Australia {Road Signs}

I'm traveling to Cincinnati this week for my BFF's wedding!  While I'm out of town, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite vacations that I somehow never blogged about before now.  Enjoy!

The thing that stood out to me the most while driving down the East coast of Australia, other than the amount of round-abouts (or rotaries, or traffic circles, or whatever you call them), is the road signs on their highways.  They were so creative and catchy.

There were trivia questions ever so often, then several miles kilometers down the road they would post the answer.  I wish I could remember what they were.

"Don't sleep and drive"

"Break the drive.  Stay alive"

"Pull over mate.  Your eyes are shot"

"Stop. Revive. Survive"

So much more creative than any road signs I've ever seen in America, or any other country for that matter.  They definitely caught, and kept, our attention on our 1600 km drive.  Too bad we saw all the really funny ones at night when I couldn't get a decent photo, and now, 4 years later, I can't remember any of them, but I assure you, they were good.  If you ever find yourself in Australia, take a drive and see for yourself.

Australia {Cairns}

I'm traveling to Cincinnati this week for my BFF's wedding!  While I'm out of town, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite vacations that I somehow never blogged about before now.  Enjoy!

Once upon a time Almost 3 years ago, Jason and I were able to take a trip of a lifetime.  Why it took me this long to blog about it is beyond me.  Never the less, here is the beginning of my Australia recap.  Jason was sent to Australia on a TDY (temporary duty) assignment and after 2 weeks in the Outback, we met in Cairns to start our 2 week vacation.

I arrived early in the morning and had some time to kill before Jason joined me.  That early in the morning, the beach was deserted so I found a little spot to watch the sun rise.  I'm quite certain this is my ultimate, symmetrically beautiful, happy place!

Seriously, I knew instantly that I was going to love Australia.

 Once Jason arrived, we hopped on a gondola and rode up to the Daintree Rainforest.

Jason insisted we stop when he saw this sign.  I was less than excited but obliged.

Fruit bats are the creepiest little creatures ever but oddly adorable at the same time...from a distance!

After a fun day of exploring Daintree, we caught a ride on this fun, old train, back down the mountain to Cairns.

We're suckers for a rugby match and this Cairns Northern Pride game did not disappoint!  Their fans were very welcoming and friendly and helped us learn some rules that were unfamiliar to us.

Our second day in Cairns was spent on the Great Barrier Reef.  It was "winter" there meaning highs in the mid 70's which was the perfect break from the sweltering Japanese summer heat but it was slightly chilly out on the water.

That sure didn't stop us though.  We suited up and jumped in.

WE SNORKELED OVER THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!

While I spent most of the excursion bent over the side of the boat (not the best time to discover you've developed motion sickness with age) it was still one of the coolest things I've ever done.  I also discovered on that trip that I'm not a fan of open water.  I hung on to the guide's float for dear life, along with all the little kids.  Jason was so far out that I couldn't see him but me, I stayed as close to the boat as possible.


The next day we picked up this beauty and hit the road.  We went against all the advice we had received and decided to drive the 1600 miles from Cairns to Sydney.  That's essentially the same distance as driving from Bangor, Maine to Miami, Florida, you know, the entire east coast of America!

Because we chose to drive, we were able to stop along the way in some smaller towns, areas that most tourists skip right over when they fly.

Our 1st pit stop was at Cape Byron Lighthouse where we did a little whale watching.

Along the way, I also ate one of the best meals of my life in a little town called Lennox Head.  It doesn't look like much but this buckwheat crepe stuffed with cheese and ratatouille was one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth.  I think about it all the time.

We also got to see views like these while we drove!

Driving in Australia was...interesting.  They drive on the left side, just like in Japan, so that wasn't anything unusual for us but the signs on the side of the highway were so interesting that they'll get their own post tomorrow...I hope you come back!

ETS Road Trip

I don't know that I've ever had a more exhausting week than the one that just passed.  We have been going non-stop since we left Japan Sunday morning.  We left at 8pm on Saturday EST and arrived in Dayton at 830pm on Sunday EST which was followed by a stop at Skyline and an hour drive to Jason's grandma's where our car was stored.  We spent a day in Cincinnati but I failed to take a single photo with any of our family.  I did take some with my BFF but she's in her newly found wedding dress so just by some odd chance her fiance ever sees this I won't post it.

0700 the next morning we were on the road heading west.

(I have this new phone and didn't realize that the camera was set to 16:9 ration instead of 4:3 until 4 days later so the first 20 photos on my phone are all this ridiculous size)

We started our journey with a sunrise trip on the Anderson Ferry that connects Ohio and Kentucky.  Jason's grandparents' each live about 5 minutes from the ferry on either side so we take it often when we're in town visiting.  We've never seen it at this hour though!

Our first stop was just 4 hours into the trip to have lunch with some of our favorite people from Japan.

Day 1 we saw 6 states, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.  Thankfully we had these awesome people waiting for us at the end.  (Jason's best friend from college and the best man in our wedding, and his wife)

Day 2 also started out with a stop shortly into our trip to see another one of my dearest friends from Japan, Melissa.  We missed seeing her family but it was great to catch up with her for a bit.

We drove all the way across Kansas that day which is terribly boring however, I will point out that Kansas drivers are infinitely better than Missouri drivers.  I wish everyone in the US drove on the highway like people in Kansas.

We stopped in Denver to check out one of the many micro breweries in the area.

