Birthday Cake

For those of you that know me really well, you know I strive to be creative. However, it never quite works out for me. For Ryan's birthday I wanted to make a really awesome cake. I won't bore you with all of the birthday festivities because to be honest, it was just too fun. But the cake... That was just funny. I made a 3 tier cake, butter cake, red velvet then another butter layer and covered it all on white frosting. My objective was to make it look like a bucket of beer to take fishing or whatever. It did look like it but when Ryan saw it we both looked at eachother and laughed. He could tell what I was trying to achieve and (through experience) he knows my lack-of creativity. 

Cute right?! He even said it tasted "awesome". Even though he is unsure why anyone would go through the effort of making such a thing, we devoured the whole thing. Oops. Let's just say for the next few birthdays, I hope he has a really ordinary cake. 

Gold Coast

You may have read a previous blog post titled Gold Coast, or perhaps Surfers Paradise? Grace and I passed through on our way to Sydney. Although we went to a beach or two there, we didn't fully experience it. Last month, Ryan and I went back to Surfers Paradise. Ryan and his friend Jack had to meet a Diaken rep about air conditions so they kindy invited me and Jacks wife, Holli. Fortunately, Holli and I got along well and became instant fiends. 

When you think of "the Gold Coast" or "Surfers Paradise" you think sunshine, warmth (especially since it was winter), beaches, smiles etc. However, everything that could have went wrong, did go wrong. First, the conveyer belt supposively broke in Adelaide so when we got to Gold Coast they didn't have our luggage. Afterwaiting in line for an hour (one desk lady for a whole plane!) she said we mayyyy get it today. Furried, we left the airport and took a 40 minutes taxi to the hotel. When we arrived at our suite in the Hilton, it smelt of sewer. They were fortunately able to move us to another suite on the 43rd floor, beautiful views! 

 

After a large champagne and pizza lunch, we decided to get food service to the room and just relax for the night. Until 11:30pm when the luggage arrived. Once we has our belongings we decided to dress up and enjoy surfers paradise. We bar hopped, danced and made up sor our days sorrows until the wee hours of the morning which made up for what we thought was a tragic day. We really did have an amazing time out. 

The next morning (or shall I say a few hours later) the boys (somehow) had to meet the rep at 6. Incredibly fortunate for Holli and I, it was pouring outside so we made the executive decision to have a day in the suite watching movies, catching up on life stories and eating take out. We genuinely felt bad for our men, I still to this day don't know how they did it because I definitely wouldn't be able to cope. Luckily the boys were home by noon.

 After a nap, Ryan was hungry so we were determined to find a Sushi Train (it's "our thing" to have lunch dates almost weekly at Sushi Train in Unley). Neither of us had packed for the cold, rainy day so in our rolled up jeans, tee shirts and thongs we frantically looked at Google Maps to take us to the nearest Sushi Train. It reminded me of a movie scene actually, lost, cold, wet, bickering over who would find the large green sign first. After completely walking the opposite way, around our hotel twice and 20 minutes out of our way (thanks Siri) we found our beloved Sushi Train. Soaked, walking in, we were in laughter at the "where the hell did these two come from" looks from everyone. Throughout lunch we were piecing together our night from what we remembered and the photos we found on our phones. I would share the photos but they are just way too.... Hilarious and embarrassing for the public eye. 

That night we watched the Footy from the couch with Jack and Holli. Since Holli was determined not to leave the suite all day, we ordered room service for dinner, delicious actually. Even though it was a night in it was a ton of fun, catching up with new friends, relaxing, laughing, sharing interests and not getting wasted again.

 Fortunately we didn't drink that night because at 3am we heard an extremely loud alarm going off. I awoke to the alarm saying "attention: this is not a drill" and college days of late night fire drills appeared in my mind. In the meantime, Ryan is trying to yell over the alarm "can you please turn the alarm clock off love, it's really irritating" as he pulls the pillow tighter over his ears.... Suddenly, the alarm voice changes his speech and says "evacuate the building, code one, this is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill". After waking up Ryan, blind as a bat (I couldn't find my glasses and forget about putting my contacts in at that hour) I manage to find shorts and a jumper to throw on. As the four of us annoyingly emerge into the hall of our suite and out the door, Ryan attempts to press the elevator button goes "I better see this while building go up in flames..." As I mentioned before, we were on the 43rd floor, and the elevator doesn't work when the alarm is going off. Climbing down 43 flights or stairs is exactly what I wanted to do at 3am. Standing outside of the hotel with what seemed like a million people, I realized I should have really thought to put proper clothes on. It's still raining, freezing and we may be out here for a while. We should have atleast thought to bring money and started to drink... Pjs or not. An hour later, we were able to go back inside and back to bed.

