really cute and Jay was super excited because they are his favorite animals. We also saw several other animals such as rock wallabys and birds. They were really cute. Then we had lunch. I got a BLT and shared it with Jay. We ate while watching some elephants play.

Then we saw the bear and went for the giraffe keeper talk. I got some really good pictures. After looking at some reptiles, we went to the seal show. We got really good seats. There were six or seven different seals. One of them did a back-flip and they all balanced on their front flippers. One also balanced a ball on his nose. It was really cool.

Then we saw some more really bight colored birds. We also saw a red panda, a tree cat(?), and a fishing cat. The fishing cat looked like my cat, Tofu who has a tabby coloring.  We also saw penguins. They we were the blue penguins that we saw on Phillip Island. We saw more reptiles, koalas, lions, tigers, and different monkeys. Then we left.

 For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant. I got goose. It was prepared three different ways and it was amazing.

We also got green beans. For dessert I got a hazelnut and chocolate cake type thing. That was also so good.

7/15/12 Sydney

Today we went to the Blue Mountains. It was a lot of fun. Let me tell you all about it:

I woke up at 5:50 a.m. I was so tired, it took me awhile to get out of bed. It was surprisingly bright outside already. The view was amazing. The train that we were taking from Circular Quay left at 6:44. We left the hotel at 6:20. Since it was Sunday, there was a special deal that let Jay, Dad, and I all go on any Sydney public transport for $2.50 each. Nobody was on our train because it was so early on a Sunday. We had to get off at Central Station and switch trains. Then it was a two hour train ride. Jay fell asleep immediately. I just listened to music and played games on my phone.

When we got to Katoomba, we bought our tickets for the Skyway, Cableway, and Railway. We had brecky  at Savoy. I got cinnamon bread. We got on the express bus that took us to one side of the Skyway that went across a valley. The Skyway also had glass floor so we see underneath us. It was cool.

Next we went on the steepest railway in the world. It was kinda scary because at some points you couldn't over the edge. It just dropped down. It was also a lot of fun. When we got off at the bottom, we took a 45 minute walk through the forest. We saw a lyrebird and a bunch of really cool trees.

We took the Cableway to the top of the mountain. It was a short ride. We then walked around the mountain by the waterfall for a bit. I twisted my ankle so Dad and Jay walked down a path and then we all went back to the city. We had lunch at a bakery. Then we looked at some shops. We went to the train station but Dad had misread the timetable, so we went back to the shops and looked around some more.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to lay around and watch TV. At 7:30, Master Chef (a cooking TV show) was on so I watched it. It went until 9:00 p.m. so we had a late dinner at a cafe. We got a kangaroo burger and shared it.

7/14/12 Sydney

We flew from Melbourne to Sydney. Our flight was at 9:00 so we left the hotel at 7:00 on a cab because we wanted to get there an hour early. The flight was two hours long.

We went to our hotel and left our bags there and then had lunch at a street fair. Jay and I had a chicken tikka  wrap. It was amazing! We also had a small cupcake. Dad told us to wander around the fair for a bit. We ended up getting honeycomb and whipped honey. Dad also tried a super hot sauce and then his stomach started hurting from it so we got him some milk and went back to the hotel.

Dad fell asleep so we watched TV for awhile. Then he woke up and we decided to go to Darling Harbour for dinner and fireworks. I got a BLT and chicken burger and fries (sorry, "chips"). The fireworks started suddenly. They were really cool and we had an awesome spot to sit and watch them. When it was done, we went to a shopping center and got free samples of candy at a lolly store. I got sour raspberry ball. It was so sour and awesome.

We took the ferry back to Circular Quay and completely figured out our plan for the next day. Then we went to sleep.

7/13/12 Melbourne

Today we decided that we just wanted to walk around the city a bit. We didn't actually leave until 11:30 because Dad refused to take a shower. Then we returned the rental car. From the Europecar place, we walked to a restaurant called Coconut House. The food was amazing. Even Jay liked it and ate a lot more than usual.

After lunch, we walked to Swanston St. and we stopped at a small grocery store to get ice cream. we all got paddle pop popsicles. I got Icy Twist. It tasted like lemonade.