That night we stayed with our friend Ashley and her adorable children at their temporary home just outside of Vail.  If I could afford it, I would definitely have a summer house in that area, it's simply gorgeous.  We could have stayed there for days (and the company was unbeatable also).

Day 3 was a short, 7 hour, drive across Colorado to Utah where Jason's mom recently relocated.  Colorado has some of the most beautiful scenic views I've seen anywhere!

Day 4 we didn't drive, we spent the whole day exploring the area around Jason's mom's new house.  She's just minutes from the Great Salt Lake so that was our first stop.

We had dinner at a little burger joint that was featured on DD&D.  It was mostly disappointing.  It was ok but the portions were way too large and there was a ton of wasted food when we were done.  I ordered a pineapple shake and got vanilla ice cream with a few chunks of pineapple, not what I was expecting.

The next day we loaded up a mattress Jason's mom was kind enough to give us and headed south.

That was by far the longest day of driving we had.  We had to stop multiple times to re-secure it and drive slower than we would have liked as well.  It was worth it though now that we're here and have a bed to sleep on!

We stopped somewhere just before the Utah/AZ boarder at a place called "5 Buck Pizza" where I had one of the best BBQ chicken pizzas ever, for just $5!

Luckily, we had beautiful weather the whole trip.  This day I was grateful to be inside the car with the A/C running because it was 110+ outside!

2700 long miles later we finally arrived at our new home!

Our awesome landlords even left us a housewarming gift.

That's the only sneak peak of the new house you get.  We're slowly getting settled in and our express shipment (unaccompanied baggage) gets delivered tomorrow.  Once things are a bit more settled, I'll share some much requested photos.

PCS/ETS Road Trip

We officially got word that the Army will not be shipping our car to California for us.  After much deliberation we decided that our least expensive best option is to drive our car from Ohio to California.  For a couple of weeks now I've been bouncing back and forth between excitement and loathing disdain indifference.  I used to love road trips but it's been so long since we've spent more than a few hours in a car that I'm just not sure anymore.  That all changed when I sat down to plan out our route.

We're going to be on the road for only 4 very long days with two day long stops and a few overnight visits with friends/family.  

We're going to spend our first night at Fort Leavenworth visiting with Jason's best friend from college, his wife and their adorable son they recently adopted from Ethiopia.   We are so excited to meet Ephraim and see our friends.  Day 2 we'll have lunch with my friend Melissa and her family at Fort Riley then, and this was the surprise visit that threw me over the edge into complete excitement, we'll spend a night with our friend Ashley and her adorable children in Colorado (we only wish her husband could be there too).  You see, as part of my 30 while 30 I wanted to send 12 just because gifts and I know Ashley's son likes ninjas so I sent him a ninja t-shirt.  If I hadn't sent that box to Trevor, I wouldn't have learned that they'd recently moved right along our route.  It's amazing the way God takes our plans and rips them to shreds and presents us with even better plans that we could have imagined.  Day 3 we'll drive to Jason's mom's house in Utah and stay there for a day before driving to California.

It's going to be a lot of time on the road but the stops along the way will totally make up for the long hours in the car.  Have you ever driven any part of this route?  Know of any great places to stop along the way?  We're looking for restaurants, scenic views, tourist attractions, anything to break up the drive!

iPhone dump {America Part 1}

I've been back in the US for 3 weeks now and this is the 1st free minute I've had with internet access since I arrived.  I'm having a great time but missing my husband {and my puppy, and my friends, and my students...} and eagerly awaiting his arrival next week!

My trip started with a glorious 3 seats to myself.  It doesn't get much better than that when you have a 14 hour flight!

The most beautiful weather was awaiting me on the other side of the pond

I wasted no time and spent my 1st day in the States seeing this amazing man sing!  I love me some Tyrone Wells!

My bestie took care of some necessary grooming for me

Then we celebrated her 30th birthday!  {thanks for holding off on the party until I arrived, Rob!}

I had some necessary purchases to make while in the US and I think I've got everything on my list checked off after day at the outlet mall!

A rare mothers day was spent WITH my mom {and my sister}

I took Jetson {our Jetta} for a road trip to Ft Bragg and he hit the big 50K just days after his 3rd birthday

At the end of that 9 hour drive were some of my favorite kids in the whole world.  I was overjoyed that they remembered me and loved me as though I hadn't been missing from their lives for the last 2 years 

I also got to spend some time with 2 of my future in-laws {Carla, in the middle, is marrying Jason's cousin and Lauren, on the right, is marrying Jason's brother in September}

It is so sweet to see this skyline when driving "home"

I returned to Cincinnati just in time to celebrate my other bestie's 30th birthday!

Summer finally made an appearance here, I took advantage!

I made some time for a quick WOD

I checked some things off my 30by30 list, including making my grandmother's homemade relish

A FAAAAANTASTIC day was spend with some of my favorite ladies. Seriously, these ladies rock my socks!

{I never ever ever paint my fingernails because it chips within 24 hours but I decided to try something new and I'm now OBSESSED with this shellac nail polish!  If you haven't tried it, you should!}

Then it was time for another road trip, this time to Ft Campbell to visit my brother-in-law 

It was a BLAZING hot Memorial day weekend in TN so we spent some time at the pool

So glad I got to see my friend, Jaz, while I was there.  It doesn't happen very often!

7 years ago, my husband took me on a date {our 1st} to the Taste of Cincinnati so it's always nice to get back there and enjoy some yummy food!  I just barely squeezed it in after a long drive back from Ft Campbell but I'm so glad I did!