The next morning, we woke up with puddles in our suite. The fire hose things in the roof went off with the alarm last night so now our things are wet. When we call the front desk they said they are in the middle of fixing things... Yikes. We decided to go out, shopped a bit, had some brekky and enjoy the paradise. 

Although a lot of ridiculous things happened within 3 days, we of course as usual made the best of it. It was a great trip and is still do it all again... 

Falls Creek

Ok, ok I'm sorry.. I said I would keep up to date with the posting and I've been slacking again, I've just been too busy having fun ;) 

A few weeks ago, I experienced snowboarding in Australia! Snowboarding in August is definitely not something I thought I would ever do (especially in Australia) but it was absolutely amazing. On Thursday night, the 8th of August, Ryan and I drove up to Falls Creek in Victoria with two other couples; Cheynne and Bre & Rowin and Lauren. Fortunately, Ryan's mum let us use her Prado so Bre and I had plenty of room to sleep all night in the back seat while our very kind boyfriends drove the whole way. After 8 hours of driving, we thought we had made it to Falls Creek. However, we had to drive up the most steep and curvy road I have ever seen in my life. It went on for what felt like forever. I have never been motion sick until then. There was a dinky Coles bag being passed around between Ryan, Bre and I in question as to who would get sick first. At one point we thought for sure Bre would be sick, I have never seen four people move so fast in a vehicle. I immediately threw my head out the window dreading to hear the sound and smell it, Cheynne pulled over on the side of the road and Ryan basically jumped out if the car while it was still in motion. Thankfully however, no one was sick. 

Our hotel! 

When we finally reached our hotel, The Falls Creek Country Club, we found out we couldn't get into our suite until 4pm (it was now 7am). Knowing that this may have happened, we all packed our snow gear in bags we could easily get to. We all showered in the public showered downstairs in our hotel and got ready to hit the slopes. I couldn't believe how warm it was and I was going snowboarding. Usually, back home, you just feel so cold to the bone when you got snowboarding or skiing. However, I enjoyed the warmth a lot more, definitely more manageable. Exploring the mountain all morning was so much fun. The boys were feeling a bit tired so we all met up at the village for lunch. At lunch, I met Meg (Liz and Mike's daughter) for the first time. I can't believe I haven't met her until then, she's such a lovely girl. Since she works at Falls Creek she told us all of the good places to board and eat. Now that we were approaching the late afternoon, everyone except Ryan and I went to go check into the suited Ryan and I decided to keep snowboarding until the lifts closed. We laughed all afternoon at eachother falling off the chairlift, then over one another, then down the slopes. That night, I enjoyed a very long spa bath in our room to relax the muscles I forgot I had. We all ordered pizza, watched the footy by the fire in our lounge and want to bed early to start again the next day. 

Waking up on the mountains was the best feeling ever. Knowing that all you had to do all day was go outside and snowboard just put everyone in such a great mood. As the 6 of us head outside to catch the lift from our hotel (best convienience ever), Ryan realized he had lost his pass... Already. After leaving the group, the two of us "sled" down the hill on our snowboards and then walked right back up to where we started, we still couldn't find out where to renew his pass. God, I was so thankfully he had lost his and I didn't leave mine. Frustrated, sweating and confused, we finally go to renew his pass two hours later. When we met up with everyone, Meg was there guiding us around to the best slopes and routes! It was a ton of fun! After a few runs, we were all supposed to go up the hill on some machine that drags you on your board instead of a traditional chair lift. Hungry, and impatient and I could not figure the damn thing out. Poor Meg tried to tell me it was just like wakeboarding but after 5 attempts, I through up my hands and said forget it as I marched over to the chair lift a few feet away. Luckily, only Cheynne saw my mini tantrum since everyone else was at the top of the hill. I did meet some really nice people who worked at the resort on my chair lift up which was a bonus. After lunch that day, the girls all decided to head back to the hotel and go to the spa while the boys continues onto the black slopes and "off trail" paths. While the girls and I were drinking wine on the balcony of our room, we noticed that we were able to watch the boys snowboard, so much fun. 

Cheyenne, Bre and Meg on the chairlift 

Watching Ryan and Cheyenne snowboard from our balcony! 