We were just walking around when Dad suddenly stopped and said that he wanted to go into Target so he could see if it was any different than the one at home. We went in and then got some kinder eggs. The only difference that I saw was that there were cuter clothes :).

I hurried Dad and Jay down the street because they wanted to go to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and take a tour. We also stopped at another small place and got some small things. Dad saw a Japanese mart that was selling pineapple fanta. We went in and got two of those, a strawberry fanta, and a peach fanta. We paid and tried the pineapple one. It was delicious.

We made it back to the hotel. I went up to the room and Jay and Dad went to the MCG. I started working on my blog. Dad and Jay came back later with a mini cricket bat and a foam ball.

7/9/12 Queenstown/Melbourne

Today was sadly uneventful. We were planning to go paragliding but in the morning it was too foggy. We went to the top of Bob's peak on the Skyline Gondola and the paragliding people said to wait for 20 minutes in the cafe. After that we were told to wait for another 20 minutes. When it got to 11:30, we decided that we didn't want to wait any more so we cancelled our booking and left. Of course, at 12 or so, the sky was perfect. I was mad.

We just wandered around the town for a bit the headed off to the airport. Our flight was overbooked so we had to wait a bit to get our boarding passes. We made it to our gate right on time to board.

It was a little over three hour flight so I just watched some TV.    

When we got to Melbourne, We took a shuttle to our hotel. After checking in, we walked around looking for somewhere for dinner. We decided an Indian place called Desi Dhaba. The food was amazing! We walked around for a bit more then went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

7/8/12 Queenstown

Today Jay, Dad, and I up the Skyline Gondola up the mountain to the Ledge area. We had a great day planned.

I woke up at approx. 9:10. We all got ready for the day. By the time Jay was brushing his teeth, it was already 10:35 and we were supposed to catch a bus in front of the hotel at 10:40. We rushed down to the bus and made it just before it left. The bus was taking us to the bottom of of the Skyline Gondola. The gondola was just a cable car that would take us to the top of a mountain to The Ledge area. There were many things to do up there. There was a luge course, a souvenirs shop, bungee jumping, and a restaurant.

We were having lunch at the restaurant with the other ACR conference people. The gondola is one of the steepest in the world and we got an amazing view from so high up. We had to be at the Skyline restaurant at 11:45 for lunch so we had about an hour. First we explored the building. We saw a cafe, a shop, and a balcony where Dad got some pictures.

Then we decided that we wanted to try out the luge. Dad got us five tickets to share. We all went on our first ride on the beginner course rightfully called "The Scenic Route". Then Jay and I did another ride. I did the advanced route and Jay stuck to the beginner course. Dad took pictures.

After we finished, it was already 12:05 so we hurried down to the room that we were going to eat in. Instead of ordering for all of us (a little over 100), it was a buffet. There were so many options I didn't know where to start! I filled about four plates including dessert. Eventually, I felt like I would burst if I had another bite. Dad overate and was groaning!

When we had finally gotten up from the table, the person who was running the conference gave us each a voucher for two more rides on the luge! This time it was a race. We all went on the advanced course and tried to beat each other. In the middle of the course, Dad passed me and stayed right in front of me the rest of the way down. Jay was way behind us. Now it was time for bungee jumping.

We went into a small place to check in. We were already booked for 2:30 which was lucky because they were completely booked for the whole day. Dad and I had to sign release forms saying that the company was not responsible for any injuries we might get while bungee jumping. Then we got our passes saying that we payed and made our way to the bungee area. Dad positioned Jay to take some photos of us jumping off the platform. By this time I was starting to get nervous. Fortunately the bungee rope was attached at the stomach not the ankles so it wasn't as scary. 


Dad and I walked down to the platform that we would be jumping off of. We saw some other people go and when they came back up, they said that it was amazing. I got into my harness and  waited. Dad kept telling me to jump out with my arms and legs spread out. The people attached me to the bungee cord and led me to the edge of the platform for a photo. Of course I couldn't help looking down.  Then I backed up, waved to a camera, ran, and jumped. 