Bre, me and Lauren 

Bre and I locked in the luggage racks while Lauren pushed us down the hall... Definitely not allowed but way fun.. 

Each night we were there we all made a big dinner in the suites kitchen. The 7 of us all sat at the table for a "family meal" and reminisce on the day. Afterwards, we would of course go out for drinks, enjoy the snow life and have a great time. I absolutely loved every single part of our trip and I would go back in a heartbeat!  

Princess life

Working on the Princess is a very unique job. You work, eat, live and socialize with the same people all day every day. In some senses it reminds me of a tamer version of my college experience. While being aboard the Princess, I have made some great new friends. I have found that since we are always together, we have become to know a lot about one another which makes it feel like we have known each other forever. I was nervous before coming on board that my roomate would be weird, which would make for an extremely long week (especially for those of you who know how anal I get about my living quarters) however, my roomate Chloe reminds me of a childhood friend Meghan. They have the same caring and friendly personality, look the same and even talk the same (minus the accent of course). We have fortunately become close and have decided to stay on board an extra week together. 

Roomate time snacks 

Sunrise! 

Most of the other girls I work with are also very nice. Of course, since we are a big group of girls forced to be together all the time there is drama, but since I haven't been here long enough to make a negative opinion on anyone I stay out of it. I have been updated with the gossip of the boat and everyone on it, however, everyone has been nice to me and more than willing to help so I am staying positive and clear for the caddiness. I have come to the realization I don't need to love everyone but I just stay clear of the ones I choose to. 

Chloe goes around to leave chocolates on the guests beds everynight.... And mine! 

Work girlie, Emma, me, Chloe and Rachel 

And the bartenders Ashley and Jazz... 

Girls night in: face masks, wine, chocolate and chick flicks... Yesss

Looking gorgeous in our creepy face masks... Our faces did feel like a baby's bottom afterwards though! 

The work day is a bit repetitive but it goes by quickly once you get the hang of it. Breakfast shift starts at 7:30 and usually ends at 10, then a break until lunch at 11:30 until about 3, then a break until dinner at 5. Twice a week, the crew puts on a show for the guests. Last night we preformed the "Princ-tanic"... A comedy version of the Titanic. It's corny, but the guests love it. Our director Warren is Rose and our bartender dresses up as a man to be Jack. Luckily, they didn't have me singing, dressing up or doing anything elevate... Just narrorating. Wednesday night is Australian night. We get off the boat, have a bonfire, a BBQ and the crew has to dance and get the guests involved. Last Wednesday was fun because we had kids aboard, they loved it. After a long day of work, we all meet in the bar for a drink. Since the day makes me tired and I need atleast 9 hours of sleep to cope the next day, I usually leave the bar after one or two. I am proud to say I have survived my first week on the princess and may be even looking forward to the upcoming week.... 

Ashley as Jack 

Warren as Rose 

Ngaut Ngaut

Every Thursday the boat stops at Ngaut Ngaut for a few hours. Luckily, it is during me and Emma's break so we are able to get off the boat. We enjoy going on the excursions because it's nice to get off the boat and if customers ask us questions at least we can say we've done them. At Ngaut Ngaut we climbed up the ridge to an aborigional territory. I think they were the first aborigional I've seen since I've been here. They told us how they used to trade rocks to use as tools and how they camped along the river. Honestly, I wasn't fully listening because a little girl who I serve every meal was talking to me the whole time. Her name is Dipsha, her family was so sweet. She was here with her parents (who also work for captain cook cruises in sydney), her grandparents and parents friends. We don't get a lot of kids on the boat so when we do everyone gets excited. I was the designated waitress at their table and the little girl just wanted to follow me around all night. She would call me to her table every morning to let me know she saw ducks outside and occasionally kangaroos on land. She would follow me around and help clear dessert everynight and even ran up into our photos on captain night. Too cute. 

"What's the emergency procedure?!"

This week has been a bit of a hectic week in the dining room. Usually there is a leading hand (who manages the wait staff) and 3 waitresses on at a time. However, one of the waitresses didn't come aboard on Monday because she was sick. Yesterday, our leading hand got off the boat at swan reach because she's pregnant and got sick (probably for the better, she's not very nice anyways). Therefore, Emma and I were the only wait staff left. We both have been only working for two weeks so we were thrown in the deep end but have done an amazing job. Being on here for an excessive amount of days in a row, feeding three meals a day repeatitively, you're bound to know what to do. Dinner last night and brekky this morning went incredibly smooth. The director was shocked actually so we were proud of ourselves. Then at lunch, right before service we were talking to our director Haley as the ship was about to depart on schedule from Ngaut Ngaut. As the ship was taking off she looked out the window and noticed how windy it was. She has been on the boat for 6 years now so she has a good sense of how things are run. She said "I'm suprised we're leaving now since it's so windy!" Not thinking anything of it we laughed. Then, promptly after she said that her radio went off. She left to hear what the captain was saying. She then ran back in the dining room and told Emma and I to conduct the emergency procedures. We looked at each other and said in sync "what are the emergency procedures?!" During training we are given an "in case of emergency card" that let's us know what to do in these situations. However, we both washed out shirts last night and didn't have the card in our front pockets where they belonged. We were also told to always follow what our leading hand is doing since they get excessive training for emergency situations. But, as I mentioned before, ours got off the boat yesterday. So, in panic Emma and I looked out the window to see that the wind and strong current was pulling us toward the side of the river. I looked up to the bow and saw thought that there was absolutely no way we wouldn't hit the trees. We immediately started yelling to the guests to get on the other side of the boat! As they were moving in panic, we shit the curtains so no one could see what was actually going on. As I was shutting the curtains I looked down and noticed the deckies were in intense panic on the tender boats. The ship was so close to shore that the tender boat could no longer for between them. In panic, Emma grabbed my hand and said "we are going to hit, and die" I said "shhh I don't think we should say that in front of passengers, act calm". We both held hands and told the guests it would be okay (even though we weren't really sure) After the longest 5 minutes of our lives, the captain decided to go with the current and turn around when the river got a bit calmer. The entertainer started playing songs from the Titanic for a bit of humor. Some laughed, some got mad... Whatever. Emma and I were complimented on how calm and well we handled the situation. For two new crew members in charge, having no clue what was going on or what to do, I'm proud of us too! We survived! 

What have I been up to?

I made $300 in the last 2 days, and thats with my clothes on! …well mostly. 

Unfortunately, one of the spotters on the boat had a death in the family, so she went home for the funeral and to catch up with her family. Because it was in the middle of school holidays for western aussies, no other spotters were available. Promotion for Grace! 

Spotter Responsibilities: Preparing people for the day swimming with whale sharks, fitting/helping people with snorkel gear, leading groups on a whale shark swim, making lunch, blah blah blah. 

My first day spotting was on of the best days of my life. On our first morning snorkel some humpback whales swam by our group (a mama, a calf). It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I wanted them to adopt me into their little pod and have a breaching party. You are not supposed to swim with marine mammals. I'm pretty sure its illegal, but I want to do it again as soon as possible. The skipper, the videographer, the other spotter and myself tried to swim out to a few more humpies, but we were a little too slow. When we stopped swimming we looked down and saw 4 healthy sized bronze whaler sharks. They circled around us and checked us out a little bit. Needless to say we grouped together and decided to make our way back to the boat. 

That same day we saw two tiger sharks, a white tip reef shark, turtles, and a whale shark. It is coming to the end of the season, so now we don't know if we'll spot a whale shark. Fortunately, for my first spotting day we got one. The weather was amazing so the ocean was flat. I could see the other spotter passing on the shark to my group; I got everybody lined up and the whale shark swam so slowly right passed everybody. Just as I thought it couldn't get better, a little green turtle swam alongside the shark. I couldn't have imagined a more ideal swim. Beginners luck. 

Not every spotting experience has been so easy, sometimes they are 5-10 meters down or change direction or they're very fast. Yesterday for instance I had to practically skull drag a lady on every whale shark, manta ray swim,and snorkel. She was from Texas, scared of the ocean and not a good swimmer. I didn't leave her side all day, and she said she had an amazing time, so I'll just count it as a good workout. Another woman gave us all a very hefty tip because they came out 2 days in a row and loved it. They were awesome pre-tip. Their daughter even made us all one of those little rubber weaved bracelets. So cute. 

Because the season is coming to an end, I am looking to make my way to Broome in the next week. I love little Exmouth, but it is time to move on to the next adventure. Hopefully I'll get to run into Sarah and Brad at some point. I hear they are heading west :)

Other updates: 

-Broken Tooth: I think I need a crown, and I look a little like a hillbilly. Ain't no thang.