The first few seconds were terrifying. I was just free falling! Instead of spreading out while falling, I was gripping on to the rope right in front of me. Then I bounced and I felt ok. It became the most exhilarating thing I had ever done! I bounced a few more times then they pulled me up. When I got back to the platform, I asked Dad if he was nervous. He said no. I told him that there was something wrong for him. Dad jumped. When he came back up, he said that it was amazing. 


We went back to the place that we checked in and got our video, photo codes, and free t-shirts. Jay and I then convinced Dad to check the price for the paragliding. He got us booked for tomorrow's early bird cheaper paragliding slot.


Then we did our last luge ride. I passed two really slow people on the advanced course and then I looked back. Dad was right behind me! Fortunately I kept moving in front of him so he couldn't pass me. I beat him that time! Jay came in last again.


We walked back to the hotel. We had decided to meet some of Dad's ACR friends for dinner which we did at 5:50. We all shared some pizza and nachos. Now I am about to go to bed.

7/7/12 Queenstown

Today Jay and I went to The Remarkables! The Remarkables is a range of mountains. Jay and I were going skiing/snowboarding there. Jay had decided that he wanted to try snowboarding, but I wanted to stick with skiing which I have been doing for four years at the local ski hill at home, Chester Bowl. You can read about Jay's adventures here.

Since Dad would not be going with us, (here are the reasons why: he had to attend some sessions for his conference and he was is to wimpy and scared to even try skiing) Jay and I went up to the mountains in a bus that picked us up at 8:20 in front of the hotel. We had already rented our equipment, skis, ski boots, snowboard, snowboard boots, poles, helmets, goggles, and snowpants so we were ready to hit the slopes! Unfortunately, we were participating in a "Kea Club" lesson which met at 10:00 and we got to the mountain at 9:10 so we had a bit of time to spare. Jay and I got on our boots and went outside to wait. When 10:00 finally came around, we were separated by snowboarding and skiing. Then we went into different groups based on our skills. At first I was put in  level 3a. The instructor was from Argentina.

After waiting to make sure nobody else was coming, levels 3a, 3b, and 4 all did one run together to make sure everyone was in the right group based on how well we did. I was moved to 3b. The instructor was from Canada.

There were only four kids in 3b including me. We did a lot of runs down the same green (easy) slope. We worked on parallel turning which means that we go across the hill in large curves to control our speed. It was all really easy for me. 


Next we had lunch. It was Mac & Cheese that had been baked in a pan so it had a hard crust. It was really bland and not very appetizing. After I was done eating, I asked my instructor, Kim, if I could move to level 4. She said that she had been thinking of moving me. 


I did end up in 4. That was the perfect group for me. It was fun and hard, but not too challenging. We did backwards skiing which I know how to do, hockey stops which I am very good at, and go down the harder hills at a faster pace which was the perfect speed for me. My instructor's name was Valentine and he is from Russia.

After many runs down several paths, one of the girls in my group got her ski caught in a small hill, did a front flip, and hurt her ankle. Fortunately, she felt better after just a little bit, but we went inside for a break anyways. Inside, my group all got hot chocolate and talked.

When we finished, we checked the time and found that it was five to four. The Kea Club ended at four so we didn't do anymore runs. The bus that Jay and I were taking back to the hotel also met at the parking lot at four so we got progress reports that our instructors filled out saying how well we did (Valentine said that if I go back tomorrow then I would be in level 5) and we headed off to the bus. Jay fell asleep on the way back to the hotel.

We made it back and we met Dad. After starting this post, Dad and Jay left to return the ski stuff back to the place that we got it from. When they came back, Dad had a surprise for me. He had booked us for The Ledge Bungy for tomorrow!!!! I am so excited!

After another reception, Dad, Jay, and I wandered around town for a bit looking for something for dinner. we had almost decided on a place when we turned a corner and saw Fergburger, a world famous burger place. We decided to go there. We got two burgers to share because the burgers looked huge. The three of us decided to get The Fergburger with swiss cheese and The Bombay Chicken Burger and fries. They were all good but the Fergburger was the best. Even with the three of us eating, we only finished one and 3/4 of the two burgers.

We are now at the hotel about to go to bed. I will add pictures later.

7/6/12 Queenstown

Today we had the day pretty much planned out. Jay and I were going to wander around the town for a little bit and then go on a Lord of the Rings tour in the afternoon to see some of the places where the movie was filmed.

The morning didn't exactly go as planned. We got up late, watched too much TV and by the time we were about to leave, Mom Skyped us. So Jay and I spent 37 minutes video chatting Mom. When we finished, it was almost 12:15 which was when Dad was going to meet us in the room for lunch.

Lunch was a buffet set up by the ACR conference people. I had a chicken and lemon mayo wrap and orange juice. It was really good.

At 1:30 we (Jay and I) were picked up by a van for the Nomad Safari Lord of the Rings tour. We also picked up four other people. They were all friends and looked to be in their mid 20's. They were also big fans of Lord of the Rings so they always knew what the tour guide was talking about. Unfortunately the last time I had seen Lord of the Rings was when I was four (not exactly the best time to watch those movies, I don't know what my parents were thinking) so I didn't remember anything about the movies. It was still nice though because of all of the amazing scenery and next time I watch the movies I can say "I've been there!" or "I saw that place!" The tour wasn't just about Lord of the Rings though. We also learned other stuff, like the history of the name of the lake in front of Queenstown, Wakatipu (sleeping giant).

"There was once a Maori tribe that lived at the head of what is now the lake. The Chief had a beautiful daughter, the princess. One day, a giant came and kidnapped the daughter. The Chief, devastated, said that anyone that could find and rescue his daughter could marry her as long as he also defeated the giant. Several men tried to find the awful giant, but they all failed. 

Finally, one man stepped forward and offered to look for the princess. He searched and searched, but he could not find the giants hiding place. Eventually, he looked in one more cave, with no more hope, and there he found the giant, asleep, and the princess bound with ropes. The man cut the ropes and the princess ran into the forest safely.

Now he only had to find a way to get rid of the giant. He dug a deep, long hole, big enough for the giant and gently rolled it into the hole. The man covered the giant with dirt, just enough to feel like a blanket, and backed away. The giant didn't wake up.

The princess ran out of the forest and hugged the man. Then she cried. She cried so many tears of joy that she filled up the hole, creating the lake."

The water is constantly rising and falling, moving up to 20 cm at a time. The Maori say that it is the giant breathing, still asleep.

After the tour, but before we went back to the hotel, we stopped in a forest for a hot chocolate break. Jill, our tour guide, also had some "toys" for us. They were prop swords from the movies! We got to play with them. I used a long sword with a blue handle and a small blue gem on the hilt.

It was time to go back. We got back into the van and on the ride to the hotel, Jay fell asleep.

When we got to the hotel, Jay and I went to our room and saw Dad. He told us that we were going skiing tomorrow! We had to go get our lift passes and rent equipment. We were ready to go!

7/6/12 Driving (cont.)

I got up at approx. 7:30. We all woke up with some hot chocolate and coffee (for Dad).


After lazing around for awhile, we packed, checked out, and went to a store. It had a bunch of clothes made from marino wool. It didn't feel li went to a place called Good Shepard Church because Dad wanted to see it. There was an amazing view from the church.


We also went tubing! It was so much fun! Jay and I also convinced Dad to tube with us. He took some videos that I will add later.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We just drove and looked at the amazing scenery. 


When we got to Queenstown, we checked in and Dad checked into his conference. There was a reception so we all dressed up a bit and went down the hall from our room to a "Galaxy Room" where the reception was. We had small  for hors devours dinner.

7/5/12 Driving

We had made it to our motel at 1:30 a.m. After getting our room key, we got into our pajamas, brushed our teeth and got into bed. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed.

We woke up at 9:15. I convinced Dad to get us breakfast so we chose what we wanted and ate. The original time to check out was 10:00 a.m., but since we woke up late, we got it changed to 11:00. We did laundry then went to a shopping center and explored. We found an amazing bakery that had the softest bread ever! We got twisted bread with spinach and feta for lunch and some buns for snack. There was also a rugby ball on sale so we got that too.