-Cut fingers: Still haven't mastered the art of using sharp knives on rocky boats

Back on the Murray

As all of you know, all of us girls have a special place in our heart for the Murray river. It is where our adventure started and our "Mannum family" still resides. This week I have started working on the Murray River again. I am waitressing on the Murray Princess which is the largest paddle wheeler in the Southern Hemisphere. 

The Murray Princess 

Yesterday was my first day aboard! I was very nervous leaving my comfort zone in Glengowrie but I kept telling myself it was only for a week. My schedule will be working one week, home for the next week. I had to get up at 5 and be in the city by 7 to catch a bus up to Mannum. When I arrived in Mannum I was hoping I would have time to visit everyone but I started working right away! I was a bit overwhelmed with paperwork, learning the ins-and-outs of the boat and job duties and meeting the rest of the crew. At first I was very itimidated since everyone already knew each other. I started to get nervous that I wouldn't meet anyone and I would be stuck on board miserably for the week. However, once the afternoon came and everyone was back on board and organized things started to get better. I am fortunate that my roomate is extremely nice (and also new, so we could stick together) and she is a non-smoker which I'm so thankful for since the rooms are smaller than the ones I had at cheer camp at uni. I also met another friend, Emma. She's normal, very nice and has been helping me around the ship. 

When the passangers boarded yesterday the captain advised us that it was "disability week". There are disabled people with mental illnesses aboard that make things a little difficult but most of them have care-takers that help them get ready and take their meal orders. There is also a lot of old people aboard. This one old guy makes me feel so sad for him, I brought him to his room yesterday and he told me that him and his wife used to come aboard every year for their anniversary. She passed away this year so he came anyways in memory of her. I wanted to cry when he told me that, so cute yet so sad. 

I survived my first waitressing shift at dinner last night. It goes by pretty quick and it's easy to take orders since they only have two options each night. I'm glad I don't know anyone a board because the uniforms remind me of the penguins from Mary Poppins (bow ties, large button down shirts, black skirts and stockings. Cute) After dinner I was so exhausted, Chloe (my roommate) and I took leftover desserts from dinner and brought them to our room. We were in our pjs, in bed eating dessert and watching pitch perfect by 9. I was happy that I was able to fall asleep right away from exhaustion. I woke up at 1 from the noise of the paddle wheel and was up for an hour trying to get back to sleep. 

This morning was an early (and freezing) morning starting at 6, but I survived breakfast shift. Off to lunch shift now... 

I'm back!

Wayta go Gracie Lou for continuing to update the blog! I have been a huge slacker... Neither of us have even blogged about Fraiser Island (which happened to be our favorite) or even our trip back to SA. I will post about those eventually, promise. Since being back in Adelaide in May, I have been enjoying living like a local. I was working for a website making mini websites for amall business for a while but the owner was a WIERDO so I stopped that job and moved on to waitressing on Jetty road. I really enjoyed that and met some new friends.

Ryan and I have been busy with social activities which I love. We went to the first night game in the Adelaide oval with a few friends; have gone to see the footy at the oval quite a bit since it's so close and a mate has season passes we use. Two weekends ago we went to see the port vs essendon game which was the most fun, seeing as we are essendon supporters and they won! Woohoo, go the Bombers! We also go into the city a bit, go to the market for lunch, relaxing at the farm, gone to a few weddings, and keeping busy. We have a few trips coming up that I'm also very excited about! I promise I will start to blog about things... 

Relaxing at the farm ❤️

Baby calfs.. Cuties, poor chaos is the only adopted black one on the farm. Disney should base a movie around her

Painting Sammy's nails... 

Port vs Essendon game! 

Ryan giving some advice to Darren Lehmann (the current Australian cricket coach)... 

Humpies!

Don't worry Dad, this post isn't about what you think. 

Today was another beautiful day on the water. Unfortunately, there were no whale sharks spotted by boat or plane. This is the second time in the last week that this has happened. People are worried that it might be the end of the season, which would be one of the earliest ones yet. However, they say that when there is a full moon, whale sharks become scarce. I did end up seeing a white tip reef shark, so I got my shark fix for the day. 

When we were cruising around waiting for a big, spotted fish to come to the surface, we found some breaching humpbacks. I realized I didn't have many pictures of them so I had a bit of a photo shoot.

a little pectoral slapping/waving hello

…how did this get in here? It's Moby Dick!

This is the leopard shark we saw the other day. Leith Holtzman (Holtzy) is the photographer on the boat. I should be one of those people in the corner peeing in the water. :)