As soon as we left the shopping center, we picked up our dry laundry and went to City Centre. Unfortunately, it was blocked off because of the recent earthquake so we ended up looking at another shopping center and then we started on the road to Lake Tekapo.

It was a three hour drive but it went by really quickly and there was amazing scenery all around us. We had gotten a lot of candy and snacks so we had fun trying all of the different kinds of food.

Eventually, we arrived in Lake Tekapo. It was about 6:30 so we checked in, found our room, and figured out what we wanted for dinner. We decided that we would go a Chinese restaurant but before that we got a 30 minute spot for the hot tub. It was so warm and bubbly that i never wanted to leave.

At the restaurant, we got hot and spicy soup, Singapore noodles, and chicken in special sauce. It was all amazing but the soup was by far the best. It was really spicy and flavorful.

After dinner, we went back to our room and got ready for bed. We watched some TV and went to sleep. 

7/3/12 Manly Beach

I woke up at 7:30 a.m. We had decided the night before that we wanted to go to Manly Beach and spend the day there. When Jay woke up (at approx. 7:45), he told Dad that he would like to go for a run. So while they got ready, we Skyped Daadi and Baba (my grandma and grandpa on my dad’s side). After we hung up, Jay and Dad left, leaving me the job of drying the laundry that we had done the night before with a hairdryer. I sat there for 20 minutes drying socks and underwear. Eventually Dad and Jay got back and we started getting ready for the day.

We packed and checked out, but we left our bags with the hotel so we could come back and get them before we left for the airport.

After looking at the ferry timetable, we figured out that the best time to go would be on the 12:00 ferry and come back on the 3:45 ferry so that we got to the airport in time.

The ferry ride to Manly Beach was amazing. We sat in the back so that we would see Sydney as we were leaving. We got some good pictures of The Opera House and The Harbour Bridge.

When we made it to Manly, we walked by some shops. We found several places with really good deals on souvenirs. We also saw some "fast" food places that had fish and chips and several other delicious looking foods. I convinced Dad to let us go to a place where we got grilled Barrimundi with chips and Garlic Prawns. We ate by the beach and then walked by the beach for awhile. Before we went back to the dock, we bought several things from the shops. We also looked at the building that the Seaworld   was in.

Going back into Sydney, we sat in the front so we got more amazing pictures of the city. We rushed to our hotel, picked up our bags, and hurried to the airport, only to find out that our flight was delayed. Fortunately it was only by half an hour so we had dinner at Pieface and got to our gate. We didnt get into Christ Church until after midnight.

7/2/12 Sydney

I am now in Sydney, Australia! I apologize for not updating my last post but I fell asleep in Los Angeles.
After a painful 15 hour plane ride, we made it to Sydney at 7:05 A.M. We had to go though immigration and customs so that was another 30 minutes.
Eventually we made it to our hotel, the Park Hyatt, and they told us that our room wasn't ready yet. We decided that we wanted to go to a breakfast restruant called bills that I had heard of in a video about Australia. We had ricotta and banana pancakes, a sour cherry and apple loaf with ricotta and honey spread, and I had a sunrise drink which was a mixture of banana, orange juice, and several berries.

Following that, we walked up the street, working our way slowly towards our hotel. since we were in no hurry, we stopped at any shop that we thought was interesting. Even with us pausing every few minutes, we made it to a park called Hyde Park with in half an hour. There was a festival going on. It was called NAIDOC. It was a celebration of the Aboriginal people. We got faces painted, chips on a stick, pictures by stuffed animals, and I got a new headband.
As we were leaving the park, we saw a mint museum (the money kind, not the edible kind). We went into the museum's gift shop and admired all of the beautiful items there. We finally decided to get a game that involves two pennies.

Flights

We are in the Minneapolis airport about to leave for LA. I am very excited!
I will keep updating this post at each stop.

Preparations

In one week I will be on my way to Australia and New Zealand! We have already decided how long we will be spending in each city and we have flights and hotels for each city that we will be staying in. We are still working out what we will do in the different cities but we have the general idea of our activities.

I am so excited for this trip. I can't wait to see all of the amazing sights that Australia and New Zealand have to offer. I am also really excited to see one of my favorite animals in person, a koala!